Greetings from Hilltop. Junior Session has begun in fine form. All campers have arrived, safe and sound. The charter boat that brought most of the campers turned into Four Winds Bay to be greeted by a cheer from the counselors and the campers who were dropped off by their parents. The campers ran up Greenie Hill to meet their counselors and the rest of their cabin groups. The spirit of welcome and adventure was palpable. It was a great start to the week.
This week represents something great: The next generation of Four Winds campers. Our aim for this week is for these campers to have their first (or second) experience away from home and the supports they’re used to be a positive one. They’ll have fun, experience Four Winds traditions, make new friends, try new things, and navigate an environment that’s new for them. That sounds simple, but it’s incredibly powerful. These kids are the lucky few on our society that get a chance like this, and they’ll be all the better for it.
I should write a little bit about what we’ve already done, and about we’re going to do in the coming days. After the campers arrived, we had an hour or so to see cabins and tents, learn some names, and explore a bit of Camp. Then, as we do every evening, we gathered in a circle on Greenie Hill to sing some songs and lower the flags. Tonight at flags, since it’s the first night, each cabin introduced themselves with a funny skit. We had a great dinner, and as I write this, campers are unpacking in cabins and tents. Very soon, we’ll be headed to bed for a good night’s rest.
Tomorrow, we’ll wake up for flags and breakfast, and then spent the morning doing a miniature version of the full session’s Rotation Day. We’ll visit the nurse, take the swim test, exchange any uniforms that don’t fit, learn some songs, and have our cabin photos made. We’ll have lunch and rest hour, and then in the afternoon, we’ll start the campers on activities. Over the course of the week, each camper will visit each of our five activity areas two or three times, plus take a half day sail on our 61′ foot yawl, Carlyn. It will be a great introduction to Four Winds activities.
I’m sure you’re interested about how you can hear about how your camper is doing. Although Junior Session is only a week, mail is still the best way to keep in touch. You can have direct communication with your camper, with the tactile nature and remove that only the Post Office can provide. The magic of getting a letter at Camp (or from Camp) is a great part of this experience, and we do everything we can to nurture it. In fact, we had each camper write a postcard at dinner, and those will be going out in tomorrow’s mail. I will post updates daily on our Twitter feed. You don’t need to join Twitter to get the updates, you can just go to the website, or text the phrase “follow fourwindscamp” to the number 40404, and you’ll get the updates by text message. I’ll post here on Friday, as well as after the campers leave on Monday. Lastly, you can give us a call in the office. We’re happy to check in on your camper and give you a call back.
Thank you for sharing your children with us this week. They’re going to have a ball, and grow more in one week than you can believe. I can’t wait to be a part of it.