December So Far...

As days pass and holidays creep ever closer, you’d think things would be settling down in our little “winter” office.  The opposite is true.  After the reunion we dove right into some other projects. 

First, we’ve been working with our leadership team in order to prepare for the leadership retreat.  The leadership team consists of our four head counselors, the five activity counselors and the directors.  Every year we kick off the season with a weekend training retreat.  We utilize an online forum to organize our work (both before and after the retreat itself).  People can post any ideas they have for camp and everyone is able to read and respond.  The leadership team’s first assignment was to post the goals that they had for the upcoming retreat.  Everyone contributed lots of amazing ideas.  Tom and I have been busy taking the teams goals and using them to design the content of the retreat.  We will be discussing things like: the responsibilities and priorities of the leadership team; giving the counselors the best possible support; the camper support coordinator position (which was introduced this year) and how it will evolve; brainstorming new art projects; and planning the staff orientation.  The retreat is just a couple weeks away and we’ve still got a bit of work to do beforehand.  It’s always great to see everyone in person.  Although, we will be working hard but it flies by.  Everyone loves talking about camp and the retreat just gets everyone more excited for the next summer.

Earlier this week we had to make some of the toughest decisions of the year.  It was time to pick who would become staff assistants for the summer of 2012.  We had almost 30 former campers apply for the job and we only had 11 spots available.  When it came down to it, we had lots of qualified applicants and not enough jobs to give out.  We did our best to create a team whose members complement each other with their strengths and skills.  We strive to build a team will work well together and do an awesome job.  I wish we could have all of you who applied on our staff and we hope that you keep in touch.  I’m sure we’ll see some of you back as counselors some day.  Congratulations to those that got the job and I look forward to working with you!

As many of you know, we announced that the bunk group theme for next summer will be “Dr. Suess”.  Weadded a link here where you can send us your suggestions for bunk group names.  When we get to camp, the counselors pick the names of their bunk groups from the list of names submitted by the campers.  We’ve already gotten several suggestions: Kittens with Mittens, Green Eggs and Ham, One-Fish-Two-Fish-Red-Fish-Blue-Fish, Barbaloot Suits, Cindy Loo Woo Crew, Star Belly Sneetches, Colliding Collusions, Pocket Wockets, and many, many more.  Send us yours today!

Well that’s it for this week.  Coming next week, holiday lunches!
~Jeremy

What a Reunion!

With dark winter days settling upon us and the final leaves falling from the trees, it was time for something to brighten our world and for CK-NJ folks that moment was our 21st Annual Camp Reunion on December 4th. Although I always know that the reunion will be fun, I'm still blown away by how much fun it really is. As each camper and staffer entered the Ice Vault (our reunion venue), the smiles increased, the noise level rose and the energy spiraled upward until we had created the perfect "camp storm". We laughed (and some of us screamed), we hugged, we skated, we consumed many pizzas, we shouted our birthday chant to two campers, we learned who won Zach B.'s mystery photo prize, we found out what the bunk group theme is for 2012 (see below) and we all got very cool CK wrist bands.


The crowd was too big for an accurate head count, but our official estimate is that at least 350 people were at the reunion. Thanks to everyone for coming out, especially to those staff members who had to make big efforts to travel and miss some precious time away from college papers and exam studying.


If you haven't found them yet, here's the reunion photo gallery.


Now back to that theme. As most of you know, our camp chooses to change the names of our four divisions and 22 bunk groups each year. We do that by picking an overall theme, after which the head counselors, counselors and campers pick their individual division and bunk group names. The bunk group theme for 2012 is . . . Dr. Seuss! That got a pretty good cheer when we announced it at the reunion, so I think we've got a winner. It's time now to ask you all to submit your suggestions for bunk group names. You can do this by visiting this web page and submitting ideas as many times as you wish. We'll share your ideas with the staff and they will pick the names from your suggestion list. Ready, set, go!


This cold weather makes some of want to hibernate, but we can't do that in the camp world because we have an exciting summer to plan, so the beat goes on here at the CK-NJ office. Our leadership team has begun using its online forum to make plans for next summer, and the whole team will be together in early January for a "planning retreat". We received many applications for staff assistants and have been conducting interviews. We'll be ready to announce our 2012 staff assistants in less than two weeks. The counselor hiring/re-hiring season is also underway and we're already excited about our new and returning counselors. If you know someone who has completed at least a year of college and would make a terrific counselor (must be able to teach one or more camp activities), now is the time for them to visit the staff information page of our website and submit their application.


Of course, we've also been speaking to families about camp, giving tours and receiving enrollments. We've also been updating our brochure and getting ready for camps fairs in January and February. January is when lots of new families start selecting camps, so we urge our returning folks to send in their enrollments, if you haven't already.


Well, I've got several interviews coming up this evening, so I'll sign off now. Hope you're having a fun (if cold and rainy) week. Talk to you soon.


