Appreciation for Failure. Notes from Camp – March, 2018

Hi Folks,

In this post you’ll find:

Just as spring is arriving what happens?  It snows in Tucson!  Well, really it just snowed in the mountains around Tucson, but that’s always a little surreal.  At camp, the snow is very, very real.  More than 20″ fell in the last days of February, so camp is under a thick blanket right now.  That’s actually good news for the health of the lake, which is already in fantastic shape.  And it’s good for all the forest dwellers.  Just not the happiest news for the guys who have to shovel the roofs of some of the buildings to lighten the snow load.

Last month RICK JONES, STEVE “HITCH” HITCHENS, and I traveled to Orlando where we met up with local school teacher, JEFF MELROSE, and we attended the ACA National Conference.  We had a great time going to educational sessions, networking with camping peers (including alums RACHEL WASZCZAK and JEFF LEIKEN), and getting all pumped up for Staff Training and the arrival of our campers!  We may have managed a little time in the Disney parks too while we were there.  Camp people just have a need to make everything as much fun as possible, right?

Down the page there is A TON of information for camp parents. Please take some time to read everything, and PLEASE be sure to download your Parent Handbook and read through all the ,/a>information it contains.  Not only will it reduce stress and chaos as you prep for camp, but it will make the whole process much more productive and enjoyable.

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IT OCCURS TO ME…

When I was a kid, my friends and I loved watching and playing sports, so most of our role models were pro athletes.  It was a simpler time, to be sure.  If some of the players we worshiped were behaving in unseemly ways off the field, we had no idea.  In the days before 24 hour news and social media, it would have had to be monumentally poor conduct for the public to be aware.  So it was easy for us to find role models out in the world, beyond our own families.

Not so true today as we can all plainly see.  When someone comes along who fits that bill, we really should celebrate that.  Just such a person emerged from the University of Arizona football program in 2011.  Nick Foles has had some ups and downs in the NFL, but big-time success eluded him until he landed this season (for his second time) with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Nick was signed as a backup quarterback after contemplating giving up on the game entirely.  As you probably know, Nick stepped in for the Eagles’ injured quarterback, and the fairy tale ending was real…he guided his team to a Super Bowl victory.  Wow!

That’s role-model material all by itself , but the wisdom of Nick Foles, and the manner in which he conducts himself, is the REAL role model story.  Standing at the pinnacle of his sport, what did he talk about?  His team.  His family.  His own mentors and role models.  And his message to those looking to him for real-life guidance was…how his failures played an instrumental role in his ultimate triumph.  Again….wow!

Nick Foles is a walking, breathing, football throwing example of how vital failure is to ultimate success.  An individual who comes of age having been insulated from failure, protected from the pain that accompanies failure, can never know the real joy of success, or even acquire the drive, determination, and grit required to find that success. 

Last year,  The New York Times reported, “Almost a decade ago, faculty at Stanford and Harvard coined the term ‘failure deprived’ to describe what they were observing: the idea that, even as they were ever more outstanding on paper, students seemed unable to cope with simple struggles.”

Rachel Simmons,  a leadership development specialist at Smith College’s Wurtele Center for Work and Life observed that students arrived with impressive resumes, but fundamentally lacking the ability to cope with everyday setbacks.  “We’re talking about students showing up in residential life offices distraught and inconsolable when they score less than an A-minus. Ending up in the counseling center after being rejected from a club. Students who are unable to ask for help when they need it, or so fearful of failing that they will avoid taking risks at all.”

To address a need, many colleges and universities around the country have established programs to support students and help them acquire the skills they need to take failure in stride, learn from it, and push on towards their goals.  As parents and as youth development advocates, we believe kids can and should have a firm grasp on those skills long before they leave home and head to college. 

Coping skills and resilience develop from a growth mindset that provides room to learn from our failures.  A growth mindset is something that can actually be taught and reinforced.  It’s not simple, and it takes time, but the results are certainly worthwhile.  At camp this is a major component of how we train our staff and how they work with our campers.  4 or 8 weeks of exposure to this approach is immensely positive for our campers’ development.  How fantastic it is when it continues in the “off-season.”

