Cabin Living
Onaway cabins are quite unique! Each girl has one (occasionally two) roommates all summer long. Together, they set up a home and experience the joys and challenges of learning to share a space. Alumnae love to return to camp to find their cabins from summers past.
Roommates -
Cabins of Two or Three
For seven weeks, each camper has one roommate. Together, they learn to make a home out of a simple, rustic cabin. They work together to keep their space tidy, and they learn to depend on each other for those middle-of-the-night bathroom emergencies.
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Cabins are personalized with photos, posters, and bedding. They bring with them a trunk to keep their clothes, and most personal items fit on shelves or in a bin under the bed.
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Cabins are inspected daily for neatness, in an old Onaway tradition we call "Beaning."
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Learning Boundaries & Communication
Having their own cabin gives girls an opportunity to create their own home away from home, inviting friends and counselors in to visit with them during cabin group time.
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The girls articulate boundaries, learning as much about themselves as they learn about the people around them. One cabin may have a "No Shoes" rule, while the other cabin may be okay if a friend lies down on their bed without asking.Â
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They learn that everyone is different - and that's okay!
Cabin Groups - Tiny Villages
Each cabin group consists of a circle of cabins housing girls of similar age. These groups are an early part of establishing a community of care and belonging. Over the weeks, they become close friends, and over the years, they become sisters.
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Campers are in one of 7 cabin groups:
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Lower Camp = Wendies, Hilltops, Birches, Laketops
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Upper Camp =Â Topnots, Tiptops, Skytops
Working Together for Common Goals
Cabin groups work together completing duties each morning. They gather during rest hour and cabin group time every day, and they end every night together. They become a tiny village as they experience cabin group trips and work together to earn special privileges throughout the summer. They learn how to support each other.
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This interdependence is an important part of the community we build each summer.
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The cabin group counselors and aide (counselor-in-training) are anchors for the village, helping shepherd the girls throughout the summer.
Cabin Group Time
