July 31, 2012

We forgot to tell you yesterday that the London Color Wars winner was the Red Team- great job Red!!

The re-scheduled river trip went out on Sunday and returned yesterday after a successful paddling trip. We are fortunate that the weather cooperated enough to get the trip in for this session.

Free choice week two began yesterday, as campers started their second week of activities. It was fun for me to walk around and see the kids playing disc golf, one of our newest programs here. We installed a 9 hole course back in June and it wraps from around the athletics field, out to the nation, back down the pond trail and into the center of camp.

Lopatcong is winning our Spirit Points competition so far- they have earned points by cheering loudly, being spirited, winning competitions, exhibiting the four core values and keeping a clean cabin. Other cabins will be trying to catch up before the spirit points competition ends later in the week!

July 30, 2012

Here is a complete rundown on the past weekend:

Friday Night: Opening Ceremony for London Color Wars, fires lit on the athletics field. Team cheer offs. Plus the typical Color Wars pranks overnight on Friday!

Saturday Morning: Color Wars kicked off with a new game invented by Stu and some of the Unit Leaders. It was a take on capture the flag- each team was given supplies to decorate a building of camp with their team color. Then, they had to get past other teams to take all of their decorations and move them to a different location, while simultaneously trying to stop the other teams for getting to their buildings. Does that make sense? If not, just trust me that everyone enjoyed it!

Saturday Afternoon: A few Olympic style races- canoeing and swimming. Then, thunderstorms rolled in and things were moved indoors. There were more Olympic events inside, such as shooting, rhythmic gymnastics and limbo (not Olympics, but still awesome!).

Saturday Night: Kind of a dance/paint party in the pavilion. Plus a traditional English meal for dinner: bangers and mash, AND fish and chips!

Sunday Morning: Lazy breakfast and chapel, led by the CITs. This was followed by a much needed all camp clean-up.

Sunday Afternoon/Night: Clever all camp activity prepared by the CITs- a version of "Apples to Apples", but using counselors as the playing cards. Dinner was unit cookouts and then the CITs led us in "Extreme Construction Craze".

A great weekend to say the least- thanks to all who planned these special events. Oh, almost forgot--- Deacon, our Nation Unit Leader, dressed as the Queen of England to kick things off. That explains the photo of him in the group picture posted to Sunday's photo gallery!

July 27, 2012

I think session C is turning into our "unsettled weather" session of 2012. There is always one stretch like this! I'm sure many of you experienced the wild thunderstorms last night- epic, in fact. This disrupted our planned unit night scheduled for evening program, and due to understandable safety concerns, the unit leaders treated all of camp to a movie night instead.

I am excited to share that the CITs presented their project idea to myself, Stu and Victoria yesterday afternoon and have settled on a plan to do trail maintenance on the Amphitheater trail. They also will be sprucing it up a bit with some painted rocks, perhaps some signs as well. We all felt this was a terrific idea and one that will really enhance a trail we use during our summer season. The goal is to have this ready for presentation by closing campfire next Thursday night.

Things are gearing up for the All Camp Day tomorrow, London Color Wars! The blog will be taking two days off for the weekend but will be back on Monday morning with an extensive re-cap of the festivities. Have a fabulous weekend.

July 26, 2012

Well, after hyping the river trip in yesterday's blog, we checked the forecast and pulled the plug! Worry not, as we have re-scheduled for a Sunday-Monday trip. Safety is always our first priority and we wouldn't want severe thunderstorms to have an impact on the experience for the campers on the river trip.

Back at camp, we kicked off the London Color Wars festivities with a special Wednesday banquet in the dining hall. There will be 3 teams for the Color Wars this weekend: Red, White and Blue (representing the colors of Great Britain in this case!). Each team was seated together, banquet style, in a fully decorated dining hall. This was complete with table cloths, banners, streamers, English flags, Olympic rings, medals and a medal platform. Very impressive! Every camper also was given a sweatband to wear with the color of their team.

Evening program was the ever popular MTV Night. Winning team was the Pioneers who won with a medley of dances like "Cotton Eye Joe", "Macarena" and "Teach Me How to Dougie". Second place was Kiowa who did a funny skit, poking some good natured fun of the Nation unit.

July 25, 2012

Good morning from beautiful YMCA Camp Bernie and what a beautiful day we are having, in fact!

After the stormy afternoon Monday which interrupted regularly schedule programming, we were able to get started with normal activities yesterday. The campers had free choice rotations in the morning, and cabin activities in the afternoon. This included swim checks for the Iroquois and Pioneers and "tip tests" for Winema and Lopatcong.

Those two cabins will be departing on the Delaware River trip tomorrow morning. This two day trip is a great tradition for our 12 year old campers. The kids will put in at Dingman's Ferry, paddle roughly 20 miles in two days, and be picked up at Smithfield Beach on Friday. For practice, they paddled for a while on our pond yesterday and also experience tipping their canoe, and doing a "T-Rescue".

