Social leadership means knowing how to handle the social situations that inevitably come up in middle school using confidence, critical thinking, problem solving, and empathy. One of the hardest things about the leap to middle school is figuring out how to navigate the ever-changing adolescent social world. You can give your kid all the binders, organizers, sticky notes and pens in the world, but what usually trips up a kid in middle school is the social stuff.

What do you do when you hear a guy tease a girl for her weight? How do you keep it cool with a friend when you both try out for a team but only one of you makes it? How do you react when someone teases you or your friend about your clothes/attitude/grades? What’s the best way to make friends with kids coming from other schools? How do you inspire your friends to use their social power for good? Students practice these skills at Athena’s Path ™ & Hero’s Pursuit camps.

The camps are taught by experienced high school teachers, along with trained high school student interns.

In a nutshell we know campers won’t learn unless they’re having fun. Our staff knows how to create a welcoming, encouraging, and inclusive environment where middle schoolers can have real conversations, form strong bonds, and play in the ways that are most fun and natural for their age. Our lessons are woven into those experiences. For a better snapshot of what your kid will actually do and learn during camp, read about what happens at camp .

Base camp rates are the same, but each host site adds a fee to cover their costs. This creates different camp prices in different areas.

As you can probably guess, we launched the Zoom camps during the summer of 2020 as a response to pandemic safety requirements. We were enthusiastic about trying some new…but probably also just as skeptical about getting kids to connect and engage through the screen. Turns out, middle schoolers loved this format! In a way, it meets kids right where they are (already starting to cocoon with devices in their rooms) and gives them safe, fun ways to meet new people and learn more about themselves. What really blew our minds was hearing from parents who said, “This was perfect for my shy child!” at the same time other parents wrote “This was perfect for my extrovert!” For more about the format and success of Zoom camps read What Happens at Camp.

We would be happy to put together a private camp for your students, class or group. You provide a minimum of eight campers and a location (house, community center, school, etc.) and we provide staff and supplies. It takes a little more work on your end to pull together space and campers, but you can create a custom experience this way. Contact Quinn at quinn@michelleicard.com to get the process started!

In a word, yes. Most first-time campers come to camp because their parents made them. But by the end of the week, the kids are usually making plans for a reunion! It takes a couple days for them to get fully into the camp experience, so allow for that transition time before you evaluate their experience. By Wednesday morning even the most hesitant kids are excited to see what happens next.

This is a question we get asked all the time. If your child is struggling with a friend (or if you think the friendship may be temporarily toxic), it would be more beneficial for them to do separate camps so they can talk freely, and so they can bond with new friends. We work hard at camp to make sure the kids bond quickly, and our interns know to seamlessly incorporate shy or nervous kids into the group, so your child should make new friends pretty fast. On the other hand, some kids do sign up with friends and that works, too!