By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

STONEHAM – The sounds of children yelling, laughing and urging one another on could be heard through the trees at Camp Susan Curtis on Tuesday as a group from Oxford Elementary School wrapped up a special school-year program.

A total of 50 fifth-graders made their second visit to the camp, ending a series of meetings and projects intended to provide them with unique environmental and leadership training.

Austin Chute was the first in his group to get fitted with a harness and hooked up to the “zip line,” a bar attached to a pulley and suspended high above the ground on a wire. “Ready!” he shouted down to his classmates from a platform on a pine tree high up on a hill.

“Ready!” they shouted back, indicating their willingness to spot him as he reached the end of the line. He stepped off and “zipped” downward, everyone quickly gathering around a ladder to help him down as he stopped.

Teacher Melissa Guerrette said the program has been a great success, and her pupils often have recalled their experiences throughout the school year. In order to attend Tuesday’s camp, the pupils had to set and achieve goals, she said. The fifth-graders agreed to set a single goal for the class.

“The goal was to increase their acts of encouragement,” Guerrette said. A chart was hung at the school and pupils made a mark every time they heard someone encourage another person.

It was no easy task, and the goal rule was firm, Guerrette said. “It took them right up until Friday – we didn’t know they were coming until Friday.”

The sense of achievement was evidenced by the excitement on everyone’s faces Tuesday.

Camp Director Pat Carson said that due to Oxford’s success, plans are in the works for several groups of local students to visit the camp during the coming school year. Pupils from as near as Oxford and as far as Portland and Lewiston will be able to participate in similar programs, he said.

Camp Susan Curtis is run by the Susan L. Curtis Charitable Foundation and provides underprivileged Maine youths with affordable or tuition-free programs. Many area high school students, regular camp counselors, teachers and parents also donate their time.