Camp Sacajawea Blog

Medieval Times makes way for Mardi Gras

2008-08-18T21:51:00.004-04:00

It's already week 10! WHAT?!?!?! I can't even believe it. Last week was one of our most popular themes, Medieval Times. We saw alot of people dressed up on Friday and at our Thursday night campfire we covered some counselors in foil and made them into knights in shining armor and everyone who wanted to got to act in a medieval story complete with costumes after dinner. Despite a rainy night our last sleepover was also a success, the girls spent the night in either Lakeside or the PAC and had snacks and watched movies together. It may not have been a night under the stars, but everyone definitely had a great time.

Our Friday camp event was the ever popular counselor jousting match. I jousted with Fish for the 3rd year in a row and I actually won! I used some quick moving dives and flutter feet (as Jaxx called it) to secure the victory. Last year Fish took the title and the year before that we tied in overtime. I wonder what will happen next time we joust? We are now tied in the tournament. It was very funny to watch the counselors with their foam swords and paper rings tied to their ankles and arms trying to out joust each other. The campers were cheering and laughing the whole time.

Thursday was also my birthday! Thank you to all the campers who told me happy birthday what felt like 100s of times that day. I felt so happy and good to be part of Camp Sacajawea. The kids who come here are really so fun and loving, it's a pleasure to work with them.

This week, among my regular jobs, I am also the golf counselor. I am accompanying the girls to the Twin Brook Golf Center and keeping my eyes out and keeping the girls safe and watched for while the golf pros teach them the game of golf. Today we learned some of the history of golf, golf ettiquette, how to be safe on the course, the types of clubs, the parts of a course, and of course we spent a long while at the driving range working on our swing. Each girl got individualized instruction from the golf pros and by the end of the day I definitely saw marked improvement in everyone's swing. Everyone even earned a non-permanent tattoo from their gold pros due to their superb golf ettiquette tht they showed on their first day. I'm sure we'll be earning lots of tattoos this week.

I'll try and get onto the computer again to update you further on this last week at camp. Hopefully Shutterbug will be able to post the pictures I took of the awesome dragons the units made during medieval week :)

another week over?

2008-08-10T15:01:00.002-04:00

Week 8 came and went. Sacajawea Olympic week was really successful. Volleyball camp was led by our new sports camp volleyball specialist Takihara and the girls really got into the game. Maybe you'll be seeing some of our volleyball girls in the Olympics competing for Team USA some day! Gary Auerbach of the Spinning Bees came in and spent all day Thursday with us. He had a session with each unit of campers and taught them all some freestyle frisbee tricks. He even treated us to a unique show at the Thursday night campfire.

Our counselors continued their camp training on Tuesday with a visit from Steve Maguire. After our 3 hour session with him everyone was feeling renewed about finishing out the summer with just as much vigor that we started with. He taught us some new games and techniques that the girls and boys will be able to enjoy the rest of this summer and of course summers to come.

Thursday night dinner was also really exciting because we got to each Chinese food in honor of the summer games in Beijing. The girls really enjoyed the food and we especially enjoyed the leftovers we got to pack into our lunches for the next morning :)

Finally our camp event was also a success. The campers and counselors competed in the Sacajawea Olympics and receiving the gold medal was Eagles Nest, the silver went to Smoke Rise and the bronze went to Indian Pipes. Congratulations on a job well done! See you next week :)

Week 5 Photos and Week 7 in review

2008-08-02T16:54:00.002-04:00

3 Night Overnight camp wet so well! Despite the mosquitos and the heat we managed to have a fantastic time. The girls had a chance to do so many activities since they were at camp for so much more time. They even had a chance to ride our zipline! We cooked for ourselves, swam a couple of times a day, made t-shirts and bags, went to the Trading Post, saw a police dog demonstration, when inside a Smoke house, boated, learned everykind of friendship bracelet imaginable, learned how to clean up after ourselves (amazing right!?), and even wrote our own camp songs. I hope we get to run another week like this next year. Girls who attended please tell us what you enjoyed about this week!

