Yesterday was our final “S” Day of the summer, and everyone had an amazing time at Funtown USA!!! We enjoyed the rides, the games and, of course, the fun and the food! What we enjoyed most was the time we all had, the entire camp family, laughing and sharing an awesome day.
Today began our final two program days of the session. Each activity area will hum with culminating programs and events. We’re psyched for tonight’s performance of Shrek the Musical in the Laurel South theater. Our campers worked hard to prepare all summer and this show promises to be one for the ages!
Tomorrow night we will have our Final Banquet. Campers and staff will feast on lobster, steak, clam chowder and vegetarian lasagna while reminiscing about the summer gone by.
Monday is Departure Day, and while we’re sad to see the session come to an end, we choose to look at the positive…we are one day closer to the start of the 2017!! Our CIT’s will be greatly missed — they were an amazing group.
Every summer is special in its own way, and the 2016 one has been no exception. The laughter of the campers, the bonds formed between staff and campers, and the feeling of Ohana lets us know we’re so lucky to be here together each and every summer. Oh what a beautiful day in the state of Maine!!!
How quickly a session can fly by? It seems like yesterday we were greeting our campers, creating our schedules and starting First Session. In what seems like the blink of an eye, we enter our final week. We’ve shared so many good times and created so many memories, but the final week has much more in store!
The 5-Year Club enjoyed their special morning trip this week. We also brought in a professional Fly Fishing instructor to teach advanced lessons for those who had already done the beginner’s course at LL Bean. We aim to be a top Fly Fishing destination for campers who want to learn and perfect their craft! The 8th Graders spent an amazing two days in beautiful North Conway, New Hampshire. They had a blast! Intercamp games and tournaments allowed our campers to compete against friends from our neighboring camps. Last night was another awesome Council Fire. And the list goes on and on.
Everyone is pumped for the 6th Annual Moose Bowl this evening. We still have our all-camp trip to Funtown on the horizon. Before you know it, we’ll have our Final Banquet, Final Social, Final Council Fire and complete our First Session.
While we’re sad to see the session starting to come to an end, we’ll be forever grateful for the memories made, friendships built and all of the wonderful times we have spent together!!!
Wednesday morning started out like any other “B” Day. Everyone came to breakfast excited for the day. Little did they know how much excitement they were in for. In unison, our incredible CIT’s removed their sweatshirts and sweatpants to reveal their Blue and Green clothing hidden until just the right moment.
That’s right, Spirit Days 2016 had broken!!! For the next two days, the Blue Jedis and the Green Wizards battled it out in the friendliest of competitions. From the ballfields to the waterfront everyone had a blast! The cheers seemed endless, the plaques made by our campers were awesome, and the CIT’s set the tone for everyone. We even had one of the closest KAOS races ever.
When it was all over and the echoes of the final cheers faded in the night sky, Adam read the poem which revealed the Spirit Day winner. In the end, the winning team was…Laurel South, because everyone enjoyed their Spirit Days and were excited to reunite as one camp family.
We’ve passed the midway point of the summer, but there is still plenty of fun on the horizon! Stay tuned for future updates.
While every day at camp is awesome, every once in a while the stars align to create an epic day that will be talked about for a long time. Monday, July 4th, 2016 was that kind of day!
Not only was it the Fourth of July, but it also happened to be an “S” Day! We began the day with an incredible breakfast of chocolate chip, M&M and blueberry pancakes, coffee cake, and other great treats. We then moved on to an amazing morning of bumper tubing and various other activities around camp. After lunch, we feasted on ice cream sundaes, but that was just the beginning! It was then time for our annual Laurel South Carnival filled with rides, games, snow cones, cotton candy and of course, a cook-out dinner. Once the sky grew darker — we were treated to one of the most amazing fireworks displays ever!!!
By the time the day was over we were exhausted and ready for a great night sleep — our heads full of memories to last a lifetime!!!
How quickly the first week flew by! Our first “S” Day was a smash. Saco and Kineo had the run of Splashtown and had an incredible time. Baxter and Allagash had an awesome trip to Sparetime, where they bowled, played games and Laser Tag. Seventh Grade Nation spent the day cruising around Old Orchard Beach. While all of this was going on, our 8th Graders saw some of the most beautiful sights in Maine during their trip to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. And, of course, the CIT summer was officially kicked off with the White Water Rafting trip on the Kennebec River.
While everyone had fun and made memories which will last a lifetime, camp is truly at its best when we are all together. Programming is back on track. Intercamp games and tournaments are rolling. And today, the first Fly Fishing expedition of the summer heads out.
It’s been only seven days on the calendar, but we pack as much fun into each day and every moment as possible!
Five days may seem like a short time in the “real world”, but at camp it’s amazing how action-packed that time can be! We have already finished our first two “A” and “B” Days. Intercamp games are in full swing. The cheers from the ballfields, the laughter from the Art Center and the smells from the Culinary Studio are all signs that say we’ve had an outstanding beginning to the 2016 summer at Laurel South!
The 6th grade boys had a blast on the first overnight camping trip of the summer. Our CIT’s headed off to the Kennebec River for an incredible White Water Rafting Trip and our 8th Graders headed out for their overnight trip to picturesque Acadia National Park. We always miss them when they depart, but we can’t wait to hear all their stories upon return.
