Unpacking

I’m back in the office! Woo hoo!! I commented yesterday while unpacking one of my three boxes labeled “Teri Desk” that each of the boxes seemed like a time capsule. Four weeks ago I had packed those boxes and the contents have been untouched since then.  Pencil cup, ruler, stickers, bobble head, file folders… yes of course I remember packing those things, and they made it back to the same spot on my “home desk” that they occupied in May. But there are lots of things that got packed in the boxes at the end of camp that weren’t brought to Blair at the start of the summer, and I really haven’t thought of them since camp ended.  Here are some of the more interesting things that I’ve pulled out of the moving boxes.
One (overflowing) file folder opened to reveal a cache of summer Sundial submissions; a drawing by counselor Jamie, a poem, a story, and a set of haikus written by campers. Lots of good stuff in there… glad that came back to the office with me! We have some new office decorations.
My orientation binder; still organized with tabs to separate the topics we needed to cover with the staff. Returning staff meeting notes, new ice breakers, a camp tour, our camp philosophy, a session on age group characteristics, and homesickness.  A set of prompts for acting out role plays on homesickness that Sean, Devon and I never got to use… better save those for a future summer’s use and to reflect on how orientation went.
A list of “First Bunk meeting groups” with the names of the counselors, people we are now all VERY familiar with, broken up into 6 groups so they could experience a bunk meeting on our first night of orientation. But when that list was first handed to me, it was before any of the counselors had even arrived on campus for our 2011 summer. What will Marc be like? And this Celil guy? How about Kimmie and Michelle? Those feelings from before the start of orientation come back… will they like camp? Will they “get” what we’re trying to do here? What will they take away from orientation? Have we planned enough? Looking back on the summer, I know we did.
The Campstock booth schedule, the Staff Assistant schedule for Week 7, an evening activity schedule; man, do we schedule a lot at camp!
Several notepads scrawled from first page right up to the cardboard backing with lists. At first, I think, why did I pack this up? The lists are completed, checked off, “done-zo”. Ahh, but the knowledge in those lists becomes clear as I read through them.


o What to do to prepare for Rock of July.


o When to have the slip-n-slide (during the heat wave!).


o Supplies that need to get organized or purchased for Super Mario Day.


o Design a new dining room layout for weeks 3&4 when we had LOTS of campers.


o Add “slip bucket gets emptied” to the list of jobs for Team B Staff assistants on Fridays.


o Bunk meeting ideas based on new things we saw counselors trying this summer (“Glows and Glues”, fashion shows, talent competitions… you name it!).


o The sign-up sheet for presenting at the staff Farewell Banquet.


I look over these things and can hardly believe our 2011 camp season is over. Did it really happen? I know it did because, besides all of the new friendships and memories I have from the summer, I have three-boxes-worth of mementos to remind me of the work, and the fun, that we had. I’m sure you’ve unpacked by now, too. Do you have a few mementos of your own that remind you of the amazing time you had this summer? What are they?  Where do you keep them?  Drop CK a line on our Facebook page or email me at teri@campuskids.com and let me know!
'Til next time,Teri

What's a Hoosier?

Nobody knows the answer to that question, but if you live in Indiana you ARE a Hoosier. I'm about to spend a few days out there as a member of an accreditation committee for the American Camp Association (ACA). Since the committee is made up of people from across the U.S., there actually won't be many Hoosiers on the committee, but that mid-western friendliness will definitely set the tone for our deliberations.


Back here in New Jersey a lot of people are suffering greatly from the floods brought to us by those two angry ladies: Irene and Lee. I know that many of our camp families are in some seriously flooded areas and I hope everyone is safe, though I know you are dealing with a lot of damage. I drove through one of my former home towns the other day, Cranford, and was shocked at the extent of the damage there. And yesterday I couldn't get into Blairstown because the Paulens Kill had flooded the town a second time. Fortunately for Blair Academy, the main campus (and the part that we use in the summer) is high up on the hill. But many faculty residences, along with the school's maintenance facilities, are down on the flood plain. We are sorry to see so much destruction, but we know that the people in strong communities like Cranford and Blairstown are the type that pull together and don't stop working until everyone is back on their feet.


