Reunion, Snow and Holiday Cookies

Hey Everyone!

What a weekend we had...

The CK reunion was awesome!! It was so much fun to see everyone again. Sportime USA was filled with smiles, laughter, hugs and good times. I think one of the highlights for me was becoming a very proud owner of a Campus Kids foam finger! That was way, way too much fun! Sophie and Liam love wearing their foam fingers as well.

So, when the reunion comes I always know that snow will quickly be making it's way back into our lives. Though this year it was pretty fast. By the time we made it home from the reunion there was already a dusting of snow on the ground. We saw reports that there was about 4-7 inches of snow at camp. We will be sure to get some pictures during the winter for you all. It is absolutely beautiful to walk around camp in the winter however, it does NOT compare to camp during the summer!!

My weekend ended with a DELICIOUS treat...Holiday Cookies!! My mother-in-law bakes cookies each year for her church's holiday fair and each year we attend and get to decorate the cookies with lots and lots and lots of icing! Bill, Sophie, Liam and I each had the chance to decorate a cookie or 2 (or 3- haha). Yummmm...

At the end of this weekend I realized that the holidays are definitely upon us. We went out to pickup our Christmas tree, we decorated and enjoyed our holiday cookies, every night we appreciate our neighborhood lit up with the most beautiful white lights, our wreaths are hung and my camp countdown has officially begun. Only 6 more months until we are back at camp. I can't wait for the sounds of the aqua zip, songs around the campfire, laughter in villages and the list goes on and on. As you are all getting ready for the holidays I hope that you all take a moment to reflect on what you are most thankful for and what you most look forward to for 2010. Family and camp friends are at the top of my list.

I'm off to enjoy a nice warm mug of hot cocoa. Until my next blog...

Tricia

Happy November!

Hi Everyone! I hope that you all had a happy, fun and safe Halloween! Halloween is always a fun time of the year! In keeping with the spirit of camp, I helped Noah, my nephew, create a S'more out of a pumpkin for his school's pumpkin decorating contest. Although it didn't win, it did make us think of camp the whole time we designed it! And anything that has to do with camp is FUN!!! Trick or treating was great, too! Jake went house to house as a pirate! AARRGH!! He was so cute and I am shocked that he actually kept his costume on long enough to get through the night!

But here we are now, already in November! We are heading toward Thanksgiving, the Reunion, all of the winter holidays and probably a lot of snow!!! The year is flying by, but that just means that we are getting closer and closer to CKM2010!!!

The big projects in the CKM office right now are camp fairs, tours, preparing for the reunion and working on the CIT Program. Throughout the year, we attend camp fairs and do tours of camp so that anyone interested in CK can learn more about us. The reunion is scheduled for December 5th. We are sending out reunion invitations within the next week, so be sure to mark your calendars! We can't wait to see everyone there and be able to catch up and share our favorite camp memories!

We are also nearing the deadline for CIT Applications. I am happy to say that quite a few completed applications have already arrived and we will be getting started with interviews very, very soon! I am so excited about the CIT Program for this upcoming summer. We had a great turnout at the CIT Info Session and I am so happy to be able to work with our 11th graders in this program. If you are planning on applying for the CIT Program, please remember that the deadline for the applications and the references is November 13th. If you have any questions, please email or call us anytime!

Well, that's it for now. I hope that you are all doing well and counting down the days to the reunion...I definitely am!

Until next time...

Kathryn

Facebook, Tours and C.I.T. Info Session

Good day CKM friends-

Campus Kids Minisink is now on facebook!! What does that mean for you? That means you will find out all of the up to date news from the CKM office plus have a place to post your memories, hear from campers and staff that you haven't heard from and see some pictures of camp throughout the year. Maybe if we are all lucky, I can get a picture of Brad at camp this winter making snow angels. Haha that would be awesome!! If you are not yet a fan of the CKM facebook page, be sure to sign up. Also, if you have any pictures from camp please post them. Thanks Ashley for sharing some of your camp pics with us. Gold star for you.

We will be heading up to camp this weekend for tours as well as an information session for our new C.I.T. program. If you have not yet sent your r.s.v.p. for the information session, do so today. You can email Kathryn, kathryn@campuskids.com or Tricia, tricia@campuskids.com. The C.I.T. program is offered to former campers that will be entering the 11th grade in Sept. 2010. Please note: Attending the information session is not a requirement of the application process.

I hope you have all had a great week and have a fabulous weekend! Until my next blog-

Tricia

Office, Fall, Pumpkins and More

Hey Everyone!!

