I tell them all the time, ‘You’re gonna be leaders,’ whether it’s at school, whether it’s at a job, or coaching or at a camp — whatever.”

School Resource Officer Westley Lemar

PORTSMOUTH — James Hitchen, Grayson Bolt and Warren Caldwell spent part of Friday inside an eighth-grade classroom at Portsmouth Middle School, but not for summer school.

Instead, they were using teamwork and problem-solving skills while searching for hints and clues that would lead them to the combination to a safe containing their grand prizes — ice cream sandwiches.

The classroom had been transformed into an “escape room,” where kids explored and solved a series of riddles, math, and word problems to advance to the end. It was part of the Portsmouth Police Department’s first-ever Youth Leadership Camp, which offered two sessions from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the weeks of July 24 and 31.

“The camp has been a year in the making, with Officer Westley Lemar doing the research and the background to put it all together,” said Capt. Richard Ruest, the department’s patrol captain who was overseeing a game of dodge ball Friday in the middle school’s gym.

The camp, for ages 9 to 12, drew about 22 campers each week. Through daily activities, campers learned leadership skills while building trust. They learn four key words during the camp, said Officer Lemare. 

“We start with ‘courage’ on the first day and we incorporate games that relate to that. We have some games where we encourage them to get up in front of the others and say something about themselves, like ‘Two Truths and a Lie,’” he said.

The second day is about support, he said. “That day is focused on, if you say something negative, immediately turn it into a positive. We also play a game called Nuke ’Em, which is like volleyball but you catch the ball instead.”

The third day is about teamwork. “We played a lot of team sports like hockey, soccer, and gator ball, which I’m told was invented in the middle school. I don’t know how true that is, but they do a tournament every year at the middle school and they love it. It’s great for teamwork because you can only move three steps to pass the ball in order to advance it and get the goal,” he said.

Grayson, who would like to be an astronaut when he grows up, loved learning to play gator ball. “It’s sort of like soccer, except you can use your hands and throw the ball,” he said.

On the fourth day, campers took a trip to Tree Trails Adventures, an adventure park where visitors climb and zip-line above the forest floor, in Mystic, Conn. 

Problem-solving

The last day was about problem-solving, which came in handy for the escape room. “I made it up based on some Google research and my own creations,” said Officer Lemare. “It’s just a bunch of clues and riddles. It’s math problems; some are harder than others. They follow the clues, do a bunch of puzzles, and they all put their heads together. It takes 20 minutes to a half hour.”

The main goal of the camp, which police hopes to expand for next summer, is for kids to learn leadership skills but in a fun way, he said.

“It you lecture them all day, they’re going to hate it,” he said. “But if we can incorporate those four words into those games, hopefully it sticks with them as they go on through school and throughout their lives. 

“I didn’t want to make it a police camp, because not everyone wants to join the police. But I tell them all the time, ‘You’re gonna be leaders,’ whether it’s at school, whether it’s at a job, or coaching or at a camp — whatever.”