Safari Banquet

Welcome to the Safari Banquet! After weeks of planning and plenty of hard work preparing, tonight the senior line CA campers and their counselors presented the second session banquet. On the very first day of camp they debated and selected a surprise theme for the banquet, and finally it was time reveal it to the whole camp. They chose to make the entire experience a safari, a rich jungle of animals, exotic birds, wild plants, trees and vines. Using paint, paper and a few props, the whole dining hall was transformed so that in every direction you’d see safari animals— lions, zebras, baboons, giraffes —and scenery. The green tables and chairs of the Rockbrook dining hall fit right in. Just guessing, there were probably sixty or so different painted panels lining the walls. The centerpiece was a wrecked jeep, complete with real tires and working headlights (flashlights). No wonder it takes all session to prepare for this night!

The CAs really designed some amazing, creative costumes as well. Their goal was to create a magical experience for the other campers, making elaborate costumes and characters a big deal. There were monkeys, a couple of lions, birds, a zebra, elephant, a lemur, hippo and gazelle. During the meal, the CAs also presented a series of skits, a multi-act play really, that included music and dances. It told the story of a family on a safari, and how after being split up, the animals and a native group help them reunite. This was a very large group of CAs, so there were plenty of parts of play.

For the menu, they served “Slippery Snake Mozzarella Sticks,” Serengeti Salad,” “Lion’s Mane Spaghetti,” and “Jungle Dirt Bucket.” Of course, there was more than enough candy scattered around on the tables, and in each camper’s souvenir cup too. It was probably hard to eat the spaghetti while chewing a tootsie roll or sucking on a lollipop, but I’m sure no one was hungry by the end!

The evening begins with the CAs in the dining hall, dressed in costume and surrounded by the fruits of their incredible hard work, and all the rest of the campers outside, dressed in their Rockbrook T-shirts. When it was time to let the first cabin of girls enter, the CAs literally erupted with excitement. It had been building for so long, finally they could cheer and jump up and down with each other. Then, with music blasting, the campers crawled through a “starry night” tunnel to emerge into the jungle (dining hall) with all its colorful animals. Here too, it was one big cheer with smiles and surprised amazement from everyone.

Toward the end of the banquet, the oldest cabin groups (the CAs and Hi-Ups) presented songs and toasts to their counselors, and vice versa, the counselors to their campers. This became quite emotional as the songs expressed the friendship and feelings the girls now share after this great session.  It’s tradition for the whole camp to sing a few camp songs (e.g., “Rockbrook Camp Forever”) at the close of the banquet as well.

This was simply a terrific night, one I’m sure you’ll hear more about from your daughter.

Space Carnival Welcome

Today was an exciting day as we welcomed our second group of July mini session campers to Rockbrook. The majority of these campers are returning to Rockbrook from last summer (about 80% of them), but even the new girls seemed wide-eyed with anticipation and excitement. Part of the fun of opening day is seeing camp friends reunite. As a car drives up the hill and Mandy announces over the PA the name of the camper arriving, the squeals from the other girls on the hill can be deafening, and the subsequent bear-hugging tackles between two friends even a little scary. Still, it’s a great moment to see the emotion of that kind of friendship.

As everyone finished arriving and checking in with the nurses, the morning clouds cleared to blue skies and the whole camp assembled on the hill. This was the first event where everyone is together, mini- and full-session girls alike. Each cabin sitting with their counselors, crazy creek chairs deployed, the Hi-Ups led us in the line songs and a couple of RBC favorites (“Rockbrook Camp Forever”). Several of the activity counselors performed skits and songs about their activities to help everyone, especially the new campers, know what they were planning— the games, the craft projects, the challenges —that will make this week special. We also took our state pictures, a quick photo of the campers and counselors sorted into groups by the home state. FL, NC, GA and SC are the big ones this session, but check the online photo gallery to see some surprising other states being represented.

After a double helping of Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese and some cool watermelon, the mini session campers were off on camp tours, having cabin meetings and rotating down to the lake for their swimming demonstrations. Every year we check everyone’s (campers’ and counselors’) swimming ability and issue them a buddy tag. This year they also receive a bright green armband that indicates they swim well enough to go down the new water slide. Today most of the campers did great. Plenty of bright warm sunshine nicely balanced the chilly water of the lake making the tests quick and easy.

Around 3 o’clock, we rang bell for everyone to come down to the gym for a “space carnival.” A group of 16 counselors, with some help from the Hi-Ups (our 10th graders) put on the event with different games both inside the gym and outside on the archery field. They had “Cosmic Bowling,” “Cream the Alien,” “Shuttle Races,” as well as face painting, cotton candy and ribbon dancing. There was also two giant inflated attractions: a 2-person obstacle course and a velcro anti-gravity bouncy wall. For the wall, you first put on a red, yellow and blue velcro suit, which was pretty funny because they were so hugely over-sized.  Then each person took a turn bouncing a couple of times and flinging herself against the wall.  With arms stretched out, you would stick there dangling by the velcro.  Sometimes, the campers would stick so well, they would need help getting down!  It was pretty funny to watch.

Overall, it was a great first day of the mini session—excellent weather, and plenty of fun all around.  Be sure to check the photo gallery each day.  We’re adding photos all the time.  And thanks for reading the blog.  Did you know you can follow these posts on facebook too?  Head on over and “like” that page!