Tom

We Love You Teri! *CLAP*

I'm writing today with some news that is both happy and sad (Sundial readers already know this). As many of you know, Teri and her husband Jim are expecting their first child in January. While we will be excited and happy for them, today is Teri's last "official" day in the office and that is quite sad. Although Teri will always be part of the CK-NJ family, she will not be at camp for the summer of 2011. It's been so wonderful having her as part of the year round team and we are certainly going to miss her. Over the years, Teri has shared her creativity and her contagious energy and fun. Don't worry, she will be at the reunion and I am sure we will all get to meet her family when they come and visit this summer.

We had a goodbye lunch at Soho 33 in Madison today (which was great by the way). Some gifts were exchanged after a fantastic lunch during which we mostly talked about the movie Parenthood starring Steve Martin (which is excellent by the way and if you haven't seen it, you should rent it this weekend). We gave Teri two children's books. Picked out by Tom was Nursery Rhyme Comics: 50 Timeless Rhymes from 50 Celebrated Cartoonists. I picked out Bed, Bed, Bed by the band They Might Be Giants. Teri gave us an amazing water color painting of the bowl she made herself! It's so good!

So in CK-NJ tradition, I want everyone to shout "WE LOVE YOU TERI!" and give the traditional clap in unison with everyone else!

We'll see you all at the reunion on Sunday!

~Jeremy

Tom Poses in Prize Fleece!

We've been busy gearing up for the reunion which is coming up fast! I've been getting things organized for name tags, the gifts are on the way, and we're planning to announce the bunk group theme for next summer! Can you guess what it is yet? There have been lots of clues!

Also, with Thanksgiving fast approaching, I wanted to remind EVERYONE that the 2011 Wear Your Camp T-Shirt in a Holiday Photo contest is on. Take a picture of you wearing a Campus Kids T-Shirt in a holiday photo and send it to us! We will pick a camper & staff winner. Winners will receive their choice of an embroidered Campus Kids fleece or polo shirt.  You can read the full details here. In this picture you can see Tom posing in the the fleece.

Hope to see you all at the reunion!

~Jeremy

Edit: Just after posting this blog, I went up to the kitchen to fix myself a cup of tea. There, I met the newest addition to our CK-NJ office team. He goes by the name of Mr. Coffee. I already LOVE his work! His predecessor was accidentally packed away with our summer equipment and is taking a year's sabbatical in our lovely Mansfield, NJ storage locker.

Oh, happy day!

Weddings and Power Outages

So I don't have any really big news like I'm having a baby but I do have some updates for you.

First of all, like many of you out there our home lost power on Saturday and after five days we are still in the dark. The town is assuring us that we will have power restored by Friday. While it's not very convinient, it's by no means the end of the world. We've spent the last few evenings playing with our cats, reading books aloud, and playing cards. We were fortunate enough to have purchased a house with a wood burning stove so we've been able to keep warm. As you can see by the photo, our cats LOVE lounging by the fire.

However, for our family Saturday will not be remembered as the day the power went out. It will be thought of as the day Natalie & Kyle got married and the power went out. Hee hee hee. Vanessa's sister Natalie got married on Saturday at the lodge Schooley's Mountain Park (any old time CKers remember that place) and the power went out 15 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. As crazy as it sounds, we went ahead with the wedding and it was a blast! There was not really any music besides one of Kyle's relatives playing an acoustic guitar but we lit lots of candles, ate some delicious food and had dessert. Since the power was out, we did something we probably wouldn't have done if there was music and dancing... we talked to EVERYONE! It was so nice to meet so many people and have so many great conversations! We got to catch up with all Vanessa's relatives and old friends. Also, an amazing poem by Neil Gaiman called, "The Day the Saucers Came" was read at the ceremony. Check out this illustrated version of the poem.

The Saturday before the Saturday that the power went out and Natalie got married was the Saturday that Vanessa and I got together with all the other video game nerds in California for Blizzcon 2011. Anyone, who clicked the above link understands why the previous sentence was worded the way it was. Blizzcon is a convention put on every year by Blizzard Entertainment to promote their games like Starcraft and World of Warcraft. We went mostly to catch up with some friends as the event itself is not mind blowing. Typical of most cons, most of the cool stuff comes only after waiting in really long lines. That's not to say that there weren't any highlights. Watching the costume contest, seeing the stars of the web series, The Guild, and getting to demo the new games coming out were all pretty fun. The best part was the closing concert played by the Foo Fighters. They rock and it was no surprise that the show was completely amazing. Dave Grohl came out into the audience, right into our section to do his guitar solo!

Coming up tomorrow, we will be posting the details for this years Campus Kids T-Shirt Photo contest. Check back to see the rules for this year's contest. If you don't remember last year's contest, check it out here. Also, Teri is printing the Reunion invitations right now so be on the lookout for those.

Talk to you guys soon,

Jeremy

P.S. We got this hilarious fax today.

