Working full time for Camp Canadensis means that every season has a completely different feeling, and the kinds of things we are working on vary widely! To generalize, in the Spring we are fine tuning the details for an amazing summer, in the Summer we work day and night to make camp magical for every child, in the Fall we get to reflect and begin planning how to top the prior summer, and in the Winter we travel! That means now is the time of year when all of us in the winter office take to the roads and sky to meet as many of our campers and staff members as possible in person. Eric has been traveling in Australia and New Zealand, Matt has been traveling in Eastern Europe, and later today I’ll be heading to the United Kingdom to interview staff applicants. In February, Brian, Cara and I will be on more than 15 college campuses – we truly believe that nothing replaces the face to face interaction and vibes you are able to get with in-person interviews. Camp is way too personal to hire staff only by phone!
In addition to meeting our staff, we will be traveling to meet our families! All the way back to our founder, Bill Saltzman, visiting campers in their homes before their first summer at camp has been a hallmark of the Canadensis experience. We love the opportunity to focus on one child at a time, get to know their interests and to form a relationship with the entire family. This winter, Brian, Eric and myself will travel thousands of miles to meet with our new 2014 campers, and when we do we will “introduce” them to you on our blogs – so keep checking back! If you have a child coming to camp for the first time, call us to schedule your home visit, or we will be giving you a call to get a date on the calendar soon!
Today, I wanted to introduce you to Sydney, she is currently in 5th grade and will be an Upper Inter Girl at camp this summer! She lives in Bala Cynwyd, PA, is a veteran of our Tour & More Weekend overnight program, and she is a triple alumni! In the photo above, she is with her mom, Tracy Chalfin, and grandmother, Connie Creed – both are alumni of Canadensis! Sydney will be turning 11 at camp this summer and her mom was reminiscing about how much fun camp birthdays were! Apparently, birthday girls used to get a delicious frozen chocolate cake…and although we keep a lot of traditions at camp, the cake Sydney will be getting this summer will be fresh baked, and vanilla! In addition, Sydney will get to pick a special birthday activity for her bunk, she’ll be serenaded by the entire camp at Morning Line Up, and have several other extra special treats during the day.
When I was over during winter break, she and I talked a lot about crafts, and she showed me some of her recent projects. She had done a cool “melted crayon” art project (like this) and showed me a skirt and slippers she had recently sewn at the Handworks Studio! She attends Penn Charter School and the ceramics and art projects that she’s made in class were really awesome! She enjoys a lot of different activities, including ice skating and rhythmic gymnastics. She was about to go to a gymnastics exhibition and her uniform was super cool with flames all over it…it sparkled and looked like you could cook s’mores off of it!
In addition to be super flexible on the gymnastics mat, she has a ton of camp spirit! One of her friends taught her songs and cheers that are sung in the dining hall, and she can’t wait to do the cup song with her friends while waiting for a meal this summer! Over winter break, she got to spend some time with her family in NYC, and she was really looking forward to a visit to Dylan’s Candy Bar, so I’m sure Sydney will love the canteen (where we keep the candy!) at camp! Can’t wait to see her enjoying everything this summer!
