Transition Camp Helps Girls Navigate the Tricky Worlds of Middle, High School

When I was in sixth grade, my biggest worries were wearing out my Warrant cassette tape and what I should write in my daily fan letter to Fred Savage.

Maybe it was a sign of the times. Or maybe it was because I was naive in a Saved by the Bell-colored world, but yesterday’s anxieties seem to pale in comparison to those girls face today. We didn’t have to worry about sexting and social media – we were more concerned about what Hypercolor shirt to wear on the first day of school.

But in reality, the overarching worries – bullying, poor self-esteem and toxic friendships – those are issues that continue to cross generations. And as parents, we need to find ways to help our daughters navigate through the trying teen years to come out stronger in the end.

Building self-esteem through peer mentoring

From June 9-12, Girls in the Know (GITK), a nonprofit designed to educate and empower both mothers and daughters, will host its annual Transition Camp. This unique four-day camp provides girls entering sixth grade with the emotional tools and behavior models needed to meet the challenges of middle school as well as offers them the chance to interact with their new classmates before August rolls around.

“In these bigger school districts, the girls leave their small elementary schools for middle school – that’s a really big transition,” explained Julie Walther-Scheibel, a licensed professional counselor and director of Transition Camp. “We want to prepare them – to soften their landing and help them understand the social changes that come when different schools merge. There’s a lot of excitement, but there’s a lot of uncertainty.”

During the four-hour camp each day, girls will participate in fitness activities, including yoga, Zumba and Pilates, boost their creativity in art, and share their hopes and fears through group discussions and team-building activities. Campers can enjoy an open environment that allows them to explore the issues of peer pressure, friendships and self-acceptance without fear or judgment.

In addition, for the first time, GITK will offer a Transition Camp for teens entering high school. The camps overlap during the lunch hour, providing a peer mentoring opportunity in which incoming middle schoolers can ask recent graduates for tips on piloting the junior high hallways. Together, girls can encourage one another to be proud of their identities and be better prepared for the road ahead.

“Gaining insight into your self-awareness and self-esteem is really important when hitting these big transitional phases,” said Walther-Scheibel. “There’s so much pressure that weighs heavily on a girl’s thought decisions and how she views herself. We want to direct girls so that their self-scripts are positive and they don’t feel they have to buy in to what others want them to be. We want them to feel safe and accepted for who they are – and we want them to feel heard.”

Self-esteem programs that target today’s teens

Transition Camp is only one of GITK’s services that inspires girls to live their healthiest lifestyles. The organization was founded by Lori Lander, a local mom who, when she couldn’t find a self-empowerment program dedicated to both mothers and daughters, took the initiative to launch one of her own, collaborating with St. Luke’s Hospital and motivational speakers from around the region.

Today, the GITK Speaker Series workshop is offered in both public and private school settings for moms and their pre-teen daughters. The four-part interactive sessions cover empowerment, promoting a healthy body image, safety, and the birds and the bees – all geared to the trends and issues shaping our girls’ worlds.

Remarked Gina Marten, executive director for the organization, “In today’s culture, a lot of parents are looking for ways to provide good, solid information to their girls and to keep the communication lines open. Twenty years ago, these topics were taboo and not discussed in the home. But in today’s world, we can’t afford not to talk about them. Parents are looking for a way to start the conversations, and the program provides it to them.””

GITK also recently partnered with The Marshall Movement, an organization dedicated to a universal goal of acceptance, tolerance and kindness, to launch the Marshall Mentoring Program. In honor of Marshall, a rescue dog who was saved from horrific living conditions to find love with a caring family, GITK graduates will deliver a message of courage and empathy to middle school students.

In the meantime, Transition Camp will embolden girls to take on whatever the world has in store for them this school year. Transition Camp, which is $175 per girl for the week, will be held at Ladue Chapel, 9450 Clayton Road. The sixth grade camp is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the ninth grade camp is from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. all four days. To register your daughter for this life-changing event, visit girlsintheknow.org.

_{^{Photos courtesy of Girls in the Know}}