Thanks for a great summer

Hey Everyone, just wanted to say thanks for a great summer at Camp. It was truely a great time for me and I am sure since I had fun, you defintely had fun. There are many people to thank for the wonderful summer. The staff from this summer of course top that list! They did a remarkable job and Chingachgook wouldnt be the same without them. So, to the summer staff of 2008, thank you for a great 11 weeks (9 plus 2 training weeks) and I look forward to the summer to come!

Closing Day Reminders

I know the last thing we are thinking about is Session Six ending, but I still wanted to pass along some reminders about Closing Day at Camp.

Camper pick-up is from 4:00-6:00
Don't forget about the incredible slideshow about Camp @ 6:00


When you return home from Camp make sure you fill out our online survey! Your thoughts and feedback will help us make changes for future summers!

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227UECNJGCR

Final Day Fun!

Any emotion tied to the final day of summer camp would have to wait until after the closing slideshow, campers and staff were too busy enjoying their final hours at Camp to worry about going home. Lunch was also a blast today, it turned into a minature dance party when the Cha-Cha slide started playing over our dining hall speakers. From then on, it was a dance-off!

We look forward to seeing everyone at Camp today around 4:00pm to pick their child up and don't forget to stay for our slideshow that starts at 6:oopm! See you there.

Beach Party

Thursday morning, just like the other mornings at Camp, was absolutely beautiful, which fit our beach party plans just perfectly. The entire waterfront was open to Camp as there were hoolah hoop contests, four square, some great music, volleyball, basketball, and much much more. This afternoon we are resuming skill classes and preparing for closing campfire (tear), and then of course the camp dance shortly thereafter. It's a busy night at Camp, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Sixth Session Canoe Races

Wow! What a great finish to canoe races this summer. One race, three canoes for each village (boys/girls). Each village had funny themes with even better cheers, nobody was dissapointed. The energy was unmatched as everyone knew, whomever won this race, would hold the coveted trophy for the next 10 months until canoe races resumed during the summer of 2009. Now that we have finished canoe races, campers are focusing their attention on preparing for hikes this afternoon as we all try our best to climb Buck Mountain!

Scavenger Hunt!

Tonight's activity not only asks each cabin to work together to find a large collection of items around Camp, but at places along the way there will be challenges for the cabin group to accomplish together. One challenge asks the cabin group to rewrite a verse to a Camp song, while another may ask them to solve a riddle. Either way, campers are going to be tired after the program which is good, they'll need plenty of energy for canoe races and the Buck Hike tomorrow.

Tuesday Mornings

With fun happening all over the place it's pretty easy to take pictures of fun things. From fishing in the brook, to wiffleball on the tennis courts, Caroling, and a moving dance party are all things you would find around Camp on this Tuesday morning!

Funfilled Day of Activities

Lots happened today at Camp. Waterskiing, canoeing, sailing, arts and crafts, fort building, wilderness survival, kickball, tennis, soccer, in the lake (water games), and much more. One of these activities included a day hike to Black Mountain. Here are some pictures from those campers who scaled the tallest mountain on Lake George!

Opening Campfire Sixth Session :)

Torch bearers brought each of our two villages down to the waterfront in style tonight. Each village staff performed some exciting songs as did the program staff. We had a couple of guests performers who showed Camp some great skits (thanks Alex, Kat, and Jason), like the world champion spitter. Of course, yours truely performed an all-time great song, "Father Abraham", that you'll just have to ask your campers about the next time you see them. So far it's a wonderful night, TAPS will sound throughout Camp shortly and all will be quiet until tomorrow morning!

The Final Opening Day

Camp Chingachgook's sixth and final opening day went extremely well! Once the entire cabin has arrived at Camp, the entire cabin heads out for a tour of Camp, and of course a stop at the waterfront to complete swim checks. Once swim checks are done, or while they're waiting for their chance to take the swim test, campers are put to the test by their counselors with a never ending array of great new games to play! What's on the schedule for tonight? Opening Campfire of course! Down at our Leap Inn point, campers will be entertained with a wide variety of songs and skits performed by the Chingachgook staff. Additionally, what campfire would be complete with a nice fire with a beautiful background of Lake George as the sun sets!

Session Six starts tomorrow!

We hope you are as excited to kick-off Session Six, our final Camp session, on Sunday as we are. I wanted to pass along a few reminders that will help simplify your opening day experience at Camp.

· All Campers may start arriving at 1pm :)
· 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.

The access code for registration is "Chingachgook"

Drive safe and see you Sunday!

Aaron :)

Early Morning Polar Bears

I was able, with some help from another staff member, to catch a very early tradition at Camp. The polar bear club is an secret few campers and staff who each morning during the session awaken before everyone else to jump into the lake to make sure it is safe for everyone else for the rest of the day. For their daring feat, they are rewarded with amazing t-shirts and certificates as long as they make it to the waterfront every morning by 7:00am during the session they are at Camp. Sounds like fun doesn't it?

Closing day reminders

I know the last thing we are thinking about is Session Five ending, but I still wanted to pass along some reminders about Closing Day at Camp.

-Junior Campers pick-up is from 4:30-5:30

-Senior Campers pick-up is from 5:00-6:00-

-Don't forget about the incredible slideshow, Camp @ 6:30

When you return home from Camp make sure you fill out our online survey! Your thoughts and feedback will help us make changes for future summers AND help us for the remainder of the summer!http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB227UECNJGCR

Closing Campfire

Fifth session closing campfire was much like the first four, yet stood out in its own ways. Campers shared great thoughts about what exactly Camp means to them, counselor spoke about their many (or few) summers at Camp and how that has changed their lives and of course, each village staff put on a little diddy for everyone in the audience to enjoy! We ended closing campfire for singing TAPS for the last time as a group in Camp. Immediately afterward, a few lucky and clean cabins went right to the dining hall for a pizza party as their reward for having the cleanest cabins in their villages :)

Canoe Races

Fifth session canoe race themes saw the junior boys act like senior boys and vice versa. Senior girls arrived as kindergarteners while the junior girls arrived as 101 dalmatians in plain view of Cruella Deville. As for the races, it was really close for quite sometime in both races, however the boys were victorious in both races bringing their record this summer to 9-1. After canoe races campers returned to their villages to get ready for their day hikes and by 1:30, all of camp was empty. Campers won't return to Camp until around 5pm when they will be greeted with a wonderful pavilion meal and of course, the Camp dance!

Save the Sage

That's the name of tonight's evening program. As mentioned earlier, Chief Chingachgook's tribe is spread throughout Camp, with little tasks for each group that stops by. Some cabins chose to dress alike, some dressed themselves like Indians! Enjoy some of the photos from tonight's program.

It started with a little rain...

But ended it brilliant fashion. This morning was a cold one, but the rain quickly turned into sunshine and nobody looked back. Skill classes and now organized recreation are all churning out smiling campers. Tonight's even program calls for each cabin to work together in order to win the most amount of points. Chief Chingachgook will, throughout Camp, place different members of his tribe. Each tribe member will have a activity for the cabin to complete. If they do so, they win points for their team. Sounds good huh? Well, tomorrow is canoe races...that is definitely going to be a blast for everyone involved.

Full Day #1

Wow, what a great day at Camp. The sun is shining, kids are off at their skill calsses, everyone is having a blast! It's almost lunch time and whatever we are having for lunch today sure does smell very good. Tonight each village will be participating in their own program put together by their counseling staff. You can count on a lot of cheering, playing, and of course a great time. Stay tuned for more updates on Session 5 :)