Future Camper on Board

It’s about that time to officially announce to the CK blog world that my husband, Jim, and I are expecting our first baby! Baby Hansen will arrive mid-January… our “due date” is January 19th if you are interested in the specifics! I think it’s so funny that doctor’s pick A DAY that the baby will arrive… I’m pretty sure that the baby (in communication with my body) will decide when the time has come to take the journey out into our world, and isn’t aware of the date circled in red on the calendar in our house. But, as January rolls around, I know we will be counting down the days to the 19th so that we can meet this little someone, face-to-face.

The process of becoming a mom has been enlightening. Of course, it is bizarre watching my body change and morph as this tiny guy or gal (it’s a surprise) grows. But it’s also amazing – who knew skin was that stretchy? My stomach is where now? That bubbly feeling is the baby moving? Holy cow! I also get hungry very quickly. It seems as if I’ve just finished one snack and am off looking for what’s next to feed me and the other human I’m growing. But those are the little things.

Accepting my new limits has been difficult but necessary. I’ve always been an “I can” kind of person; just ask my parents and they’ll recall that time 7-year-old me and my 9-year-old sister moved couches and televisions to make more space for our Legos and Barbies. The old me does yoga, goes running, and spends lots of time outside… and then is off to the next task without a break. Now, I get winded walking up a flight of stairs; doing simple gardening chores and bending makes me exhausted; getting up too quickly from laying down feels like I just ran a 5k race. “A little bit at a time,” I have to remind myself. Chores that used to take an afternoon now have to get broken down over several days if they are really going to get done. And I have to ask for help in doing them. Luckily, Jim has been up for the task and is really supportive and great about helping me (and reminding me) to slow down.

I’ve also seen my priorities change as I ask myself “what’s really important here?” I drive slower. I find myself being a lot calmer and taking more time to decide how I’ll react in the face of a situation that might have annoyed me before. The choices I make are not just for me, they are for me and my child.

Not surprisingly, this experience has given me a whole new outlook on camp. I think of how every one of our camper’s parents went through what I’m going through now: shifting priorities and accepting change to welcome a new person into their lives. Years later, they’ve now come to the point when they make the very big decision to hand over their child to someone whom they have never met and ask them to take care of that child. Whoa! That’s a big deal. We are asking parents to trust us, and we have to deliver on the promises that we make to those families.

The fall is the time of year in the camp office when we get to think about what we’re promising, intentionally plan the work we do, and prepare for following through and doing an even better job than we’ve done before. How do we do it? Well, we’ve got our meeting to go over feedback and brainstorm how we’ll put those suggestions into action in the planning and preparation for 2012. We’re already organizing our Leadership Team and hiring counselors. From there, we must take those fresh-faced staff members and train them in our CK way of working and playing. We teach and model ways to keep kids safe, physically and emotionally. We have a strong philosophy and we share it and talk about it so that everyone buys-in. That way, no matter what set of counselors a camper has, they will be provided a similar experience to everyone else, while being free to celebrate the unique differences that each individual brings to their bunk group.

I look at all we’ve done already, and plan to do, to fulfill the promises of a CKNJ experience for the 2012 season, and I’m excited for our campers and their parents. And to see where we are now and know that I have a future CK camper is awesome! All the hopes I have for him or her, and the benefits I know camp will offer, are really endless. I wonder who will be my child’s first counselor… it could be someone who is starting camp for the first time this summer as a “freshmen” camper! The cycle of camp continues!

Teri

Our 200th Blog Post!

It seemed not too long ago that we barely knew what a blog was, much less did we imagine that blogging was something we'd be doing as part of running our summer camp. But here we are, writing our 200th blog! Congratulations to us, and particularly to you, our readers. If you'd like to take a trip down memory lane, here's the index to our archive.
Our first entry was Jeremy's welcome to the CK-NJ Blog on Monday, March 17 2008. On that day we had just returned from our annual trip to the Tri-State Camp Conference and were entering the most intense phase of our year-long preparations for another summer camp season, our 18th. Blog topics included Chicken Dance Elmo, our announcement tree in Madison, staff assistant orientation, snowboarding, website problems, international counselors, and the first of our annual April 1 blogs. 2008 was also the summer of our weekly blogs from the corn field. Little did everyone know that this would be the last of 18 summers at our original Hackettstown, as we announced in our September 12th blog that we were moving to a new camp home at Blair Academy.

We blog for two reasons. First, we hope that what we write makes camp more fun for our campers, staff and parents. There are aspects of camp that not everyone sees and this is our opportunity to share all of that. Second, writing the blog makes our jobs more fun. We love what we do and it's fun to come up with creative and interesting ways to tell the amazing story of our camp. So thanks for reading (particularly if you've read all 200 blogs).

To help commemorate this blogging milestone, I thought I'd share some of the camper artwork that is on the walls of our year-round office (using blue tape, of course). These are fun reminders of summer days past and more great times to come.

Tom