The second session of North Star’s 70th
summer is officially underway! The excitement level has been on high since the
time we boarded the buses in Chicago. Our Minneapolis pickup was dealing with
MLB All-Star traffic incoming today, fitting as today marks the arrival on our
second session All-Star campers to North Star. Since 1945, North Star has set
out to partner with parents to help raise the world’s nicest boys in a
community designed as a safe place for boys to grow, play, learn and develop
lifelong friendships. Seventy years later, with the support of our All-Star
campers and families, we are proud to see this community as strong as ever.
The boys arrived at camp to find 90
staff members and our 8-week campers jumping around like crazy. After the
enthusiastic welcome, the staff all began to shake the hands of the campers to
learn about all these great kids, find out who they are and where they come
from, and what their interests are. As we announced cabin assignments
around the flagpole, the counselors' enthusiasm was again on display. This mix
of compassion and enthusiasm helped make for a fantastic first session, and I
know your sons will love these guys.
The campers are now unpacking and all of the new campers are getting tours of camp. The staff are running games so that they can all of the campers can learn each other’s names. At 6:00pm we will have a delicious dinner of hamburgers and fries, jello,salad and the ever present Sun Butter and jelly. There will be vegetarian burgers available for those that prefer, and Gluten free options for those that need it. And, of course, brownies for dessert. The food this summer has been fantastic, and we're looking forward to a great dinner and many more great meals. After dinner, each camper will sign up for his first week of activities. He will get a list of about 100 activities, and, with the guidance of his counselors, he'll narrow it down to six.
Tonight each cabin is playing in challenge games with another cabin, which will be followed by our traditional opening Candlelight Ceremony. As is tradition, the counselors will lead a cabin meeting that includes further introductions, goal-setting and sharing everyone's expectations for the summer. The candlelight ceremony is part of the team-building process at camp, which the counselors continue to develop all summer long.
The Cabin Lists are attached.
Tomorrow we get right to it. The kids will get checked out by our medical staff, take their swim test, and play several games of continuous dodgeball. The 8-weekers will he headed out on some great day trips. Evening program will be our first game of All-Camp Capture the Flag. And on Tuesday, we'll be right into regular activities. The boys will have their first three instructional periods that they chose tonight.
Having just wrapped up a fantastic first session and a wonderful visiting weekend, we feel so lucky to be a part of such a supportive community. The theme of our visiting weekend Friday Night Service was “Character Counts,” and seeing all of our boys and families over the last few days has been so reassuring that the North Star Family is filled with character. As we start our second session, I look forward to four weeks of not only fun, but the building and fostering of strong relationship and great character.
The campers are now unpacking and all of the new campers are getting tours of camp. The staff are running games so that they can all of the campers can learn each other’s names. At 6:00pm we will have a delicious dinner of hamburgers and fries, jello,salad and the ever present Sun Butter and jelly. There will be vegetarian burgers available for those that prefer, and Gluten free options for those that need it. And, of course, brownies for dessert. The food this summer has been fantastic, and we're looking forward to a great dinner and many more great meals. After dinner, each camper will sign up for his first week of activities. He will get a list of about 100 activities, and, with the guidance of his counselors, he'll narrow it down to six.
Tonight each cabin is playing in challenge games with another cabin, which will be followed by our traditional opening Candlelight Ceremony. As is tradition, the counselors will lead a cabin meeting that includes further introductions, goal-setting and sharing everyone's expectations for the summer. The candlelight ceremony is part of the team-building process at camp, which the counselors continue to develop all summer long.
The Cabin Lists are attached.
Tomorrow we get right to it. The kids will get checked out by our medical staff, take their swim test, and play several games of continuous dodgeball. The 8-weekers will he headed out on some great day trips. Evening program will be our first game of All-Camp Capture the Flag. And on Tuesday, we'll be right into regular activities. The boys will have their first three instructional periods that they chose tonight.
Having just wrapped up a fantastic first session and a wonderful visiting weekend, we feel so lucky to be a part of such a supportive community. The theme of our visiting weekend Friday Night Service was “Character Counts,” and seeing all of our boys and families over the last few days has been so reassuring that the North Star Family is filled with character. As we start our second session, I look forward to four weeks of not only fun, but the building and fostering of strong relationship and great character.
FOLLOW CAMP ONLINE
From here on out, you can follow along with the summer of 2014 on our website at www.NorthStarCamp.com/blog. We will also be posting updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/northstarcampforboys and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/northstarcamp.
We post pictures online on a regular basis, and you can access those directly from your CampInTouch page. To access your CampInTouch page, go to www.northstarcamp.com and click "login" in the upper right hand corner. From there you can click on "Photos" to see those smiling faces. If you'd like to set up guest accounts for friends or family you can do that from your landing page by clicking on "Guest Accounts."
Thank you for trusting us with your boys. We are psyched for a great second session of the Summer of 2014!
Thanks,
-Andy
