Villa Values

The Senior Village at camp holds special meaning. Being a camper in the Villa means carrying the responsibility of leadership throughout camp. Our Senior campers have additional opportunities for leadership around camp, and have the weight of knowing that the younger campers are looking up to them.

Early on this summer, we recognized some behaviors among our seniors that were not up to our North Star standard. Regardless of how the boys may interact with one another away from camp, regardless of what they may say to one another on social media, and regardless of the content that they may be digesting on the internet, it is our expectation that at camp the boys comport themselves in a way that represents our North Star values. Last night we hosted a Senior Village campfire to discuss exactly what that means.

Jimmy, one of our CIT directors, gave his perspective as a camp parent and alum, about what makes North Star different from the rest of the world. Robyn led a reflection where the boys identified a behavior from this past week that they weren’t proud of, wrote it on a piece of paper, and threw it into the fire. And Mike Simons, another longtime North Star alumnus and current Executive Director of Camp for All Kids, led an exercise where each senior cabin identified the top 3 values that they think of when they consider what it means to be a North Star leader. Together, they committed to lead with those values that they selected: empathy, community, compassion, integrity, sportsmanship, kindness, respect, loyalty, inclusivity and openness.

And, before we concluded with pizza, together we recited the words of our most cherished poem:
“There is a destiny which makes us brothers;
None goes his way alone.
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own.
I care not what his caste or creed,
One thing holds firm and fast
That into his days and deeds gone by
The Soul of a man is cast”

Throughout the evening our boys demonstrated a commitment to getting this right, for both themselves as individuals and for North Star as whole. We are so proud of our boys and who they are.

Week in Review Video:
We hope you enjoy this awesome highlight video from the past week! You’ll see some great moments from Open Mic Night, Cruiser Day, Campfires, and all of the fun happening around camp.

Today’s Grace:
“There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it hardly behooves any of us,
To talk about the rest of us.”
- Gov. Edward Wallis Hoch (Kansas, 1905-09)