Category: Staff Corner

Every summer we have a new theme. It gives us something special to focus on each year. Previous themes included:

• You Gotta Believe!
• It begins with you!
• Proud to be me!
• Spirits Soar!
• Dreams Come alive!
• Get in the Mix!
• A New View in 1-2!

The theme this year, All WE can be in 1-3, will mean something different for each person. For some it will mean teamwork and working together. For others it could mean trying your best at whatever you do. For me, this summer’s theme is about challenging yourself to be a better person, cabin mate, friend, and team member. It means that there is no limit to what we can do and what we can accomplish. If you can dream it you can achieve it. It means that even if we are limited as an individual, as a team, nothing is impossible.

“Being all you can be in 2013 means giving everything your all and not worrying about what others think. You need to be true to yourself and try your hardest. Do what you love and don’t be embarrassed about who you are.” -Lindsay

“The Summer theme means to me that you should always try to be the best you can and to just be yourself!” — Mera

“This summer’s theme opens your mind to the infinite (and we know that’s actually true) possibilities a summer at camp can mean. It is what has led several of us to spend a decade at Woodland. All that we can be also means, for me, that we can be out best selves even in adversity, and at camp, situations tend to go against us or challenge us. Even more, it is a constant challenge that pushes us to explore all that we can be and improve on it, on everything. All that we can be together, that’s what I would add to it.” – Natalia

“To me this theme means that we have endless possibilities to be what ever we want (ie. An amazing friend, a level up in activities) we just have to believe in each other and in ourselves.”- Grace

Can’t wait to see you at Camp!

Jaime

All WE can be in 1-3…this summer’s theme causes me to think.  As anyone who reads this can tell, the emphasis is on the “WE” and I ask, why shouldn’t it? We, nous, мы, nosotros all of these word are a description of a collective group of individuals.  I automatically think of summer 2012 and the adage we had at Camp Woodland: I do, we do, you do.  This is descriptive of how everyone regardless if you are a camper, counselor or director works together at Camp Woodland or Towering Pines.  It is the way we all learn.

Experienced counselors and educators know how to teach a certain activity or subject but he or she also learns from the campers or students.  The theme for Camp Woodland and Towering Pines could have been “All YOU can be in 1-3” but where’s the fun in that?! I see the WE and know there is a community of people who are interested in making summer 2013 the very best it can be.  We can go sailing on Sand Lake or play on the Aquatramp (a trampoline…on the water!!) at Towering Pines.  We can learn to shoot and we can care for the animals in Farm Zoo.  Again the emphasis is on the “we.”  This is what it means to go to camp.  You learn how to work as a team.  The “I’s” turn into wes.  We become a family during the summer and those relationships last a lifetime.  Just remember: We can, we will, and we’re going to do it right away!!

Can’t wait to see you in a few weeks!

Sara

Are you getting excited for camp???  Sara Fisher is definitely ready for camp and is going to be writing a post every week about her summer in the eye’s of a counselor.  Get ready for some great reads about her adventures along the way!  Sara’s first blog is hot off the presses:

Sara at pre-camp 2012

Here I go, getting ready for another wonderful summer in the North Woods at Camp Woodland.  2013 marks my eighth summer at camp…where did the time go?! If you were to really look at how many years Camp Woodland has been a part of my life, it would actually be around 14 years.  And yet, I find myself thinking back to that first summer and realize there are going to be a number of new campers this year who will get to experience camp for the first time making memories that will last a lifetime.  From 2000 to 2004, I spent five summers as a camper swimming, sailing, and canoeing on Sand Lake as well as learning how to shoot a bow and arrow, ride a horse, and be creative down in the arts and crafts room.

Sara and sister Kelsey – First Day of Camp 2000

After a seven-year hiatus, where every summer camp was on my mind, I made a decision and returned in 2011 as a counselor and I look forward to going back every summer.  Even after all these years, I have a vivid memory of the summer day in 1999 when my parents took my sister and I to visit camp.  The Jordan Family were so welcoming and though I was nervous about the idea of spending a summer in Wisconsin (as opposed to my native Ohio) they along with my dad, a Towering Pines alum himself, assured me that I would have tons of fun.  How right they were!

It truly is a wonderful experience to go to camp.  Everyone gets to be a new camper or counselor at some point but the atmosphere is so welcoming that you don’t feel like a newbie for long.  I remember everyone’s names that were in my cabins with me all those year.  I also remember everyone’s name that also attended camp during those first five summers.  How many times can you say that?  The first two days at camp can seem kind of slow and make you want to go home but have no fear the next thing you know, once activities start, it will be the last week of camp and you will ask yourself…Where did the summer go???

Sara Fisher and her sister Kelsey

It doesn’t matter if you are a first, second, or third generation camper there is a place at camp for you-as a part of the Towering Pines and Woodland extended family.  The benefits of going to camp are astronomical! The people you meet, the experiences and opportunities you have, and the memories you make will shape who you decide to become-I know they have for me.  Make sure to join us in 2013 to help us be “All WE can be in 1-3”!!!

Our very own Kim Wenzl Aycock has been writing all those fun and creative blog posts over the past few weeks.  Check out more about all the fantastic things Kim does for camp during the year in her own words: