NewsAthleticsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffPre-K to 8Service
Cheerleading camp builds big-sister, little-sister relationships
Sep 3, 2002 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Angela Pieroni’s Lower School and Middle School Cheerleading Camp held the first week of August in the Huffman Memorial Athletic Center had side benefits beyond teaching younger girls how to cheer. “We are big sisters to each girl,” varsity cheerleader Mika Wells, junior, said about being a counselor at the camp. “We bond with them during the week. You look out for your little sister.”
Fifty girls attended the Lower School camp and 30 attended the Middle School camp. The majority of the girls were from Darlington and those that were not had Darlington ties as children of alumni. “A couple of Darlington kids even drove in from Acworth to attend the camp,” Pieroni said.
“We tried some new things, like having a craft, and we had the girls in several different rooms in the Huffman Center to keep them moving and to utilize the facility,” Pieroni said. “We were very thankful to be in an air-conditioned facility.”
“The dance is the ‘funnest’,” second-grader Bailey Brock said about her camp experience.
Anna Stephenson, a new sixth grader who has just moved to Rome from Gainesville, Ga., agreed. “I made a lot of new friends. The best part was the dancing,” she said.
Anna’s mother, Patti Stephenson, was glad her daughter had the opportunity to meet new kids. “We saw the cheerleading camp on the Darlington calendar that we received in the mail. We were supposed to go on vacation the week of the camp but stayed in town so Anna could attend.”
Allan Stephenson, Anna’s father, said, “This has been great for her to meet some girls before starting school. She doesn’t have to go to the orientation without knowing anybody.”
“The older girls who served as counselors were admirable,” Pieroni said. “Nine of the 18 counselors hold leadership roles in the School community and many babysit. They put their skills to use in interacting with large groups of kids.”
The camp achieved its primary goal of teaching young girls how to cheer as well. “This has inspired Virginia to become a Middle School cheerleader this fall,” Holly Burch, Virginia’s mother, said.
“Obviously, there is a benefit to the School’s cheerleading program as we work with the Middle School girls to stress the skills that we hope to see in the next couple of years,” Pieroni said. “My intention is not to make every girl a cheerleader, but hopefully every girl has a fun cheerleading memory.”
Fifty girls attended the Lower School camp and 30 attended the Middle School camp. The majority of the girls were from Darlington and those that were not had Darlington ties as children of alumni. “A couple of Darlington kids even drove in from Acworth to attend the camp,” Pieroni said.
“We tried some new things, like having a craft, and we had the girls in several different rooms in the Huffman Center to keep them moving and to utilize the facility,” Pieroni said. “We were very thankful to be in an air-conditioned facility.”
“The dance is the ‘funnest’,” second-grader Bailey Brock said about her camp experience.
Anna Stephenson, a new sixth grader who has just moved to Rome from Gainesville, Ga., agreed. “I made a lot of new friends. The best part was the dancing,” she said.
Anna’s mother, Patti Stephenson, was glad her daughter had the opportunity to meet new kids. “We saw the cheerleading camp on the Darlington calendar that we received in the mail. We were supposed to go on vacation the week of the camp but stayed in town so Anna could attend.”
Allan Stephenson, Anna’s father, said, “This has been great for her to meet some girls before starting school. She doesn’t have to go to the orientation without knowing anybody.”
“The older girls who served as counselors were admirable,” Pieroni said. “Nine of the 18 counselors hold leadership roles in the School community and many babysit. They put their skills to use in interacting with large groups of kids.”
The camp achieved its primary goal of teaching young girls how to cheer as well. “This has inspired Virginia to become a Middle School cheerleader this fall,” Holly Burch, Virginia’s mother, said.
“Obviously, there is a benefit to the School’s cheerleading program as we work with the Middle School girls to stress the skills that we hope to see in the next couple of years,” Pieroni said. “My intention is not to make every girl a cheerleader, but hopefully every girl has a fun cheerleading memory.”
