North Star Camp for Boys
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Week 1 Recap Video
Check out this video to see how to first week of camp and all the fun things that campers have done!
Monday, June 17, 2019
Day 1 - Week 1 Video: The Campers Arrival
Watch has North Star Camp Pumps everyone up as they arrive for the 75th Summer!!!
#NSC75 North Star's 75th Summer Has Begun!
In 1945, Lou and Renee Rosenblum realized their dream of opening North Star Camp for Boys. As seen in this ad, originally published in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle on Dec. 29, 1944, they set out to provide “eight weeks of wholesome fun, growth and develo
pment on the trail, lake, rivers and woods of Wisconsin’s Indian Head Country.” This afternoon began North Star’s 75th summer as we carry on the vision of Lou and Renee.
Despite cool temperatures and storms around the country, the Chicago and Minneapolis buses arrived to a beautiful Northwoods Day with the sun peeking through. The staff went bananas as the buses unloaded. We gathered around the flagpole to announce the cabins, and then the boys headed toward their bunks to unpack. The cabin list is attached.
The boys are now unpacking and new campers are receiving a tour of camp. On their tour, they’ll find many improvements including a new low ropes course, 9 Square in the Air, lights on the batting cage, remodeled cabins on the Ridge and more. By the time they go to sleep tonight, they'll have played games with their cabins and met some of the other guys their age as well.
Dinner this evening will be burgers, fries and jello, plus the ever present salad bar and 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. Immediately following dinner, the campers will choose their first week's activities.
The evening activities will be followed by the candlelight ceremonies, where each cabin will have a meeting led by their counselors. They will share their goals and expectations for the summer, while continuing to get to know one another. This will be the first of many cabin discussions that are an important part of the team-building goals that we have for each cabin group, and helps develop the strong sense of community that we strive for at camp. Our expectation is that every boy goes to bed tonight having known that they have at least one counselor that they are already comfortable enough with to wake him up if they need something in the middle of the night and that they have made one new friend that they can play with in the morning.
One of the ways that North Star has always created an environment of wholesome fun, growth and development is to give our campers ownership over their experience. Kids have less freedom and independence today than the generations that came before them and we want to empower our boys. In that spirit, we have made it our goal as a staff to say yes to as many of their ideas and suggestions as possible. We have given our staff a framework to evaluate the ideas, using our mission statement as their guide. Camp is made in moments that create memories and friendships, and we are excited to give every boy a plethora of both.
Even with 74 summers under our belt, we know that we can always be re-evaluating and working to get better. This summer will begin a new tradition with permanent Green-White Teams. The boys will find out their color tomorrow and will then be on these teams for life. We have already seen an increase in enthusiasm for Green-White activities as the staff are behind it and we look forward to a new great tradition. We are also establishing the Villa Council, a representative government for our oldest campers to take ownership of activities in the Senior Village.
Tomorrow the kids will have a busy day as our amazing medical team checks in the boys. The campers will take a swim test and find time to play several games of dodgeball. Evening program tomorrow will be our first game of All-Camp Capture the Flag, with a new twist there as well. First thing on Wednesday morning the boys will begin their first week of regular activities. Wednesday morning our oldest campers will leave for their Canadian adventure, where they will spend 10 days in the Canadian wilderness in Quetico Provincial Park. Some of our 8th graders (we use the grade they just completed) will leave that day for five days on the Superior Hiking Trail, while other campers will depart straight away to the Sylvania Wilderness Area. Wednesday evening will be the staff show, where our very talented group will be on display.
FOLLOW CAMP ONLINE
From here on out, you can follow along with the summer of 2019 on our website at www.NorthStarCamp.com/blog. We will also be posting updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/northstarcampforboys, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/northstarcamp , and on Instagram @northstarcamp, all with #NSC75!
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!
pment on the trail, lake, rivers and woods of Wisconsin’s Indian Head Country.” This afternoon began North Star’s 75th summer as we carry on the vision of Lou and Renee. Despite cool temperatures and storms around the country, the Chicago and Minneapolis buses arrived to a beautiful Northwoods Day with the sun peeking through. The staff went bananas as the buses unloaded. We gathered around the flagpole to announce the cabins, and then the boys headed toward their bunks to unpack. The cabin list is attached.
