The First Week of May

May 1st came and, in the blink of an eye, the first week of the month is gone! As you can imagine, the pace around here quickens, along with the excitement for camp. Long months of preparation are about to pay off because camp starts next month!

May is the month of planning final logistics. Now that we know who most of our campers are (though they are still signing up!), we can work out the last details of our bus routes. Likewise, with almost all of our staff in place, travel plans for all of them are being plotted. Lots and lots and lots of forms are arriving daily at the office: health forms, camper choice, personal information, etc., so we're reading all of those and incorporating that information into our plans. The final decisions about staff pre-camp orientation are being made. The art supply order was just placed, with other orders for equipment and supplies to be finished up soon. Teri, Jeremy and I are starting this week to call families of new campers to check in and see what questions they have. And the list goes on and on. It's a lot, but it's very exciting. I'm even finding it a bit hard to sleep some nights because I'm so excited about camp!

We're also still giving tours up in Blairstown and campers are still signing up where we have space. Every season is beautiful at Blair Academy and Spring is certainly spectacular. Here's a photo from a recent weekend:

Aside from "Blair" who is still sitting in front of West Hall finishing up her drawing, what's missing from these photos are our campers and staff! These flowers may be gone when we arrive in June, but the leaves will be on all the trees, the weather will finally be hot, the days will be long, and the 21st season of Campus Kids will begin! Let the first Frisbee be thrown, the first drum beat heard, the first dives be taken into the pool. Camp is coming!

Tom

Be Prepared!

Something that may not come to your mind when you think about camp is the preparation. Tom, Jeremy, Stu and I don’t just show up on June 27th when the buses arrive, ready to take on whatever is thrown at us. That would be crazy! Instead, we’ve spent time looking for, hiring, and training qualified staff, teaching them how to be great counselors and activity leaders. But that’s still not enough to be prepared. We create opportunities for our staff to do some of that training before they get to camp – they participate in discussions, watch videos, and some of them are doing work in college to learn about children and teaching. And you may have read in past blogs that we meet with the Leadership Team and then with the Staff Assistants in the winter to work with them and plan how we’ll reach our goals in preparation for the summer.

What is even more unique is when we have the opportunity to do work to prepare for FUTURE summers. Finding time to go to meetings and conferences with people from other camps, thinking about what’s next for CK, and how we can make our program even better for the following summers. And even MORE exciting is when we get to spend time with FUTURE counselors -- teenagers who think they might want to be counselors some day, and get them thinking about what it means to work and teach at camp before they even have a job!

And that is exactly what I did about three weeks ago. I went to a Teen Leadership conference that was held in NYC. Not only did I get to go, but I got to present a session during the conference, AND I also got to bring some participants! Four of our returning Staff Assistants—Zach, Caroline, Lauren, and Kelcy—joined me at the ACA’s Teen Leadership conference for a day of thought-provoking, fun, and lively discussions and sessions. It was basically a mini Tri-State Camp Conference for teens, and not only did I spend the day with them, I met many teenagers from all sorts of camps who were looking to give themselves the extra edge for their future counselor jobs.

All of the teenagers who participated were once campers at some camp, whether it was a day camp or sleep-away. They had that exciting buzz about them, not just because many of them were reuniting with other camp friends, but because they were all on the brink of a new adventure. No longer campers, these teens were gearing up for the first summers at their camps in various new programs and positions– Leaders-in-training (LIT) programs, Counselors-in-training (CIT) programs, Junior Staff, Kitchen staff, and the coveted CKNJ position of Staff Assistant!

We woke up quite early to catch our train. Caroline, Kelcy, Lauren, and Lauren’s mother Mary Ellen, (who works for ACA), met me at the Westfield station, and we took the (get ready) 6:48 am train to Penn Station in New York. It was really early for a weekend, I’ll admit it, but once we were all on the train, it gave us plenty of time to catch up since the last time we saw each other. We enjoyed the ride and met up with Zach in New York, and then had a nice breakfast to fuel up and get pumped for an awesome day. 

Breakfast at a midtown diner.

Then, we were on our way to the conference! We took the subway to 112th street and walked to the Bank Street College of Education where the conference was being held. We walked in a few minutes early to help set up and it was a little quiet – but not for long! Teenagers slowly started pouring in until there were almost 300 participants there! Everyone got their schedules and name tags, and I waved goodbye to the Staffies as they went to the first session –some fun camp games to get everyone excited and in the camp spirit.

In the mean time, I set up for my back-to-back sessions. I had prepared an activity and discussion on the topic “transitioning from being a camper to being a staff member,” with the goal of helping the participants begin to prepare for the changes they would experience this summer. It was so fun to finally do the session I had prepared for over the past months, and I think my groups got a lot out of it! I felt comfortable in front of each of my “classes” of 15 teenagers, and I will definitely say my teaching and camp experience helped me stay organized and on topic! While I was teaching, our Staff Assistants attended a variety of sessions, including one called “The top 10 best and worst qualities of a counselor,” and others about managing stress, fun teambuilding games, behavior management, and effective communication. Not only did the Staffies get to learn some good information from other camp professionals about what it takes to be a good counselor, they also spent time meeting teens from other camps, and hearing about what those LIT, CIT, and Jr. Counselor jobs are like! It’s amazing how different their jobs are from what the Staff Assistants do at our camp.