Zip lining!

The girls of Deer Rn f 3 Night Overnight! We survived!

Working together on the Challenge Course

Lily and Lola from Hannah Montana

Some more Lily and Lolas!

Week 5 in review :)

2008-07-23T16:57:00.002-04:00

Hannah Montana week was so successful! It was awesome to walk around camp and see everyone preparing for the concert and dressing up like Hannah Montana characters. From Lily/Lola dress up to Rico's Shack to Hannah Montana mania on Friday with more blonde wigs than I'd ever seen, we definitely got into the fun of the theme.

We also had a great week of Flag Twirling as well. The girls performed a great routine to "All My Lovin'" by The Beatles. The were so in sync and it was many girls first time ever twirling. I'll be posting pictures as soon as I can and hopefully someone else will be able to blog about High School Musical 2 week because I was away in Cape May for a dance competition with my students!

Right now I am prepping for the excitement of 3 night overnight week at camp! I have so many fun activities planned and I can't wait to meet all the girls in the unit. Summer and I are ready to be your counselors. See you tomorrow :)

Pictures -- as promised.

2008-07-14T21:12:00.002-04:00

Here is a peek at come of the Camp Sacajawea clothes being sold at the Trading Post and of the camper t-shirts this year! Also I threw in some pictures of the boat race :) Enjoy!

Rah, Rah, Sis Boom Bah!

2008-07-14T19:05:00.004-04:00

The cheerleading girls were adorable, they worked so hard on their routine all week!

Only at camp

2008-07-14T18:35:00.002-04:00

Only at camp can we have Thanksgiving dinner, a campfire and cheerleading all in one week!

Dinner was delish! The chefs went above and beyond this week, everyone had seconds!
The campfire that follwed dinner was one of Camp Sac's best-everyone was up and dancing to the tune of the camp songs-I even saw the moms and dads getting into it!!!

Boat race video-- Finally!

2008-07-14T17:34:00.011-04:00

I finally was able to get a new memory card reader so here are videos from Week 3's cardboard boat race!

The beginning of the race! Cheering on our counselors!

We continue on! Some of us sink :(

Dino's in the lead!

Dino Wins!

The rest of the pack walks up!

We trudge on...

Indy is still afloat!

Dino and Eagles Nest came in first place with their T-rex raft and Indy and Brown Owl came in second place with their boat. Congratulations to all for their hardwork, and THANK YOU counselors for getting into Lake Brindle!

Look for more pictures from camp tomorrow :)

Turkey Dinner and Zipping... Oh and some Hannah Montana!

2008-07-13T18:28:00.004-04:00

Wow! Week 4 just flew right on by! We had a great Thursday night campfire and sleepover. The Turkey dinner that was prepared was delicious and campers had a great time writing their own Native American picture symbol stories, scavenger hunting, and swimming. We even taught our sleepover campers a counselor bonding game called Stealth that took place between Indian Pipes and Ruth Coe units. Everyone was definitely tired out by the time we called lights out. I heard a couple of campers may have stayed up chatting into the morning hours, but everyone was up and to breakfast on time! Our performer of the week, Catskill Puppet Theatre put on a cool show about Hiawatha and after showed the campers how the puppets move and how they do some of the voice effects. It was really neat to see what goes on behind the scenes.

I (along with several other staff members) am now officially zipline trained. I took my first ever zip at Camp Sacajawea at 5 pm and it was so exciting! It was definitely nervewracking to step off the platform, but once you do it is a fantastic experience. If your troop gets a chance to do a zip line program I highly recommend it! We are soon to be incorporating zip line into the camp week so look forward to it. I know we'll be zipping during the 3 night overnight, so there's even another incentive to join this first ever overnight camp week!

