Monthly Archives: June 2014

So Much Staff Training Fun!

Monday, June 16th, 2014
The Spontaneous Parade!

The Spontaneous Parade!

Hey there, friends! Olive Oyl here with your staff training news!

Our new counseling crew has been settling in nicely– working hard in the waterfront, ropes, and horse areas during the day plus plenty of fun time in the evening. Yesterday they finished their last day of training and today are enjoying a lovely day off!

We’ve had some exciting evening programs since our new staff has arrived– first Llamapalooza, a camp staple, featuring such classics as the sheriff smile and water balloon toss. We also had a couple of new activities that we were able to test out before campers arrive, such as the elephant trunk and shake, rattle, and roll, which were both tons of fun.

We also had Trivia night, testing our knowledge in sports, music, movies, and miscellaneous facts. Two nights ago was electives, where returning counselors held activities for our new staff, such as the spontaneous parade, throwing pots, a creek walk, and baking vegan chocolate chip cookies. We convened at the end of the night in the Rec Hall where we sang some camp favorites like the Princess Pat and The Farthest Field. Last night was the always fun Belfast Bus Night where new counselors got to explore the cute little town while returners had the opportunity to revisit their favorite spots.

The weather has been beautiful today after a few days of cold and rain, so we’ve all been basking in the sunshine and working hard. We’re continuing on with our work projects, such as the snack shack and pizza oven, which is in its final stages. We’ve also been doing some painting and general cleaning up around camp in anticipation for camper arrival. We have our final group of new staff arriving today, so our summer staff will finally be completed! Returners will be planning cabin nights this evening to welcome our new friends and bond as a cabin group. Before we know it we’ll be settling into our cabins for first session and greeting the happy faces of HVC campers!

Our animal friends have also been adjusting quite nicely to camp life. The kittens are becoming friendlier and we have an especially adventurous little feline who’s nicknamed 007 because of his tuxedo-like coat. We also have a new addition to the animal barn, two adorable guinea pigs brought by our very own counselor Robin.

I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop as our staff becomes complete and we prepare for first session here at HVC!

Lots of love,

Olive

Hard at Work!

Friday, June 13th, 2014

P1090684

Hi all! Snoop Cat here with a big update on all of the trainings that have been going on yesterday and today.

Our specialty area trainings (lifeguards, horse staff, ropes staff, and video staff) are well under way here in our little corner of Maine. Yesterday the lifeguards completed some prerequisites, which involved swimming both in the lake and the pool. As raindrops bounced lightly on the lake’s surface, the waterfront staff swam from the docks to the other side of the lake and back… twice! They all had great attitudes and felt quite accomplished once they completed the “Big Swim.” They then headed over to the pool where they practiced some basic rescue skills and went through other lifeguarding basics. Later in the afternoon they got to practice more rescue techniques with different partners. Today has been a full day of first aid, AED, and CPR training. Tomorrow they head back into the water to improve even more of their skills.

The ropes staff began their day yesterday with ropes games. After getting to know each other a bit better they practiced belaying and climbing on the climbing wall. It was great to watch the old staff help the new staff out with some tips and tricks! Today continued to be a busy day, filled with learning how to tie different knots and practicing their new skills on the high ropes course. Each person got to climb with, and belay, their fellow staff members. They’re still up in the trees as the impending thunderstorm continues to hold off!

Our horse girls have had quite a busy schedule as well! From mucking and tacking to reviewing emergency procedures and lunging the horses, they are happily exhausted. They have even begun riding each horse to learn more about the horses’ personalities and how to better teach camper riding lessons. The video crew made sure to stop by the horse barn to get some footage of their training as part of their own training as well. After getting an introduction to camp video equipment and exploring all of camp, both today and yesterday, they have begun to record all the different activities that are happening here around HVC. They have even started brainstorming new video class ideas and started using new software to edit their video clips. Jake, our video guru, has just arrived to pass on his infinite wisdom to our wonderful new staff.