So, this has been a big mailing week for us in the CKMinisink office. Our 1st edition of The Grapevine-Herald went out. Not only does it have a new name but it also has a new format, thank you Kathryn. It came out great! If anyone would like to contribute to the newsletter whether it's articles, stories, interviews, word searches, movie reviews, etc...we would love it! We also sent out a big mailing to our current 10th grade campers. Once you all have a chance to read about the new programs, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Of course summer is my favorite season because of camp however I also have a great love for autumn! I love the colorful leaves falling down, pumpkins on just about every front porch, the chill in the air, pumpkin and apple pies, apple cider oohh and apple cider donuts! This weekend we are going on a family field trip with Sophie's preschool. Bill and I are excited to take Sophie and Liam on a hayride, go apple picking and then lay our blanket out with the other families and enjoy a great afternoon picnic. For those of you that have spent time with Sophie and Liam you will all know that they are going to love this!!!! Then on Sunday I am heading up to camp for a busy day of tours. I am thinking I should pick up some apple cider for everyone to enjoy and maybe some pumpkins to decorate the office!! The lake is going to look even more beautiful than it did last week. The color of autumn is all around camp!

Even though the summer is behind us it doesn't mean that we can't talk about our camp memories every day with our friends... Keep thinking camp! We have some really cool stuff planned for CKM2010 and we have our reunion coming up! Be sure to mark your calendars...Dec. 5th from 10AM-12:30PM. The reunion is for both CKM and CKCT campers and staff. Invitations will be going out next month. Yay I love the camp reunion!!

Until my next blog...

Tricia

Camp is Too Quiet but We have Some Big News

Hey Everyone!!



So, it's been a little while since we have seen each other! I hope you are all doing great! I was at camp on Sunday doing tours and it was absolutely beautiful up there. The leaves are beginning to change, the sun was shining and I saw a deer prancing through the woods. However, it was way too quiet! As I walked around camp, I missed the sound of people laughing and cheering each other on as someone is about to be blobbed, I miss the music coming from the big gym as LaToya would be practicing with the dance performers. What I am trying to say is...camp is beautiful but not the same without all of you!

I wanted to share some exciting news for the 2010 CKM summer. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been working on some major changes to Campus Kids and we wanted to share these changes with you. Campus Kids CT is merging with Campus Kids Minisink. This opportunity developed recently and we are very excited about the future of our program. CK-CT campers will have the option of joining us at Minisink or going to Campus Kids New Jersey, our beautiful campus/dorm location. Jani will continue as the CKM director, along with Brad Finkelstein. Brad has worked in the camping industry for 25 years. Before coming to Campus Kids, Brad worked in the traditional camp setting of Lake Bryn Mawr Camp. Brad has been part of the Campus Kids family for 12 years, serving as the Connecticut Director since 2001. I will continue as one of the 2 Associate Directors. I will be joined by Kathryn Finkelstein, who has served as the Associate Director for the past 9 years. She began at CK-CT in 1995 with Jani and continued with Brad when Jani and I opened Minisink in 2001. Brad and Kathryn along with their 2 year old son, Jake, are going to be a great addition to the CKM family!!

So, as you can tell there is a lot happening over here at CK-M! We are also about to begin work on our fall newsletter, The Grapevine Herald. If you have anything you would like published in the newsletter be sure to e-mail me, tricia@campuskids.com as soon as possible. I would love to include articles, drawings, etc from campers and staff!!

Until my next blog...
Tricia

Special Events at CKM

Good Morning!

I am sitting at my desk just thinking about the last 4 weeks of camp. We have had some really awesome events at camp. So far this summer we have had: Intercamp with CK-CT, an art show (Sophie and I both had art projects displayed...YAY!), In camp Swim Meet, CKM Choir performance with a slideshow, Dance Performances by "The Dreamboys" and "Jai Ho Dancers", 2 Camp Dances, and a campfire. Some of our upcoming events are: a Broadway revue, campfire, dance performances- Dreamgirls and Single Ladies, Footloose, Intercamp with both CK-NJ and CK-CT and our annual camp carnival...just to name a few. We have a lot of great things happening here at CKM!!
The sun is shining today and we have all of our activities in full swing. I am going to head out to Arts and Crafts now and then work my way around camp.

Happy Thursday!
Tricia

Mentor/Mentee Program

Hey Everyone!