This weekend coming up in Family Camping so if any parents/grandparents/family members/friends are jealous of their campers and all they get to do at camp please do not hesitate to sign up! You will get to participate in all the same activities your campers does during their time at camp. AND at $150 per family of 4 (including meals) for the weekend it is definitely an affordable mini vacation not far from home. Check out our website for even more info.

Get psyched for this upcoming camp week! We'll be rocking out Hannah Montana style with dress up days, lip syncing, and counselor performances, this is not a camp week to miss! Look for me looking oh so stylish in my Hannah wig :)

Boat Race!

2008-07-05T22:56:00.002-04:00

Thursday was our cardboard canoe race at camp! We took a complete video of the race and will be posting it as soon as possible. Coming in first place with their T-Rex raft was Dino from Eagles Nest, and 2nd place was Indy from Brown Owl. All of the counselors were such troopers for getting into the lake and basically swimming all of the way across. We have some geat counselors who really love what they do. I'm not sure if I would get into Lake Brindle!

I also have some pictures of some cool Camp Sacajawea clothes from the Trading Post which I will post as soon as I can find my camera cord. Next week is Native American week and we will have a Thanksgiving dinner as our Thursday campfire/overnight meal so DEFINITELY join us for that! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend, see you on Monday!

Week 2 in Review and Week 3 begins!

2008-06-30T17:51:00.002-04:00

I can't even believe two weeks are done and we've finished day 1 of week 3! The summer really flies by.

After our day with Cablevision we finished week 3 out strong with a fantastic campfire and first of the season SLEEPOVER and a great performance at Friday event with RockRoots. The girls were singing along and smiling the whole time.

This week's theme is Survivor and we are prepping for our Cardboard Canoe boat race on Thursday. Our counselors will sail (or sink!) across the lake in boats made only of cardboard, duct tape, and garbage bags constructed by their counselors. We also moved our traditional Thursday campfire to Wednesday for this week so we can fully enjoy our 3 day weekend.

Come join your campers at this week's family night campfire where we are enjoying a fantastic wizard magic show after dinner. I saw them do a small sampling of their magical feats and this is an event not to be missed! I am so excited for this performance and I hope I see alot of ypour shining faces there.

Till next time!

Week One - Photo Slide Show

2008-06-27T11:02:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying Camp Sacajawea so far this summer. We're working out a few kinks, but our goal is to post a music video slide show for every week of camp this year. We're a week behind right now but expect to be caught up soon.

If you're one of those lucky girls (or tag-a-long boys) who attended Week One at Camp Sacajawea, you want to check this out. Maybe you'll see yourself.

What an exciting day!

2008-06-25T17:46:00.003-04:00

Week 2 at Camp Sacajawea has been so exciting. Today our camp was the host to a television crew from Cablevision who taped our camp day to show some of Monmouth County what's it's like to be a camper here. The girls (and boys!) had a blast showing off their cooking skills, playing games, and being "stars" for a day. Thanks for coming Cablevision!

This week's theme is "Create Your Own Nation" and the campers have definitely been taking ownership for their "Camp Nation" with things such as camper created country named tents like "Canada, eh?" , flags made at arts and crafts, and plays where the campers are the rulers of an imaginary country.

Week 2 is also our first SLEEPOVER of the 2008 camp season! We are getting set for a great night of activities, campfire songs, and s'more making. A great big, welcome to your first sleepover is due to all those fourth grade girls getting to sleepover for the first time in camp. You will have a fantastic time.

Friday we look forward to our campwide event where the entire camp will gather together and enjoy a performance before we close out our camp week. I hope everyone is enjoying their time at Camp Sacajawea and if you haven't joined us yet we look forward to seeing your smiling face here!

Every girl's favorite activity...

2008-06-24T15:38:00.004-04:00

Shopping! After a quick afternoon thunderstorm today, it seemed like the entire camp descended upon the trading post for ice cream to beat the muggy afternoon heat! At 25 cents, the ice cream is a welcome treat on hot summer days.

