Campers Archives - Page 22 of 28

A Runoia girl

Posted on September 29, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

What a Runoia girl is to me – Emily Friedman aged 9

At the end of every summer, looking back, I remember Runoia. Each summer is better than the last. Camp inspires me to be who I am and know that there are people out there that really care about me. Sometimes even a whole shack of friends!

These photos represent camp to me. The images show some of the places around camp. I also created a model of arts and crafts, a ropes course, drama, woodshop and camp craft. Most of these are my favorite activities. This set up helped me remember Camp when I was missing it after first session was over and I was back at home.

I always remember that:

Every night, someone at Runoia thinks about you before they go to sleep.

At least fifteen Runoia girls somewhere in this world love you.

There are at least two Runoia girls that would die for you.

You mean the world to a Runoia girl.

Someone that you don’t even know from camp loves you.

When you make a big mistake at camp, something good comes from it.

When you think your friend has turned her back on you, take another look.

Always remember the compliments you’ve received from Runoia girls.

Runoia girls will…

Remember

Understand

Never hate

Optimize

Inspire

Amaze

Poetry at Camp Runoia

Posted on September 17, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Many of you know Runoia celebrates reading. We also celebrate writing! Campers submit writing to the Camp “Log” each summer and poetry is often read at Assembly in the morning. The log is full of memories of the Maine summer and records the history of the summer events at Runoia. Many of our campers return to their sleepaway camp as alumnae to seek out memories of their summers in the camp Log.

Here’s a poem Runoia would like to share with you.

Late Summer – By Jennifer Grotz

Before the moths have even appeared

to orbit around them, the streetlamps come on,

a long row of them glowing uselessly

along the ring of garden that circles the city center,

where your steps count down the dulling of daylight.

At your feet, a bee crawls in small circles like a toy unwinding.

Summer specializes in time, slows it down almost to dream.

And the noisy day goes so quiet you can hear

the bedraggled man who visits each trash receptacle

mutter in disbelief: Everything in the world is being thrown away!

Summer lingers, but it’s about ending. It’s about how things

redden and ripen and burst and come down. It’s when

city workers cut down trees, demolishing

one limb at a time, spilling the crumbs

of twigs and leaves all over the tablecloth of street.

Sunglasses! the man softly exclaims

while beside him blooms a large gray rose of pigeons

huddled around a dropped piece of bread.

Lifeguards!

Posted on September 8, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Ahhh September, the days are getting a little shorter and the nights are certainly cooler. It is a quiet, peaceful time of year around camp. Wait a minute what is going on at the waterfront? Lifeguard training? It looks like it is the directors and senior staff. What a great time of year to find time to sharpen up their skills.

Who wouldn’t want to be in the lake on such a ‘Fine Maine Day?’

For year round staff and those that commit to camp as part of their regular summer routine the late summer and fall are a great time to start getting prepared for the next season. We are constantly improving our own personal skills, planning and preparing, taking advantages of training opportunities and striving to be the best that we can be in order to provide an exemplary camp experience for our girls.

After a little down time at the end of camp we are back in action ready to get things rolling for 2016. In the month of September alone we will be renewing our certifications, attending workshops, meeting with other camp directors for round table discussions, taking online courses and of course working on site to make improvements and additions for the 2016 season. Camper enrollment is already ongoing and we will start our rehiring for staff later this month.

Our Runoia 2016 community is already forming and we are excited to connect with every new member.

The life of camp director is never dull and even when camp is not filled with campers and staff there is always something to do.

Camp Runoia provides us all with the opportunities for Building Life Long Skills!

And When You Get Back Home Again…

Posted on September 1, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

“You get a strange feeling when you leave a place, like you’ll not only miss they people you love, but you miss the person you are at this time and place because you’ll never be this way ever again”-Azar Nafasi

Three weeks have come and gone, since we bid farewell to each other and our place. Our place is Camp Runoia. At camp we are the best possible “us” that we can be. We are safe, we are encouraged and we are organically just ourselves. The friendships we formed at camp are unique. They are extraordinary relationships.

I recently traveled to California and was with friends and family who I had not seen in years. We talked a lot about camp. My uncle and cousins said at one point “ We get it. We are camp people.” Until you have been to camp, until camp has defined who you are, you cannot totally comprehend the degree of depth that overnight camp has on an individual.

Jumping off the Dragon Fly to Zip and Soar — The Dragon Fly to Zip and Soar

And now the sun sets earlier, September is upon us. This fall brings anew for us all. New school year, new teachers, some have new homes and communities. But we have our best self, stashed inside. Like a treasure in our pocket, we can bring our inner strength and our inner sunshine to this new season and these new experiences. We will never be the same again, we grow and we change and with that is the hope that we are our best selves because in part of who we became at camp. At our Camp Runoia…our home away from home.

I find that I take myself home, to Camp Runoia, almost daily. I hum along to songs and think about the sound of the lake and the green of the giant ferns.

“…Dip, dip and swing them back…Flashing with silver…follow the wild goose flight…dip, dip and swing…” — Hum along through the changing seasons … and be your best self on whatever adventure this fall brings.

