June 21, 2024 by Glenn Carrington
The first week of Camp, sans campers, is wrapping up! As the counseling staff of 2024 waits patiently for our campers to arrive, however, we have been keeping extremely busy. Orientation week has been chock full of guest speakers and camp alumni sharing their knowledge about how to make camp the safest, kindest, and most supportive environment it can be. From watching TED talks on embracing vulnerability among the campers to lectures on behavior management for encouraging harmony and support within cabins and the camp community, we feel prepared and knowledgeable to guide campers in every aspect of new experiences they face. As a first year counselor, I am impressed daily by the determination and joy that drives all the summer preparation here at CMS, and at the end of each day I feel increasingly confident in the ability of all the staff to truly make this summer the BEST SUMMER EVER!!
All week has been full of exciting and informative activities, but waiting for the JCs to arrive today has been the most anticipatory of them all. To me, the JCs’ arrival marks the true beginning of this camping season, and I know that my fellow counselors and I could not be more ready to greet them and get this summer rolling!
After receiving our schedules, each counselor is excited to prepare lesson plans for their activities to ensure that each camper is engaged while trying new things in their schedules. We have been setting up West Lodge, the athletics field, and making sure all of our equipment is ready to go so that as soon as campers receive their schedules we are ready to start the fun! Unfortunately, this means that we have to cool it with our Blue/Black rivalry. After a devastating defeat by the blue team on the softball field, (they cheated) the black team is recovering and plotting their revenge. No worries, we are positive that the Greens and Buffs will not take after our overly competitive habits. We can’t wait to see everyone and hope that all of you are just as excited as we are. SEE Y’ALL SATURDAY!!!