Good morning from Camp Pinnacle!
It is the first full day of our third session this summer, and it has been a blast! Despite the rainy start, campers haven’t let anything get in the way of them having fun. Campers woke up at 7:30am to the bell ringing, our usual morning wakeup, before sharing cabin chores between themselves to get each cabin looking neat and tidy. Our cabins are checked daily, each by their head counsellor, with the cleanest, tidiest cabins receiving a ‘check plus’. These checks work towards each cabin getting to build their own ice cream sundae at the end of the summer, as a nice treat for keeping their shared spaces tidy, helping teach respect and resilience!
At 8:15 it was time for breakfast, which we shared family style! Before sitting down to eat, our Associate Director Amanda gave us an inspirational quote to motivate us through the day, “The expert in anything was once a beginner”, spoken by American Actress Helen Hayes. Kicking the morning off with quotes like these help push our campers to try their very best no matter what challenge or fear may try to get in the way of them succeeding in learning a new skill. Breakfast today was a selection of Pancakes, with syrup and fruit, eggs and sausages! At camp, we are forever proud of our kitchen staff, who work meticulously through the season to keep all of our campers and staff fed and healthy, happily taking on any dietary requests to ensure everyone is satisfied during their time here.
Straight from breakfast, it was time for the campers to head down to Lakeside, where they met their head counselors, and sat with their cabins, eagerly waiting to be called to perform their roll calls. At Lakeside, head counselors run through the daily schedule, teach the campers new songs to get them hyped for the day and watch cabin roll calls. Each day, cabins put immense thought into their roll calls for the next morning, hoping they can impress the audience enough to win the grand prize… Today’s lucky winner was Hillside cabin Jocassee! They got to take home a brand new, never before seen prize; ‘BOSS’! (It’s a bag of some stuff.)
The first two periods of the day brought some light rain, with campers all over camp working hard to overcome new challenges, bond with their new cabins and get to know their counselors a little bit better. We had groups up in the sky park, scaling the climbing wall, hitting bullseyes at archery and even canoeing over to the bridge down at the docks. It was a phenomenal start, with the rain not dulling anyone’s spirits. After the first two periods were out of the way, they had the opportunity to revisit or go try out even more new activities during Hypetivity! This allows campers more freedom to choose what they do for their hour before lunch, with a diverse selection of activities open.
Lunch today, starting at 12:30, was a delicious serving of grilled cheese sandwiches, tater tots and tomato soup. Everyone enjoyed getting to sit with new campers from other cabins, and counselors they hadn’t had the chance to meet before now. At lunch, it’s free range for seating, pushing campers to reach out, learn new names and make new friends. We had some quick announcements, a few remaining cabin photos, and then an hour of downtime. During downtime, campers get to relax after a morning full of fun, either taking naps, reading or bonding with the rest of their cabin.
From downtime, it’s over to third, fourth and fifth periods, another three hours of campers getting to challenge themselves and learn life skills that will stick with them outside of camp! The rain picked up super quickly, causing some activities to cut short, retreating to the gym for dodgeball, or the Shadium for basketball. Even with the sudden heavy rain, everyone managed to stay hyped, keep the energy high and keep smiles on faces. The weather, tragically, also disrupted our usual first night’s dinner, Cook-Out, which we consequently had to turn into Cook-In! Instead of eating out on the front lawn, we ate in the dining hall, snacking on burgers, hot dogs, salad and coleslaw, and some delicious watermelon with a selection of juices to keep us all hydrated! At the end of dinner, we listen to a few more announcements from staff before our Evening Programme is revealed. With today being our first full day of activities this session, we had Opening Campfire, which, miraculously, the rain stopped for! The evening was full of fun skits, crucial messages and life lessons, and catchy songs to get everyone ready for their next two weeks of camp life!
From the Council Ring, it was back up to the dining hall for milk and cookies- a camper favorite, obviously- over to the health centre for any campers taking evening meds, and then back home to their cabins to shower, tuck in and get plenty of rest to ensure everyone has enough energy to have just as much fun tomorrow!
Here’s to an amazing third session at Camp Pinnacle!
