Duties And Schedules
As part of San Mateo Outdoor Education's Cabin leader program you will gain training in leadership, group management, and counseling skills.
Your first day is full of excitement as you meet your kids and move into your cabin. Throughout the day you will be given the training and skills necessary for a successful week. There will be lots of introductions and meetings. At our opening ceremony you will meet the principal, the naturalists, and introduce yourself to all of the students. As a part of our staff for the week, you will meet with the classroom teachers who have accompanied the students and also have a chance to talk individually with the Naturalist you will be assisting during activities.
As a cabin leader, your most important role is to be a positive leader and role model for the students.
You will assist with the naturalist-led hikes and activities, exploring the diverse ecosystems of the redwood forest, riparian and chaparral areas. You will visit our sustainable living center and garden, even getting an opportunity to learn about and lead a small group of students in a focused learning station.
One day you will accompany the students on a trip to the beach as they explore different coastal habitats that may include the tide pools, marsh, sandy shore and pebble beach, weather and circumstances permitting.
Each afternoon there is a cabin leader meeting in Gyro, the office. It's a chance to see how other cabin leaders are doing, share problems and suggestions, hear announcements and eat some snacks.
While in the cabin, you are the person most directly responsible for the kids. As the Cabin leader you will need to organize showers, plan group activities, whether it is playing cards, basketball, or rehearsing your campfire performance. You are also responsible for things such as waking the students up in the morning and assisting them in getting to sleep at night.
Meals are another event. As the head of a table you help to facilitate conversation, clean up, and assist in giving out awards. We use awards to positively motivate students to do things such as keep their cabin clean, cooperate with others, be on time, and have a good attitude. At meals we also encourage not wasting energy through our "zero food waste" Ort Reports.
Each night there are planned evening activities. There is an opportunity for Cabin leaders to take a study hall one night to give you a chance to catch up on any schoolwork you need to do. For the students the evening activities range from Ocean Odyssey, where students learn about oceanic life, to the Earth Dance, where you will learn dances from different cultures around the world, to yes, the night hike which is often the most challenging and memorable part of the week for the kids.
Finally, the week's end culminates with a campfire, where each cabin will do a short performance for the rest of the school. As the Cabin leader, you will have helped to facilitate its creation and rehearsing throughout the week.
Later that night Cabin leaders have one last time to hang out over some ice cream sundaes in appreciation for all of your hard work and effort throughout the week.
Come Friday morning, you will meet with your naturalist for an evaluation as part of your leadership training. You will be able to reflect on your week and your job as a leader.
And then it's time for final goodbyes, an emotional time for everyone, as a week at Outdoor Education can be an extremely intense, challenging, and rewarding experience for all involved.
Schedule
Monday
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Cabin leaders arrive. Welcome to SMOE! |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Orientation with cabin leader coordinator |
| 12:00 – 12:20 | Lunch with cabin leader staff Cabin assignments |
| 12:20 | Introductions: Meet your kids! |
| 12:30 – 1:30 | Move into cabin Carry luggage in one trip |
Move In Checklist:
Assign bunks
Collect all food, medication, and other contraband, except asthma inhalers and bee sting kits
Write your cabin's Group Agreement
Play "Name Games"
Have students get ready for their afternoon trail
(hiking shoes, appropriate dress, water bottle, inhalers, bathroom)
Your cabin members will ask a lot of questions you are unable to answer. Explain that you have just joined the staff and will be better informed after your afternoon meeting.
| 1:30 – 1:45 | A naturalist will come to your cabin to take the students on a hike. Take the opportunity to introduce yourself to your naturalist. Gather student contraband and go directly to the Dining Hall for the afternoon orientation meeting. |
Be sure to bring:
| 1. | Contraband and medication |
| 2. | Clipboard with cabin list |
| 3. | Cabin Leader Handbook |
| 1:45 – 3:00 | Cabin leader/teacher staff orientation |
| 3:00 – 4:00 | Campus orientation |
| 4:00 – 4:30 | Meet with your cabin's naturalist |
| 4:30 – 5:00 | Cabin time |
| 5:00 | Fire drill on the grassy ball field |
| 5:45 | Arrive for dinner at dining hall |
| 7:25 | Evening activity |
| 9:00 | Prepare for bedtime |
| 9:15 | Lights out |
| 9:30 | Silent Time Begins |
Tuesday — Thursday
| 7:00 | Wake up and clean your cabin |
| 7:50 | Breakfast |
| 9:10 – 12:00 | Morning trail |
| OR | |
| 8:50 – 3:15 | Beach day |
| 12:15 | Lunch (In dinning hall or on trail) |
| 1:00 | Cabin time |
| 1:25 | Afternoon trail |
| 3:15 – 4:40 | Teacher time (for cabin leader specifics, see below) |
| 4:40 | Cabin time/shower time |
| 5:50 | Dinner |
| 7:25 | Evening activity |
| 9:00 | Prepare for bedtime |
| 9:15 | Lights out |
| 9:30 | Silent Time Begins |
Daily Checklists
Morning Checklist:
Look at your schedule for meal duty. Arrive 1/2 hour before other cabins
Showers scheduled today. Get items ready early if possible.
