Feb. 6, 2016—Bear Mountain, NY

On Saturday, February 6th a group of eight students and one teacher from Ellis High School joined seven ICO volunteers on an exciting journey to Bear Mountain State Park. The day was full of fun activities, beginning with a ride on the merry-go-round. Everybody climbed atop of their animals of choice--bears, horses, deer, raccoons, mountain lions, to name a few--and held on tight as they traveled around and around to the music.

After disembarking from the carousel, we circled up and played some games together. We started with the name game, passing a makeshift ball to one another and saying aloud each thrower's and receiver's name. We then played Wah! and sat down for an early lunch. Some people eschewed lunch and continued to play more games led by our awesome CatRock youth leaders, Victor and Vimary. We played Ninja Slap and Zoomie Zoomie, and then joined all together again in two rounds of the Human Knot.

By the time we finished playing these games, we were excited to lace up the skates and hit the ice. We walked up to the ice rink and skated for about an hour and half. For many of the students, it was their first time ice skating and they did great! It was nice to see everybody learning to find their balance on the ice with the help of their friends and volunteers. Some people learned so quickly that they showed off their dance moves in the center of the rink!

After skating, we had some more lunch and then walked over to the zoo. We saw all sorts of animals native to the area, from black bears and deer to rattlesnakes and great horned owls. The most exciting part was watching three coyotes play tag and hide-and-seek with each other.

Finally, we circled up again and reflected on our favorite part of the day. Then we boarded the bus and headed back to the Bronx, pleasantly fatigued from the day's activities yet rejuvenated by the fresh air of Bear Mountain.