WENDIES

The Onaway Staff and Trustees are excited to share that the 2025 Wendies program will consist of two three-week sessions designed to meet the needs of today’s nine-year-old girls following the completion of their third-grade school year. After this condensed, rich entry-level Onaway experience, we will continue to support our full, seven-week program from Hilltops who have completed 4th grade through Skytops who have completed 9th grade. 

In conversations with many families of today’s 9-year-olds, the primary barrier to enrolling, even when a camper is ready to be away from home, has been the length of a traditional Onaway summer. We are eager to offer more campers in this age group the opportunity to take a first step into the magic of the Onaway experience. 

As we monitor the ever-changing landscape our campers navigate, we are particularly mindful of research showing that girls begin to lose confidence around eight years of age. We are hopeful that by offering the three-week session, more girls will experience the joys, independence, and personal growth that Onaway provides at a critical time in their development and be inspired to return, with new confidence and familiarity, for a full session in following summers. 

The Wendies program will be a true Onaway experience: living in a two-person cabin, sharing meals and activities in mixed age groups, spending the night in the woods, problem solving away from home, building strong friendships, enjoying Newfound Lake, developing self-reliance, and learning to create skits as a cabin group! Both sessions are designed with the same goals and experiences for the Wendies within the three-week session. Families are encouraged to select the session that fits best for their child’s school and family calendar.

While we are excited about this new offering, we remain firmly committed to our transformative seven-week session in Hilltops through Skytops (rising grades 5 – 10) followed by OWLEs, our capstone wilderness leadership program (rising 11th graders). 

Contact Barrie Pendergast, Director, to learn more about this program.