Boarding Life at Institut Montana Zugerberg’s Summer Sessions
Our annual summer sessions for students aged 10 to 15 will take place once again. While we break up the sessions in either 2- or 4-week periods, we also give students the option of being day or boarding students – just like during our academic school year.
Boarding life does have its differences, the main one being that you eat, sleep and live on campus and start to further develop a second home. Julia Carlsen, our Head of Student Life, oversees the boarding aspects during the summer camp to ensure that every student feels welcome and at ease.
“I try to teach students a variety of soft skills during their time with us. For starters, the ability to bounce back from adversity which has been associated to help in numerous situations. This is especially important in the realm of academics. Students most likely learned some of this from their parents, however, there comes a time when they need to experience the diversity of emotions, feelings and challenges that life itself has in store for them, by themselves. One of the great aspects of boarding life is that students start to gain a deeper understanding of themselves,” says Carlsen.
“To place an emphasis on resilience in the day to day life is to realise that we are creating citizens of the world who are able to respond to challenges and setbacks. This is our main goal for students to learn, if not the goal.”
Of course, one aspect that is to be expected in any summer camp is the feeling of homesickness. Many times, this is the first time a student is away from home or for a much longer period than previously experienced but there are ways to combat it. “It’s important to teach students the difficult task of letting go, even if it’s only for a short period of 2- or 4-weeks.
Homesickness can be overcome if both sides, meaning students and their parents, are able to let go. Homesickness is a natural feeling and we train our staff to help students cope with it. This is one of the many reasons we keep the size of our camp to a small number of students so that more support and attention can be given to each and every child.”
This is one of the many aspects that students learn and adapt to during their time with us at our summer camp. Be it for 2- or 4-weeks, student’s comeback feeling more independent, responsible and sure of themselves. All skills that can be used to their benefit at school and beyond.