Kyleigh – Camp Runoia Associate Director

Dedication to the Runoia Log 2015

Posted on August 21, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Passing through the Runoia gates each year, it seems futile to try and predict the course of a summer. Running from activity to activity with a friend you’ve only just met, but with a feeling that you’ve known each other for all eternity. Passing levels, achieving goals, hiking mountains, they’re all a part of camp. Those are the pieces everyone will talk about, the big moments. Other camp experiences are more subtle, yet they are the ones that truly set one summer apart from the rest. It could be something as simple as stopping to pick blueberries on the way to flag raising every morning. It could be a moment between two friends, sitting and watching the waves break calmly on the sand. It could be the night out under the stars, trying to find constellations, and hoping to see a shooting star. It could be that one inside joke between cabin mates that’s funny no matter how many times it’s said, or even just spontaneous and uncontrollable laughter. These little spur of the moment memories are made every day. They can’t be planned or anticipated, but looking back over a summer, that’s what we remember. When school comes back around, and everyone starts to get a little camp-sick, we can sit back and remember the blissful time with friends, where we left all our cares behind and enjoyed the moment we were living in. The little moments, there could be hundreds of them in one day alone, create a feeling. That feeling is the piece of camp that we can’t truly explain, but that we carry with us each day of our lives and makes our time at camp so extraordinary.

That’s why the 2015 log is dedicated to the spontaneous moments that come together to form special memories that will last a lifetime.

Carolyn Solimine

Runoia – A Bittersweet Ending

Posted on August 13, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

The end is always bittersweet.

We like to think of the end as a new beginning. Campers and counselors alike take new skills with them to school and work and life. They cherish new friendships, some that will last a lifetime. Canoeing, sailing, swimming under the sun – those skills will last forever. The counselor who did something caring and thoughtful at a time that a camper needed it, a friend who helped another when they need help, that laughter, endless laughter that they can hear ringing in their ears… these glimpses and moments of summer are instants that weave into the tapestry of campers’ and counselors’ lives. Cotillion is our final evening together. A night of tradition starting with processional singing It’s Blue and White, the teams sitting and facing each other in the Lodge, the awards and ribbons, points awarded and special moments of acknowledging accomplishments. The traditional game of #Hucklebucklebeanstalk to find the final scores of the season, the Bobos and cheers and tears, candle lit paths and the cotillion fireside singing.

This night helps put a punctuation mark at the end of the chapter of the summer of 2015. With Runoia’s 110th summer coming up in 2016, a new chapter will be written.Bitter and sweet. Bitter in the ending, sweet in the experience. Bitter in the goodbyes, sweet in the new friendships.

The end is bittersweet.

Runoia Poetry and Writing

Posted on July 30, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Poetry and Writing from Runoia

Runoia Unique – by Third Shack

Shoes decorate the porch to the Lodge as laughter escapes the four walls.

Inside kids that were once strangers are now bonded by friendship bracelets and stories of horse riding and wind surfing.

Piled by the fire in crazy creeks and singing songs of the blue waves, I am in awe of the compassion and acceptance around me. At Runoia, campers come from all across the world to find their home away from home.

The Lake by Lizzie N.

By the trees

With the leaves

I like to sit

Ideas lit in my mind

By the lake

Riding the wake

I sit and breathe

Maybe even weave

Away from canned foods

Electric hairblowers,

Dumb TVs.

I like to sit

Maybe bike

At the lake.

Camp Runoia by Charlotte W.

Crazy fun

Amazing Experience

Memories that will last a lifetime

Probably the best camp ever.

Ready to come next year

Uniqued yet fun activities

Never boring

On beautiful Great Pond

Inspires me to come back every year

Always fun

Mid Summer

Posted on July 21, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

A Mid Summer Night’s Dream

After saying ‘goodnights’ during the summer, I walk up from Senior Village at around 10pm through the dark. The sky is filled with stars I don’t carry a flashlight as I know the paths well. Some nights are so dark there are moments when I think I may lose my way on others the moon is bright in the often clear, Maine sky. I am met on the kickball field by the odd firefly. They catch me by surprise and always seem so mysterious with their ability to produce light.

At the end of a busy day camp is quiet and still. The girls and many of the counselors are in their beds. They may still be reading or writing a letter home but most are already asleep. It is one of my favorite times of day at Camp Runoia.

As we embrace the middle of our camp season it is a great time to reflect on the gift of camp. To be able to live, work and play in such a beautiful place surrounded by nature and people who love being here is beyond compare. We have a deep appreciation for the gift that we have all been given.

As I fall asleep listening to the loons I imagine the magic that exists around me and dream of fairies dancing at Fairy Ring.

Trending at Camp Runoia

Posted on July 19, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Trending at Camp Runoia – Just add a # and you’re trending:

Trying new things

Making friends

Lifelong skills

Memories

Braids

Being a stand up girl

Dry Capsize

Climbing mountains

Placing in the horseshow

Team work

Hydration

Working things out

Inner Sunshine

Fine Maine Day

Fabulous Rec Swim

Magic Happens

Passing levels

Feeling Great

We did it!

Camp Runoia Magic

Posted on July 1, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Magic…Magic Happens. Magic happens here.

Where is here? Here is everywhere you are.

Who are you? You are a Runoia Gal.

The allure of the calling loon, the cool breeze off the lake, the feeling of sand between your toes, the crackle of the camp fire, giggles and cuddles with friends and counselors, climbing to the top of ropes, hitting a bull’s-eye, swimming to Oak Island… that is magic.

But it is not felt at summer camp for all immediately…the reality is behind the magic is bravery. And bravery takes trust and love…confidence and courage….time.

It takes a brave girl to leave their home of 11 months to come home to Runoia for 1.

But in that one month…magic evolves with an organic nature.

Runoia means harmony in Abenaki, and thus we call this camp “Harmony Land” and it is here, that girls and young women travel from near and far, descending on Great Pond. There is an enormous amount of courage and bravery and love that endure. It is no easy task to leave your place of comfort and convenience, leave your parents and your school, leave your friends and your teams, your phones and your connectedness with technology.

Camp has begun…and as the sun rises each morning we all will bring our best selves to Harmony Land for an experience of a lifetime. We will laugh and we will cry, we will smile and we will frown, we will grow and we will change, we will be here. We will be one with each other, woven in harmonious exploration of self.

We will be Runoia Gals…and that is MAGIC.