Current News Archives - Page 23 of 32

Celebrating Camp Birthdays at Runoia

Posted on November 12, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Having a birthday at camp is special and fun in many ways. It’s a birthday bonanza!

There are the songs. The cards. The decorations. There is the birthday party on birthday night. There are the cakes – your cakes and all the other cakes. There are more songs and costumes and loud, crazy, silliness. Lots of birthdays are celebrated at Runoia each summer and they are something everyone looks forward to each session.

Songs are silly songs like: I thought I heard my grandmother say that so and so’s birthday was today with a fee fo and a fi fo… OR Ice cream soda water ginger ale pop, the cake the cake with the candles on top, get ready get ready your pearly white teeth… ALL Runoia campers and alumna can finish the words to these crazy songs.

So whenever your birthday falls, think of the playful Runoia celebrations, the special moments given to girls whether it’s their birthday or not. The whole camp has a party – that’s pretty sweet!

Camp Runoia video blog

Posted on October 27, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

Staff member Erica Carthy ‘Dream Team 2015’ captured the spirit of camp in this excellent video blog.

Take 3 1/2 minutes to relax and become absorbed in Runoia life #magichappens at Camp Runoia.

We are certain that it will leave you longing for camp days.

Thanks Erica!

We’re gonna make this place your home!

American Sign Language at Sleepaway Camp

Posted on October 20, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

Word of the Day – American Sign Language Style!

Our Word of the Day is an event at camp that has become a tradition. This summer the WOD was brought to us by Izzy Snyder. She included ALS signs to every word and taught them to the whole camp. Izzy is studying to be an interpreter for the deaf and we learned signs in both sessions at Runoia.

At the end of this session, Keira, a 10 year old camper, wrote a story including some of the signs (the underlined words) we learned in second session at Camp Runoia:

Welcome to the Obscure Challenge.

Here your perseverance, laughter and experience will be staunch and most wanted. During this challenge you will trudge through vegetation. If you win you should feel bittersweet because much worse awaits you after winning. IF you lose you do not have to face what will come, so you should feel grateful. In the next part of the challenge, you will face a question that most people are not imaginative enough to figure out. IF you find the answer it means you have a lot of positivity and you will be flabbergasted by the winner. This is a competition (friendly) of the mind. The winner has a strong mind with tons of inner strength.

Keira, thanks for sharing your great story!

Mountain Biking at Runoia and beyond

Posted on October 14, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

As the crisp autumn air flows in, I am reassured as to why I live in New England. For the seasons. Now is a perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy all that New England has to offer. Perhaps a swift hike in the woods or a leisurely walk along the water suits you. For me, I want to go mountain biking.

I was so inspired last summer spending time mountain biking with the girls of Camp Runoia. It is truly a gift to be able to pass on my passion for a great sport onto these young ladies. To watch their eagerness to learn and explore is a tough feeling to beat. I started mountain biking back in the early nineties when the sport first started to take off. Historically, this has been a sport dominated by men, but the question remains, how do we get more girls and women involved in this great sport? When I came to Runoia, I was thrilled to see that we had a mountain bike program. What a great way to expose our girls to a sport they may not be exposed to otherwise. As the bike technology advances and trails and parks become more accessible, my hope is that more young women will try mountain biking. I wanted to share something that a local mountain bike park that I ride at in New Hampshire hosted last weekend. Click here to see a short video with some highlights from the “Women’s Freeride Festival” hosted by Highland Mountain Bike Park.

Highland Mountain Bike Park is a very progressive place which is really on the cutting edge of the sport. Constantly creating new terrain and technical elements, they draw amateur and professional riders from all over the world. I feel lucky to have this resource not far from home. They obviously recognize that in order to sustain a sport like this and a facility like this, they need more riders. I’m sure that this workshop inspired so many women to get into this sport or if already in it, it empowered them to take it to the next level. This is a sport all about personal growth. You can go as slow or as fast as you want…as big or as small as you want. What a feeling when you accomplish the next big challenge for the first time. It truly gives you a great sense of power and accomplishment.

If you have never mountain biked, I encourage you to give it a try! This is an amazing sport which is here to stay. I look forward to many more “Fine Maine Days” next summer spent mountain biking with the fabulous girls of a little sleep away camp which we call Runoia!

By Chris Mercier

End of season refelctions

Posted on October 6, 2015October 18, 2016 by Alex

The summer of 2015 is awesomely reflected In the words of our Dream Team 2015 Counselors and staff.

I love working at Runoia. It really is a truly amazing thing that happens. I get the opportunity to make lasting friendships with amazing people, to pass on skills that I value very highly to a group of fantastic girls, and build my leadership skills more than I could at just about any other job. To the director team, thank you for giving me the opportunity to have two of the best summers of my life and for supporting me!

Personally, there were many highlights of the summer. I enjoyed watching the bond between everyone grow and it definitely showed during campfire and EP. Not only did I create bonds with campers, but I created friendships with the staff that I will hopefully stay in touch with! Seeing the kids improve in their skills and to be excited about trying something new was rewarding. It felt good to see the results of your hard work.

I loved every trip I went on. The Katahdin and Saddleback trips stood out as my favorite.

There are too many highlights to mention them all. I love Runoia because of the amazing experience it provides girls from all over the world. The biggest challenge for me was saying goodbye to campers and staff alike.

The highlights were all of the experiences I had with teaching the girls. It was so rewarding to have a girl come back to my activity and remind me of something I had told her or be able to do something without needing to be reminded. Seeing their smiling faces everyday was always amazing too.

I just want to say that this summer at Runoia was the best summer of my life and I am so thankful to be a part of the Runoia Dream Team!

We couldn’t have said it any better.

Thanks to our amazing ‘Dream Team’ staff! We hope to see you all in 2016.

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!

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.

Making Songs into Summer Messages

Posted on July 26, 2015October 18, 2016 by Pam Cobb

I know a place where the sun is like gold, and every evening you play games like Know Your Counselor, Lip Synch Contest, Stop the Bus and Broomball.

Out on the blue waves, where summer breezes blow, our boats, kayaks, windsurfers, swimmers and stand up paddle boarders go sailing into sunset glow.

Make new friends but keep the old; this summer at Runoia we’re meeting people from California to Florida, from Minnesota to Texas and from England, Spain, Venezuela, Ireland, Hungary and Switzerland. We are a merry merry crew the Runoia girls are we!

Be it ever so humble there’s no place like camp and when you travel to Attean Pond and to the Bigelow range, returning to camp feels just like home. Our equestrian team traveled to Camp Vega and brought home the Championship ribbon. There’s no place like home!

And so I thank the earth for giving me, the sun and the rain the apple tree – we are ever grateful for our sun drenched days, and even a summer storm or two keeping camp green and perpetuating a #FineMaineDay.

Where does the wind come from? Does anybody know?

Besides turning thoughts into camp song, we’ve been busy with activities, meeting people, creating art, learning about tennis, archery, riding, skiing, sailing, basket making and more.

Until next week. Love, Aionur