News

Episode 86: Thrivers with Dr. Michele Borba

May 26, 2025

This episode was originally published on Sunshine Parenting and is geared towards parents, staff, and older campers. There are mentions of youth mental health issues, including suicide, so parents please listen before deciding whether to share with your younger kids. Join Sunshine for her conversation with Dr. Michele Borba about her phenomenal, must-read book THRIVERS: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine – 7 Teachable skills of heart, mind, & will that set happy, healthy, high-performing kids apart. At GAC, our vision is Creating a happier world, one camper at a time. Our mission - what we specifically focus on - is building positive habits and character traits for a thriving life. We follow the research about what kids need to thrive now and into adulthood. The book Thrivers is a great resource for all of our staff and parents.

About Dr. Michele Borba

Dr. Michele Borba is an educational psychologist, best-selling author, and TODAY show contributor who has spoken to over one million participants on five continents and to countless media about child development issues. She blends 40 years of teaching and consulting experience with latest science to offer sound, realistic advice to parents teachers and child advocates about helping children thrive.

Sunshine's Amazon Review

Dr. Michele Borba's latest book - THRIVERS: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Other Shine - is perhaps her most important book yet - and ... Read more

Episode 85: Unplug to Connect

May 19, 2025

Unplug to Connect

One of our core values at GAC is Unplugging to Connect. Why are we so passionate about the importance of getting off our screens and spending more time in face-to-face interactions? Because it’s good for all of our well-being to improve the quality of our relationships and connection to our families, friends, and communities. We want our campers and staff to experience the positive difference it makes being in a screen-free environment, so that they are compelled to change their own screen habits. The big dream - the one that serves our vision of creating a happier world, is that we go out from our camp community and help bring positive collective action and change to how we all prioritize face-to-face connection outside of camp.  There is now a lot of research-backed evidence about the negative impact excessive screen time is having on people across all generations. Excessive screen time is linked to negative impacts on mental and physical health, with children and teens particularly vulnerable. These impacts include increased anxiety and depression, sleep disturbances, obesity, and reduced cognitive function. The effects can also include behavioral problems, difficulty with social skills, and issues with academic performance. According to research by Jean Twenge (iGen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy — and Completely Unprepared ... Read more

Tags: benefits of camp, California Summer Camp, camp, Camp Podcast, Camp Staff, campers, children's summer camp, comfort zone, connect, connection, gold arrow camp, happy campers, kindness, podcast, screen free, summer camp, Summer Camp Staff, tech detox, Try Something New, unplug, unplug to connect

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Episode 84: Try Something New

May 12, 2025

Join Sunshine, Chelster, Airborne, and Punkie as they discuss their favorite camp activities, trying new things, and getting outside our comfort zones at GAC. This year's summer theme is Try Something New, so it's a great summer to really lean into our value of getting outside our comfort zone! We chose this year’s summer theme, Try Something New, because we want our 2025 campers to challenge themselves to get outside their comfort zones and try new activities and experiences while at camp. For our first-time campers, coming to camp is a great example of Trying Something New! At GAC this summer, we’ll practice setting goals and taking safe risks by trying new things. And we’ll encourage and cheer each other on while doing so. We want all of our campers to build confidence in their abilities and to understand that it’s normal to feel some discomfort when trying new things.  Our “Try Something New” theme builds on the work we’ve done with campers over the past few years as we’ve talked about getting outside our comfort zones, putting fear in the backseat, and challenging ourselves to try new things.  We’ve noticed more campers in recent summers who are hesitant to try camp activities they haven’t done before, and we want campers to experience the increased fun and confidence that comes with ... Read more

Schoolhouse Rocks 5K on May 18

May 5, 2025

Join GAC Runners at the Schoolhouse Rocks 5K (Menlo Park) on Sunday, May 18

Join the GAC Runners for the Schoolhouse Rocks 5K in Menlo Park! We're thrilled to be back to help support the Menlo Park - Atherton Education Foundation at this great event. We'll be at the expo before and after the race, so please come and see us. The race starts at 9:00 AM, and we'll be taking a group picture with all of our GAC friends and families at our booth at 10:15 AM. Information and registration available here.