Month: June 2017
It may be a bit damp and cold but the staff training is warming us all up!
After three days of head staff training, the rest of our counsellor team arrived at camp on Saturday and we can already see that the staff of 2017 are going to be as incredible as ever.
One of our staff members from Mexico spoke today during our talk on “rules and what it means to be a professional.”
This is what he had to say:
“Last year was my first year on staff and I enjoyed it a lot. I realized that being around kids, seeing how they enjoy camp and observing how they grow in so many aspects is a beautiful experience. Camp makes this happen, and allows kids to be more independent and make them better kids in general.
I saw many campers, each different with diverse objectives, challenges and great moments. This whole process is fascinating and satisfying. For example, when one camper got up for the first time while waterskiing, it was so rewarding.
Camp is about respect and tolerance and letting each child develop his or herself without questioning from others. This is a very rewarding job! You will enjoy it so much.”
Manitou is more than camp or a summer community. It is a big special family that transforms and improves people, from freshkids to staff at all levels and as part of this, true friendships are formed.
Jeff and Mark did their welcome at the Manitou Swim fire pit as staff arrived yesterday discussing their vison for camp and the five themes of the summer. That lead to a mini colour war set up for the staff so they could all get to know each other a little better while enjoying some fun games.
Today the staff joined Chris and Mark after their swim checks for an interactive session on how to be the best counsellor possible. This session used actual examples of typical camp scenarios with staff acting out the various roles. That was followed by Elijah’s very powerful session on bullying. The Unit Heads also met with the counsellors and the Activity Heads met their activity staff and of course we reviewed our emergency procedures too! It’s been busy. Well gotta go to Sandy’s session on creative programming for cabin groups.
Until next time!
Manny
