By Anthony Obi Ogbo | Guardian News, Houston, TX.
You may call them by their names: Jessica, Arabella, Sophia, Anthony, Joshua, Jaycen, Samuel, and Adam; but these kids are not kidding. Besides the passion and brilliance they demonstrate in their scholastic endeavors, there is one major activity that validates the academic citizenship of this 5th-grade community at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic School. It is the Camp Kappe” escapade.
This program is not a picnic. It is a four-day knowledge-based exploration camp – a combination of learning and amusement in a unique program-setting designed to offer school kids a new dimension to human existence. Camp Kappe is a youth retreat facility of the School of Environmental Education under the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic School (OLMC) on Whitefriars, Houston, Texas has for years adopted this annual journey as a trademark, introducing the kids to the real-world academic and spiritual sentiment as they progress in their prospective stages of maturity. For the 2017 session, these kids just made it back from the “Camp Kappe” trip which started Tuesday, November 5 and ended yesterday, Friday, November 8.
The camp program is loaded with excitement and educational engagements. Students had the opportunity to acquaint themselves with predictabilities of nature, as well as the use and protection of God-given resources. For instance, just in the four-day period, participants physically visited the Global Village; Barns; Hiking in the Wood site; Pond and Swamps; Playing Courts; Hills with Rocky Path, and Stations of the Cross. An enthusiastic participant told the Guardian News, “Not only that we had fun, but it also snowed while we camped,” referencing the unusual big and fluffy snowflakes that fell across parts of south Texas on Thursday, November 7.
The School of Environmental Education (S.E.E.) program of the Camp Kappe excels as a center and platform for youth retreats, campouts, and operates programs for spiritual development. Each year, the 5th grade class of OLMC attends this facility under the supervision of their teachers and chaperones to explore the realities of nature and spirituality. This year, the kids were accompanied by Mr. Stephen Crawford, a faculty employee; and Carmen Salazar a secretary at the school. The Camp Kappe program at the OLMC has indeed provoked positive outcomes in school’s academic prospectus. Excursion leader, Mr. Crawford who also led the 2016 trip said the program has over the years generated very encouraging responses from both school kids and parents.
The Camp Kappe Youth Retreat Facility is approximately one hour north of Houston in Plantersville, TX (Grimes County), and was founded in 1981. However, it was officially named Camp Kappe, in memory of Fr. T. W. Kappe, a priest who worked with young people of the Galveston-Houston diocese for more than 20 years before his death in 1976.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic School is a diverse learning entity with core mission of making Catholic education available to the populace. The philosophical relevance is faith-based – where the school collaborates with the parish and parents to advance their evangelical duty through cultivating the mind and developing the heart and spirit of pupils. For general information or enrollment, please contact the OLMC campus directly at 6703 Whitefriars, Houston, Texas 77087 or call 713-643-0676. To visit the School’s website, please click >>>
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