Educational Travel for Teens
Local program takes teens abroad to study global issues
By Clare Kubota
Two local organizations, Camp Fire Central Oregon and Workshops with Purpose, have partnered to create an educational travel program for teens. BRIDGES: Thailand pushes participants out of their comfort zones, exposes them to new cultures and opens their eyes and hearts to the shared global community.
More than just travel for the sake of tourism, BRIDGES: Thailand promotes travel with purpose. The program focuses on studying the social justice issue of human trafficking, which plagues Southeast Asia as well as Oregon. In Bend, participants meet with experts and organizations working to combat the global problem, and during their time in Thailand, learn to become advocates for change.
Led by professional photographers, the group also practices photography and storytelling skills in order to document and share their experiences with others during a culminating community event. BRIDGES: Thailand is currently gearing up and recruiting participants for its second run, starting this summer, with travel to Thailand in November. The program is open to teens 15+ years old and adults. Learn more at campfireco.org/bridges.
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Kids Invited to Contribute a Piece of Oregon History
Oregon Blue Book to include students’ essays about their favorite state park
By Nicole Vulcan
What’s the official state crustacean? What was Oregon State University’s mascot, before it was the beaver? These and many other facts about the state of Oregon can be found in the Oregon Blue Book—the almanac and fact book about Oregon, produced every other year.
This time around, kids around the state have the opportunity to display their creativity and knowledge by participating in the 2021-2022 Oregon Blue Book essay contest.
Elementary and middle-school-age kids are invited to take part in the contest by answering the question: “What is your favorite state park in Oregon and why?” and then illustrating the essay with a drawing. The topic is in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Oregon’s first state park, opened in 1922. (FYI: That park is the Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site, located near Monmouth.) Essays should be between 100 and 250 words, and the deadline for submissions is Oct. 22. Look for more information at the Secretary of State’s Oregon Blue Book web page at sos.oregon.gov/ blue-book/Pages/default.aspx.
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A Ninja Climber
Local Middle Schooler Appears on “American Ninja Warrior Junior”
By Nicole Vulcan
You may see a familiar face if you’re watching the current season of “American Ninja Warrior Junior” on Universal Kids. Shae McCarl is a local middle schooler who competed in the current season of the show, in the age 9-10 category.
McCarl, now age 11, is a student at High Desert Middle School. An avid climber who trains with Bend Endurance Academy, she submitted an audition video for ‘Ninja’ that showed her climbing trees, climbing at the gym and playing soccer. Representatives from the show liked what they saw and asked McCarl to compete last summer—at the same time as the USA Climbing Bouldering Youth National Championships, to which she’d qualified. Faced to make a tough choice, she chose ‘Ninja.’ She got her comeuppance this February, however, when she competed at Nationals, placing 10th in the Female Youth C category.
“I just thought it was the coolest thing I’ve ever done, and I want to do it again,” McCarl said of her time on ‘Ninja.’ “I made a bunch of friends and they were all really cool.”
While she can’t yet reveal who won on the show, we’ll all find out during the final episode, which airs June 13.
This article appears in Mar 24 – Jun 24, 2020.
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