We recommend a few resources for any parents interested in learning more.  To begin with, we suggest

      • This article from NPR about how parents can help their kids use failure as a learning tool.
      • The Mindset Kit, an extremely well organized and easy-to-follow instructional guide for parents.  This was developed by the Project for Education Research that Scales, a research center in the psychology department at Stanford University

We hope you will check it out and find it helpful.

YO PARENTS:

Spring is coming soon, so there’s lots of info for you this month.  For starters, the Spring Deposit is due March 15th.  Some of you have already paid the equivalent of 3 deposits (each of $1250 for campers, one of $500 and two of $1250 for CITs), so no need for you to make any payments till May 15th.  Thanks very much.

The paperwork train is leaving the station!!  There are forms for you to fill out and submit to us so we can provide the best leadership, guidance, and medical care possible for your campers.  ALL OF THIS INFO IS LOCATED ON YOUR PARENT KEYLOG PAGE!  Please refer to that.

PARENT HANDBOOK:

Just about everything you need to know about preparing your campers for a happy, adventurous, and fun-filled summer is in your Parent Handbook.

  • PLEASE download it from your Keylog page or by clicking here.
  • PLEASE read through it.  Not all at once, but it is important enough that you should be familiar with all the info in there.
  • PLEASE call or email us if you have any questions at all.

ALL MEDICAL-RELATED FORMS ARE LOCATED ON CAMPDOC.COM.

You should have received an email from CampDoc with login instructions.  Please let us know right away if you have not yet received login info from CampDoc.  Once logged in, you can complete all of your camper’s medical information.  This includes:

  • HEALTH PROFILE:  Many of you have already completed your Health Profile forms, which is great.  If you’re unsure of what sections you have not yet completed, you can login to CampDoc.com and check the status of your forms.  If you have any questions along the way, please let us know.
  • HEALTH INSURANCE CARD: You must provide a copy of the front and back of your health insurance card for the policy that covers your camper.  This can be uploaded directly to your CampDoc account.  IF YOUR SON IS A RETURNING CAMPER AND YOUR INSURANCE IS UNCHANGED FROM LAST SUMMER YOU DO NOT NEED TO UPLOAD A NEW COPY.
  • IMAGED DOCUMENTS: There are 2 documents that you must fill out and upload to your CampDoc account.  This includes:
  • Medical Recommendation Form: A one-page PDF document that your doctor must fill out EACH summer.  This is the doctor’s verification that your son is healthy enough to attend camp, and it is a requirement by the ACA and the state of Wisconsin.  You can download the blank form from your CampDoc page OR from your Parent Keylog page on our website.
  • Clinic Data Form: A two-page PDF document that we will use in the event your camper must see a doctor in town while he is with us.  Having this done ahead of any such required visit greatly improves our ability to have campers seen by a doctor in a timely way, regardless of which medical facility near us we may choose.  You can download the blank form from your CampDoc page OR from your Parent Keylog page on our website.

“I DON’T KNOW HOW TO UPLOAD!” Yes, it can be daunting, but honestly, it’s not that hard.  If you can scan a copy of your insurance card, or the forms that need to be uploaded, then it’s easy.  Just follow the instructions on the CampDoc page.  If you do not have a scanner, you can take a clear photo of the card or form, and upload that photo to your page.  Please look at the photo you are going to upload to make sure all of the information is legible.  If all else fails (including asking any teenager you know for help), please send us the originals, and we will upload them to your CampDoc account for you.  Thanks.

CAMPER MEDS: 

ALL medications your son may take at camp, prescription or otherwise, you will mail directly to camp in their original bottles with the prescription, and we will dispense it to your son on the schedule you select.  It is important that you make sure your dispensing instructions are clear on your son’s Health History form, and they match any instructions on the bottle with the medications.

There are important dates by which we must receive your son’s medications.  IF YOU ARE LATE MAILING YOUR MEDICATIONS TO CAMP, FEES UP TO $100  WILL BE APPLIED.  The table below lists these important dates.  Please take a look, and again, this information is in your Parent Handbook.