Though it has gotten a little rainy this afternoon, all of our counselors are pushing through and doing an excellent job. That’s all for now… more to come soon!

Peace and love,

Snoop Cat

Staff Training Has Officially Begun!

Wednesday, June 11th, 2014
Meg and the rescued bird!

Meg and the rescued bird!

Hi there, friends! Olive Oyl here with some exciting camp news.

We’ve begun to shift from pre-camp to staff training mode, with everybody moving into new cabins and greeting new faces! It’s been a warm and sunny day here in Maine, and we’ve had some preparatory work projects around camp like cleaning up the red barn and rec hall to get ready for all our new staff and of course our wonderful campers, although those shining faces are still a few weeks away. We’ve already had a handful of staff trickle in last night and this morning, but we’re expecting a whole bunch more later on today. All of our lifeguard, horse, and ropes trainers have arrived, so those areas of camp are beginning to get ready for the summer. The horse staff has been working especially hard getting the new horses ready and taking care of a beautiful stray bird (be sure to check out the pictures!). We’ve also been continuing our hard work at the new snack shack and pizza oven, which currently looks like an igloo as it’s in its final stages of completion.

This afternoon we’ll be holding interest groups with some sing-a-longs, name tag making, and friendship bracelets (just like camper arrival day!) to welcome our new counselor friends. We’ll also be giving inaugural tours and settling into our cabins to get everyone adjusted to this wonderful place that we’ll be calling our home for the next few months. The pace is picking up around camp, and we’re so excited to meet our new community members and get the summer rolling!

Ta ta for now,

Olive

 

Somewhere Over the Rainbow…

Friday, June 6th, 2014

RainbowStitch

After dinner last night, something amazing happened here on camp… a double rainbow! Check out some of these pretty awesome pictures to get a glimpse of this spectacular sight.

More updates to come next week!

Peace out,

Snoop Cat

Not Even the Rain Can Slow Us Down!

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

IMG_6515

Hey there, Olive Oyl here with some HVC news.

The weather’s a bit cooler and wetter than what we experienced yesterday, but a little schvitz never comes in our way here at camp. We had a bunch of work crews this morning– clearing trails, setting up the new archery course, and of course the continued efforts on the new and improved snack shack (be sure to check out the photos!). The horse crew is also keeping busy despite the gloomy weather, caring for the animals and getting the stables ready for campers and the full horse staff to arrive.

Camp is starting to look a lot more like camp, with picnic tables starting to pop up and fresh coats of paint being applied. The pre-camp crew is small but mighty, and we are all waiting excitedly for the full staff to arrive next week!

I’ll be sure to keep you updated as work projects progress and more staff arrives!

Adios,

Olive

Big Things Are Happening on This Beautiful Day!

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

Hard at work moving the docks!

Hey there, HVC-ers! Olive Oyl reporting with your pre-camp news.

It’s been a very exciting day here in Maine, with lots of projects going on to clean up camp after a long winter and set up for the fast-approaching summer. A lot of new staff arrived yesterday, so we had plenty of hands on deck to get the docks out on the lake, our big task of the morning. The weather has been beautiful,  which made doing the heavy lifting just a little bit easier. We even spotted some special lake creatures (see pictures for dragonflies and baby frogs)! Now the lake and boat dock are all ready to go, both of which will definitely get some more use when our next batch of staff arrives for lifeguard training.

The ropes staff has also been keeping busy–they finished setting up the course yesterday, which will be loads of fun come staff training. Our horse staff has been enjoying the weather as well, spending the day caring for the horses and cleaning up the barn area (photos to come shortly). The pizza oven and the new snack shack are also coming along nicely, which are sure to be big hits this summer. There’s still much more pre-camp to come, with lifeguard training, ropes training, and horse prep. Camp is starting to get more populated, but there’s still an amazing sense of calm and serenity as we prepare for the exciting summer days ahead!

Until next time,

Olive

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