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July 25, 2009
Settling In
 Today
is one of our optional "Settling In Saturdays". Even though all the
campers will come up to camp on the buses Monday morning, some of them like
to have their parents bring them up ahead of time to put things into their
dorm rooms (if it's going to be their first week at camp). So we have
some of our staff ready in their red shirts to help our camp families on
Saturday morning. You might wonder how we can get 20 of our staff to
get up so early on a Saturday morning after they've been working so hard
during the week. Well, we think the key ingredient is the free bagels,
muffins and juice they get! (Thank you, Sharon.) Oh, and of
course, it's to enjoy the excitement of meeting the campers and their
parents! Settling In Saturday is fun because the campers are so
excited that their first day of camp is almost here and the counselors get
to meet some of their campers for the first time.
Well, I've got to run and get my bagel before they're all gone. We're
ready for Settling In and for the next four weeks of camp.
It's a great summer!
Tom
July 19, 2009
Quiet Weekend
We're the "weekday sleep-away camp", so it should be no surprise that it's
very quiet around here on the weekends. Friday is always busy right up
until the campers get on the buses to go home for the weekend. Then
the staff who are not bus counselors stay a little longer to clean some
things up and get ready for the next week and then they are off. So by
early Friday evening, it's really quiet. I keep expecting to see Clubs
and evening programs taking place all around the campus, but there's
nothing. It's a huge contrast to a normal camp evening. Once we
get calls from all the bus counselors that everyone has arrived safely home,
 we
close up the office for the night.
Saturday morning I wake up early (not as early as during the week!) and walk
around campus enjoying its beauty and the quiet. Then there's Saturday
office work to do and phone conversations with some parents and even campers
who call to ask questions. A few staff are around, but most are taking
off to do some fun things off campus. It's not until Sunday evening
that the staff start to arrive back on campus and, finally, it's not so
quiet. There's more office-type work to do Sunday afternoon and
evening as we get ready for Monday morning when, at last, the sounds of
campers returns and it feels normal here again.
Tom
July 14, 2009
Sixth Period
I just took a walk across part of our campus and saw an amazing variety of
activities. Standing in just one spot I saw 6 Freshmen/Sophomores
getting a tennis lesson, 9 Freshmen/Sophomores doing archery, 9 Juniors
doing fencing, 6 Super Seniors learning football skills, 5 Supers practicing
field hockey drills and, in the distance, 14 Juniors and Seniors playing
Ultimate. Walking back through the indoor sports facility, I saw 5
Seniors playing squash, the Senior girls in swim instruction, 22 Juniors and
Seniors practicing basketball skills, and 19 Super Seniors at the fitness
center. As I headed back to Annie Hall, I stopped to watch 19 Juniors,
Seniors and Supers at the Skate Park. Earlier in the afternoon I saw
auditions for the camp musical, drawing, Frisbee golf, volleyball. And
there were many more activities going on around campus that I didn't get to.
Combine all of this activity with a perfect summer day -- warm sun, low
humidity, cool breeze -- and I knew I was in the perfect place.
There's nothing better than a day at camp.
Tom
July 12, 2009
The Wheelbarrow
 Sometimes
the simplest thing can make a huge difference. Take our new
wheelbarrow. We've needed something to haul things around the campus
without having to use a car or golf cart, something simple but effective.
Down the road from camp we found this great store that had the perfect
solution, a two-wheel, 10 cubic foot wheelbarrow, light but strong. So
Adam and I drove down to get it and it became instantly useful. We can
haul packages, water coolers, lost & found stuff . . . anything. When
you come to visit camp you'll see our wheelbarrow outside of Annie Hall,
ready for the next job.
Tom
July 11, 2009
Lou
This past week was when we used to celebrate Lou Brauner's birthday.
Our beloved Lou passed away just over a year ago. Lou worked with us
at CK-NJ for ten years and was a great friend and inspiration to us all.
