Odds 'n ends

We had a fabulous first night as you can tell from the pictures in the previous post, but what you don't know is how well things are going today. Skill classes started with a bang today, above you see a picture of our enthusiastic tennis players. I tried to take a couple of swings, didn't do to well unless we were playing baseball.

Tonight each village has their own evening program and campfires. I do know for sure that each village will be practicing cheers and potentially sharing a few secret traditions in each village as well. Tonight we are having turkey dinner, yum yum, and in five minutes I am meeting everyone on the center green for flag lowering!

Swim Checks and Opening Campfire!

Wow, what a great and successful opening day, thanks to each of you for your patience! The rain stayed away and allowed us to get in a wonderful campfire after dinner. Dinner happened to be spaghetti and meatballs (mmmmmm).

So to catch everyone up, the theme for session one is big business! The program staff kicked off the session correctly tonight at the campfire by introducing us to the characters they will be playing over the next two weeks. Each village also provided us with a little diddy that was part repeat after me songs mixed in with some Chingachgook classics. Before we started the campfire I did record a little message for each of you, from your Chingachgook campers!

July CIT's Celebrate in Style

Eating their final dinner in stlye last night, the CITs officially graduated from their training program and were deemed ready to take Camp Chingachgook, its staff, and campers, by suprise on Opening Day with their energy and enthusiasm. This group of forty will certainly provide many memorable experiences for everyone this summer, but the big question is....will they ever look this clean again? Only time will tell...

Your 2008 Summer Staff!

A good looking group, wouldn't you agree?

Canoe Race Practice!

Canoe Races aren't just for campers! In fact, canoe races are extremely popular amongst every staff member. So much so, that today, during training, we had each village and program take one canoe each and race for the title of best canoeing group in Camp! Who do you think won? It was a close race...

Congratulations to the JUNIOR BOYS!! Staff Champions for the Summer of 2008!

Session One Starts SUNDAY!

We hope you are as excited to kick-off this summer on Sunday as we are. I wanted to pass along a few reminders that will help simplify your opening day experience at Camp.

· Junior campers (ages 7-12) and adventure trippers may start arriving at 1pm
· Senior campers (ages 13-16) may start arriving at 2:30pm
· Once you have arrived, you will walk to the dining hall for check-in (balances that may be due on your account, camper skill class schedules, health forms and questions for the medical staff, if needed)
· After check-in you will be able to drive your child to their cabin to help them move in and meet their counselors. We do ask that parents leave Camp shortly after meeting the counselor, as campers have a busy schedule and long goodbyes can be difficult
· There will be an optional Welcome Parents session in Rotary Lodge with Summer Camp Director, Aaron Cantor @ 2:30pm
· Save time on opening day by adding money to your child’s store account online before you arrive.

Don’t forget to register with “Parent Communicator”, the one-way email communication software Camp uses that allows your parents to send one-way email to you at camp and view photos that are uploaded several times throughout the session. The website is www.parentcommunicator.com/CampChingachgook.

Drive safe and see you Sunday!

Aaron :)

Opening Campfire...for Staff Week

Last night the staff at Chingachgook gathered at Leap Inn point for what they all hoped would be an epic opening campfire that would serve as the template for opening campfires for the rest of the summer. Very simply...nobody was dissapointed. Each village (including adventure, program, waterfront, and even day camp) performed or introduced themselves to the whole group! I did manage to capture a couple of great moments for everyone to see. The picture above is the Junior Boys Village doing their "ultimate symbol" for the rest of Camp and the video below is a great capture of the Senior Girls Village singing and dancing for the rest of Camp. They have great voices and dancing skills if you ask me...what do you think. Anyway, staff weeks continues as we prepare for CITs to arrive on Thursday and Campers to arrive on Sunday!!!!

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The Staff are here!!

