Day Four: 6/3

As a staff, we are truly starting to be prepared for our campers to arrive. This morning, we spent some detailed time working on chapel planning - our theme uses the book of Exodus to talk about journeys. Shan, our chaplain, has been very diligent about this theme and the staff is truly embracing it as their own. We spent much of the afternoon in the Episcopal Church's Safeguarding God's Children training, a must for anyone working with children in the church. We ended with a great discussion of camp and how Safeguarding relates to camp - about our role as a counselor and the responsibility we hold to protect and enrich these kids lives.

We also worked a lot on the afternoon schedule again, developed our evening activities, and got a lot of scheduling done. We took a picnic to the Sewanee Memorial Cross for dinner (Shenanigan's to go) and it was absolutely gorgeous. We laid out on blankets, reflected on the day, and enjoyed each others' company. Coming back, we played a made-up game called "List Feud" where there are categories and each team has the leangth of a song to come up with as many things that fall into the category as possible. Of course, our categories were camp related. They included things like "number of campers that have gone on to Sewanee" (I think we totalled 12 that we even knew about? There are most likely more since that was just from recent years), "old camp phrases" (red-devil, blue-devil was one we didn't know but now do thanks to CHBIII), and "bus drivers". It was a lot of fun - this group is competitive but knows how to have a good time.

Reflecting on staff week as we get ready for campers to arrive tomorrow, I feel that this year will prove to be exactly what we set out for - a successful summer that grows on the triumphs of the previous years. We are incorporating a lot of traditions while bringing in some new items as well. We also have focused a lot on communication of the staff and making sure they are trained well to tackle issues with campers that may come up. They feel secure about camp and cannot wait to get some kids on the mountain!

Want a preview of some things we're doing?
- Canoeing
- Repelling
- Rock Climbing
- Community Service Project at Fiery Gizzard
- Arts and Crafts with the Nursing Home
- Boot Camp Workout with Lizzy, Grace, and Nick
- Drama
- Frisbee Golf
- Morgan's Steep hike
- the Res
- Abbot's Alley
- Tie-Dyeing
- Water Day
- CGM Octathalon (similar to the CGM Olympics)
- Counselor Hunt