Activity Extravaganza!
I have just returned from a walk around the gym, field and surrounding areas where Roderick is finishing Second Term with a bang. The final day Activity Extravaganza is something he dreamed up with a few staff members several years ago. Camp is divided up into 30 or so groups and rotates through as many activities in this area as possible in the afternoon. Shifts are 3 minute intervals. Some obvious stations include playing kickball, ultimate frisbee, and various other sports on the divided up field, for 3 minutes at a time. A game of knockout basketball in the gym, king of the court in tennis, and playing the road hole of the Frisbee golf course (hole 15) add in more activity. Others a more sedentary for a break, like lanyard making and a game of Mafia on the porch of the Climbing Barn. Boys are climbing in the barn, playing Gladiator Ball in the Mountain cabin area, and Extreme 4 square on another unused tennis court. This is the most fun way to end a memory filled 2nd Term!
Prior to lunch, well maybe not quite as memorable! But certainly necessary as we accomplished packing, passing out lost and found, and some other important tasks to wrap up the term well. We passed out the cabin photos with instructions to pack them carefully and safely. Be on the lookout for those as you unpack.
Tonight we’ll celebrate our Term with our Final Banquet ceremonies. We’ll begin in the Dining Hall with a banquet style dinner of fried chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Then we’ll move to the gym where we will sing some traditional end of camp songs and recognize our award winners. Boys who have been at Alpine for 4 summers or more will receive their “Years at Alpine” award. Winners of final activity competitions will be recognized and congratulated. And Roderick will announce our points winner for the whole term. I’ll wrap it up with a brief devotional and few words about the term before we sing our traditional end of camp song, The Farewell Song. It’s where the well known Alpine line comes from, “I’ve got 11 months to dream about next year”.
This week has been filled with plenty of normal activity fun but also some serious end of term activity competitions. This afternoon a 3 way tie in the Alpine Masters (frisbee golf) was decided in a playoff. In true Alpine fashion, each boy had a caddie with water bottle and towel. Chiefs held a rope line to keep the patrons clear of the fairway. The boys’ counselors gave them pep talks prior to tee time. Carter presented the winner with a green jacket on 18 to cheers from the crowd!
The Petanque finals were contested yesterday during Store period to a grand audience on the lawn in front of the Dining Hall. Petanque is one of our favorite activities played during Minor Sports, otherwise known as Bocce Ball.
The Tour de Alpine was raced in classes all week in Mountain Biking. I’ll be excited to hear the winning time and who it belongs to tonight.
Yesterday I watched a few Alpine Open tennis matches on the courts. I was so happy to see good sportsmanship and graciousness in defeat from campers.
One of my favorite tidbits at Final Banquet ceremonies is watching how excited the counselors get for their campers upon announcement of an award. They are like proud parents cheering and high fiving those around them. After a month together, these cabins truly feel like families, homes away from homes (bit dirtier maybe than yours). Just like at home, life is not perfect. But I love seeing campers and counselors alike learn to live together, grow in their relationships, appreciate each others quirks, and sometimes apologize and ask for forgiveness. Carter and I hope you will see that positive growth play out over the coming months at home, even if in small ways.
Several of you have asked about tips for how to transition your camper well back into “the real world”. First, I would say that they are going to be very tired for a few days. This could show out as anger or sadness or other similar emotions. They will be tired in the car tomorrow and will probably fall asleep. Don’t worry about asking all the questions on the ride home. Let them tell the camp experience over time, in waves, as they remember things. Hopefully, these blog posts are helpful so you can prompt them about certain things over the coming weeks with this information. If you have time tomorrow, let them show you around camp. They will be proud to show you all the activities and places that are memorable to them. And introduce you to other friends or counselors who meant a lot.
When you get home be open to letting them incorporate new camp traditions into your family traditions. You might find yourself playing Spotlight in the back yard at night! It’s possible they may be rude or condescending to siblings, especially younger ones. They’ve had a month of playing and fun with all friends their age and stage so assimilation may take a minute. Then again, they may be excited to share all of their fun new traditions and games with their siblings.
As a reminder the gates open around 7:30 in the morning and we ask all families to arrive by 10:30. The store will be open for camp gear purchases. There will be light refreshments on the Dining Hall porch. If you plan to stay and walk around camp we would ask that you move your vehicle from the cabin area. Pull towards the gym and tennis courts on the main road and our staff will direct you to longer term parking.
One change from the previous email: Medications will be picked up at the same place as Opening Day, the tent on your left as you exit up the steep hill out of camp, just opposite of the pool. They will not be located at the front of camp as you drive in.
Thank you again for allowing your boys to be with us this Term. Carter and I are truly grateful to have this opportunity to partner with you as you raise your boys.
Glenn
