Message from our Summer Camp Director,
The summer of 2011 at Camp Kawartha has come and gone. I felt it was a magical summer in many ways. For me, the summers keep getting better and better. As a camp, I feel that we evolve every year, and as a Summer Camp Director, I feel there is always room for growth.
This will be my 10th summer at Camp Kawartha, and my 8th as Summer Camp Director. Over that time I have grown tremendously in both my private and professional life. In my professional life, I have learned so much about dealing with campers, staff, and parents. I have cultivated a trust among my staff while striving to be a positive role model, and a source of support. I have also worked hard to develop relationships with parents and encourage feedback and criticism as a method to improving our services. I celebrate in your children’s successes, and feel distress in their setbacks. Each summer, we train our staff to meet the needs of our campers the best way we can and we learn lessons on how to do it better for the next summer.
Many parents have told me about the great impact camp has made on their children’s development. At camp, your children learn the skills to be responsible and confident individuals. With the support and encouragement of our staff, they take risks by attempting new activities, enhancing their social skills, and accepting new responsibilities. It’s an exhilarating experience and the rewards are unlimited.
A current staff member and former camper once told me, “camp not only allows you to grow, but it makes you expect more out of life.” As a camp, we model this sentiment by striving to offer more to our families and expecting more of our staff from one summer to the next. This is why we are constantly trying to improve our services by reflection on each previous summer and encouraging feedback. It’s also why I believe every summer will be better than the last.
Here are the Session Changes for 2012:
Adam Strasberg
Summer Camp Director
The summer of 2011 at Camp Kawartha has come and gone. I felt it was a magical summer in many ways. For me, the summers keep getting better and better. As a camp, I feel that we evolve every year, and as a Summer Camp Director, I feel there is always room for growth.
This will be my 10th summer at Camp Kawartha, and my 8th as Summer Camp Director. Over that time I have grown tremendously in both my private and professional life. In my professional life, I have learned so much about dealing with campers, staff, and parents. I have cultivated a trust among my staff while striving to be a positive role model, and a source of support. I have also worked hard to develop relationships with parents and encourage feedback and criticism as a method to improving our services. I celebrate in your children’s successes, and feel distress in their setbacks. Each summer, we train our staff to meet the needs of our campers the best way we can and we learn lessons on how to do it better for the next summer.
Many parents have told me about the great impact camp has made on their children’s development. At camp, your children learn the skills to be responsible and confident individuals. With the support and encouragement of our staff, they take risks by attempting new activities, enhancing their social skills, and accepting new responsibilities. It’s an exhilarating experience and the rewards are unlimited.
A current staff member and former camper once told me, “camp not only allows you to grow, but it makes you expect more out of life.” As a camp, we model this sentiment by striving to offer more to our families and expecting more of our staff from one summer to the next. This is why we are constantly trying to improve our services by reflection on each previous summer and encouraging feedback. It’s also why I believe every summer will be better than the last.
Here are the Session Changes for 2012:
- Our 3-week programs have grown significantly over the years. A number of years ago, we began offering the PLC program for 13-14 year old campers. This program has become very successful and has vastly grown in numbers. This summer, in addition to the 3-week PLC program, we will be offering the 3-week Session AB program running from July 1st -20th for all campers (ages 8-14).
We realize that not all campers aged 13-14 want a PLC experience and that Session AB would give those 13-14 years another option. At the same time, we want to ensure that campers enrolling in PLC are aware of the program’s expectations. In order to develop a program to best meet their needs, we have introduced the Statement of Purpose. This requires campers interested in PLC to express some of their interests and express what they hope to achieve and contribute within the program.
- Junior Trips are being revamped. There will now be two Junior Trips for 12-13 year olds divided by gender and limited to 7 participants each. This is in line with our Senior Trips. Both trips will take place the week of July 1-7 running concurrently with Session A.
- The new Voyageur Canoe Trip program will run the week of July 22-28 concurrently with Session C. This program is part canoe tripping and part drama as campers role-play and follow the route of fur traders many years ago. Campers and staff will all travel in a 26ft Voyageur canoe from camp down to Peterborough with historic stops along the way including campsites, the Peterborough Liftlock and the Canadian Canoe Museum. This program is offered to campers aged 11-13.
- To address the needs of parents looking for 1-week sessions in August, we will be running Session F (1-week), and Session G (6 days/5 nights) to run concurrently with Session E. Our 6 days/5 nights session in August has been very successful over the past 2 years as we realize the need and demand for additional shorter sessions.
- In addition, we retain our tested and true sessions that have also grown over the years. These include our day camp program, CK101, our regular sessions, Senior Trips, Challenge and Adventure, and our Leadership programs.
Adam Strasberg
Summer Camp Director