I believe there were two highlights of the day—one was fun and the second a little more serious. The first fun highlight was definitely our “Leisurely Lunch” of pizza. Leisurely Lunch is an idea Zach wants to see take flight this summer. Instead of rushing through the meal to get to bunk time, he’s asked the Staff Assistants to try to eat at a slower pace and spend the whole mealtime together, talking about everything from camp to sports to current events. So, we practiced and ended up being the last people in the lunchroom besides the cleanup crew! 

Our Leisurely Lunch let us enjoy each others company.

The other highlight was the Keynote Session by Michael Brandwein. Michael is a well-known and frequent ACA conference speaker, and is the author of many books that we use as resources for the training of our leadership team, counselors, and general preparation for camp. This particular session was about dispelling the myth that great leaders are “born with it,” and he worked hard to convince us that there are many things one can learn to do that will make them a better leader and therefore a better camp counselor for children. Just like a trick can be practiced over and over again to look like it’s magic, he assured us that there are many things you can practice doing, and you’ll get better at, to make you a leader. 

Our Staff Assistants (top) pay close attention to Michael Brandwein (bottom)
as he shows some tricks, and teaches about being a leader.

After a wrap- up session and debrief, we got some awesome t-shirts (what camp person doesn’t love a t-shirt?) and headed back to NJ. Our conversation on the way home was about their excitement for, that one day in the future, starting their first summer as a camp counselor so that they could practice what they learned. Although they aren’t counselors yet, I told them that there were two things they could do this summer to prepare for being a counselor. First, they can observe the counselors at camp this summer, to see if they do some of those skills that they had learned would make them better leaders. Second, I assured them there were plenty of ways they could start practicing what they learned about being a counselor this summer when they are staff assistants. They live in the dorms with the campers, eat meals in the dining hall with them, help run evening activities, and can be with the kids at activities. In all of those situations, there are small things they can do to show that they care for the campers and want to be good leaders. After all, it’s definitely not too early to start the preparations for 2013 when they can be counselors!

Until the next blog,

Teri

CHARLIE HAS A BROTHER

Stu is a grandfather for the second time and Grandson #1, Charlie, has a baby brother! Graydon James Lisbe was born this week to Mike and Paula. Before tasting his first Frito Pie, Graydon weighed 7 lbs. 15 ozs., and measured 19". Everyone is doing well and we're waiting to hear when Stu will be flying to L.A. to meet Graydon and console Charlie (just kidding!).

We're glad that mom is doing well, that dad has maintained most of his sanity, and that we now have another camper ready to play Ultimate Frisbee for our 2019 summer season.

Welcome to our world, Graydon. We can't wait to meet you.

Tom


P.S. -- For those readers new to CK-NJ, Stu is our associate director. He's been part of our camp family for 20 years.

P.P.S. -- See more commentay and a photo of Charlie here: http://www.campuskids.com/njblog/campuskidsnjblog2011_04.htm

Take Off Your Mittens

One of the amazing things about this past winter was that all that snow and ice side-stepped our camp tour schedule. We didn't have to postpone any of our appointments with the many families who came out to learn about camp and talk about the warmer days of summer.It seems like we can finally take off our mittens and say that spring weather is here to stay, though we've had a few false starts and I think the snow removal crew at Blair Academy may still have their plows and shovels at-the-ready just in case.Most of us, though, are ready to stow the mittens and scarves and even try on our t-shirts and shorts to see if they're ready to go for the summer. In the camp office, we've been having the great T-Shirt Color Debate and we think we've finally decided on the colors for this summer's camper and staff CK-NJ shirts. It's still a secret, so I can't tell you yet (though you might be able to bribe me with some authentic Fig Newtons or homemade Frito Pie).Camp tours are fun because every family has different questions and every prospective camper brings his/her unique combination of curiosity, excitement, nervousness and anticipation. Some have never been to sleep-away camp before, others have tried it out. Some already know other campers at CK-NJ, and others don't know anybody at our camp yet. Some are obviously going to be playing sports all day, others will be dancing and singing and acting, and still others will be doing lots of lanyard, ceramics, painting and tie-dyeing. Most, though, will have some kind of mixture among their activities. And since all of them will be able to pick their own activities every day (because they go to Campus Kids!), they will be able to easily try out new activities, which some people think is the best part of camp (next to making new friends).Let me catch you up on our Weekend Tours photo gallery: (to see all the photos from our website blog, and entries that don't appear here, go directly to our website:
http://www.campuskids.com/njblog/campuskidsnjblog2011_04.htm

And the tours continue. I had a really fun day of tours yesterday. Today Stu, Mandy and Mitch are doing tours. As you can see from this photo, Mother Nature has finally decided that it can be spring at Blair Academy. Let's all enjoy it while we get a little bit more excited because camp is just around the corner.

