The summer of 2017 provided perfect weather to mark the sixth year of the YMCA Camp Orkila Water Safety Week in partnership with Orcas Island Elementary School. This year, approximately 100 students in first through third-grades participated in lessons Monday–Friday. Students learned personal water safety, worked on mastery of swimming fundamentals, built stroke technique and practiced boating/lifejacket skills. As well, students, siblings, parents and grandparents alike enjoyed a community swim event on Wednesday night.

In addition to swimming fundamentals and stroke technique, students worked on sequencing skills as a part of the YMCA’s new swim lesson curriculum. The two main sequences taught were 1) Jump, swim, turn, swim, grab and 2) swim, float, swim. These sequences vary based on the student’s abilities and are key safety and endurance skills used as major benchmarks in student’s progression through lessons.

2017 Staff

Rebecca Hall, swim instructor/coordinator; Jenny Peterson, swim instructor; Kari Swanson, swim instructor; Kamlyn Swanson, swim instructor; EJ Marchesseli Goddard, swim instructor; N’Tanish Zhaney, lifeguard.