Entering Grade 9: July 11th - 24th, 2010

The Freshmen Foundation program gives you a personal foundation for high school as well as a foundation for the GLI high school programs that require you to work with others and take initiative. Most important this camp provides a foundation for the girl you’ve always wanted to be. The program is all about acquiring skills—skills for relationships, communication, and conflict. We even teach you skills for making mistakes, accepting criticism, and moving on. There are important workshops--and just as important,-- times when everyone can let loose, choreograph lip synch shows, and then enjoy the best late-night conversations ever.

Life at GLI
One great item to pack for Freshman Foundation is a watch. There is so much to do at GLI and no one likes to be shepherded around like a kid. A watch will help you wake yourself up, get places on time, and give you the freedom to enjoy life at GLI. Camp days are full of friends, from brushing your teeth with your 20 hall-mates to dropping off “love notes” in your friend’s mail box before bed. In the afternoon you get some “you time”: your choice of projects, your choice of fitness options and your choice of crazy evening activities such as spontaneous sing-a-longs (Back Street Boys anyone?) or GLI Game Shows.

Workshops
You learn crazy amounts about what you feel, what you think, and how to communicate your emotions and thoughts with all your people (friends, parents, teachers). Workshops include: Avoiding Conflict, Handling Emotions, Dealing with Criticism, Owning Mistakes, Road Map for Conflict, Speaking with Courage, Taking Healthy Risks and more.

Project
Freshman Foundation projects run for one week and then campers can choose to continue their projects, or to try something new. Projects may include photography, Girls Make Movies, theatre and improvisation, creative writing, book making and more.

Trips and Events
During Freshman Foundation there are both challenging trips and just-for-fun days. We try out our teamwork abilities on the low-ropes course and we face our own fears on the high ropes. There are also river crossing and raft building challenges to test our new-found communication and collaboration skills.

For fun we head to a lake to relax and enjoy magazines, music, and a bag of Twizzlers. We also may head into town for ice cream or to enjoy a matinee at a local theatres.

Food
Every meal is served buffet style. Campers pick from a wide selection of delicious options. Counselors are aware of what makes it onto campers’ plates and request that protein make 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.
• 9:30 – Love notes! Hall time, then we get ready for bed.

On the weekends we like to sleep in and eat breakfast in our PJs. Then we head to the lake for the day, or town for an afternoon of ice cream and hanging with our friends. 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