For those of you that don't know, we have a staff assistant program. Our staff assistants are former campers that are now entering the 11th and 12th grades. It's a training program, where the staff assistants have the opportunity to learn about all aspects of camp. Last summer a mentor/mentee program was introduced and this summer we are continuing this program. I am lucky enough to have Jillian as my mentee for summer #2. She is an outstanding staff assisant!! So, Jillian and Alyssa (also a fantastic 2nd yr staff assist) have had the opportunity to post on this blog. They had a lot of fun writing their posts!!! Enjoy!

Tricia

Howdy y'all! I'm Jillian and this is my second year as a staff assistant here at CKM. This is my eighth summer at camp and my second summer as Tricia's "mentee." I work in Kalagesi, donning my usual bow headband and knee-high socks. I love arts & crafts, especially tie dyeing! Now a few words about my mentor--TRICIA!! Tricia loves a nice bubble bath surrounded by incense (yup), a fuzzy cardigan, and lastly, FOOD party including fruit, hamburgers and pasta. Similar to Tricia's likes, I enjoy fuzzy cardigans, but I must say the FAJITAS and "guac" are simply delectable. Well that's all for now! Until next week, this is Jilly Bean saying "toodles!"

Hi there! I'm Alyssa and this is my eighth summer here at CKM. This is my second summer working as a staff assistant. I work in Minnewaska with the oldest girls in the village (going into sixth grade). You can usually find me in Gymnastics. We recently did an awesome training program in our "Beam Gym" with the Connecticut staff- thankfully I only fell once! This summer I am most excited for my AMAZING mentor ASHLEY! She enjoys long walks on the beach, puppy dogs, rocky road ice cream, and chicken-nugget salad (as do I). I cannot wait for the rest of this summer- I know it's going to be lots and lots of fun!

Intercamp

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday we had a great day! A) The weather was shining B) We had an awesome intercamp with CK-CT and C) We had a very cool sing off in the pavilion. At around 11:00 yesterday CK-CT arrived ready to join CK-M in a day of fun out on our athletic fields. The campers participated in both soccer and basketball and we were lucky enough to have them join us for lunch and a snack. While we were enjoying our fruit during snack time both camps spontaneously had a sing off. The pavilion was filled with songs such as Boom Chicka Boom, The Moose Song, The Shark Song and Bazooka Bubble Gum. We can't wait for our next intercamp!!

Tricia

1st Week of Camp

WOW! Where did the week go? I can't believe that the buses have rolled out of camp for the start of the weekend. We had a fantastic week! While we did have a little rain we were able to still have a great time. Last night we had our campfire done the CKM rainy day way in the big gym. What a blast! The groups performed their bunk cheers then each village sang their village song...WELL DONE!
I hope that everyone has a great weekend and I can't wait for the buses to arrive on Monday morning. The first summer edition of The Minisink Herald went out today so if you are interested in taking a look, it is available online.
Sophie, Liam and I hope that you enjoy the 4th of July fireworks and barbecues this weekend....I know we will!!!
Happy Weekend!
Tricia

Horseback and WEA

Good Morning!

So, there are many of you out there that are still interested in our Weekend Adventure and/or Horseback programs. Well here's the scoop on what is still available....

Weekend Adventure (for campers entering 7th - 10th grade)

WEA1 Sweet Escape...SOLD OUT

WEA2 Boston Bound...Spaces Still Available

WEA3 Adirondack Adventures...Spaces Still Available

If interested in this program please contact our office with any questions, 845-856-6433 or go to our website to download the WEA forms, http://www.campuskids.com/ .

Horseback Riding

There are still some spaces available. This program is great for all riders whether they are just starting out or they have been riding for years. All lessons are taught at Black Ridge Farm just 3 miles from camp. If interested in this program please contact our office with any questions,

845-856-6433 or go to our website to download the HB forms, http://www.campuskids.com/ .

It's a great day here at Campus Kids- Minisink! Hope you are having a great day too!!
Tricia

tricia@campuskids.com

1st Day of Camp

Hello Everyone!



We had a FANTASTIC 1st day of camp! The staff were so excited to greet the camp buses...everyone here couldn't wait for the FUN to begin!! After campers met their Village Coordinator and counselors they had the chance to meet Melissa, the waterfront coordinator and Kim, the camp nurse. All of our campers had the chance to choose their 1st activity followed by their club choice, clubs run on Monday and Wednesday nights.

So here we are on our 2nd day of camp. The sun is shining and we are all ready for a full day of activities. Tonight is Village Night... YAY!!!



