Dear Friends and Families,
Our first week of 1st Session has been remarkable – great food, creative activities, a light breeze off the water, and music ringing from the rafters. Our campers have been busy adjusting to tipi life and community living…and life is busy! Many campers are awake even before the wake-up bell at 7:20am, scurry to the lodge for jumper duty, then fill their day with a variety of activities, from Archery to cooking at the Adobe Oven to Canoeing at the waterfront.
We were lucky to have such talent at our Introductory Campfire, where every unit entertained us with a skit and cleverly incorporated everyone’s name and home city into the performance. There were plenty of jokes, spontaneous laughter, and a comfort level among everyone that was palpable. The Waterfront and Craft Shop staff did an amazing job of hosting the campfire, giving us a clever theme of ‘Johnny Potter goes to Johnwarts’ – a twist on the Harry Potter series – with witty characters, costumes and a warm, happy ending. As always, the evening closed with all of us singing ‘Golden Day is Dying,’ just as it has been done since the beginning of the Henderson Camps back in the 30’s. Nor’wester is a great testament to the beautiful blend of time-tested tradition mixed with contemporary thoughts, ideas and practices.
Our Archer and Explorer campers had their first sleep-out overnight last night, cooking silver dollars and making s’mores.The rest of the units have been enjoying evening activities such as capture the flag, field games and learning the traditional dances at the camp dance.
Not only are the units getting to know each other on a deeper level, but they have also spent some good time in their unit getting to know each other, going over policies and boundaries, and creating their Code of Living, which is a guiding and living document that helps the community live up to their fullest potential with each other. These codes vary, depending on the input of each camper, and include a diverse set of characteristics and tenets that each member strives to live up to throughout the session, such as teamwork, respecting each others opinions and and belongings, being a good listener, sense of humor, and many others.
We hope to share some examples of these Codes as soon as they are solidified and turned into the office. This will be a great talking point for you and your camper after they return home.
Again, we are having the best of times with these amazing young humans! We will continue to give you brief glimpses into their magical world here at camp over the coming weeks.
Warmest Wishes,
Sheila and the Nor’wester Team
