Friday, 15th June
My name is Breeze and as the Australian representative I am one of seven counsellors that have come to Bakersville, NC to help organize games & activities, supervise campers, drive the big yellow camp bus, as well as running a computer touch-typing course at Camp Spring Creek. Did someone say multi-tasking? Well, it goes without saying that all the staff including counsellors, tutors, cooks, cleaners, and our camp directors Steve & Susie van der Vorst have been multi-tasking and working very hard to prepare and schedule for weeks leading upto the arrival of Camp Spring Creek’s campers. I have no doubt this summer will run smoothly and most importantly, it will be FUN!
So, week 1 at Camp Spring Creek is coming to a close – and what a fast week it has been! All the campers arrived on Sunday and after registration the 14 campers were straight into the pool for fitness testing. Next we had some group activities and games run by our very multi-culturally diverse group of counsellors in order to familiarize the campers with each other. During this time campers were quietly whisked off one by one to be assessed by their tutors to see where their specific peaks and valleys were in regards to their language skills in reading and spelling. What a long day!
This week we’ve had swimming classes, clay art, wood-shop, river walking/exploring, dance class, and even a spot of archery towards the end of the week. With all the fun and games one wouldn’t even think we were an educational summer camp but of course we have still managed to find time for buddy reading, one-on-one tutoring, math, study hall and the campers are responding with positive, noticeable progress already.
Our evenings have been full of more activities including night swimming, Capture the Flag, and a trip into Bakersville soccer field for an intensely competitive game of soccer. So far all campers, counsellors, and even Steve have come out of our daily group games unscathed.Daily room inspections began with high standards, resulting in a win by the junior boys’ cabin – and now revenge is a high priority! The junior boys were rewarded for their cleanliness with a movie and rootbeer whilst the rest of camp participates in daily group games…