I'm going to head out into camp now...Hooray for CKM Summer '09!
Tricia

Nights at Camp

Nights at camp...Besides the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs nights at CK-Minisink are filled with good times!! On Monday and Wednesday nights, we have what we call "Clubs". What that means is if there is an activity that you really like for example drama, then that is your time to sign up for it since you will be doing it for 2 nights. If you are into sports and we have an intercamp game coming up that you would like to participate in, then you would sign up for that sport during clubs. Each club period runs for 1 hour and 30 mins. On Tuesday night we have our "Village Night". A village night is planned and run by the Village Coordinator, the person who is in charge of the village. It might be something like a night swim, scavenger hunt, fashion show or obstacle course. These nights are super fun! On Thursday night we have our "All Camp Night". At the end of weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8 we have our camp dance. On the other Thursday nights we have activities such as campfires, a camp carnival and dance and/or drama performance. Then on Friday night our campers are home with their families telling everyone about their awesome week at camp!

Phone Calls...During the week our campers can call home up to 2 times during the week, M/W or T/TH. The calling nights will be selected for each bunk group and you will be notified of what they are before camp begins. Phone calls happen once we are back in villages after our evening program, usually around 8:15. On dance nights, phone calls start a little later.

Canteen...Our canteen is open at night for our older campers. It's a great time to spend with friends! If you are a camper entering the 7th or 8th grade then you will be able to go to our Canteen on Tuesday nights from 8:15pm - 9:30pm. If you are a camper entering the 9th or 10th grade then you will be able to go to our Canteen on Monday and Wednesday nights from 8:15pm - 10:00pm.

That is a quick rundown of our nights at camp. Nights at camp are special, especially when they are lit by a starry summer night's sky...
Tricia

Hello from "Minisinkland"

Hey Everyone!!

Sorry it has been some time since our last posting. We have just been busy in the office making prepartions for this upcoming summer. I can't believe that it is already the middle of April! Before we know it we are going to be standing on the volleyball field anxiously awaiting the arrival of the camp buses!

So, what have we been up to this past month? Well, we attended the Tri-State Camping conference in Atlantic City. It's a huge conference where camp professionals have the opportunity to attend sessions, mingle with other camp professionals and purchase some great items for camp. It's great for me to go and just think about camp! I also attended a conference a couple of weeks ago. This conference was with Michael Thompson, a psychologist and author. That day took me from NYC to White Plains. Both sessions I attended were interesting and informative. I have also been working very closely with CK-CT on planning our Weekend Adventures!! We have some awesome WEAs planned this year. For those of you that are not familiar with WEA, it is an optional program for campers entering 7th - 10th grade. This program is for independent campers that are OK with the idea of not going home for the weekends. We run 3 programs over the course of the summer. Information on the 2009 trips will be going out very soon! So if you are a 7th -10th grader watch your mail for the list of trips.

Well, I better get back to work. I have some more exciting stuff to plan for this summer. I will keep you posted. Please remember that if you have any friends or family interested in CK-Minisink we will be giving tours throughout the spring. Check out our website to see upcoming tour dates. Happy Spring!
Tricia

Update from the CKM office

March 16, 2009
Spring is just a few days away!!
It is warming up! The snow and ice has melted at camp, so it is much easier to give tours, and future campers and their parents are able to better imagine what camp looks like in the summer.
Our latest issue of The Minsink Herald has been mailed and is also available online… just send us an email if you want the password. Our “parent packets” have also been mailed, and the forms are also available on our website.
We are heading to the Tri-State Camp Conference… the largest educational conference in the world for those in the camp industry. It is always great to have the opportunity to learn new things… whether it relates to program, staffing, child development and/or technology. While it seems crazy to take time in March away from staff hiring and from talking with families interested in camp… it is a great benefit to be in a learning environment with approximately 3000 other camp professionals.
We will report back early next week!
Jani and Tricia

The Adventure Program and Aquatics Program at CK Minisink!

We are happy to announce that Steve (Steve-O) Von Glahn is returning to CKMinisink this summer to oversee the Adventure Program. This is Steve-O’s sixth summer with us, having been a bunk counselor, Village Coordinator and Adventure Program Coodinator. Steve-O oversees a staff of 20 ropes course instructors who staff the ropes course, climbing wall and aqua zip. His leadership and enthusiasm make these activities among the most popular with campers!
Some campers are ready to experience the ropes course as soon as they get to camp, and others like to watch the activity for a few days… to really see what the experience is… and, then they want to give it a try. Then, their comment is…. I did it!!