Rockbrook Here I Come

Wow, we have an excited group of girls here right now! Today we opened our main session of camp and welcomed a full house of 198 girls to Rockbrook. Finally, after waiting all this time— months and months in most cases— camp is here. From the very first moments they drove into camp, you could hear squeals and laughter all over the hill, counselors cheering, and plenty of chatting as returning campers reunited and new campers were introduced to everyone. One car was decorated with paint to proclaim all this enthusiasm… “Rockbrook Camp Here I Come” and “Cool, Amazing, Magical, Perfect” and “I Go to Rockbrook Camp for Girls.” I think I-85 up from Atlanta got the message there! Girls and their families arrived most of the morning. Everyone checked in with the nurses and office folks, moved luggage to their cabins, made up their beds, and still had some time to explore camp a bit.

To really kick things off, the bell rang and called everyone to the dining hall for some of Rick’s homemade mac-n-cheese, fresh fruit, and salad for lunch. A little comfort food can do wonders for any “butterflies” that might be lingering. It didn’t take long for the singing to start. It was a little timid at first, but grew louder as everyone realized that louder is better when it comes to singing silly songs. And that’s true throughout the session; the singing grows and grows. Right after lunch we headed out to the main hill of camp for an assembly. We introduced all the head counselors and directors and learned the songs for each line (age group), but the highlight was an enthusiastic skit/song about camp hygiene sung by the directors. Sometimes we’re having so much fun at camp, we might forget to shower or brush our hair, for example, so a funny song can be a great reminder.

Next we all walked down past the lake to the gym to watch the counselors perform their activity skits. These short presentations of songs, skits, dances or even demonstrations are to help the campers learn about the different activities offered at Rockbrook. They are also great ways for the campers to meet all of the counselors in camp. We heard plenty of funny songs and saw some great acting. The climbers demonstrated a few moves on the climbing wall, and the paddlers integrated a boat, paddles, helmets and PFDs into their skit. Later after dinner, the campers will sign up for their first set of camp activities, so these skits are a great way to get them excited about what’s available.

The rest of the afternoon, each line took turns coming down to the lake to do their “swimming demonstrations.” This is where all the campers and counselors review the important safety protocols in place at the lake. They demonstrate their swimming ability and if sufficient receive their very own buddy tag for the tag board, and this year, a special green bracelet that qualifies them to go down the new water slide during free swim periods. The Rockbrook lake is fed by a mountain stream, so the water can be quite chilly. For most everyone, it’s “refreshing” to say the least, but with a little getting used to it, the girls love it.

Meanwhile, cabins were taking tours of the camp and having cabin meetings. All of this preparation will let us launch right into regular activities tomorrow. Horses, Kayaks, Clay, Rifles! We’ve got a lot planned.

Be sure to check out the online photo gallery. We post photos everyday that you can see after logging into your parent account.

Oh, and please comment on these blog posts. We love to hear what you think!

How Did We Come to Meet Pal?

Camp provides a huge range of opportunities for girls, chances to try new sports, acquire new skills, discover untapped talents, and of course meet and live with new people. There are wide stripes of fun woven throughout all of this, but the most significant things campers talk about is the amazing friendships they build while at camp. Living so closely together, and sharing so much time together, camp is perfect for making friends. It’s easy at camp to relax and be yourself, open up a little and trust each other. That’s probably why there’s something special about camp friends, why for lots of girls, they are their very best friends.

One of the traditional songs at Rockbrook is about camp friends, about the experience of making friends at camp. It’s called How Did We Come to Meet Pal? Here are the lyrics. Read them over, and then go to our camp songs page and listen to the tune!

Twilight with Elsa and Jo

Super alumnae Elsa Claverie and Jo Littleton visited us at camp tonight and brought their ukulele and banjo. They held a special “twilight” activity for campers and counselors who wanted to learn a few traditional songs, and just enjoy singing together. It was a wonderful hour of song, laughter and smiles. Here’s a short video of a round we sang. Enjoy!

Living Camp All Year Long

Over in High Point, NC, camp continues all year round for the Council sisters. They show how it doesn’t have to be summer to wake up with a classic camp song.

CAs Hike

We took the CA campers on a hike to John Rock yesterday. All 20 of them, their 5 counselors, Jessi and Jeff made the mostly uphill hike from the fish hatchery to the rock. It’s a fantastic walk through the woods. Right now the mountain laurels are blooming, so parts of the trail wind you through a tunnel of white and pink flowers. Then at the top it’s a breath-taking view across to Looking Glass Rock (in the background of this photo).

We took the hike to discuss what this session’s banquet theme will be. Starting with almost 40 different ideas, these 9th graders slowly narrowed down the list and finally settled on a fantastic idea. For the rest of the session, they’ll work on decorations, costumes, skits, songs, dances, and a special menu to match their theme. It’s a big event, and a big surprise for everyone else in camp.

When the Rising Bell Rings

Here’s something from this summer’s “Photo Phun” activity where the girls at camp run around with digital cameras taking pictures.  In addition to learning about photography and how to use the cameras, they play loads of games… things like scavenger hunts, nature alphabet, and photo stories.  This is an example by Deborah P. (passed along by awesome counselor Eva) that illustrates one of the classic RBC songs, “When the Rising Bell Rings.”  It’s pretty funny, but you have to click on the image to see the larger version and read the words.  Way to go Deborah!