At Camp Starlight, campers are encouraged and shown how to portray themselves as responsible kids in a multitude of ways so they can grow up to be leaders in the world. All the activities campers participate in teach them teamwork, patience, sportsmanship and kindness, but all these lessons are brought inside the bunk as well. Each bunk is expected to be tidied and cleaned by the campers that live there so they are showing their responsible qualities. To positively encourage campers to be tidy, Camp Starlight awards Honor Bunk status weekly to a bunk in every single division that has the cleanest bunk all week long. When bunks get Honor Bunk status a couple times in a row that earn a great prize of a trip to ice cream or pizza. These treats incentivize the campers but once campers get into the habit of cleaning daily, they continue the habit without having to think about ice cream or pizza to push them to do it. Throughout the summer, campers become more and more responsible with their bunks and take pride in earning the Honor Bunk status. When the announcements are made that show which bunks earn the status at morning lineup, campers jump up and down with the members of their bunk because they are so happy and proud of their success as a team. Campers can show the whole camp how responsible and trustworthy they are in keeping their bunk in order when their bunk gets announced again and again to be the best in their division. The smiles on their faces show the entirety of camp how proud they are to be a part of a bunk that takes pride in being responsible and being the best representative of Camp Starlight. With the continuous encouragement from counselors, their bunk mates and Camp Starlight, campers are taught how to be the best leaders they can be not just in this summer camp, but outside in the world.
Posts Tagged ‘benefits of camp’
Honor Bunk Status Encourages Campers to be Leaders
Sunday, July 30th, 2017Junior Girls Basketball
Friday, July 28th, 2017
It was another exciting victory for the Junior girls in their game against Camp Wayne with a score of 21-4. Mikayla T. put in tremendous effort by scoring 6 points. Lilly A. was one for two from the free throw line and assisted Sarina S. in scoring 2 points for the team. Hannah G. contributed with 4 points and 1 steal. Dylan S. scored 6 points and Miley Y. added 2, bringing the team’s total to 21 points. Sasha J. and Claudia C. played an incredible defense, forcing a combined 7 turnovers out of Camp Wayne. Ella G. started the game off strong with 1 assist and 2 forced turnovers in the first half. Zoe N. and Chloe S. both played an impressive defensive game and hustled after every rebound and loose ball. Kaia K. and Lilly P. had a combined 4 rebounds and demonstrated great effort that helped to send Camp Wayne packing.
Lower Senior Girls Tennis
Thursday, July 27th, 2017
For the second time the Lower Senior girl’s tennis team went to dual with Camp Weequahic. Kylie M. played like a professional on the court putting in a great amount of hustle. Hayden M. played a great game going up and then having to brave her way to a 9-1 win, which turned out to be the decider. Olivia S. played an amazing game, covering the entire court and moving her opponent around so she could go on to win 6 straight games. Brooke E. and Marlie K. played a great doubles match, scoring some amazing points that led them to an 8-4 win.
Flexibility for the Sake of Fun
Tuesday, July 25th, 2017Written by Mike W ADL
As an Assistant Division Leader, my day is usually packed with different activities, interacting with campers from all divisions and running around making sure everything’s running smoothly for my Division Leader, Matt Hipps. Each day is always busy and therefore it is always fun which is why I believe I have the best job on campus. As an ADL to the Upper Plebes, I have the privilege of going to all different kinds of activities with the campers, getting to know the counselors from every division, working on all kinds of special events and setting up evening activities. As a person that is almost at multiple places at once, I can guarantee that my job is always exciting because each day is so different and requires me to work on so many different projects. Some of the most rewarding aspects of my job are seeing my campers have fun everyday because of the work I put in day in and day out, their smiles make all the hard work worth it. I also love continuing to learn how to be a leader and strong supervisor with the help of my DL. Thanks to his mentoring, I get to impact the lives of campers in a positive way and I know that they will remember me for the rest of their lives. The most rewarding moment was at the beginning of this summer when my campers from the previous year came up to me to recall all the fun we had last summer together. Knowing that my job is what helps campers make these fond memories is why I know I have the best job on campus.
