January 31st, 2012

Red Forms, Blue Forms, Camp Forms, Sundials...

     Okay, I can't rhyme like Seuss but you get the point, eh?  Yesterday, with the help of some retired staff assistants we mailed out the camp "parent packet #1" and the latest issue of the "Sundial".  Caroline, Zach, Andrew, Lauren and Lindsey showed up at the winter office yesterday and got things done.  It was like a whirlwind of paper hovering around our desks as forms were collated and stapled, envelopes were stuffed and "Sundials" were stamped.  Both should arrive in camper homes in the next day or so.  The parent packet went out to the homes of currently enrolled campers.  If you haven't signed up yet, here's a link to the enrollment form! 

Also, thank you to everyone who has sent us Dr. Seuss-themed bunk group suggestions.  I posted all the suggestions that have been sent in so far here.  There's lots of time to think up more.  You can send us your suggestions here.

Hope you like the Sundial,
Jeremy
 

January 24th, 2012

Dr. Seuss' 75th Anniversary!

While listening to NPR this morning, I heard a piece about Dr. Seuss.  As it turns out, this year is the 75th anniversary of his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.  It turns out that the book was rejected by publishing companies 27 times before Vanguard Press published it in 1937.  If this peaks your interest, you can read the full story (or stream the audio) here.

Don't forget, this is the summer of Dr. Seuss at camp!  Our bunk groups will be named after the characters, places, titles, and objects from his wonderful stories.  You can submit your suggestions here for bunk group names.  We've received a lot of great suggestions so far, but we need a lot more!

Thanks,
Tom

 January 20th, 2012

Tumblr and a New Recipe

Today we are rocking the blogosphere with two huge announcements! 

The first is that we have officially launched the Campus Kids New Jersey Tumblr page.  You can view it at campuskidsnj.tumblr.com.  We will repost excerpts from this blog along with additional pictures, status updates and random camp geekery.   Be sure to follow us and feel free to comment on anything we put up!

The second is earth shattering, I hope you are sitting down.  As many of you already realize, Tom Riddleberger, camp director extraordinaire, is a man of vision and complex strategy.  Some call him "the man with the plan".  Every year, he puts together an awesome camp staff including its leadership team, counselors, staff assistants and administrative team.  He puts ideas in motion that make every summer at camp more amazing than the last!  Earlier this year, Tom had a new goal.  Some said it was silly, others thought it was just crazy and impossible.  Still others pledged their support and CPR expertise (thanks Robbie!).  Tom's latest brainstorm was to create a FRITO PIE PIZZA!  Today that dream has been fully realized and has at last come to fruition!  Tom and I made that frito pie pizza and ate it for lunch.  It was a culinary delight that will surely grab the attention of reputable food critics, Bon Appétit magazine and the Food Network.  We present you our recipe so that you can enjoy this wonderful meal at home!  Kids, please ask your parents for help and don't make this without their permission.

January 18th, 2012

The Kids of CK!

If you are a camp geek like me then you probably love reading the "Sundial" as much as I do.  One of my favorite features is "The Kids of CK!" that we run every year.  It's the section where we write about the campers returning for another amazing summer at Campus Kids New Jersey.  It's also where you find out about new campers who are coming to camp for the first time.  Reading "The Kids of CK!" gets me so pumped up for the summer ahead because every installment features different members of the Campus Kids family.  By the time you are done reading it, you'll want to meet up with all your camp friends so badly that you may start thinking about the feasibility of developing a time machine so that you can skip the months ahead and arrive instantly at the first day of camp.  Don't worry... this is completely normal.  The important thing to remember is the that the classic steampunk time machine from H. G. Wells, The Time Machine, did not require plutonium to power the flux capacitor used in the 80's classic, Back to the Future, and that's probably the better way to go in terms of time machine design. 

Anyway...  Beth, whom many of you know as the 2011 summer camp office manager (or Sam and Sydney's mom), started helping us out at the office this week.  She'll be here 2 days a week during the off-season.  One of the first projects she tackled was mailing out the "welcome" and "welcome back" forms.  Every camper should be receiving one in the next day or two.  By filling out the form, a new camper can tell the camp community a little bit about him/herself.  Returning campers can let everyone know what they've been up to since camp.  Not only do we loving reading about you or learning about all your great memories from camp, but these forms give us the information we use to write your entry in the "Kids of CK!".  Please send them in quickly if you want to be included in the first installment!  Everyone who sends in form gets into one of the "Sundial" issues before camp.  So don't worry if you can't get it in right away or you don't see your name in the first issue.

One more awesome piece of news...  Teri had her baby!  She and her husband Jim have brought home Grady James, a healthy baby boy!  The little dude hasn't yet made it over to the CK office but Tom, Devon, and Katie got to stop by the hospital the day after he was born.  He happened to arrive while our leadership team was here for their planning retreat.  We don't have any official pics of the little guy yet, but we grabbed this one off Facebook.  His mommy will probably send some more soon.  I'm sure we'll all get to meet the future camper this summer when he comes to visit. 

Until then, be well!
~Jeremy

January 12th, 2012

Blog and Poll

We've turned the calendars to a new year and it's well past the time for blog update.  Tom and I both enjoyed the holidays with our families.  We hope it was a wonderful time for all of you as well.  During the days off, Vanessa and I played with our cats, got a new chimney for our house and relaxed at home.  When I got back to work, Tom and I went straight to planning the last minute details for the 2012 Leadership Team Retreat.

Every year around this time, we gather the entire leadership team for 3 days of planning for the upcoming summer.  Our agenda varies every year as we base the program on the goals and concerns of our LT members.  Everyone prepares at least one session on topics like supporting new counselors, building confidence, staying involved with campers and staff, and planning for staff orientation.  Most of the retreat was spent working hard and tackling some big topics.  There were fun moments, too.  We went for a walk through the Drew University campus on Saturday and played some team building games.  Just like at camp, we had a bunk meeting every night.  In keeping with our bunk group theme, we read a Dr Seuss story one night.  We listened to a CD mix that the team created by anonymously submitting one song each.  The theme for the CD was: Imagine your life was made into a movie, what song would you wnat to make sure was on the soundtrack!  After each song played, we tried to guess who picked the song.  Then, the person who picked the song got to tell us why they picked it.  All in all, the retreat was a huge success and a great time was had.  You'll get to read about all the leadership team in the upcoming issues of the Sundial.  We want to thank the leadership team for traveling so far to meet with us.  Devon travelled in from Denver; Jamie came over from England; Katie drove from way upstate NY, Rose rode a horse and buggy from Oklahoma City; and Nicole flew in from Peru.  Everyone else was slightly more local but we appreciate you none the less! 

One of our discussions was on Special Events and Evening Programs.  We are always working hard to make this important part of camp as awesome as it can be.  I thought you might be able to help us out by filling out a little poll.  Please use this poll to let us know what you think.  This poll is open to campers and staff! Please fill out the poll!  Talk to you soon, ~Jeremy

What's your name?  What were your favorite evening programs from last summer? What were your least favorite evening programs from last summer? What were the best special events at camp?  (BTW we know that CampStock is awesome, tell us about others) Do you have any ideas for new Special Events or Evening Programs?