Raising the flag for the 2008 camp season

2008-06-24T15:14:00.004-04:00

Here is my favorite part of the day, the opening flag ceremony, where the whole camp gathers, raises Old Glory, says the Girl Scout Promise and sings a song.

I remember when I went to Girl Scout Camp, (I was a camper at Camp Nomoco when it was a week-long sleepaway camp), it was the hightlight of your stay if you were chosen to help with the morning flag ceremony. I see some things have not changed!

I was always sad when we took the flag down at the end of each day, the summer was one day closer to being over, but fortunately, it's only the first week in these photos!

FIRST DAY!

2008-06-16T18:12:00.009-04:00

As promised here is a video blog of our first day of camp. Enjoy :)

Welcome to Camp Sacajawea!

Trading Post Tour!

Some campers tell us a couple things they learned the first hour of horse camp

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Eagles Nest sings at Boating

Some of our life guards say hello!

Eagles Nest shares a few more camp songs!

I hope you enjoyed the video blog entry. Camp is going great and I look forward to seeing everyone on their first day!

Tomorrow!

2008-06-15T17:00:00.001-04:00

Camp Sacajawea 2008 season starts tomorrow! Look for a video blog of the first day :)

It's here!!! The zip line is here!!!

2008-06-12T16:20:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone,

Shutterbug here, and I just took a quick spin around camp and saw the zip line is installed and almost ready for use! How exciting; I can't wait for that first thrilling ride!

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

2008-06-12T16:00:00.002-04:00

In less than a week, hundreds of girls (and sometimes their brothers) will be having fun at Camp Sacajawea. Whether you're a new camper who wants to know what to expect, a previous camper who wants a reminder of what's to come, or someone simply reliving childhood memories, check out this look back at the fun we had last year.... This year will be even better.

We're getting excited

2008-06-09T12:32:00.003-04:00

Hello campers!!

We are ready for the summer to begin at Camp Sacajawea. The pool is ready, the crafts are in and the staff is excited. We can't wait to see your smiling faces.

This summer we have are offering our sports and music camps again. Horse camps are filling up quickly, actually, some are full already. We have exciting fun activities planned for Thursday campfires. Keep checking back here to see the plans for the summer as Tapper, Olive & Fish post the plans for the fun. Shutterbug will be posting pictures of last summer as well as new ones from this summer.

We can't wait to see you all back in camp having a great time. See you starting next week.

EgZup

ONE WEEK!

2008-06-08T10:46:00.002-04:00

The countdown is on, ONE WEEK UNTIL CAMP STARTS! Camp staff training concluded last week and it went so well. We passed out our counselor shirts and water bottles and everyone is ready to spring into action on June 16th.

Some reminders for campers who are joining us week 1: Don't forget to bring bug spray (non-aerosol) and sunscreen. We'll provide plenty of water at camp, but if you like other drinks make sure to bring them so you don't become dehydrated. Make sure you know your unit so when you arrive at camp on Monday we can get you to the fun as quick as possible. Don't forget your bathing suit and towel and shoes that you don't mind getting wet, we love water games at camp! HORSE UNITS: long pants and shoes with a slight heel are a must (NO Sneakers). We will provide your helmets.

Parents: Make sure you have gone through your confirmation packet and sent in all paperwork. We cannot allow children in camp if paperwork hasn't been completed so make sure all of it gets sent in!

Can't wait to see everyone in a week. Make sure to tell me if you are reading the blog!

Tapper

What time is it? SUMMERTIME!

2008-06-02T23:58:00.003-04:00

I'm sure some of you recognize the title of my post as a song from High School Musical 2. I really think it is the theme of this year's training. Our counselors were singing it constantly, I really think everyone is getting geared up for summer and camp!