You Know You’re From Camp Starlight When
Monday, July 24th, 2017
When you leave Camp Starlight at the end of the summer you start the countdown for when you can return, hoping that within those ten months of waiting you will run into friends from camp. When you are back home, their are so many signs that point to the fact you or your friend is from Camp Starlight. You know you’re from Camp Starlight when…
- All the clothes in your closet are blue and white. Whether they are saved from Olympics day or just from athletics, blue and white dominates your wardrobe.
- Your favorite time of the year is summer. When you’re asked which time of the year you enjoy most, you blurt out summer before the question is even finished.
- You sing along to all the words in “Sweet Caroline.” You will belt out the chorus without thinking twice because it takes you back to all those times you sung them together with your friends in the dining hall.
- Your alarm ringtone is Reveille. You can’t start the day without those trumpets because you know that if you wake up to anything else it’s a betrayal to your summer camp self.
- You have prominent tee shirt tan lines. Spending every day outside in the sun, the rays tan your skin but miss your shoulders because you’re always sporting a Camp Starlight tee every day of the summer.
- Your desk is full of letters from summer camp pen pals. The mailmen even starts the recognise the names on the letters because the correspondence between camp friends is something that can never be stopped.
- Your wrists are covered in friendship bracelets. Collecting them all summer long from your camp friends, friendships bracelets practically become a part of you and never leave your wrist.
- Your favorite place in the whole world is located in the middle of Pennsylvania. People will wonder why you won’t believe the tropical beaches of Mexico or the Eiffel Tower in Paris hold the title of most best place to travel, but you know that Camp Starlight in Pennsylvania is the most special and magical place in the whole world to go live.
Hugging Each Other Tight on Visiting Day
Tuesday, July 18th, 2017
The biggest countdown in the summer are the days, hours and minutes leading up to visiting day, the moment families can finally be reunited for the first time since they had to say goodbye at the start of the summer. During this countdown, parents and campers will anxiously try to imagine how it feels to hold each other in their arms after sprinting and rushing across the field the morning of visiting day. As campers cross out another day in their calendar at night, they visualize the cutting of the ribbon on visiting day that allows their parents to enter camp and embrace them with the warmest hugs. When visiting day finally arrives, campers wake up hours before reveille and jump about the bunks with excitement, happy to finally see their parents and curious to see what treats and toys they bring. Campers tidy up every single nook and cranny of the bunk to show their parents how responsible they’ve become at camp and prepare all their artwork they have crafted for them down at Arts & Crafts. Holding a giant welcome sign on the porch of every bunk, campers stretch their necks and widen their smiles, because they are inches away from feeling the genuine love of their family. Once families are reunited again, the biggest sigh of relief is released because up until this point in the summer, everyone had been holding their breath. When parents hug their kids and see how happy they are here at summer camp, they see how they have made a new home at Camp Starlight, this special place keeps their kids just as safe as when they are in their own arms.
The Empowerment of Cooking
Monday, July 17th, 2017
You are what you eat, it’s a simple state of fact. Whatever you put into yourself, you are affecting how your body and mind works and that ultimately decides how you succeed in your day. At Camp Starlight, campers are provided with the opportunity to participate in a cooking activity so they can learn what they should nurture themselves with and how to put good into themselves to get good out. A vital skill in life, cooking can be a very empowering activity for a camper because they learn how to create good nourishment for themselves with a few ingredients and some simple steps. When campers see they can create something both delicious and healthy for themselves, they are able to have more control in their life and become a more independent individual. These are the skills that will last the rest of their lives and campers are presented with the opportunity to not only add to their education of healthy eating and nourishment, but they get to advance their cooking skills and techniques. Learning about how to eat healthy is one thing, but the ability to know how to create the healthy food in the kitchen is another. At Camp Starlight, campers develop advanced knowledge about a healthy lifestyle in the interactive cooking activity, along with developing a passion for the art of cooking. Campers are able to let themselves go and let the ingredients come together to do the talking to produce something beautiful. When campers walk out the kitchen at the end of the activity they have learned about cooking, but they have learned even more about themselves and their abilities.
