More Than Games: A First Day of Connection and Courage
Today marked the first full day of the summer! We ended up with a beautiful Northwoods day in the high 70s. It was a perfect day for everyone to get familiar with each other and acclimate to the camp environment.
Each village had a blast playing continuous dodgeball out on the athletic fields. One of our classic first-day traditions, continuous dodgeball is a wonderfully chaotic every-man-for-himself game of dodgeball. We play with the traditional dodgeball rules, so if you get hit, you’re out, and if you catch a ball headed your way, the person who threw it is out. But in continuous dodgeball, when the person who got you out gets out themselves, you get to go back in. We play in large groups, so there is never a winner, and the game would go on forever if the bell never rang! When you get somebody out in continuous dodgeball, you have to introduce yourself to them. With the help of our cabin candlelight ceremonies and challenge games, the campers quickly learned the names of everybody in their cabin yesterday. Today, with the help of a little dodgeball, they’re starting to learn the names of all the campers and staff in their village.
Safety is always a primary focus and one way we manage our campers’ safety is the swim test, which each camper took today. Our amazing counselors were the first into the water, supporting our campers every step of the way and helping them into the water. Swimming in a lake can present a lot of new challenges for many of our boys, especially those who have never swam in one before. But I can’t even begin to tell you how great they did today, far surpassing their fears and expectations. One of the bright spots of every summer is watching new and old cabinmates, many of whom met just a day earlier, cheering each other on in the water to keep going, finish strong, and never give up. They offered each other high-fives and hugs as they succeeded, and told one another to keep their chins up when they didn’t. Many of our kids, even if they were able to complete the requirements, are referred for swimming lessons to improve their skills in teh water. The kids also made their first visits today to the Health Center for our entry physicals, meeting our wonderful health team and learning important information about how to receive the care they might need at camp.
We ended the day as we always do with our opening banquet, where the campers are spun around and around on their way into the lodge for a pasta feast through a tunnel of counselors dressed up in all kinds of wacky costumes.
Tonight’s evening program brought the entire camp together for one of North Star’s most beloved traditions: All-Camp Capture the Flag. The fields were alive with energy as campers of all ages teamed up to strategize, sprint, sneak, and cheer each other on. Whether they were diving behind trees, guarding the jail, or racing home with the flag in hand, every boy played a part. It was both a friendly competition and pure fun, and the boys were able to run around and head back to their cabins tired out.
But before bed each cabin drafted their Cabin Charter––an agreement to norms and expectations for the cabin that allows every member to feel the way they want to and should feel. Through the cabin charter, the campers and staff worked together to agree and write down the types of behavior that will ensure everyone is properly safe, supported, and loved. They then signed them and posted them in their cabins to hold each other accountable and set the right tone for the rest of the summer.