Make sure that you know where and when to meet for trails.
Talk about the day with the kids and get them excited for it!
Pre-trail Checklist:
Make a bathroom stop!
Did everyone get water? Is your water bottle full?
Collect all the journals and pencils.
Is everyone dressed appropriately? (Layers, rain gear, no sandals)
Does anyone need medicine?
Is everyone together?
During cabin time or other periods without activities, e.g., after dinner, Cabin leaders are responsible for providing structured activities for their cabin.
Friday
Details of the schedule will be provided on site. Buses will leave SMOE at 11:30 am.
Cabin leader Staff Schedule (Tuesday-Thursday)
| 3:15 – 3:30 | Village cabin leader meeting (Wednesday only) at the dining hall with the village leader naturalist: Discuss the day's successes and review cabin concerns. |
| 3:30 – 4:30 | Cabin leader free time: You can take a shower, use the phone, and enjoy quiet time alone in your cabin. A snack is provided in Gyro. |
| 4:30 – 4:40 | Mandatory cabin leader staff meeting in Gyro: Bring your handbook and schedule. |
| 7:30 – 8:30 | Study hall (optional): During either your cabin's Earth Dance or Ocean Odyssey, a naturalist will dismiss you from the evenings activity to go to Gyro for self-directed study time. Please have your materials with you, as you will not be permitted to return to your cabin after you have dropped off your students. |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Thursday evening cabin leader meeting: Treats and drinks, thank yous, discussions about the week, Friday's schedule, and self evaluations. |
Instructional Trails
Instructional trails are the classes of our outdoor school taught by a naturalist. The trails cover a variety of subjects such as ecology, plants, geology, photosynthesis, and the food chain. You will be given a trail schedule that your group will be following for the week.
Your cabin will have the same trail schedule as three other cabins. Together you form a Village. Your Village will gather each day at a meeting spot before the trails begin. Most hikes will be done in trail groups that are a mixture of the boys and girls cabins in your Village. Make sure your cabin comes to your meeting spot prepared with appropriate clothing, water bottles, inhalers, and bee sting kits.
Your Role On The Trails And During Activities
During the day you will be responsible for the students in your trail group, not just your cabin. The naturalist needs your help to make the activities successful, so be a leader and an educator. Your key responsibilities during hikes are:
Keep the Children Focused On the Lesson
You can best do this by paying attention to the naturalist and being interested. Remember, you are a role model! If you are interested in the lesson, the students will be interested too!
Help the naturalist maintain good discipline
Speak to children who are not paying attention or who are disturbing others.
Enforce trail rules, e.g., stay on the trails, walk, do not pick up rocks or sticks.
Alert the naturalist if you see a serious discipline problem.
Be a Teaching Assistant
Help lead activities. Coach students during games. Engage the students to explore the natural world. Explain ecology concepts to students and ask them questions to make them think. Assist special needs students whom may have a harder time understanding. Speak with your naturalist about how else you might help them with lessons.
Cabin Time
Cabin time is when you are responsible for developing activities for your students. To be an effective Cabin leader, you need to be actively in charge! Being a leader means knowing what you want your cabin group to do, and seeing that they do it. Always have a plan for the transition periods — before meals, after meals, and during cabin free time.
There will be periods when your students will need high-energy activities. At other times, particularly after long days or later in the week, your cabin will need quiet, restful things to do. Well-organized cabin activities can eliminate the time in which students are without direction and thus reduce the potential for discipline problems. Here are some activity suggestions for cabin time:
Rehearse Your Campfire Performance
Practice your production for campfire. Help the students prepare a song, poem, dance, skit or rap that is in good taste, nature or outdoor school related, short, and involves everyone.
Daily Highlights
Sit everyone down in a circle and have each person tell one thing they enjoyed, disliked, or were excited about that day. Keep going around the circle until everyone has had a chance to say something.
Games
Group games are important in promoting cabin unity. Be sure that no rough play happens. Also, keep the games in the spirit of fun. Promote good sportspersonship! Look for games that everyone can get involved in. Avoid games that create winners and losers.
Quiet Activities
Read or Tell Stories
One of the all-time best activities for that quiet time after meals and just before lights out is to tell or read a good story. With good planning you could start a book on the first night and finish it by Thursday. Try to pick something you think will be interesting and hold their attention. As corny as it may seem to you, even fifth and sixth graders like it when you read to them. You'll be amazed by how much reading calms them.
Write Letters
This is best done the first day. Students will bring their own envelopes and stamps.
Feet-On-Bunk Time
Students should be on their own bunk with their feet up. They can talk quietly, read, or write. With the busy schedule, it's important to provide "down time."
Work On Journals
The journals have spaces to record the day's events as well as puzzles and games.