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October 2, 2009July 21, 2020 • Games • rbc

Tetherball Games Strategies

Do you have this in common with Napoleon Dynamite— being a tetherball champ? Sure you’ve played before at camp, and you know how to play tetherball, but maybe you need a few more strategies to really pump up your game. Here’s a couple of things to practice.

The most important strategy is mastering an extreme angle when serving. By hitting the ball sharply down, it can swing high over your opponent’s head. This is always a good tactic.

It’s also important to use both hands when playing tetherball. You can hit the ball more powerfully, but also add unexpected spins and hits by changing which hand hits the ball. You can surprise and confuse the other player with different fast/slow, open/closed, left/right hand maneuvers.

Equally important to mastering tetherball is being quick on your feet. Moving forward and backward quickly, and knowing when to move sideways. This not only makes it difficult for the other player to decide how to serve or hit the ball, it gives you a better chance to make defensive hits.

Of course, being a tetherball sports champ takes practice, but that’s what the games at camp are for!

OK, do you have any other tetherball tips, strategies or tactics?

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September 30, 2009May 27, 2020 • Outdoors • Jeff Carter

Summer’s for Getting Outdoors!

In the recent debate over how many days kids should stay in school, it’s often claimed that they could learn more by shortening the summer vacation. More days studying math, science, arts and reading would make our kids more educated, it’s claimed. Certainly this is true; the more you study something, the better your competency in that subject. However, what is lost by taking time from summer and devoting it to further study? If we choose more school time, what are we neglecting as a result?

One thing that would clearly suffer, and something that summer camps are known to enhance, is time outside, sustained outdoor activity for kids. It’s during the summer that kids have the time and the permission to play outside. They can return to nature, explore all the amazing details of the environment, and really feel what so many of their ancestors felt outdoors. Being inside at school most of day, and for most of the days each year, there are very few opportunities for kids to enjoy outdoor activity. They suffer from what Richard Louv has now famously dubbed “Nature Deficit Disorder.” The psychological, personal and intellectual consequences of our kids losing touch of nature are now well understood, and are widely condemned. Extending our kid’s school year, and thereby further limiting their time outside in Nature deserves that same condemnation.

This is also an environmental protection issue. If we reduce the ability of our kids to experience and know the outdoors, we make it much less likely they will value and love it. If their Nature Deficit Disorder is made worse by reducing their time outside of school, they won’t feel strongly about the wonders Nature provides, and consequently they will feel less concern for protecting the environment. Not knowing and loving nature from their personal experience, they’ll be less apt to protect it. Here again, time outside (and away from school) makes kids more human. It provides another, equally important, form of education. Denying them opportunities to learn outside, even when in service of traditional academic learning, is a perilous position for us all.

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September 28, 2009March 24, 2023 • North Carolina • rbc

NC Camp from the Air

Our friend Carroll Parker dug this photo out of his files and emailed it to us the other day. Carroll grew up around Rockbrook because his father helped Mr. Carrier build the camp back in 1921. This aerial view of the camp shows western North Carolina and all it offered back then— the thick forests, streams, the “ever-bearing raspberries,” the French Broad River horseback riding ring, tennis courts, chicken coop, horse barn, gardens, and an apple orchard.

It’s fascinating to see what western North Carolina and Rockbrook Camp looked like back 1920s and 30s. Stay tuned, we’ll be posting more archival photos soon.

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September 24, 2009July 21, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

Adventure Trip Staff Member: Cherie Haseltine

Cherie was part of our Adventure trip staff this past summer. She is currently a student at Brevard College. She heard about Rockbrook through Clyde Carter, who is the Chair of the Outdoor Department throughout the school year and also Rockbrook’s Outdoor Director during the summer. Before coming to camp, Cherie did a 21-day paddling and backpacking trip with school. She also received a certificate in Wilderness First Response and Water Safety. Cherie lived at camp, in the cabin known as “Dilly”, that is built right next to a creek.

Throughout the summer, campers and staff often serenaded Cherie by singing, “Cherie, Cherie Baby”, usually when she was coming up to announce a rafting, climbing or backpacking trip after a meal. Her main duties included packing the food, raft guiding, belaying and making sure campers stayed safe. When she wasn’t out on a trip, she helped at the Alpine Tower, and occasionally offered roll clinics in the lake. And of course, in the evening she’d dress up for that night event!

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September 23, 2009May 20, 2020 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

Working with Older Campers

Why I Enjoy Working with Seniors

By the time campers are Seniors (13 – 15 yo), they’re self-sufficient enough that they can take care of their basic needs on their own, and as their counselor you can focus on getting to know the person they are becoming. It’s a hard age, and being around Seniors is like taking a time warp to watch yourself as you were growing up. You’re just close enough to their age to remember exactly what is was like, as as their counselor you are in the perfect position to give them the helpful or encouraging word you would have liked, needed or even did get to help you through all the crazy transitions of adolescence.