As New Jersey and other East Coast states recover from these floods, we reach the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We remember that day like it was happening right now, when we wondered how we ever would move on from there, much less be looking back ten years later. We published a "Sundial" shortly after 9/11/01 and here is some of what I wrote in that issue:


Between the last time you received a Sundial and today the world has changed. We know sadness as we had never imagined it, along with fear, anger and so much more. The world and each one of us has changed and we wish that this had never happened. Amidst these overwhelming feelings, though, is the growing understanding that not all of the changes are negative. We have learned, for instance, how precious and wonderful life is. We awaken to each day with a new sense of purpose, a greater urgency to use our time well, a stronger focus on caring for and about each other. I thought I knew how wonderful our 2001 Campus Kids summer was, how special each camper and staff member was. In this new reality, however, I am so much more grateful for the opportunity we had to live, play and work together. I cherish the memories more than ever. Each of you has been in my thoughts and I hope you have been spared the most painful losses of the September 11th tragedy. I know that for many of us, camp friends have been an important part of our support systems. That support will continue and will grow stronger every day. If there is anything we can do at Campus Kids to help you, please don’t hesitate to ask. I hope that your camp experiences, both past and future, help restore the happiness, friendship and hope that should be part of everyone’s life.


I still do gain strength from my camp colleagues and friends, from all of our campers and camp families, from the camp experience itself. And my trip to Indiana will reinforce the good things I know about camp because I'll be with a group of remarkable people who are doing good work in their camps across the country. Camp communities fuel optimism.


Families have already been setting up tour appointments for later this month, which is very exciting. Also exciting is that Jeremy, Teri and will will finally all be back together again in the camp office on September 14. If you've ever passing through Madison, please come visit. And if you figure out what a Hoosier really is, I'll buy you lunch.

Tom

Labor of Love

I write this as we come to the end of Labor Day weekend, the final official holiday of the summer and the unofficial end of the summer vacation season. Most of our campers start back to school this week, an exciting time to see friends and renew their "work" as students. Despite their protestations, I think that most students look forward to the start of a new school year.

It's also the start of a new camp year. Most people who aren't camp directors don't realize this. They are more focused on the fact that camp just ended and they pretty much stop thinking about camp for a while. From their perspective, there's camp time in the summer and after that it's just "the rest of the year".

Well, for me it's more like New Year's Eve and the feeling that we're launching something new and wonderful: Summer Camp 2012. You know how you sometimes make New Year's Resolutions? Well, here at Campus Kids-NJ we've made sort of the same thing, except we call it our "year-round office calendar", which is in a blue loose-leaf binder. Jeremy, Teri and I created it over the previous year because we wanted to be better organized about the work we want to accomplish month-by-month. What we do "the rest of the year" -- September to June -- makes or breaks the summer, so we've got to get it right.

We've divided our tasks into six major areas: Campers & Families, Program & Operations, Staff Recruitment, Staff Training, Marketing, and Miscellaneous Administration (also known as "other"). In any given month we can look at each of these categories and know what needs to be done.

For instance, we are beginning to read the many, many types of feedback we received about this summer, along with our own notes, and compiling all of this into a format we can use to make decisions about next summer. We'll be answering the questions, "How did we do?" and "What went well?" and "What can we do better?" and "What are the best new ideas for 2012?" We're also starting our 2012 staff hiring by updating our website, assessing staff performance for 2011, deciding what openings we have and if we want to change any jobs or job descriptions, and planning what recruitment we want to do through colleges or websites or international agencies. Of course, the fall is also when we do our staff assistant hiring as well as when we put together our leadership team. And we set up our weekend tours (starting again Sept. 24 and 25), speak to families who ask about our camp, prepare the next "Sundial" . . . you get the idea.

This is our work, our labor. I think of it as our "Labor of Love " because we love what we do so much. Camp directors are some of the luckiest people in the world. Not only do we have the most amazing experiences at camp every summer, but we get to spend the whole year getting ready for the next awesome summer. What could be better?

So as you head off to school or back to work, we'll be doing the same thing here at Campus Kids-NJ. I hope that you love your work as much as we do.

Tom

P.S. -- If you'd like to be a guest blogger, please let me know. Campers, staff, alumni or parents are welcome to share their personal perspective on camp.