On Wednesday, almost seventy of Camp's staff arrived for the summer. Here's a picture above of a fabulous table of staff waiting their turn very patiently for lunch, which just happened to be pizza! Below you see most of the staff participating in a great game called...Rock/Paper/Scissors Cheer Off, I am sure you will get a chance to play this when you arrive at Camp. It was a blast, lots of fun, lots of cheering, and lots of laughter! And finally, the last picture of the three posted is also from that great RPS game, it's Zach Martin with his posse of staff cheering for him! He sure looks like a champion right? You'll have to ask him when you get to Camp if he won that particular game or not...

Camp starts really soon, the rest of the staff arrive on Saturday!!!!!!

More staff prepare for the Summer!

Lifeguards, Sailors, and Wilderness First Aid, OH MY! For the second consecutive weekend, Chingachgook's summer staff have reported to Camp to learn various skills that will help them this summer. Above and to the left is another one of our Wilderness First Aid courses taught by SOLO. To the right, is our Sailing Course led by Sailing Director Steve Fletcher and just below is our second lifeguarding course of June taught by past Chingachgook Hikes Director Jenn Cross. In addition to all these great courses, the staff are filling Camp with excitement for the summer. Staff training officially starts on Wednesday and Campers will enter Camp for the summer of their lifetime two weeks from tomorrow!!

Staff getting trained for summer hikes!

Real quick update on this HOT Sunday morning. Several of your soon to be counselors are here at Camp this weekend preparing for overnight hikes by take a Wilderness First Aid Course. Here are some of the photos that I am sure they want me to share with you! They are now more than equipped to take of your every need this summer!

Common Snapping Turtle at Camp!!

Extra extra, read all about it! Snapping Turtle spotted at Camp near Climbing Tower!

Here's a little more information about the Common Snapping Turtle:

Common habitats are shallow ponds, shallow lakes, or streams. Common Snapping Turtles sometimes bask -- though rarely observed -- by floating on the surface with only their carapace exposed, though in the northern parts of their range they will also readily bask on fallen logs in early spring. In shallow waters, Common snappers may lie beneath a muddy bottom with only the head exposed, stretching their long necks to the surface for an occasional breath (note that their nostrils are positioned on the very tip of the snout, effectively functioning as snorkels). Snapping turtles are omnivores, consuming both plant and animal matter, and are important aquatic scavengers; but they are also active hunters that prey on anything they can swallow, including many invertebrates, fish, frogs, reptiles (including snakes and smaller turtles), unwary birds and small mammals. Snappers will travel extensively overland to reach new habitat or to lay eggs. Pollution, habitat destruction, food scarcity, overcrowding and other factors will drive snappers to move overland; it is quite common to find them traveling far from the nearest water source. This species mates from April through November, with their peak laying season in June and July. Females travel over land to find sandy soil in which to lay their eggs, often some distance from the water. After digging a hole, the female typically deposits 25 to 80 eggs each year, guiding them into the nest with her hind feet and covering them with sand for incubation and protection.

Wow, thank you Wikipedia!!

I Love Camp Chingachgook

As the days continue to come and go, Session One fast approaches. Last summer this was one of my favorite songs (see below) to sing at anytime during the session. Heck, if it were an MP3, I would want it on a CD to listen to. We did it a lot at Opening and Closing Campfires. It was the the return of Camp songs. Which Camp song is your favorite? Do you know all the words? Ok, here's something to get you in the mood for Opening Day!


I Love Camp Chingachgook!

I love the birds and the bees,
I love the flowers and the trees,
I love everywhere I look,
I love Camp Chingachgook!

I love the seniors down be the lake,
I love the girls without mistake,
I love the boys up by the brook,
I love Camp Chingachgook!

I love to water-ski in the bay,
I love to sail on a windy day,
I love my skill class achievement book,
I love Camp Chingachgook!

I love from Buck Mountain to the front gate,
I love Leap Inn to 108,
I love every cranny and nook,
I love Camp Chingachgook!