Working with Seniors in your activity has the potential to be incredibly rewarding, because you can go past teaching basic skills and get into more of the technique and finesse of whatever i you teach. Watching a senior’s growth is amazing, because it’s often by leaps and bound you l have thought possible.

That being said, it’s important to remember that seniors are still campers. They still get homesick, sometimes forget to do their chores, refuse to get out of bed in the morning or go to bed at night and have their bursts of teenage sarcasm. But seniors are also funny, have interesting personal histories, and are just starting to articulate their goals and dreams to themselves – and maybe even to you, if you take time to listen. Every line has its own unique wonder, but working with seniors has helped me grow this summer in ways that I would not have imagined. Thank you, Senior Line!

Written by 1st time Senior Counselor, Kiva Nice-Webb who attends Elon University.

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September 3, 2009March 26, 2024 • Counselors • Jessi Nixon

My Favorite Memories— Jill Purcell

The fabulous CA's waiting to greet surprised campers — The fabulous CA’s waiting to greet surprised campers

“Camp is a place to make countless unforgettable memories. You will often find, both Rockbrook campers and staff start stories with the phrase, ‘this one time, at camp’.

While I’ve made several wonderful memories this summer, one memory in particular that will stay with me always was the 24 hour period in which my campers, co-counselor and I set up and carried out 3rd session’s banquet.

Banquet is a HUGE deal to not only the CA’s ( the older campers who come up with the theme, plan and run the banquet) but to the entire camp. Personally, I wanted to do anything I could to help my campers put on the best banquet in Rockbrook history! The night before Banquet, my campers and I worked through our exhaustion by rockin’ out to Brittany Spears, Lady Gaga, etc., as well as maintaining a sugar rush from cookie dough and candy. The look on the girls’ faces after they had finished setting up was priceless – they were amazed with all that they had accomplished, as was I. Banquet itself was a great success and I was extremely proud of my fabulous CA’s. Every memory I’ve shared with them was unforgettable but Banquet was an especially great memory.”

ceiling decoration — The ceilings were decorated, too.

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July 6, 2009May 20, 2020 • News • rbc

4th of July… Camp Style

The 4th of July began with everyone waking up to the sound of horses running down the cabin lines, and the equestrian staff yelling “The British are coming; wake up; wake up!!” Dressed in festive red, white and blue, the riders and their horses made quite a scene. The entire camp stumbled out of their cabins and made their way to hill for a quick flag raising ceremony, ending with everyone reciting the pledge of allegiance.

The rest of the day we enjoyed our regular camp activities… crafts, outdoor adventure, sports, horseback riding. Then for dinner, Rick prepared an excellent cookout of burgers, corn, chips and watermelon. We all sat and ate on the hill, and since we had some music playing, sang and danced too. It was a nice way to spend the evening.

Capping off the day, everyone gathered again on the hill for a great fireworks display. For about 20 minutes bangs and colorful flashes in the sky entertained us before turning in for the night. Overall, it was a great day of all-camp activities and holiday celebration fun.

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June 9, 2009May 20, 2020 • Hiking • rbc

CAs Hike to John Rock

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, crossing several streams and moving between micro-environments. Ferns, and then mountain laurels. Rocks, then a grove of just white pine trees. 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), one of the most remarkable feature in the entire Pisgah National Forest.

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. Stay tuned for the big reveal!

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May 25, 2009May 25, 2020 • Gymnastics • rbc

Camp Gymnastics Instruction

Elaine Trozzo is returning this summer to head our camp gymnastics instruction program. Elaine has taught gymnastics for the Transylvania County (NC) Parks and Recreation Department for 14 years. She has coached a competitive gymnastics team for 3 years, and has served as a gymnastics competition judge for 4 years. She has been certified by USA Gymnastics and holds the National Safety Certification in gymnastics. This will be Elaine’s sixth year as the head of Rockbrook’s camp gymnastics instruction.

Also returning are some of our awesome gymnastics counselors from camp last summer. You’ll see Karen and Abby down at the gym. We’re also happy to introduce Jess Watrin. She has many years of gymnastics experience and will be one of our gymnastics main instructors.

Yea Gymnastics!! 🙂

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May 22, 2009May 28, 2020 • Arts • rbc

Girls Painting at Camp

There seems to always be some kind of painting going on at Rockbrook Camp— paint, brushes, paper, cardboard. Everyday in the painting and drawing activity, of course, girls are painting, working on composition, color, texture, perspective, etc.

In the drama activity, girls will be painting scenery for the end of session play. During one of the special afternoon events— like a carnival, for example —there’ll be face painting, of like in this picture, body painting to show your team spirit. In the “Hodge Podge” craft activity, chance are you’ll see girls painting fabric pillow cases, backpacks, or bandannas. The ninth grader CAs do tons of painting as they prepare decorations for the big surprise banquet at the end of each session. It’s really quite amazing how much painting we do at camp. There’s no need to bring a brush (we’ll have those too!), but come ready to add color to almost everything you do!

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