Friday 22 August 2014

...And Just Like That, The Summer's Over

So summer has come to an end, all the kids and most of the staff have left camp, and now just a few of us remain to work the Fall season, which runs until mid-September. The last week of camp was just a crazy and awesome as I expected it to be, with so much going on and so much excitement and anticipation from all the first year staff for their upcoming travels.


The final week of the summer is always a good one and this year really didn't disappoint. I was super busy getting every last bit of footage we needed for our amazing promo video that's been my main priority this summer (look out for it online in the coming months...there's going to be a big release), so filming took up most of my days. Everything was very dependent on the weather, so as soon as the sun shone, out I went with the camera, instructing people to do this and that, trying to the get the perfect shots!


We also had our annual all camp Lip Dub activity on Thursday evening, which basically involves splitting everyone on camp (kids and staff alike) into separate groups, giving each group a part of a song, letting them come up with a dance routine, and then filming them all performing to the song in one long take. It's always a very stressful, but very fun evening and the result this year is possibly the best one we've ever done. It's a fantastic way to end the summer, and I love having a video that we can release straight away to all our followers and our #sloanefamily as soon as the summer ends.


Before all that though, we had the final intersession of the summer...where just some of the kids stay over from one session to the next, meaning only about a quarter of the staff are working and the rest of us are off (on camp). This is the perfect opportunity to hang out with people you don't often get to spend time with, and do some activities that you wouldn't otherwise have the time to try. We had out annual soccer match against Camp Hi Rock, our rival camp which, although the end result didn't go our way, was still a great game and a fun time. And then a bunch of us went horse riding...yup, I actually got on a horse for the first time since I was about 10! Mental. And it really wasn't as scary as I thought it would be!


Anyway, like the title of this post says...as soon as it started, summer was over and it was time to say our goodbyes to all the campers and then all the staff. We had an awesome staff banquet with awards, funny videos and a few tears, and then off they all went on a big yellow school bus, back to NYC and off on their travels.


And now it's Fall camp, one of my favourite parts of working at camp. There are 13 of us here, doing jobs around camp, working with the college groups that come for 1, 2 or 3 days at a time, and generally having a pretty great time. I'm here for about another 2 weeks and then it'll finally be time to go back to England, after almost a year and a half away.


So it's goodbye to summer, see you next year!

*NOTE*
If you want to stay up to date on all things Camp Sloane, follow us on any (or all) of the links below:

Twitter: @CampSloane
Instagram: @campsloaneymca

Thursday 7 August 2014

One Week Left Of Summer

Yep, you read it correctly. There's only one week (ONE WEEK!) left of the summer until all the kids and staff go home and just a few of us remain on camp to work the Fall season (okay, well actually 1 week and 2 days, but you get the idea). Anyway, that's mental! I know I keep saying it, but this summer has completely flown by... much faster than any of my previous summer at Sloane!

Opening Campfire!
So much has been happening in the last few weeks since my last post...day to day life has continued on as normal, more kids have come and gone and I've been crazy busy (as usual) doing my Media thing, taking photos, making videos and planning the most awesome Promo video for camp that has ever been made. We've been trying to get this promo thing done for the last 3 years but other stuff has always just taken over, but this year (or rather in the last few days and then the coming week), we are really getting into gear and getting it DONE!

Doing My Media Thing
That's the sort of stuff that excites me, making things that everyone is going to see...hopefully this is going to be a video that helps camp in the long run and shows people how amazing Sloane really is!

We're working, I promise!
In the last few weeks we've had another square dance (no rain this time luckily!), another magic show, some pretty fun days off and plenty of laughs with friends and campers alike, and we even had a total first at Camp Sloane the other day in the form of Color War. It was absolutely awesome, probably the best theme day we've ever had, with everyone getting really into it and supporting their team throughout the day!

Color War!

So now we've got just one week left and I can't wait to see what it will bring. If you want to find out more about life at Camp Sloane, you can find us all over the web at the links below:

Twitter: @CampSloane
Instagram: @campsloaneymca
 
Yeah, that's our Camp Director on a horse!