S-Days Change Up The Pace and Fun
Monday, July 17th, 2017
While most people tend to look forward to the weekends and dread Mondays, at Camp Starlight campers look forward to Mondays the most because they are S-Days. On these special days, a theme is designated for all the activities that take place that day and varies between division. Whether it’s a banana theme or a winter wonderland, these themes excite the campers for a day full of special events. S-Days change up the pace significantly at camp because the activities are longer and therefore fewer of them, allowing the campers to thoroughly enjoy an entire afternoon making volcanoes in a mad science activity or spending quality time at the waterfront while groups going tubing on the lake. S-Days keep campers on their toes because they really will never know what to expect. Additionally, the element of surprise with S-Day themes excites the campers even more and really brings them together when they finally get to dress up or participate with the theme. These special Mondays are what campers look forward to every week, but they look forward to spending them together with their friends even more. The chance to be silly in themed costumes or fool around in these themed activities is how campers form deeper bonds and connections with one another.
Campers Teach Counselors Valuable Lessons
Sunday, July 16th, 2017
Throughout a normal day at Camp Starlight, campers will be often asked what they learned that day. Did they master a new serving technique in tennis? Did they learn how to overcome stage fright for the play on Saturday night? There are many lessons a camper can learn from their counselors, but there are also many lessons campers can teach to counselors. The most valuable lesson counselors are taught by their campers is that of patience. It is not a fast lesson or something learned in one period of the day, patience is taught over a long time. Patience teaches counselors how to reword or rephrase directions so that campers can better understand them, patience bridges a language barrier. Patience shows counselors to be straight to the point with directions and to be kind at all times, even if the day is not going as smoothly as desired, learning not to sweat the small stuff and that there is a way around every obstacle. Patience is how hard work is completed and positive results are made, slacking in energy will only hinder the progress and yourself. It is amazing to see that even though counselors are doing most of the teaching in terms of technique, skill and instruction, campers are the one that do most of the life changing in the counselor. Campers are full of surprises in terms of what they have learned and what they can create, but they consistently teach counselors the same lesson of patience every summer and the lesson isn’t fully taught until the last day of summer. When the counselor sees their campers accomplished in their sport or activity on the last day, this is when the lesson of patience is learned and mastered by the counselor.
Upper Seniors Advise Lower Juniors
Saturday, July 15th, 2017
For the Upper Senior boys and girls, time at Camp Starlight always seems to fly by and every summer seems to get shorter and shorter as they grow taller and taller. Before they know it, they are experiencing their last summer at camp and are finally taking the time to reflect back on their past seven summers at Camp Starlight. The Upper Senior boys and girls advice to new comers at camp, the Lower Juniors, is simple and cliché, but nonetheless so true. Upper Senior boys echoed similar words of wisdom to each other, agreeing that younger campers should truly enjoy every single moment at camp because it really does go by fast. Sharing how easily it is to get caught up in the competition of sports and activities, the Upper Senior Boys also noted that it doesn’t matter which team you are on and it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose in anything because if you can make the best of the situation and have as much fun as you can, then these summers will be the best you will ever experience. Upper Senior girls shared similar sentiments about camp adding that summer camp is a time to not worry about the little things in life but instead take in every moment of everyday with an enthusiastic attitude. The best friendships are made at summer camp, especially with the campers inside your bunk, so learn to be patient with each other because these are friendships made to last longer than a single summer. Take advantage of every single activity and opportunity, because you will never know how much joy and passion you may find. These Upper Seniors can truly attest to the fact that time really does go by when you are having fun since their last seven summers have felt like seven simple minutes of time spent laughing and smiling.