Training has gone really well so far. Friday we invited our new staff in for a tour of camp and a lesson in camp lingo, you know all those special words that we use only in camp (Flushies, unit houses, Pac, Big Top, etc.) and we taught them some of the games our old staffers already know. Saturday we spent the day learning about how to get ready for the mornings, how to run a unit, how to cook on Wednesdays, and what info to pass on to campers when they arrive. Even with the storm that came through camp we were all able to get our food cooked and served to everyone. Our new counselors even took it upon themselves to entertain the girls and leaders who were in camp for the encampment. Girls, I hope you are looking forward to being with your counselors this year because I know they are going to be fabulous!

Last entry I promised some insider information on our 3 Night overnight, so here it is! I am going to actually be one of your counselors in this awesome program. As a unit we are going to decide what activities we do and when we do them. We will have the generally have the opportunity to swim more than once each day if we decide to. We will also we deciding on and cooking our meals. I don't want to give too much away, but hopefully by the end of our week together we will have left a lasting impact on camp.

Please leave us comments on the blog to let us know you are reading and to tell us what you would like to hear more about! I hope to post pictures and or video in the blog soon.

Till next time,
Tapper

staff training!

2008-05-21T14:25:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, it's Tapper blogging again. We are getting even more busy in these few short weeks heading up to camp. Our biggest task is getting our counselor staff trained and ready to have fun with our awesome campers. In the next couple of weeks our 2008 counselors will be gathering at camp to learn all of the things they need to know to help you all have the best summer possible.
We teach our staff games, songs, where things are in camp, how to keep our campers safe, and even things like how to go about making a lunch for a girl who may have forgotten hers. We give our staff a chance to work through multiple situations that they may encounter during the camp day so that when you all arrive this summer they are ready and prepared for a fantastic week of camp.
Something else we are working on are our plans for Hannah Montana Week (Week 5) and High School Musical 2 Week (Week 6). Any campers who were around last summer know about the fantastic performance we put together for the camp for our Friday afternoon event during our High School Musical Week. We are hoping the performances we put together for this year will surpass even what we did last year. Look to the blog for more details on these events! If are interested in participating make sure you attend camp during one of those weeks this summer, it is sure to be a blast!
Next time I blog I will post some insider information on our 3 Night Stay during Week 7 at Camp Sacajawea. Fourth Graders and up are welcome in this program and I will be one of your counselors in this first ever sleepover program. I am looking forward to this week very much and I hope even more girls will sign up.

Till next time!
Tapper

Tapper reporting!

2008-05-14T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! This is Tapper blogging for the first time on Camp Sacajawea's official blog! I just wanted to take a moment to tell all 2008 campers and families, new and old, about some of the things that your camp staff has been working on for the 2008 camp season. Camp doesn't end the final day of Week 10 in August; we keep talking, creating, meeting, and preparing through the entire school year. Now, with only a couple of weeks left until camp we are in overdrive!

Here are a couple of new things to look forward to this year at camp:

Camp Sacajawea water bottles instead of cups.
New camper t-shirts.
Lots of brand new camp clothing (shirts, sweatshirts, pj pants) available at the Trading Post.
New Girl Choice activities.
New themes.
New counselors to help our campers have the best summer possible.
And of course new FRIENDS!

Some of our camp staff also went on a trip to the ACA Tri-State Camp Conference in March. We spent 3 days going to workshops to learn all sorts of new information and fun for camp. Our counselors are looking forward to teaching our wonderful campers the new games and songs we learned! We also got a chance to walk through the vendor hall and we picked out lots of new things for the trading post and arts and crafts. We even got a taste of some of the new ice cream we will be selling at the Trading Post.

As I'm sure you can tell, we've been very busy all year preparing for your arrival at Camp Sacajawea this summer. If you are interested in seeing our facilities and trying some of our activities before you arrive at camp this summer, please come to our next Open Hous e on Sunday, May 18th from 1-4 pm.

See you in the summer,
Tapper

Welcome to Camp Sacajawea's Blog

2008-05-12T10:34:00.001-04:00

It's a matter of weeks until Camp Sacajawea opens for another summer of fun. What are your best camp memories? Leave a comment and let us know.