July 24, 2012

Our tradition for the first full day of overnight camp sessions is to spend Monday within Units, giving campers and counselors the chance to know everyone that is in their living unit. We call this "Monday Fun Day". Each Unit Leader plans some fun special activities for each unit, here is what happened at camp yesterday:

Deacon & the Nation: Played capture the flag, soccer, did something called "hardwood" and learned their cheers.

Shai & the Shawnees: Worked on an ongoing puzzle project that each Shawnee unit has been involved with so far this summer, then went over cheers and had a surprise "cheer off" against the Pioneers.

Ru & the Pioneers: Did a camp tour, made decorations for their cabin and had a dance off

Melissa & the Iroquois: Played a game called "save the ducks" in canoes. Then they made a star fish craft with their names on them.

Last night was opening campfire and today we'll start in with regularly scheduled activities including horseback riding and mini-bike specialty programs.

Have a great day!

Jamie

July 23, 2012

Welcome to session C!

The theme this session is London Color Wars, a combination of honoring the Summer Olympics, celebrating our large number of staff members from Great Britain and also having a good old fashioned summer camp Color War competition. This should be a blast.

We kicked things off with a smooth check-in process- campers from as nearby as Washington, NJ came to camp while campers from as far away as Spain and Russia joined us too! The kids rotated through an orientation process, selecting free choice schedules, visiting the nurse and learning some important rules of camp. After dinner, it was back to their unit areas to get cabin photos and learn cheers. This all built up to an all unit cheer off on the athletics field. Enjoy the photo gallery on facebook that will document this fun first evening at camp!

July 20, 2012

Good morning from a drizzly session B closing day! Here is the rundown on our closing campfire last night...

Due to unsettled weather, we did decide to hold campfire in the pavilion. The performances were as follows:

SONGS: "Just The Way Your Are", "If I Were A Counselor At Camp Bernie", Parody of "Call Me Maybe" by the Shawnees, "Smile", Owasa and Kiowa Parody, a chant by the Nation, a song in Spanish and "I'm Yours" by the CB Band.

SKITS: Doctor Skit, "What Counselors Do On Their Night Off", Time Machine Skit.

And here were the awards for session B:

5 Year Paddles: Jayden, Quinn, Brandon, Nicole, Haley and Kaitlyn
10 Year Paddle: Jimmy
Caring Award: Bart from the Cadets
Honesty Award: Alyssa from Orenda
Respect Award: Quinn from Kiowa
Responsibility Award: John from Owasa
Spirit Award: Willie from Owasa
Spirit, Mind and Body Award: Nicole from the CITs
Unit of the Session: Pioneers

Thanks to all for a great session B!

Jamie

July 19, 2012

Session B is down to its final full day today and it will be super busy with free choice awards, closing campfire and plenty of activities too.

Yesterday, we had a super hot day, with a few intense thunderstorms rolling through in the afternoon. We kept the kids indoors, obviously, for the majority of the afternoon schedule. We put a movie on with the projector in the dining hall. Fortunately, the storms cleared out in time for the dance last night. For campers that chose not to dance, they were able to visit the trading post and also could watch the Muppet Movie. As you'll see from our photo gallery, most kids opted to dance :)

Reminders about closing day tomorrow:

Pick up at camp is at 11 AM. If your child is riding the Ridgewood bus, pick up is at 11 at the Ridgewood YMCA parking lot. Remember to have photo ID when you pick your child up.

We'll have a complete rundown of the closing campfire in the Friday morning blog!

July 18, 2012

Our last unit night of session B was spent doing the following activities:

Pioneers: Cheer off against the Iroquois, camping sleepover with s'mores and a ceremony at dusk.

Iroquois: Built a fort, cheered off against the Pioneers and s'mores, plus their ceremony too!

Shawnees: Worked on their session B "puzzle pieces" which will be added to the full summer stock for an end of summer project. 

Nation: Played "Gauntlet" in the Nation-- even Overnight Summer Director Stu went up to play a round, offering 5 spirit points to any cabin that hit him with a ball. I think, as a result, he got nailed a few dozen times!

CITs: Had a night out on the town!

July 17, 2012

Our third heat wave of 2012 is beating down on us here at camp (as I know it is all over the country). Worry not, parents, for we have altered the game plan somewhat to account for the weather. Last night, we scrapped the intended evening program in favor of having a big pool party. This made the campers and staff happy!

Tonight is unit night at camp as session B begins to wind down. I expect some top secret ceremonies might be happening tonight within each unit.

July 16, 2012

Hello everyone, and happy Monday.

