Entering Grade 7: June 26th - July 9th, 2010
The GLI Connections Program gives girls the relationship expertise to manage their middle school years with grace and courage. Our grade seven campers learn how girls relate to one another. Most importantly, they develop an arsenal of choices for how they can respond in a variety of social situations. Campers leave GLI with some of the best friends of their lives and the tools to seek out and nourish real friendships back home.

Life at GLI
Every girl is different. For some, this is a first trip away from home and for others this is their 37th over-night experience. Our low staff-to-camper ratio lets us get to know EVERY girl and set her up to succeed. This starts before the girls even arrive when we carefully look at applications and roommate forms to select roommate matches. Each hall has two "older sisters" who make life at GLI a blast, from their morning music mixes to nightly “love note” writing. Our mornings are full, with interactive workshops, small-group meetings and community discussions. In the afternoons we relax a bit more, enjoying free time, fitness choices and art projects.

Workshops
Our seventh grade program teaches girls to recognize and take advantage of the choices we have the power to make every day. We focus on personal values as the foundation on which all important choices are made.

One tough choice facing many seventh graders is the conflict between personal values and the pressure to be popular. The girls deconstructed the rules of popularity and reflected on how they want to move within these unavoidable social power structures.

Workshop Titles

• Values & Choices
• Communicating Online
• No Offense, But I Was Just Kidding
• Changing Friendships
• Fat Talk & Body Image
• The Importance of Emotions

Project
Every two days there is a new project for girls to choose from. If they love their project they can do it again and develop expertise. If it’s not for them? No worries, they can pick a new project. Projects may include: photography, videography, theatre and improvisation, creative writing, book making, and more.

Trips and Events
In the Connections Program we like to give girls challenges to help them experience real accomplishment. We go to a high and low ropes course, take hikes and enjoy outdoor adventures.
We also just have fun and relax--this is what weekends are all about. We head to the lake for a day, look for fun shows to see, or plan extreme July fourth celebrations. We finish camp with one big all-camp sleepover.

Food
Every meal is served buffet style. Campers pick from a wide selection of delicious options. Counselors eat with the girls to make sure that protein makes an appearance a couple times a day. We encourage girls to have at least two or three colors on their plate for lunch and dinner. To help the girls develop healthy habits we don’t offer fried foods or soda.

Schedule
We keep GLI campers moving! We are on the go.
Here’s a sample day:

• 8:45 – Theater games and improvisation
• 9:45 – Morning workshops
• 11:30 – Small group advisory discussions
• 12:15 – Lunch
• 1:00 – Free time. The highlight of this time is mail! Letters and care packages are distributed and every one enjoys an hour of snacking on gummy worms, playing games, or just swapping stories in the gazebo.
• 2:00 – Pick your art project!
• 4:00 – It’s time to get moving. If it’s hot we head to the pool. Other choices might include a short hike, yoga, basketball, Pilates, soccer, tennis and more.
• 6:00 – Dinner
• 7:00 – Evenings are nothing but fun. Some of our activities include game show night, scavenger hunt, mask making, jewelry making, a trip to the theatre or movies, and much more.
• 9:00 – Love notes! Hall time, then we get ready for bed.

On the weekends we like to sleep in and eat breakfast in our PJs. After a morning of tie dye, crafts, and bubble contests we head to Mass MoCA Art Museum and Natural Bridges Park, followed by pizza in the park, Herrell's ice cream and a night out at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. On Sundays we go to the lake for the day, followed by a bon fire with smores and singing.  If the stars are out we might stay up a little late and find the Big Dipper.

Click here to apply now www.girlsleadershipinstitute.org/summer-camp/apply-gli