His humor kept us laughing, his wisdom guided us and his devotion to camp
reminded us of the importance of our camp community. I missed Lou's
visit to us on July 8, wishing that he could have been with us at
announcements to take the microphone and share his uplifting words that
always helped us remember to appreciate each moment of every day. I
miss you, Lou. Thanks for being part of our lives.
Tom
P.S. -- Here's the link to my blog entry last year at the time of Lou's
passing: Goodbye Lou (go to the bottom
of the June, 2008 weblog page) . And if you're on Facebook, look
up the Lou Brauner group.
July 6, 2009
A Monday at Camp
Being the "weekday sleep-away camp", Mondays start out a bit differently
here. By 4:15 in the morning a small bus load of counselors leaves the
Blair campus for West Orange, NJ where they meet the Vanderhoof charter bus
drivers and ride out to the beginning of their various bus runs.
There's at least two counselors per bus and they make sure the campers have
checked in properly, luggage is loaded and everyone is safe on the bus.
Meanwhile, some of us are in the CK-NJ office in Annie Hall to answer phones
and sort out any questions while the buses are making their stops and moving
closer to camp. The rest of the staff meets at 8:15 in the dining room
for breakfast and an organizational meeting. The staff gathers on the
edge of the bowl and the buses arrive between 9:30 and 9:45, each one to a
greeting of claps and cheers as campers step off the buses and rejoin their
bunk groups.
We waste very
little time getting settled in and starting our Monday activities (which the
campers chose on Friday before going home for the weekend). It's great
to see everyone again and it feels like camp picks up right where we left
off on Friday.
One of my favorite parts of today was being able to take a hike with a group
of campers and counselors during Clubs time. We followed the blue path
out over the 7th fairway and into the woods and soon came to Lake Genevieve.
We then continued to follow the blue trail but, truth be told, got a bit
confused and had to cut back around to our starting point without the
assistance of the blue blazes. Our original intent was to find some of
the wild turkeys that live in these woods, but they weren't to be found this
evening. I imagine
 that they didn't like the sound of 18 campers
approaching in the woods and they probably hid before we could see them.
We'll try again next time.
The joy of coming back to camp on Monday is simply fantastic. I think
this picture of Abi probably expresses how happy we are to see each other
again each Monday. There's nowhere else we'd rather be.
Tom
July 3, 2009
What a great first week!
It's the best feeling when preparations for camp come to an end and the
campers arrive for that very first day. Under beautiful, sunny skies
our campers arrived Monday morning in five buses for the start of the first
week of CK-09, made even more special by the fact that this is our first
summer at Blair Academy.
Our staff had worked very hard to train and prepare for this day and the
work paid off because it has been a smooth first week. Actually, it's
been better than just smooth. It's been spectacular. Dozens of
activities took place all over campus and we had a full schedule of evening
programs. What happens in just one week of camp is truly amazing.
If you come out to visit, ask to look at the program sheet for a week and
you'll see what I mean.
 One
of our drum counselors, Ste, told me that he had an open set at one of the
activity periods and he encouraged me to come take a lesson with the kids,
which I did. I was a beginner, just like most of the others, so it was
good for me to experience the activity just like a camper (and Ste was
careful not to give me any extra special treatment!). As with many
activities that you try for the first time, it's harder than it looks, but
Ste broke things down into small steps and by the end of the period we were
all somehow managing to coordinate our feet and hands and it sounded pretty
good. I was lucky that one of the more advanced students, Laura, was
willing to help me out with some suggestions. She's really good; you
should hear her.
Thanks for the invitation, Ste, and for the extra help, Laura. I'll be
back to see if I can advance my drum skills a bit. All over camp this
week we had counselors doing the same thing for campers: on the ceramics
wheels, at the skate park, on the drama stage, in the gymnastics room, on
the tennis courts, in the pool -- everywhere. We've learned a lot and
had tons of fun.
Tom
July 2009
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