Tom

Second Favorite Time of Year

You can easily guess what this camp director's favorite time of year is, but you may not know what comes in second place. It's right now -- these first weeks of Spring. Why is that? Because, just like the awakening of the flowers and trees, camp families come alive with excitement about camp. For me, that means that I get to talk to lots of moms and dads and kids as they write or call with questions about the summer, or just to say how excited they are for camp.

I love to answer the many questions that come up about camp, the big ones and the small ones. Whether it's about the bunk groups or the activities, the packing list or the bus stop, Settling In Day or a Weekend Adventure, medical concerns or food allergies, missing home or making friends, choosing activities or evening programs -- it's all fun to talk about.

In addition, I (along with Teri and Jeremy) get to talk with parents about their kids. We love these conversations because it's fun to hear how exited the kids are for camp and also to help address their individual concerns. The more conversations we have the better, because then we know our campers better and can help make the summer an awesome one for them.

Add to all this the conversations we have with our staff, and Spring is a hectic, enthusiastic time around here . . . second only to the summer itself.

Tom

Woot! Camp Conference

Teri, Tom and I just got back from the Tri-State Camp Conference which is held every year.  It's a gathering of people from all facets of the summer camp profession.  As you can imagine, most of the attendees are directors like us.  But there are also camp counselors, professional speakers, child psychologists, camp nurses and administrators from the American Camp Association.  There are also plenty of vendors who sell specialized products and services to camp.  The people who sell us our sports equipment, the company we buy our skate park pieces from, even the guys who take care of our insurance needs were among the many in the exhibit hall.

Most of what we do at Tri-State is attend sessions on various topics of professional development. This year I went to some of the best sessions I'd ever participated in. I went to one that fit the Campus Kids philosophy particularly well. It was all about alternatives to intense competition. The speaker, Rick LaVoie, has a special needs background but his message was aimed at all camp and school programs. He stressed that competition could be excellent when the sides are fair and when people get to choose to participate. But if you're forced to compete or have to compete in situations where you don't have a chance to win, it can be a negative experience. He taught lots of ways to promote cooperative activities where working together makes them fun. Rick challenged the idea that classrooms and camps should be competitive to get kids ready for the "real world" which appears to be obviously competitive. We talked a lot about how hard some companies work to increase the cooperation among their employees in order to make that company more successful in a competitive marketplace. Interesting stuff, eh?

Now this may be more interesting to the parents out there than the campers, but the keynote speaker of the conference was Seth Godin. Seth is a best selling author and successful entrepreneur. He was the founder of several companies including Squidoo, one of the most popular websites in the world. On www.squidoo.com you can basically find user-designed pages on any topic of interest or make your own page. It's pretty neat stuff. Seth talked about how it's good to be different - "You've got to be worth talking about if you want people to talk about you and promote your business". To this, I say, is there anything better that telling people about Campus Kids?

One more thing, before I go away on a week's vacation! WOOT! Remember when I was telling you about the CD Mixes we made for the staff retreats? Here's a video that highlights the mix from the staff assistant retreat and the songs they contributed:

 Hope you liked the video! Talk to you all when I get back!

~Jeremy

So right now I am sitting at my desk furiously burning 19 copies of a CD Mix in preparation for our upcoming Staff Assistant Retreat. While my computer hums away, I’m wondering if we ever told you about our now-famous CD Mixes.

For the past few years, whenever we have a staff retreat, we prepare a CD mix that everyone contributes one song to. The exciting part is that no one knows who contributed which song (well, I know because I make the mix but I stay quiet about it). At the retreat itself, we play the CD and everyone tries to guess whose song is playing. It’s lots of fun! Also, every CD has a theme. At the leadership retreat in January, the theme was “Songs I liked when I was a kid”. Here’s the playlist from that CD and list of the leadership team members (in a random order). See if you can guess who picked each song:

1. Steely Dan, “Reeling in the Years”                                                                     
2. Paul Simon, “I know What I Know”
3. Rolling Stones, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
4. Mya w/Blackstreet, “Take me There”
5. Bruce Springsteen & Bob Dylan, “Forever Young”
6. The Beatles, “8 Days a Week”
7. Aretha Franklin. “Respect”
8. Modest Mouse, “The World at Large”
9. The Turtles, “Happy Together”
10. Soul Asylum, “Can’t Even Tell”
11. Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
12. Cyndi Lauper, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
13. Jimmy Eat World, “Futures”
14. David Bowie, “Rebel, Rebel”

a. Brooke
b. Abe
c. Sean
d. Sara
e. Jeremy
f. Kim
g. Teri
h. Todd
i. Dave G
j. Katie
k. Tom
l. Rose
m. Stu
n. Devon

Click here to see the correct answers!

The other big news of the day is that the most current issue of the "Sundial" is being collated by a CK Veteran you might remember! It’s Charles Cook! Charles was a long time counselor and aquatics coordinator with us. He also attended several weekend adventures. Charles is often remembered for his love of hot dogs and for being a HUGE JETS FAN! Yep. Jets, Jets, Jets! That’s all he ever talks about.

Until next time,

Jeremy

PS. Charles is actually a Giants fan and specifically NOT a Jets fan. But it was really fun to mess with him!