Heading to the Hill!
I wanted to reach out to you as a family with a child heading into 8th grade and therefore a potential Senior Hill camper for the 2019 summer! I speak from personal experience as Harrison is currently in 7th grade and I wonder where the years have gone!?!
Just like the transition from elementary school to middle school, the move to the Hill / Shire can cause some minor anxiety or concern. There is a new environment, new people, new schedule and many other factors that are part real and part imagined.
To remind you, the Shire is home to our boys entering 8th grade thru 11th grade. The Hill is home to the girls of the same age. This area of camp is still a very popular place to be with 150 campers typically present each session.
This area of camp falls under the watchful, caring eye and unique personality of Laura Hollister. As aptly illustrated in the picture above, Laura leads from the front with a true love and passion for all things camp-related. Laura has been with us for 15 summers now and truly grew up at camp. She now teaches in North Carolina and we are truly blessed and thankful to welcome her back to Camp this summer!
When campers move to the Hill and Shire we want them to know that while many things might change, many things stay the same!
The Same…
- Values regarding positive camper behaviors
- Fun approach to all activities and games
- Structure of daily activities
- Amazing cabin staff serving as role models
- Love of cheesy camp songs and traditions
The Change…
- More time to relax and socialize in the late afternoons and evenings
- Increased responsibility as older campers
- Late wakeup twice a week
- Senior Hunt!
- New trip to Fayetteville for ropes adventure!
- Preparation for CIT and JC experiences
- Greater exposure to international campers and friends from all over the world!
Ultimately, the growing importance of camp and the resulting escape from technology, social pressures, school stress and more become so important as each year passes.
The ability to simply be a child is reinforced and campers truly appreciate the opportunity to leave a lot of ‘stuff’ at home and embrace a return to camp. A return to Wacky Wednesday, Campfire songs, card games, counselor role models of the most amazing kind and much, much more.
As a parent, if you have questions or feel that your child might have some concerns relating to anything at all please do not hesitate to let me know. I truly believe that camp takes on a renewed importance as our children enter middle and high school and I hope that your child returns for the 2019 summer and beyond!
To secure your spot for the summer, register online here. Please remember that all deposits are fully refundable through April 15th and sessions can easily be switched if you need to make a change.
Check out this fun video that Steph and Allen made during a visit to Camp this week!
There might not be much snow on the ground but the holiday atmosphere is in the air after they went to work in our 15-year Forest 🙂 This special area of camp pays tribute to those campers and staff that have been with us for 15 long summers; so very impressive as this forest grows each year.
Who knows, maybe we’ll decorate all of the trees this summer!
IMG_1838 from Iain McClements on Vimeo.
The month of May just disappears doesn’t it? Spring took so long to arrive and now we’re being ushered into the summer months. These past few weeks have been great to spend at home here in Philadelphia though. Between soccer and other kids activities the garden is coming together and flowers and plants are blooming. Add in some minor home improvements and the house looks great!
Why do I share this with you, you wonder? Because camp goes through a similar process in the coming weeks. From May 21, when we arrive for the summer, the grounds, buildings, flower beds, trails, activity areas and everything else will undergo its very own Spring transformation. All of our leadership staff take exceptional pride in the appearance of Camp, the attention to detail, to safety and to preserving the natural beauty of Camp are of the utmost importance to all of us. We hope you’ll feel that when you arrive at camp, on the first day of your camper session or for our June open house. Wish us luck as we grab rakes, leaf bowers, grass seed and paint brushes! Send any teenage volunteers who yearn to experience true hard work and graft too 🙂
Ultimately, our goal is to provide your child with a memorable summer camp experience and we will pay the same attention to every little detail of their experience. We believe that attention makes the difference and hope you feel that same way while your child is at camp with us and after they return home.
OK, time to find the gloves for yard work. See you all this summer!
On Friday April 20th, we ask all TC campers to wear a camp shirt for the day – to meet other camp friends within their school, neighborhood, city. We receive a lot of pictures from all over the US and several from other countries! This speaks to the international population we welcome to camp each summer and to the feeling of community that we love and actively encourage in many ways. We also donate $10 for each picture sent in to Project Morry, a wonderful non-profit summer program we support. Follow these steps on April 20th…
- Take a Photo, make sure we can see what shirt or sweatshirt you’re wearing!
- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tweet Your Photo @camptwincreeks
- Be Sure To Use #wearTCday in ALL Posts.
- Share Your Camp Pride and Spirit with all of YOUR friends on Facebook,
At the end of this somewhat typical work day the variety of it struck me and I wanted to share that with you.
A little after 3pm I spoke with a long time camp parent in Charleston, WV. We spoke about her family, 3 now-adult former campers. We spoke about our family, she marveled at the fact that H was already 12 years old. We spoke about a child from her school community being invited to attend Camp Twin Creeks on a scholarship that was set up in memory of a former beloved camper and counselor. This camper passed away recently and her fund is now well on the way to preserving her memory and spirit whilst providing an unforgettable camp experience for others, and crocs 🙂
4:30pm, on the suburban streets of Bethesda, Maryland with a skype connection through my cell phone and laptop, a call was made with a new camp family in Saudi Arabia. 2 brothers, aged 8 and 11, will attend camp this summer so we spoke about general camp information to help him prepare his boys for their first US summer camp experience, almost 7000 miles away from home. He described their different personalities and I offered to email local lodging information. Reassurances were hopefully provided and the boys will join us this summer for 2 weeks.
An hour later I met with a new parent in Bethesda. She has twin daughters and one will attend Camp Twin Creeks for 4 weeks with the aim of her developing independence away from her twin sister and parents. Mom grew up in France and we spoke about our respective accents and the girls’ linguistic abilities as well as future summers to be spent with her family in France.
Finally, after a dalliance with rushhour beltway traffic, I arrived in McLean, VA for a 7pm home visit with a prospective family. Twins again, a girl and a boy. Girl is already sold on camp thanks to school friends talking up the experience 🙂 Boy was apparently not sold until tonight and still held out from making a decision too quickly. Both children were full of great questions and our animated discussion made the visit a true pleasure. Both parents were engaged too and the snacks were great – blueberry muffins! By the end of the visit, 80 minutes or so later, most topics were covered including activities, a typical day, food, cabins, concerns about swim tests, animals, food again and more!
As I drove home, post Big Mac snack stop, the breadth and depth of our camp population struck me based on these few hours of typical camp business. This variety makes Camp Twin Creeks and our special corner of West Virginia a truly special place. On behalf of all of our camp staff, Amy and I look forward to each of these families joining us this summer from their respective homes and cultures and contributing so much and taking away so much as well.
Watch the video 
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