March 2009

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March 31, 2009July 21, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

2009 Lovely Lineheads

Every age group, or “line,” has a head counselor known as a linehead. This year we have a stellar lineup (pardon the pun ;-))!

messy fun staff women — Christine in the middle

Juniors: This will be Christine Alexander’s 14th year at RBC! She loves to paddle around the lake and share her love for camp with everyone. She is attending George Washington University in DC.

funny messy women staff — Lexie and Katie going all out

Middlers: This will be Katie Cheney’s 5th year at camp. You’ll find her lifeguarding down by the lake this summer during 1st session. She is currently attending Penn State University. Lexie Sears will take over as linehead 2nd and 3rd session after returning from a study abroad trip to Australia. This will be her 9th year at camp! Lexie loves to climb and shoot guns down in riflery.

Smiling Sarah at Dolly''s after a game of Dress-up Bowling during orientation — Smiling Sarah at Dolly”s after a game of Dress-up Bowling during orientation

Seniors: Sarah Thompson joined our staff last year and quickly became an enthusiastic leader. She will be graduating from Emerson College in Massachusetts this May with a degree in Literature. She’ll be heading up the sports activity this year.

Thanks Ladies! Here’s to another great summer!

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March 27, 2009May 20, 2020 • Hiking • rbc

Hiking Girls

Let’s not forget hiking! All the girls who come to Rockbrook can count on a hiking and camping adventure. It’s not required or anything, but just about everybody takes a special trip out of camp to spend a night camping out in the forest, either at one of our outposts (at the Nantahala River or nearby camp below Dunns Rock) or in the nearby Pisgah National Forest. Even the youngest campers look forward to being outdoors, sleeping in their sleeping bag, messing around with their flashlight 🙂 and of course, making s’mores over the campfire.

Hiking and camping like this is big fun for the girls, but more than that, it reconnects them with nature. Away from the ordinary distractions of being inside (home, school, car), they settle down and become more aware of the world around them. This makes it easier to appreciate the people around them too, and thereby to make friends. It’s amazing, but hiking and camping provides an almost magical context for girls to enjoy being with each other while at the same time growing socially.

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March 25, 2009May 28, 2020 • Arts • rbc

Camp Tie Dye Crafts Forever

Tie Dyeing Shirt Camp Craft Activity — Making Tie Dye T-Shirts

It just wouldn’t be camp without a new tie dye t-shirt! In one of our camp craft activities called “Hodge Podge” we learn how to make the coolest shirts by folding, twisting and binding plain white t-shirts with rubber bands (lots!). The goal is to get creative with the patterns you make crinkling the shirt. Make art by being messy! Maybe a fan shape, a spiral, or a bullseye would work. Then with squirt bottles of different color dyes, you add colors to certain spots for even more variety. It pays to think about which colors are next to each other since the dyes soak in and blend a bit on the shirt. After leaving the shirts overnight, it’s so much fun to unwrap them and see how your design worked out. You can imagine that camp girls gather quite a collection of shirts over the years!

Want more info about tie dyeing as a camp craft activity? Here’s a “how to tie dye” page.

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March 19, 2009March 24, 2023 • Counselors • rbc

Is Camp Employment for You?

There are so many things a college student can do in the summer; camp employment is just one option. So why choose to work at a summer camp? Well the most obvious reason is a camp job is way more fun than most other short term jobs. You’re outside a lot, you’re goofing around with kids pretty much all day, and you get to live in a beautiful part of the country. It’s also true that being employed as a camp counselor helps you develop leadership skills, communication and organization skills. As you help the campers grow and learn new activities and personal skills, you do too. Working to make a difference in the lives of children, makes one in your own as well.

But perhaps the best thing about working at a summer camp is joining the tight-knit community of people that makes Rockbrook so special. It’s just so easy to make friends, you end up enjoying everything that much more. Sure, camp is employment and you’ll earn (and save!) some money, but it’s so much more. Rewarding, definitely rewarding, all around.

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March 16, 2009May 29, 2020 • Summer Camp • rbc

What Youth Camps Teach

As a summer youth camp, Rockbrook’s mission is to be

“a haven for girls, a place of their own, where they can explore the beauty of nature, try new things, enjoy carefree summer living, and make some of their very best friends.”

And of course, camp is all about the fun, the super silliness of it all, too.

But it’s also more than all that, because camp is also a place where you learn a ton. Camp is definitely educational, and in the very best sense of the word. It teaches you how to be more independent, more creative, braver, and more socially adept. Camp helps you learn new ways to get along with others, to trust the people around you, and to feel good about what you do. It’s really true; youth camps help young people learn about themselves.

