Busy Busy Busy!

So much is going on right now!  Tom and I have just finished working on the latest edition of the Sundial.  Zach is coming over after school to help us collate them.  I’ve been working on staff orientation while Tom has been pumping out some spring marketing materials.  Beth has been working away as the camp registrar processing camper enrollments and sending out the camper packets.  There is always so much to do to get ready for camp in the spring.  Every time that I look out the window and see a warm spring day, I’m reminded that soon we’ll all be outside at camp together.

As you are reading this, counselors are busy introducing themselves and reading about the rest of the CK-NJ 2012 staff on their Facebook group.  The leadership team is planning for the staff training that happens the week before camp starts.

Stu and Tom have been busy doing tours of the camp on weekends.  That’s right, new campers are still signing up.  In fact, more and more people are waiting and signing up this time of year.  This is partially due to crazy school activity schedules and lots of other factors as well.  Also, some people have been asking us if there is still room for their friends to sign up.  Every division still has at least some openings, so if you haven’t signed up yet its’ not too late. 

We’ll blog again soon, no matter how busy we are!

Jeremy

Our Staff Assistant Retreat was a huge success. Stu, Tom, Erica, Katie and I all spent a weekend in the woods of Fairview Lake YMCA Camp with a bunch of teenage staffies. We worked hard, had lots of fun, and got to know everyone a whole lot better. Much of the time was spent learning to work together as a team and how to effectively communicate with each other. We also spent time learning about the various teams and the tasks that they are responsible for at camp. Brian Z., a returning Team A member from last summer, helped explain how the lifeguarding is organized, chagneover is managed, and sports equipment is distributed. Russ I. and Matt Z., returners from Team B, instructed the newbies on what the office staff accomplishes and how to get it all done. I worked with a brand new Team D. We discussed how to manage photo galleries, what to take pictures of and even new ideas for web photo journals. Saturday night ended with a bunk meeting where we asked questions about camp, read a Dr Seuss book and sat around a fireplace.

If you read my last entry, you know all about or Staff Assistant CD Mix. Anyway, we had an amazing time listening to the songs and finding out why everyone picked their songs. As promised here is the unblurry version of the CD mix cover.

I want to give a big thanks to Erica and Katie for flying in for this event! They put a lot of work into the program and their presence was most appreciated! It was certainly a fantastic retreat for me!

~Jeremy

Staffie Retreat!

Tom and I are busy getting ready for the Staff Assistant retreat this weekend. Katie and Erica will soon be making their way down here to join us and help lead the weekend. Stu is probably setting up his DVR to make sure he doesn't miss any sports. We'll spend the weekend getting to know each other and helping this group of "staffies" learn how to work as team. Our group meets at YMCA Camp Fairview Lake where we go for weekend adventures. Staff assistants are a huge part of the camp infrastructure and vital to carrying out the daily program. Whether they are preparing the daily schedule to go out to the groups so they can make their activity choices, helping to lifeguard at the pool, gathering the sports equipment, passing our snack, making the dye for tie dyeing and fashion, or putting pictures up on the website, the staff assistants work VERY, VERY hard over the summer.

One the bonding activities, that has sort of become a tradition at the Staffie Retreat, is the CD mix. Everyone contributes one song in secret to the mix. The song you pick has to fit with the theme. This year's theme is "one quality about yourself that you find to be a strength of yours, and portray it in a song." I burn the songs onto the mix in a random order. We listen to the songs and then try to guess who picked which song. It's an extremely fun excersize and I love hearing why everyone has picked their individual song. So you get a better idea of what I am talking about, we've decided to give our blog readers a sneak peak at the CD cover and song list.

Just kidding... Sorry, I had to blur out. Staff assistants read the blog too! We'll show you the real deal next week! We take lots of pictures this weekend and we'll have lots to tell you next week!

~Jeremy