We are also pleased to announce the return of our Lake Coordinator, Melissa Lefkowitz. This will be Melissa’s eighth summer at CKMinisink…. she was a camper, staff assistant, counselor, assistant Lake Coordinator and Lake Coordinator. Melissa oversees up to 25 lifeguards, all swim instruction and recreational swim and “the blob”. In addition to overseeing the swimming aspect of our lake, she also works closley with the Small Crafts Coordinator . Melissa teaches an ARC lifeguarding course, and several first aid and CPR courses. She loves to teach campers to swim and sees this as an important life skill.
It is fun to hear Melissa share stories about camper accomplishments at the lake… whether it is a camper’s first time putting their face in the water or the success in learning the breast stroke.

Jani

What do you during the year?

What do you do during the year? I get that question all the time. Most people have no idea what it takes to get a camp ready for operation. There is so much to do!! From enrolling campers, to hiring staff, to doing cabin assignments, etc. Here's a brief glimpse into some of the things we do during the year...

Camp Fairs. Campus Kids attends camp fairs in CT, NY and NJ. Most of the camp fairs we attend are sponsered by ACA, PTAs and Referral Services. At camp fairs we have the chance to meet potential camp families, to briefly talk to them about our camp and answer any questions they may have. It's also a time that we get to meet other camp directors or catch up with old friends from other camps. P.S. some of the camp fairs have the best bagels I have ever had!!! Yum-O!!!

Tours. We offer tours throughout the year to new and prospective camp families. It's such a great time for a family to come up to camp and just look around. At this time of the year it is kind of hard to imagine camp since it's covered in snow. However, once we start talking about camp and all of the great activities I think anyone would be psyched for camp snow or no snow!!!

Interviews. Throughout the year we conduct interviews with potential counselors, supervisors and staff assistants. It's actually a lot of fun. Most of our interviews are conducted over the phone. We talk about everything from school, to experience working with kids, to their favorite book. If we have found the right person for CK, the phone call is AWESOME!

I love talking about our camp, campers, activities, etc. Whether I am at a camp fair, doing a tour or conducting an interview. I get to think and talk about camp 12 months out of the year ...who has a better job than I do during the year???

And I get to blog...
Tricia

Guess who is coming back...

We would like to welcome Ashley back to camp this summer! She will be coming back to camp as our Program Coordinator. She will also be working with our staff assistants. During the year, Ashley helps give tours of CK-Minisink to prospective camp families. This will be her 14th summer at camp. She started as a camper, then became a staff assistant, counselor and then a supervisor. Yay! Welcome back!! Be sure to read future blog entries to find out who else will be returning to camp.

Nature Blog

January 27, 2009
The nature program at CKMinisink is a favorite for many campers, and one reason why is that there are 500 acres to explore! The nature program offers many different types of activities…. learning to build a one match fire, shelter building, bird watching, becoming aware of the plants and animals who have made CKM their home, hiking, outdoor cooking, sleeping out under the stars…
In addition, with increased attention on “the greening of CKMinisink”, campers help the entire camp community become responsible for conservation… I’m sure you are now very aware of the phrase “reduce, re-use, recycle”! We have even spent time developing simple solar ovens for baking AND we will continue to develop this program.
This popular outdoor program continues to evolve under the leadership of Kaley Odland, who is returning to camp for his seventh summer on our staff!
As with all of our program activities, campers choose the nature activities that they want to participate in.
Are there activities that you would like us to add to our nature program? Kaley is always open to suggestions! Just click here to send us your ideas.
Enjoy your day!
Jani

Hello There!

Hey There! I hope that everyone is having a great 2009 so far!!! We just had, what I like to call birthdaypalooza in our house! Liam turned 1 on Jan. 10th and Sophie turned 3 on Jan. 12th. We had a fun time celebrating both birthdays!! And then next week is our dog, Jack's birthday!! My husband and I joke that if you want to live in our house the only requirement is that you have a January birthday! hahaha.
So, now that we are into 2009 we are in full swing with tours and camp fairs! Camp fairs are really neat. When we go to a fair we get to meet staff from other camps and then we get a chance to talk about camp to families that are trying to find a camp for their child. If you know of anyone that is interested in CK and would like to meet us at a camp fair, the dates and locations are listed on our website. Or if they would prefer a tour, our dates are listed on our website as well. We would love to show them around!
I wish you all a happy and safe 2009 filled with good times, great accomplishments and laughter!!! Until next time- Tricia