Date by Which Medication MUST Arrive at Camp 1st Session 2nd Session
10 Days Before Session Begins – NO FEE June 8, 2018 July 5, 2018
5 -9 Days Before Session Begins – $50 FEE June 9 – 13, 2018 July 5 – 10, 2018
4 Days or Less Before Session Begins – $100 FEE June 14, 2018 or Later July 11, 2018 or Later

ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS?  If your son experiences a last-minute injury or illness requiring a medication to be prescribed beyond our designated deadline, we will, of course, manage the medication for him.  If a late doctor appointment results in a prescription change or addition, we will manage that as well.  In either event, we will add a Medication Handling Fee of $25.

OTHER INFO & PAPER-WORK:

CAMPER PROFILE FORM: This is a form you fill out and submit online.  Good stuff for us to know about your son to help us get ready for him. Also your 2nd (and last) opportunity to make cabin mate requests. THIS FORM IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CITs. Parents, please be sure to read through this form each year….it retains any input you entered from prior years, but we really need you to keep us current.  Thanks!

TRANSPORTATION TO & FROM CAMP: On your Keylog page you will complete and submit the Travel Form to confirm your son’s method of traveling to and from camp. Please submit this to us no later than May 15th. If you have already sent that in, please do not submit a new form unless there has been a change in your son’s travel plans.  Please also remember our policy regarding changes in bus travel, “Withdrawal from bus travel within 1 week of travel days will still incur full bus fares. Additions to bus travel after the start of the camp season cannot be guaranteed a seat on the bus.”

*Register for Flights to/from Camp: This link on your Keylog page  takes you right to the Sojourn Travel website where you can see all the information regarding flights, Unaccompanied Minor arrangements, baggage concerns, etc.  IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY BOOKED YOUR SON’S FLIGHTS TO CAMP, YOU ARE BEHIND SCHEDULE!  The later it gets, the higher the fares will be.  If you are booking your son’s travel independent of our travel agent, that’s okay, but we must know about it.  And our travel agent will not be able to assist in the event a schedule change or flight interruption occurs.

ORDER TIMBERWEAR ONLINE: Use the Everything Summer Camp website to buy most everything your son will need, as well as camp logo’d items. The ONLY REQUIREMENT we have for logo’d items is a standard camp laundry bag.  If you’d like your son to have his clothing and gear in time for camp, PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER BY MAY 1ST!

VISITING WEEKEND RSVP: A form you fill out and submit online.  If you have a full season camper, or CIT, and you plan to join us for our Visiting Weekend, please let us know as soon as you can.  If you have first session-four week campers and you plan to join us for some or all of Visiting Weekend, please also complete that form.

 

TRIP NEWS:  

We want to remind all of our experienced tripper kids that we are signing up for our pre-registration available trips.  As of today we have had a few guys sign up for the Isle Royale, the Quetico, and the Apostle Islands Sea Kayak trips. We still have plenty of space on all of them, so we encourage you go talk it over and let us know if your son wants to go.  As a reminder, these pre-registration trips are for returning campers who are of adequate age and experience level for the trip.  If you have any questions, please let us know.  GET OUT THERE THIS SUMMER!!

BRAVO TO OUR MARCH BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: 

Etienne LaFlamme – 03/01, Nick Pearlstone – 03/03, Dillon Berlin – 03/04, Dillon Aronoff – 03/06, Javy Vallejo-McCann – 03/06, Charlie Carroll – 03/07, Alex Kipnis – 03/08, Andrea Champutiz – 03/09, Jonah Bartlett – 03/11, Max Kohl – 03/11, Jonah Gerstein – 03/12, Joey Ettinger – 03/13, Adam Klein – 03/16, Michael Dattilo – 03/19, Dustin Greenwood – 03/20, Marcelo Saenz – 03/21, Betsey Turcios – 03/21, Brian Strain – 03/22, Desmond Brown – 03/23, Tyler Mann – 03/23, Jonah Zivin – 03/23, Solomon Greene – 03/24, Max Boron – 03/26, Joe Berns – 03/28, Daniel Rothstein – 03/28, Leo Weiss – 03/29, Joey Salit – 03/30, Noah Masinter – 03/31.

 

COMING SOON…

Our next post will update you on campers and staff members who have joined us in the last month.  Try to hold on till then!!

Benches up,