What's Happening at Camp: Week Five!

Dear Friends,

With the start of session 2.3, we welcomed another new batch of campers who got to know – and add to – some already pretty spectacular tribes! In addition to our campers, we also welcomed back 14 CIT 2s who were with us as CIT 1s all last summer. They will complete the second part of our CIT program during session 4.3 before “graduating” and applying to become Sewataro counselors next summer!

Each Monday, CIT 1s meet with Coach Matt and review a weekly theme, while the CIT 2s do the same with Coach Sam and more complex themes. This week, the 1s are focusing on managing group dynamics and developing presentation skills, while the 2s are working on balancing being both an authoritative and an involved/approachable leader. They revisit these themes throughout the week – and journal their “learnable moments” – as they work side by side with mentor counselors across camp before receiving a formal evaluation from their coach every Friday. We hold our future counselors to high expectations here at Sewataro!

We often hear parents ask us when we’re going to start running a camp for adults…and our counselors frequently feel the same way! On Tuesday we held the Staff Overday, where our counselors had the chance to shift their focus from our campers and enjoy some fun with their peers! With their run of camp, the nearly 80 counselors who stayed were “everywhere,” but especially congregated at the waterfront – swimming, using the paddleboards, jumping on the water trampoline, and relaxing on our grassy knoll. Capping their evening off with pizza and a visit from the ice cream truck, the Overday is one of the perks that we especially enjoy providing to our talented and committed staff.

On Wednesday, we hosted visitors from the accreditation team of the American Camp Association. The only nationwide organization that accredits children’s camps, the ACA Accreditation process is a voluntary commitment by camps to the highest standards of health, safety, and program quality. Our accreditation is reviewed every five years, and we have enjoyed that honor for several decades.

Fun facts about ACA:

• ACA-Accredited® camps meet up to 300 standards for health, safety, and program quality.
• ACA collaborates with experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross, and other youth-serving agencies to assure that current practices at your child’s camp reflect the most up-to-date, research-based standards in camp operation.
• ACA standards have been recognized by courts of law and government regulators as the standards for best practices in camp.

Camp Sewataro partners with the ACA to preserve and protect the camp experience for our campers, parents, and staff. We work hard to be an ACA-accredited® camp and look forward to maintaining that designation for many years to come.

Speaking of agencies and associations, on Thursday we were visited by the “Sewataro Bureau of Investigation” who received intel that there would be an illegal Cannon attempt on Mark Taylor during Friday’s special event. Campers spent Friday afternoon sharpening their skills and training to become special agents, and collecting clues to determine the person behind the plot against Mark. The mystery-themed special event, complete with scrambled clues, is one of the truly classic Sewataro phenomenon. At first, all signs pointed to someone named Tim Jidd, but just in the knick of time, we realized that “Tim Jidd” unscrambled was “MJ DID IT!” All in good fun, MJ apologized for a joke gone too far, and Mark remained safe and dry thanks to Special Agent Poppinjay (aka counselor Anna Cass).

The excitement continues to build around here, as next week begins the much anticipated Sewataro Olympics. Get ready for teamwork and bonding, spirit and sportsmanship, and a little friendly competition! See below for more information, along with your child(ren)’s color and team assignment.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family – rest up, and get ready for an action-packed week six!

In the spirit of play,

The Taylors, Monica, and Emmy