I am pleased to announce the winning team from Saturday's All Camp Day was the Sith Lords! Congrats to them! You may be interested in hearing what was served at dinner that night: "Intergalactic Space Kill", "Green Drops" , "Hyper Electric Juice" and more (don't worry, parents, this was perfectly tasty and normal food).

Sunday was CIT Sunday. The schedule run down was a lazy breakfast followed by Chapel. The CITs planned a "movie madness" activity where each cabin had to present the plots of well known movies in 5 minutes or less. This included one cabin doing all 6 Star Wars movies in 5 minutes and all 8 Harry Potter movies too.

Intergalactic Space Odyssey

Emperor Marshall, the four aliens and the robot have successfully recruited teams to compete for colonization of Planet Camp Bernie. The teams include: Jedi, Martians, NASA, Purple People Eaters and much more. The festivities began last night with flag making competitions and cheer offs.

This morning, the staff and campers are dressing in costume to get into the spirit of the weekend. Then, there will be a series of challenges on the Asteroid Belt (ASE course) that each team will need to complete before lunch. In the afternoon, the teams will visit various sections of Planet Camp Bernie, such as the water and the desert. Finally, we will be entertained and challenged by Global Arts to Go tonight at evening program.

I will be back on Monday morning with the full weekend recap, including CIT Sunday activities too!

July 13, 2012

Friday already, which means our session B one week campers will be departing today. We will miss them though we are happy to report that quite a few of the kids have decided to stay for the second week!

Last night was cookout and unit night. Here is the scoop on each unit's activities:

Nation/Shawnee: Had a campfire together in the Nation. They made it a Luau themed campfire and there are loads of photos being posted this morning from their activity.

Iroquois: Had an ice cream social, and played a game called "mess up the yard". The main objective was to have the most objects on their side, they also had a secret ceremony for the departing campers.

Pioneers: Also held an ice cream social, and then played a game called point zone. There were three stations that the kids needed to run through without being tagged by a sponge. The winning team had the chance to throw the balls at the counselors afterwards.

Also, for those wondering--- the CITs reported that their 3 day trip was a great experience. I think they were all happy to get a shower though!

July 12, 2012

We had an interesting dinner last night at camp to kick off Intergalactic Space Odyssey (Whoosh!)

The dining hall was "blacked out", everyone had a pair of alien antennae to wear, and there were glow sticks decorating the room. Chef Michael made a delicious meal of chicken cordon bleu, roasted potatoes, dinner rolls, peas and banana pudding.

Then, suddenly, a space transmission was beamed into the room. It featured Emperor Marshall from the Planet Stunana announcing the discovery of planet Camp Bernie, and showed actual footage of him traveling through space with a team of 4 aliens and a robot to visit the newly discovered planet. Upon landing, the visitors interacted with a few of the local lifeforms (day campers) and trying some food (pretzels). The emperor decided that this planet should be colonized and sent the 4 aliens and the robot out to recruit colonization teams to compete to settle this planet. The competition is due to begin at 19:30:00 on star date 7.13.12

July 10, 2012

Monday was the first full day of session B. The morning was spent doing "Monday Fun Day", with each Unit Leader planning fun activities for the units to do together. Here is what each unit did:

Melissa and the Iroquois: An activity called, "The Challenge" with a maze, trivia, balloon ball, riddles and making bandanas

Ru and the Pioneers: Went over some important rules, decorated the new Pioneer Lodge: Turrell, came up with some new cheers and then had a cheer off against the Nation.

Deacon and the Nation: Played four rounds of Capture the Flag up in the nation and then went down to main camp for a cheer off against the Pioneers.

Shai and the Shawnees: Played America's best dance crew which apparently turned into one big dance party.

The CITs, meanwhile, prepped for their big Adventure Trip that departs this morning. They will be doing a three day, two night trip combining some Delaware River paddling and Appalachian Trail hiking.

Speaking of the CITs, major thanks to them for completing a terrific service project here at camp. They helped to light the trail to outdoor chapel by setting out solar powered path lights. Also, they re-designed the fire pit at the outdoor chapel, actually creating two separate fire pits on either side of the stage. The dual fires actually lit the stage, first time I can remember being able to see everything at an opening campfire. Great improvement and awesome job by Rob, MacKenzie and the CITs!

Opening campfire was full of songs, skits and laughter. We handed out 5 ambassador awards: Jared H., Henry H. Morgan T., Hailey F. and Zachary T. Thanks to these kids for referring friends to Camp Bernie this summer.

July 9, 2012

And session B has begun! Intergalactic Space Odyssey: Woooooosh!

Following a smooth check in process yesterday, the campers ran through our orientation rotation, selecting their free choice activities, visiting the wellness center, learning camp rules and doing some icebreaker games.
Following dinner, we took cabin photos and learned unit cheers with unit nights. The Unit Leaders also brought their units to the athletics field for a cheer off before dark.