Tomorrow will be our first “S” Day of the summer! After our traditional “S” Day breakfast, Saco and Kineo are off to Splashtown USA, Baxter and Allagash will head to Aquaboggan and our 7th Graders will spend the day at Old Orchard Beach. These trips are designed to add variety to the schedule and allow our campers to explore some of the beauty that Maine has to offer.
As you can see, we are in full swing, and the action never ends!
While memories of camp seasons gone by warm our hearts during the winter months, there’s nothing like the anticipation spring brings for another awesome summer in Casco. After weeks with our amazing Pre-Camp Crew and a week of Staff Orientation with our incredible counselors, nothing beats the excitement of Camper Arrival Day when we all meet at All Camp Cove and hear Roger say those words we’ve been longing to hear, “Good Evening Laurel South!!”
Yesterday was a time for rekindling old friendships and forging new ones, high-fiving our counselors and introducing ourselves to new staff members. We had our traditional Opening Night Cook Out before each campus broke off for their Evening Programs. Once back in the cabin, the campers and counselors became better acquainted and began building the cabin family dynamic.
Today is Moose Stomp: a combination of administrative tasks (Health Checks, Picture Taking, Theater Auditions, etc.) along with fun Laurel South favorites (S’mores at the Outpost, Bumper Tubing on Crescent Lake, Snow Cones at Downeast, etc.) By this time tomorrow, camp will be in full swing with programming, boats and skiers out on the lake, cheers from the Ballfields and creativity expressed in the Arts.
We say at camp the days are long because of all the fun we have, and the weeks are short because of how quickly it flies by. But one thing is for certain, we never take for granted the fun times we have, the memories we make or the understanding of how lucky we are to be here with each other!
Camp sure seems quiet right now. After a week of fun games, bonding with friends old and new and learning about why Laurel South is such a special place, our staff is getting excited beyond words for Camper Arrival on Thursday.
Our counselors are hired for two separate, yet equally important roles: cabin counselor and activity counselor. Drew, Kari and our amazing Campus Leaders educate our staff about what makes a Laurel South cabin the warm, inviting family it is. Under the tutelage of Brad and Kasey, our incredible Area Directors, the staff learns about the high expectations we have for our programs and develop a wonderful curriculum for the summer.
We have an awesome group of young men and women, both returners and first timers, who just can’t wait for the summer of a lifetime!!!
Thinking about what you’ll be doing this summer? If you loved camp as a kid and are too old to be a camper, think about applying to be a counselor! Afterall, a successful camp depends greatly on its staff.
Being a counselor is the toughest job you’ll ever love! You’re there to work, most likely harder than you ever have in your life. You’re also there to connect with campers and fellow counselors…form friendships and make memories!
Get ready to be excited about everything!Campers will feed off of your energy! You’re their role model for the summer, so remember that your campers are always watching you to see your reactions. If you’re excited, chances are they’ll be excited too (even about laundry). Make it fun!
At camp, time moves quickly! When you arrive for Staff Orientation in June, you’ll find yourself thinking “August is so far away…I have plenty of time!” The next thing you know it’s the end of July! It’s important to be present and live in the moment. It’s the best way to make the most out of your experience over the summer!
Prepare to be enthusiastic about everything! From making the best friendship bracelets to playing others in Ping Pong, everything you do will be weirdly competitive. Enjoy it as this is one of the ways your group shows pride!
Expect to leave camp a changed person in some way! The summer will have a profound impact on you; the way you live your life, what you care about, and the way you see others. You may not even realize it, but a summer at camp will change you for the better!
When we asked a teacher in Florida what his ideal student looks like, he said: “Someone who is respectful, creative and focused.” When we asked a teacher in New Jersey, she said “Someone who isn’t afraid to ask questions, who wants to learn and who tries their hardest,” And when we asked a teacher from Pennsylvania, she said: “Someone who has great time management skills, is a leader and is responsible.” What we learned from talking to these teachers is that all across the country, teachers enjoy having responsible, respectful and creative students in their classrooms. And what do you know… Camps help students develop all of these skills and so much more. It’s our theory that when teachers ask students what they did over the summer, they’re not just asking because it’s the standard “welcome back to school question,” but because they are secretly trying to decipher which students spent their summer growing, learning and improving. The bottom line: Teachers love students who spend their summers at camp.
Spending the summer at camp turns followers into leaders, shyness into confidence and laziness into responsibility. Camp teaches children how to work well with others, how to think critically and how to solve problems. It allows students to try new things, ask questions and be vulnerable in order to improve themselves. It teaches time management, organization and respect for peers and authority. The list goes on and on. Every day, campers are learning valuable life skills that easily transfer over to their daily lives. They think they’re just playing football with friends, but at the same time they are learning how to communicate with others, how to be a good sport and the importance of maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. When they make real connections with people they’d usually never talk to, they are learning to ignore stereotypes and appreciate diversity. Spending the summer at camp is day-after-day of life lessons, disguised as swimming, playing, singing, dancing, biking, hiking and exploring.
Teachers look for leaders in the classroom, someone who can follow instructions and encourage their peers to do the same. It is with these students that teacher form trusting relationships, which can work in the students benefit all year long. These leaders are built at camp, and their skills aren’t just confined to camp or the school campus, they become leaders in every aspect of their life.
Parents can be confident that their child will leave camp a better version of themselves. These students, who enter the new school year with a strong sense of identity, work ethic and high self-esteem, will be an important contributor to their classrooms.
If you were to ask a teacher what they REALLY wanted in an ideal student, most of them would say “Anyone who spent their summer at camp!”