When you add the sort of caring spirited people that work at Rockbrook, you begin to understand how summer camps can be one of the most valuable educational experiences around.

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March 9, 2009May 29, 2020 • Counselors • rbc

Spotlight on Jeff

Jeff Carter began his Rockbrook career in the 1980s. Over the years he has served camp in more capacities than most staff members. Hired by previous owner Jerry Stone, Jeff planned and led hiking and climbing trips in his first summers at camp.

During this time he pursued many education opportunities including his degree in comparative religions from Davidson College, where he was also an All-American high jumper on the track team. Then he received his masters degree from Harvard followed by his doctorate at the University of Chicago. He spent a year living in Nigeria on a Fulbright Fellowship completing his studies.

After marrying Sarah (at Rockbrook!) and teaching at Davidson College, he returned to Brevard to help Jerry start the Castle Rock Institute (a college humanities program run at camp). During this time, Jeff continued to work behind the scenes at camp leading trips, keeping us technologically up-to-date, and fixing everything!

While Rockbrook is in session, Jeff continues to be our “Jack of all Trades.” Combining his outdoor knowledge with his goofy sense of humor, he is always up to something new. During the off-season, he works on key staff hiring, website maintenance, health and ACA standards, camp improvements, and the list goes on. Also, when Jeff isn’t busy with camp director duties, he enjoys being outdoors: biking, hiking, and climbing. Typically he brings his two daughters, Eva and Lily, along for an adventure!

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March 6, 2009May 29, 2020 • Summer Camp • Jeff Carter

Camp is a Refuge

We hear this a lot, actually: that camp is a refuge. It’s a place where girls can escape the busy, sometimes overwhelming pace of their regular lives. For many young kids, each day is a bombardment of stimuli, new information and entertainment. There are school responsibilities, social demands, and activities at home all demanding attention. Increasingly, parents have noticed that the intensity of their children’s lives is making them more anxious, fearful, and worried. There’s so much going on, it’s difficult for kids to really connect with the people (family and friends) around them, adding even more to the burden of handling everything on their own. Everything around them seems to be shouting, and sometimes it’s just too much!

Thank goodness for camp. It really can be a refuge, a huge relief from all of this. Simply being outside, unplugged from rapid-fire electronic stimulation, is a powerful antidote. Having daily opportunities to engage creative talents, physical challenges, and deep social/personal relationships is so welcome, kids just blossom in a camp setting. It’s the greatest gift to simply have time to relax, to play in the creek, dress a little silly, or chat with a friend in the porch rocking chairs. The environment of a kids camp is a powerful healthy response to the extreme busyness of ordinary life. It always has been, and these days, it seems like it’s needed more than ever.

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March 4, 2009July 21, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

Co-Counselors: Dynamic Duos

Abby and Elyse as Mountain mamas! — Abby and Elyse as Mountain Mamas!

Every counselor has at least one co-counselor. Together they help create a the framework which helps generates the sense of community among the cabin. Chore wheels, guidelines, cabin meetings (i.e. powwows), cabin day activities, eating together, staying up late to talk with someone who’s homesick, and just hanging out during free swims with their cabin group are all ways these fabulous pairs make their campers’ summer amazing!

The relationship formed between co-counselors is another ways that being a camp counselor at Rockbrook is THE most rewarding things you can do with your summer. It is not only great fun. It also teaches you how to work as a team with someone, to have a positive collaborative attitude, and to communicate and compromise to achieve a common goal. These are all life skills that help you achieve greater success in the future. Every job requires this kind of maturity, focus and productivity.

dynamic camp counselors — Michelle and Alice didn’t win the shaving cream fight -or did they?

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March 4, 2009May 27, 2020 • Adventure • rbc

Kids Kayaking Adventure

Gearing up for another adventure at camp! This time it’s kids whitewater kayaking on the lower Green River over near Saluda, NC. Learning to paddle a kayak is another outdoor adventure activity that’s incredibly satisfying for kids. Camps provide everything they need to get excited about the sport— the right equipment, step-by-step instruction, qualified supervision, and a perfect whitewater river.

It’s really fun to strap on all the gear and settle into one of the cool kayaks, even if it is a little scary at first. But after kids practice getting out of the kayak when they flip over (a “wet exit”) and eventually rolling back upright (a “roll”), they become more confident in the boat and can use their paddle to maneuver around obstacles in the river. It really gets fun when the camp kids can play on the river, surfing waves, running rapids, ferrying, and catching eddies.

Kayaking adventure for kids at camp. Very fun stuff.

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