Today, activities are beginning and the dining hall is already full of spirited cheering! We will have opening campfire tonight.

Closing Campfire 13A 2012

Session A closing campfire was last night, following cookout dinner and free choice awards. Great job by the program staff in recognizing all of the accomplishment of the campers. Everyone hiked down to the amphitheater for closing campfire and here is a full rundown on the songs, skits and awards:

Songs: Boom Chicka Boom, "Imagine" by the CB Band, a great solo of "That's What Makes You Beautiful" by Devon C., a great song led by Markus and the Pioneers, plus a few others songs by cabin groups.

Skits: "Johnny Got Hit by a Bus 2: Revenge of the Bus", "Hidden Cameras", "Bee Bee Gimme Some Honey", "Auditions by Mohepinoke" and "Counselors on a Bridge"

Awards:

• Honesty: Devon C.
• Caring: Kathy L.
• Respect: David W.
• Responsibility: Brandon R.
• Spirit: Kate P. 
• Spirit, Mind & Body: Tom B.
• Unit of the Session: Nation
• 5 Year Paddle: Devon C.

This morning we will be showing the slideshow from this session and we'll get this posted to our facebook page later today as well.

July 5, 2012

Last night was the dance, a great way to celebrate the 4th of July. We had a great prank to kick off the day, the English Flag was raised by our international staff. They also projected the "Queen's Jubilee" in the dining hall. Not to be outdone, the American staff tied Josh (from England) to the flagpole in his Union Jack Onesie.

Tonight is free choice awards and closing campfire as our first session wraps up. Two reminders as we close session A:

Pick-up at camp tomorrow is at 11 AM. Please stop at the main office to sign your child out of camp.
Pick up at the Ridgewood YMCA will also be at 11.
Extended pick-up is at 4 PM for any parents that have opted for this (by paying an additional fee).

See you tomorrow!

Jamie

July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hoping everyone enjoys their holiday as much as we plan on enjoying it at Camp Bernie.

Yesterday was the final unit night of the session along with their "super secret" ceremonies, here is rundown on how each unit spent their evening:

Pioneers: Games, Cheer off against the Iroquois, s'mores and camp out at the pond
Iroquois: Likewise, a cheer off against the Pioneers, plus a sleepover in the back chapel with a homemade fort.
Shawnees: Shai had the girls decorate puzzle pieces that will ultimately be compiled at the end of the summer.
Nation: Played a game called "Gauntlet" which apparently involved kids needing to move balls from one end of the nation to the other.
CITS: Spent the evening with their units as they are in cabins shadowing counselors for a couple of days.

Also, wanted to give a little shout out to Isabelle F.'s father (also the father of one of our counselors, Julia F.) who secretly set up a treasure hunt around camp for her daughter's cabin group to follow. Ultimately, this led to a secret treasure chest behind Jaqua with candy for the kids. Very clever and very "summer campy"!

July 3, 2012

We are down to the last few days of the Spirit Points competition. So far, the Iroquois are winning but it is anyone's game. To earn spirit points, they can win cabin clean-up, cheer loudly and win evening programs. Speaking of which...

Evening program last night was Camp Clue, like the board game. Stu, our Overnight Camp Director, was murdered. Strangely, we were also visited by Stu's Australian twin brother, also named Stu. Each cabin had to find witnesses hidden around camp, and perform challenges to earn clues. For example, one of the hidden witnesses (MacKenzie) required each cabin to perform a rap to earn information. In the end, Chippewa and Owasa were able to find the answer: Luci killed Stu, using her pet killer whale in the Wellness Center.

July 2, 2012

Here is your official weekend recap from YMCA Camp Bernie!

Saturday A.M.--- Teams visited a variety of stations and had to complete the following challenges:

• They had to show BRAVERY at the Assault Catapult (Giant Swing tossing water balloons to certain distances)
• They had to be DARING by scaling the castle wall (Climbing Tower)
• They had to be SWIFT at the water relay race
• They had to be HONORABLE by presenting the King with a Interpretive Dance
• They had to be SMART by completing a puzzle
• They had to be TRUE by taking aim at Archery

Saturday P.M.--- Renaissance Fair Stations

• Friendship Bracelets
• Shield Making
• Face Painting
• Fishing Game for candy
• Horseshoe Toss
• Mock wedding chapel
• Princess Jasmine, a real English princess riding a Unicorn
• Stockade

Saturday Night--- Evening Program by Global Arts to Go

John the Jester visited camp with Shaman Joy, a medicine woman. Teams had to write a poem, had to set it to a beat with instruments and perform it. 

Sunday was CIT Sunday. Everything started with a lazy breakfast and chapel, led by the CITs. The afternoon was an activity station round robin with slip n slide, archery, ASEs and others. Then a pool party and Great Imposter Game for evening activity.