A day in the life of a counselor at Camp Stella Maris
In just a few short days I won't be able to update as frequently as usual. Therefore I'm just going to write out a typical day at camp to give you an idea of what my summer is going to be like...
At the beginning of the week we are assigned our co-counselor and cabin/age group. There are 2 counselors to a cabin and I think that there about 25 cabins that hold about 12 people each.
Names of the cabins:
Bings, Nadler, Morsch, F&G, Foster, Jogues, Fisher, Lourdes, Morning Star, Schaffer, Evening Star, Mercy, Ave, D&H, Leo, Russer, Kimber, Hudson, Reidman, and the newest one Élan
The campers that I will be working with are the resident overnight campers:
The ages of the campers range from 7-14/15.
Junior campers (7-8yrs)
Midi 1 (9-11yrs)
Midi 2 (12-13yrs)
Senior 1 (13-14yrs)
Senior 2 (13-14/15yrs)
Other area's on camp that I won't be dealing with:
There is Day camp for ages 5-10yrs old
And the LIT (leader in Training) are 15yrs
CIT (counselor in Training) are 16yrs
There are speakers in every cabin which blare the morning show at 7:15AM. If I was the DJ that morning I would have to get up at 7:00AM to be "on the air" at 7:15. The younger the campers the earlier they are called down to breakfast. On the announcements the "word of the day is announced" (the word of the day usually has to do with the theme of the week)
This year the themes are:
(6/27-7/3)A Week: The Best of CSM
(7/4-7/9)B Week: Be True to Your School
(7/11-7/17)C Week: Wonders of the World
(7/18-7/23)D Week: In the Jungle
(7/25-7/31)E Week: 'Tis the Seasons
(8/1-8/6)F Week: Wild, Wild West
(8/8-8/14)G Week: 'Twas the Night Before...
(8/15-8/20)H Week: Star Struck
The campers have to prepare a Grace aka Prayer as a cabin that includes the word of the day. So for example if it was F week "wild wild west" the word of the day might be "cowboy" and your cabin will have to make up a prayer with the word cowboy in it. (dancing is allowed) Then when your age group is called down to "the horse block" (aka right outside the dinning area) all the cabins in your age group say their prayer and the best one goes in first. After that age group is done with breakfast the next older age group is called down to say their grace.
After breakfast Morning periods start at 8:30-12:30
Morning Periods include:
Adventure: This includes a high and low ropes course
Arts and Nature: which includes crafts like boondoggle, puzzle making, tie-dye...
Spiritual: small group activities where campers learn about themselves and life.
BALLFIELD!: (this is where I’ll be) we just basically blare music and play games that we often make up.
Waterfront: swim lessons according to the swim level they tested into. (They take a swim test the minute they get to camp)
So the campers travel with their cabin and the other cabins in your age group to these different morning periods. (But I stay in ballfield all morning) Each of these 5 periods is 45 min. and I have one of them off. So I'll just be "teaching" Ballfield to all the 5 age groups throughout the 5 periods. (Except for one period that I’ll get off)
At 12:30 is lunch and the camp eats lunch together as a whole. The campers line up by cabins outside Peggy's Cafe (the dinning hall) and after we yell grace as a camp the cabins are let in/let out according to who is standing/sitting in line/at their table straightest and quietest.
We have mass or (if a priest can't come "God time") 3 times a week. It would happen right after lunch at 1:30 if we had it that day. Going to Mass at camp is prolly the funnest thing! All the responses are SCREAMED and the songs are sped up or have added hand motions.
After mass is open waterfront, when the whole camp goes down the the water/beach to do any of the following:
-swim
-fish
-sail
-water ski
-kayaking
-windsurf
-paddle boat
-canoe
-beach volleyball
-rock climbing wall in the shape of an iceberg
-"Jumping tower"
-sand castle building
-water slide....
As a counselor I don't get to do this I just supervise the kids doing these things and/or take them on certain things if they aren’t qualified to go alone.
After water front, at 4:30 we have cabin time which is sometimes Inspection or mandatory rest hour. It’s just a time for just the cabin to hang out together.
5:30 the dinner bell rings and the campers yet again line up by cabin and get let into dinner based on who is straightest and quietest in their lines. Sometimes I'll have to table host at dinner. This is basically making sure that everyone at my table eats and cleans up after themselves.
Right after dinner is open ballfield at 6:00pm. This is where the whole camp just runs around doing their own thing playing whatever game they want from hopscotch to soccer, to four square. Also during open ballfield the camp store is open for campers to buy candy, ice cream, slushies, popcorn, cotton candy... with their store card that has $6.00 on it.
During ball field you can play:
-soccer
-basketball (knockout)
-tether ball
-mini golf
-4 square
-tennis
-walk on stilts
-jump rope
-hula hoop
-swing
-Lacrosse
-dancing
-volleyball.....
During this time I would be assigned a certain section like Mini Golf and would have to supervise that area.
7:30 is the special event of the night such as a camp fire, games such as capture the flag or a counselor hunt, ham jam (which is just a performance by either the counselors or cabins), or dances.
At 9:00pm your cabin should be getting ready for bed and then one of the counselors would do night prayers. Where I would basically read a poem and/or play a song that would be age appropriate.
Then from 9:00-9:30pm (or however long or short I say) my cabin will have flashlight time. The campers play around in the cabin when the lights are out with their flashlights while my co counselor and I take turns sitting OD (on duty). This is when we basically just sit outside the cabin till we have to or want to go to bed.
9:30 is lights out for campers
and 12:30 is lights out for counselors.
www.campstellamaris.org