The boys are now unpacking and new campers are receiving a tour of camp. On their tour, they’ll find many improvements including a new low ropes course, 9 Square in the Air, lights on the batting cage, remodeled cabins on the Ridge and more. By the time they go to sleep tonight, they'll have played games with their cabins and met some of the other guys their age as well.
Dinner this evening will be burgers, fries and jello, plus the ever present salad bar and 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. Immediately following dinner, the campers will choose their first week's activities.
The evening activities will be followed by the candlelight ceremonies, where each cabin will have a meeting led by their counselors. They will share their goals and expectations for the summer, while continuing to get to know one another. This will be the first of many cabin discussions that are an important part of the team-building goals that we have for each cabin group, and helps develop the strong sense of community that we strive for at camp. Our expectation is that every boy goes to bed tonight having known that they have at least one counselor that they are already comfortable enough with to wake him up if they need something in the middle of the night and that they have made one new friend that they can play with in the morning.
One of the ways that North Star has always created an environment of wholesome fun, growth and development is to give our campers ownership over their experience. Kids have less freedom and independence today than the generations that came before them and we want to empower our boys. In that spirit, we have made it our goal as a staff to say yes to as many of their ideas and suggestions as possible. We have given our staff a framework to evaluate the ideas, using our mission statement as their guide. Camp is made in moments that create memories and friendships, and we are excited to give every boy a plethora of both.
Even with 74 summers under our belt, we know that we can always be re-evaluating and working to get better. This summer will begin a new tradition with permanent Green-White Teams. The boys will find out their color tomorrow and will then be on these teams for life. We have already seen an increase in enthusiasm for Green-White activities as the staff are behind it and we look forward to a new great tradition. We are also establishing the Villa Council, a representative government for our oldest campers to take ownership of activities in the Senior Village.
Tomorrow the kids will have a busy day as our amazing medical team checks in the boys. The campers will take a swim test and find time to play several games of dodgeball. Evening program tomorrow will be our first game of All-Camp Capture the Flag, with a new twist there as well. First thing on Wednesday morning the boys will begin their first week of regular activities. Wednesday morning our oldest campers will leave for their Canadian adventure, where they will spend 10 days in the Canadian wilderness in Quetico Provincial Park. Some of our 8th graders (we use the grade they just completed) will leave that day for five days on the Superior Hiking Trail, while other campers will depart straight away to the Sylvania Wilderness Area. Wednesday evening will be the staff show, where our very talented group will be on display.
FOLLOW CAMP ONLINE
From here on out, you can follow along with the summer of 2019 on our website at www.NorthStarCamp.com/blog. We will also be posting updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/northstarcampforboys, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/northstarcamp , and on Instagram @northstarcamp, all with #NSC75!
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!
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Parenting the Home Stretch to Camp
We know it's hard to say goodbye for both campers and their parents. Here are some quick tips to help make the process go as smoothly as possible:
- Show them you believe in them: it's so important that our campers know that you trust that they are going to do great at camp. Have the boys help pack themselves so that they see that they are capable of handling every aspect of camp.
- Tell them you'll miss them, but not too much: often we hear from campers that they are worried that their parents won't be okay without them. You should of course tell them that you love them and are proud of them, but keep the attention on their emotions.
- Remind them what to do when there are challenges at camp: if there are specific concerns of theirs to address or you're just responding to general anxieties, let them know that they can always talk to their counselors and the directors when anything is bothering them. And let them know there are no challenges at camp that they can't handle.
- Make your goodbye concise and empowering: a big hug and kiss, an "I love you," an "I'm proud of you," and "I know you're going to do great" sets the right tone for the start of their summer. They're going to camp to make new friends and have new experiences, so let them get that started as soon as you arrive at the bus or at the airport. The longer the goodbye is prolonged, the more the doubt and anxiety creep in.
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