Ask anyone who attended sixth grade in Scituate what their favorite part of the school year was, and they’ll all give you the same answer – Camp Bournedale. “It’s irreplaceable,” said SHS sophomore Turner Howell. Fellow sophomore Tom Connor added, “That’s like the best thing ever. Every sixth grader looks forward to that.”

In Scituate, the Camp Bournedale 6th grade experience has gone unchanged. Elementary students stay on their best behavior for seven years, and they are rewarded in May when they get to spend a week with kids from another Scituate elementary school at Camp Bournedale.

However, when the decision was made to move the sixth grade up to the new Gates Middle School, there were questions about whether or not to continue with the annual tradition. Sixth grade teacher Ms. Suddath noted, “There was a debate, talk about eliminating (the camp) or passing it to 5th grade,” but ultimately, it was decided that the program would continue.

Multiple elementary school teachers said it was simply too important to the kids–especially at their age level. Sixth grade teacher Mr. Poirier said, “The kids grow up a lot during sixth grade, and the Camp Bournedale experience is a part of that maturing.” Fellow teacher Ms. Fahey attributes this to the unique taste of independence students get at Bournedale. She noted that for almost all of the students, it’s their first time being away from home for such an extended amount of time. Ms. Suddath sees the most growth socially for the kids, and it’s not hard to see why. Throughout the five days at camp, students spend all their time with each other, whether dissecting a small shark or making jokes late at night in the cabins. The students not only grow closer with one another, but they also have the chance to meet students from another elementary school before going off to Gates.

Now, all the sixth graders are mixed together at Gates, which would seemingly make it hard to divide the groups, since Bournedale can’t house the entire sixth grade class. This shouldn’t present a problem, according to Suddath, who said that there will be two trips–one with all of Team A, and one with all of Team B–so the experience will “still give the kids who came from different schools a chance to get to know each other.”

Ultimately, it would be hard to imagine sixth grade without the Camp Bournedale. Although the teachers said the middle school will have its own unique opportunities that become traditions, it just wouldn’t be the same without the camping experience. Sure, there can be field trips and class breakfasts galore, but nothing matches Camp Bournedale. When asked about the potential for a replacement tradition, Scituate High School senior James Woods said, “What else is there? Get them back to Bournedale.”