Hyla Middle School

Please enjoy the brief compilation of clips I saved from the the two weeks of camp. During my early years as a summer camp counselor, a mentor of mine shared with me a valuable lesson about designing activities for youth. “Fun,” he told me “should never be the end goal of any activity. Every activity needs to be intentional, allowing for constant growth.” Smiling he added, “Fun should, however, be a constant bi-product.” Through this video, I hope you see just how much bi-product we produced in two weeks.

In life when we search for the “best places”, and by that I mean “the places where we most want to spend our time”, naturally we are drawn to the places that have a community which will supports us, nurture our interests, and joyfully, will watch us grow. As I keep this at the front of my mind, I can honestly say I have never spent time in a place quite like Hyla Middle School. This is a community that challenges its students to set positive goals not just in traditional subjects such as math or writing, but in all areas of their life: in their creativity, physical coordination, and social integrity. A community that encourages its teachers, whether it be full-time veteran or part-time summer camp instructors, to dream big dreams and believe the in the incredible importance of what they do. In the purest example, this is a community in which children have never been more excited to return to the school they just left for the summer.

For me, the two weeks of Hyla’s summer day camp were the perfect manifestation of the school’s incredible devotion to students, teachers, and the community. After 90 packets of string cheese, 3 lost Frisbees (“I didn’t know I could throw it that far”), one jalapeno pepper disguised as pizza, and many, many hours of laughter, I can safely say that if you are still looking for one of those elusive ‘best places’, you needn’t look far.

Hope you all have a wonderful school year,

Colin Smith
Hyla Summer Day Camp Director

Hyla Summer Day Camp video highlights