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A Traditional Sunday at Rockbrook
August 7, 2011 by Mandy Horton
Filed under news
Sundays bring us a calm way to spend time together at Rockbrook and get ready for the coming week of activities and special closing events. We began our morning with a late breakfast of doughnuts in pajamas-a favorite around Rockbrook! From there, campers tidied up and get dressed in their traditional camp whities: white polo, white shorts and red tie. We have a very special way to tie our tie called a friendship knot that has been passed down through generations of Rockbrook campers.
 All smiles in camp whities |  Hi-Ups leading flag raising |
After our flag raising ceremony led by the Hi-Ups, our Junior and Middler campers led us in the final chapel of 2011. It’s theme of “It’s a Small World” meant a lot to our campers. Many spoke about how they have found true friends at Rockbrook who have reappeared in their lives at another point. Others spoke about the awesome part of meeting new international friends while at camp. We are always surprised each year by the number of international campers who attend Rockbrook. Just this session we have girls from Russia, Belgium, Mexico, Guatemala, and Germany. You never know who you might meet at Rockbrook!
From there, campers spent time preparing for another longtime camp tradition: The Miss RBC Pageant. Here at Rockbrook, the silliest and most creative take home the crown. From dances, to songs, to skits and more, campers do an all-cabin talent followed by a question and answer round for each cabin’s representative.
 Cabin Half Pint's dance routine |  Junior 6's fun theatrics |
This evening campers will enjoy a relaxing movie night of watching Tangled in the gym. As we prepare for the final days of 3rd Session, each camper will have time to reflect upon her camp time as well as savor those last few days of summer. What a fun weekend it has been here at Rockbrook!
Activities Galore at Rockbrook
July 25, 2011 by Mandy Horton
Filed under news
Miriam tries out her Yoga skills
Monday was quite eventful around Rockbrook Camp as our Third Session campers tried their first set of daily activities. They will do these chosen activities for three days and then have the opportunity to try a whole other set for the second half of the week. We have seen over the years that this concept of choice while away from home is a wonderful way to encourage independence and growth for every camper.
Two extra morning highlights included muffin break and free swim. Our resident baker Allison had wonderful chocolate sprinkle muffins waiting for the girls between first and second period. Then after second period, most girls headed down to the lake for a dip after this warm morning. They had their first opportunity to go on the water slide and swim laps for our Mermaid Club. With all of these bust active girls, there were smiles everywhere down at the lake!
Two thumbs up for the slide
After rest hour this afternoon, activities continued and our first white water rafters left for an overnight camp out experience at our Nantahala Outpost. Another group will join them tomorrow on the river for a day trip. As the only camp with an outpost at the Nantahala River, we love being able to let each camper decide which length of trip she would like to participate in.
We did have a little rainstorm this afternoon, but we did not let it slow us down. One of our favorite songs here at camp is the “Dewcoat Song.” We just think of rain as a little dew and keep on going! As we all filed into dinner, campers were greeted with a camp favorite: hotdogs with all the sides and fixings followed by key lime pie for dessert.
 Even our youngest campers have the opportunity to weave on our Appalachian looms |  Great new friends who met yesterday! |
We hope that every camper picked up a new skill today, whether it be making a friendship bracelet, walking a horse or talking with a new friend. Each of these qualities is what makes Rockbrook so special and the campers will continue to build upon during the rest of their session here.
A Celebratory Sunday at Rockbrook
July 17, 2011 by Mandy Horton
Filed under news
Sundays at Rockbrook always bring a great relaxing spirit to our campers through our chapel service, all-camp assembly on the hill, surprise afternoon event and movie night. This final Sunday of 2nd Session has been one of the best of 2011!
The morning began with breakfast in our pajamas and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The dining hall was full of smiles for this one. Just after breakfast, our campers donned their camp uniforms and finished their cabin chores just in time for flag raising and chapel. Today’s theme was “It’s a Small World” led by our Junior Line campers. Campers sang songs and talked about what this theme meant to them. The overall consensus seemed to be that Rockbrook is the perfect place to learn about our similarities and differences to other girls from all over the world. We are very lucky to have girls from across the United States and from many other countries, including England, Mexico, Switzerland, Colombia, Ireland and beyond.
It's a Small World at Rockbrook Camp
The annual Miss RBC Pageant took place this afternoon. It started with the talent portion followed by a question and answer session. The entire camp was quite impressed by the talent that turned out today. We saw square dancing (they must have picked that up last night at the High Rocks Square Dance), a Harry Pottery rewrite of Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way,” gymnastics, and two original songs written by campers. The cabin crowned Miss RBC was Junior Three. They sang and danced to a song written by camper Nicoletta. The whole audience was amazed!
Also, the HUPs left late today for their three day adventure trip with Jeff and Jerry. They will spend the next few days trying various adventure activities in the area. Tonight’s movie was Ramona and Beezus. What a hit for girls of all ages here at camp! It wrapped up with cookies and milk.
Monday will bring our last set of activities for our 2nd and Mini 2 Session campers. Oh, how it has flown by! The morning will also include a Looking Glass Rock climbing trip and a tennis tournament with Camp High Rocks. We know our Rockbrook girls will do great and have a blast!
First Round of Activities
June 27, 2011 by Mandy Horton
Filed under news
Monday at Rockbrook brought great excitement as our July campers tried out their first set of activities. Each girl is currently enrolled in four activities of her choice. The activities range from crafty to dramatic to adventurous-something for every camper! Despite the afternoon rain shower, activities went on as scheduled and lots of fun was had.
