Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2007, Page 181

Description:	OTSLeadership Opportunities Through ServiceStory by Alison EtnierImagine spending three days and two nights with over 100 high strung 11-year-olds just set free from their parents. It might not sound like very much fun, butbelieve it or not, it was—at least to the Bloomington High School South seniors whomade it through the application and got to go to Bradford Woods.All MCCSC fifth graders got to spend a few days at the outdoor learning center, and a select bunch of high school seniors got to supervise them, making sure theyhad a blast. These seniors participated in a program called Leadership OpportunitiesThrough Service, commonly known as LOTS. To be chosen for this program, seniorsmust have had good grades and good attendance, written an essay and gone throughan interview process. They asked a bunch of questions about how I would deal withdisciplining kids,said senior Lindsay Snyder about her interview.The LOTS seniors had many responsibilities. They kept the kids entertainedduring down time and made sure they all showered. This was not always easy, assenior Jeremy Black admitted. It is a difficult task getting 20 fifth grade boys toshower, he said.At Bradford Woods, the LOTS seniors got to participate in many activitiessuch as the square dance, the Dutch auction, the skits, archery, capture the flag, andan all-day-hike. With a cutback in funding, the experience was shortened from whathad been a five-day program to only three days. The days were packed full of activities, so LOTS seniors appreciated any downtime they got. Andrew Watkins said hismemory of the trip was during this downtime, where he was hanging out in thecabin and listening to one of my fifth graders rap.In the end, being a LOTS senior was more than keeping a group of kids calm—it was about learning from the fifth graders just as much as they learned from theseniors.Above: Seniors Sarah Wallskog and UlziidelgerBattulga meet with fifth graders. There weretwo LOTS seniors assigned to each group ofstudents, who were then their roommates aswell.Above: Senior Kortney Shepley shares a picnicwith her designated group of kids. Each groupof LOTS seniors was assigned to a cabin with agroup of kids, all from the same school.LOTS * **&$& Activities
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/7705
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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