Another 7 days flies by at Scatico! At camp, it is easy to lose track of the day of the week. Certain dates are marked by certain milestones: but is July 4 a Wednesday or Thursday? Is DJ Pure on July 8 a Monday or a Tuesday? Often the day of the week is irrelevant…
One weekday stands out as an exception: Friday Nights. On Fridays, it is not the date but that it is a Friday that counts, as the entire boys and girls side gather separately after dinner for a moment of sharing and reflection.
On girls side, we go to the Amphitheater, where each week a different division takes charge of the evening’s “community meeting,” as we have come to call it. We start the first Friday with the Soopers, then Seniors, Subs, Debs, and so on. Each division picks what their focus will be, and the lessons and stories they want to impart to the wider community. On our first Friday, Soopers kicked it off by sharing Scatico’s 4 core values— Lifelong Community. Time to be a Kid, Personal Growth: Embrace the Journey, and From the 12523, to the World— what each of the values means to them, and how they embody them in their daily camp life. Last Friday, the Seniors took the lead, sharing something each of them wish they could tell their younger selves. The pervading message? Slow down and appreciate the time you have with your division.
On girls side, divisional lessons are interspersed with songs (but of course), including fan favorites like “If I Had a Hammer” and “For Our Hands are Strong.” Each song comes with its own “house rules,” like knowing when to echo lines (after, “I hammer out danger!” you turn and whisper to the person next to you “danger,” same goes for “warning”). First year campers catch on quick. The effect is a chorus of giggling and singing kids, all different ages, not particularly in tune or “unified,” but still a collective whole. We close it out with “Lost and Found Friday,” when even something as potentially dull as giving out the lost items that accumulate in the HC over the week, becomes an excuse to cheer on bunkmates (a lot of “repeat offenders” at Lost and Found Friday). Perhaps most impressive… how many campers can see an item hoisted in the air and instantly know who it belongs to, even when it’s not their bunkmate! “Oh, that’s so and sos water bottle.” For 135 girls— we are a close knit community.
TEAMS breaks during the summer's first Lost and Found Friday
Upper Seniors on the Pixie House porch
On boys side, we head down to the bleachers at the boys waterfront, so campers can gaze out at the lake for a moment of contemplation before the “services,” as we call them, begin. On boys side an individual (or small group) delivers a “sermon”: a life lesson or personal experience they want to share. Ross MacPherson, Sub DL, delivered the first sermon, and Justin Zucker, Upper Senior DL, delivered the second. Boys side also has its own “house rules,” including each sermon beginning with the question: “Upper Seniors, can you hear me?” as the oldest boys sit the farthest back, on the porch of the Pixie House just behind the bleachers. The Upper Seniors dutifully respond, “Yeah.”
Ross— a third year staff member from Scotland (Scatico jacket summer!)— shared how his journey to camp back in 2022 was his first time on an airplane, and the beauty of taking a risk and diving into the unknown. Ross had actually been hired to work at Scatico in 2021, but was unable to make it that summer as J-1 visa holders from Europe were barred from entering the U.S. due to Covid. He marveled at the magic of sticking with an instinct— deciding to give camp another try after waiting a year— and that you never know the impact your decisions will have, so always push yourself to go for it.
Zucker reflected on his own first summer— and actually, first day— as a camper, and feeling nervous and unsure of how to fit in. He remembered he did not have the “cool” Pokemon cards when he arrived (his packs were a year old), but that a bunkmate lent him one of the new “in-demand” cards— a small gesture that spoke volumes. With time Zucker grew more comfortable, and more at home, at Scatico. His ultimate message? You can always be yourself at camp. No matter your interests, or personality quirks, or fears, or what Pokemon cards you come with… you can shine at Scatico.
Friday at the Boys Waterfront
A little silliness, a lot of heart, a time to be all together… Fridays represent a bit of the best of camp. They are also a marker by which we are able to look back and say— whoa did all of that happen in one week?! Senior Staff has spent the past few days marveling at the pace of camp— how a free play spent chatting with friends on picnic tables can feel relaxed and easy, almost like time standing still— and yet a week contains multitudes: 4th of July co-ed evening, Boys Nat, DJ Pure, hikes, tournaments, canteen sessions, a dozen jumps in the lake, something like two dozen individual activities, countless conversations and moments of connection.
We know next week will bring its own set of lessons and adventures…