Maggie leading our "Keeping in Touch" activity-look out for some handmade stationery to arrive at home soon!
In addition to our delicious meals in the dining hall, our camp baker Allison had warm chocolate chip muffins ready this morning and cookies and milk for us tonight at Evening Program. These always set a great mood at camp! Just wait; you’ll be hearing about the muffins at camp.
During first and second free swim campers had their first opportunity to try out the new slide at the lake. Official names have been flying in, and we will reveal the new name later this summer. The comments upon exiting the slide ranged from silly to exhilarating to slippery to just plain fun. And they keep going over and over again. You’ll have to ask how many times your daugher was able to go down while here.
Big Slide Fun!
Tomorrow will be a day of rafting for our Middlers and Seniors over at the Nantahala River. Half the girls went over to our outpost this evening for a camp-out and will get on the river bright and early in the morning. The rest of the rafters scheduled for tomorrow will leave after breakfast for a day trip. They will get on the river just after lunch. It will be an adventurous ride with all of our experienced guides leading the group down the river.
This is big, big fun.
Hello from Jessi Nixon
December 10, 2010 by Mandy Horton
Filed under counselors
Last evening Mandy got to enjoy dinner with former Staff Director Jessi Nixon. Luckily, Jessi lives just down the road in Arden, NC. Jessi wanted to make sure that everyone got a big “Hello!” from her, and she is so happy that everyone is excited for summer 2011 at Rockbrook. Here are some quick updates on Jessi.
Former Staff Director Jessi Nixon
Jessi’s currently doing about a million different things. She is training for another mini-triathlon. Last year, she did her first one along with directors Mandy and Charlotte. So, she is spending lots of time in the pool and on the bike. She is living with a retired lady with whom Jessi spends lots of time and helps her around the house. Her graduate program in Charlotte is taking up a lot of her energy as well. Jessi is constantly on the road and cannot wait to begin her second semester in Christian Leadership. Her other main focus is her part-time job as one of the youth directors at a church in Arden. She continues to love working with youth and the directors team there.
If you would like to contact Jessi, let us know. She would love to hear any updates from our fabulous Rockbrook counselors!
Costume Prize Winners!
November 22, 2010 by Mandy Horton
Filed under campers
Thank you for all of our entries into our Halloween Costume Contest from our last camp newsletter. You gals are super creative! We enjoyed seeing your pictures come in. The following ladies will receive a great camp prize in the mail. Keep up the creative camp spirit!
Drum roll…
1st Place: Elizabeth Trexler as Little Bo Peep with her amazing horse/sheep
2nd Place: Biz Renshaw as a strawberry cupcake
 Little Bo Peep Elizabeth |  Cupcake Biz |
3rd Place: Eliza Witherspoon as the largest green Ugly Doll
Honorable Mention: Logan Robinson as an orange crayon
Ugly Doll Eliza
Crayon Logan
Horses, Muffins and Rafting at Camp
August 3, 2010 by Mandy Horton
Filed under news
Our mini session campers have brought a bright new energy to our activities. Their first day included lots of firsts for many: first time climbing Castle Rock, first time shooting a bow and arrow, first friendship bracelet, and so much more! Director Jessi also offered one of her ever-popular yoga workshops. The barn seems to be the biggest hit with our newest campers. Every horse got a great workout yesterday, and every camper seemed to have a blast meeting some new friends of the large four-legged variety. The names we heard the most out of the barn were Cool Beans and Watson. These two horses are quite popular this year.
Rave reviews were heard mid-morning at muffin break. Our wonderfully creative baker Liz went all out on some banana chocolate chip muffins. Mixing two delicious recipes seems to be her specialty. We also enjoyed a little comfort at dinner by way of some chicken pot pie and chocolate chip bars.
This afternoon our first rafting trip of the week headed out to the Nantahala outpost with Jeff and counselors Allie and Sally. It’s sure to be an evening of campfire stories and s’mores. Tuesday about 50 more campers will join them for an exhilarating ride down the Nantahala with all of our specially trained raft guides. The team is headed up by our Outdoor Adventure Director, Clyde Carter. We are so lucky to have him work with us during the summer while he can get away from his college job as the Head of the Wilderness Leadership Department at Brevard College. He is a veteran on our local area rivers. We cannot believe that this will be our final trip over for summer 2010. Where does the time go? We will be sure to report back with a lot fun information from the trip.
Hold Your T-Grip!
July 13, 2010 by Mandy Horton
Filed under news
Sixty Rockbrook ladies had quite an adventure by spending their day rafting down the Nantahala River! Though many find it chilly, it is quite the thrilling ride. With class II and III rapids, both Middler and Senior campers love the challenge of the Nantahala. Some of the rafters chose to add on to their adventure by spending the night at our private outpost nearby. They will return tomorrow just in time for cabin day. The evening consisted of campfire songs and s’mores… what could be campier that than??
And the fun didn’t stop with rafting today. Back at home, campers were treated to one of our historic special events this evening: Biltmore Train. It’s an all-you-can-eat ice cream extravaganza! It started long ago when the Biltmore Dairy brought a truck decorated like a train to camp and girls would line up for their preferred flavor. Today counselors filled hundreds of cones with delicious scoops, and campers just keep coming back for more. This evening’s most popular flavor was our blue cookies-n-cream. Quite the treat!
Ice Cream from the Biltmore Train
