|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
||
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
||
 |
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
Shenandoah Summer Adventure Camp
2008 Dates are here!
The Mountain
Campus Shenandoah Summer staff have
designed these summer programs to foster a safe and non-competitive environment
while providing opportunities for new and exciting outdoor activities.
Enrollment is limited each session to keep your child's experience highly
individualized, enjoying a low camper/staff ratio. For more information, call
the director at
You may discover that the perfect place to be for this summer is the Sheridan Mountain Campus. Explore some of the opportunities below and write us today!
| EXPLORATIONS Shenandoah Explorations camp is a cross between traditional summer camp and adventure camp. Campers acquire a great camp experience filled with fun activities, long-lasting friendships and a taste of adventure! Entering
grades: 4-6; |
|
|
Traditional
|
Adventure Activities:
|
| 5th & 6th ADVENTURE This one-week adventure camp for 5th and 6th graders turns campers into leaders. From physical challenges to exploration, this program entices campers to learn through experiential education. The session also promotes community, helps campers build outdoor skills and make long-lasting friends. 5th and 6th grade August 3rd - 9th, 2008 |
Adventure
Challenges:
|
|
| 7th & 8th
ADVENTURE This
two-week advanced adventure program provides campers with a valuable learning
experience. During this program, campers will spend the first week exploring
the
7th and 8th graders Session 1: July 20th to August 1st, 2008 Session 2: August 3rd - 15th, 2008 |
Activities will
include:
|
|
| 9th-12th ADVENTURE This two-week
challenge program is designed to provide older campers with a summer filled
with adventure. Campers develop advanced skills in backpacking, rock-climbing,
canoeing, and caving. Campers will also gain leadership skills while learning
about some of the nation's most historic and beautiful natural areas. The first
week will be spent exploring the endless trails and river-ways of the
Shenandoah. Campers will then enjoy discovering the caves, rivers and rocks of This is a hands on experience with "no free rides". Campers are taught skills and then expected to be responsible for them such as: setting up their own campsites, preparing and cooking meals, selecting group gear, menu items, and when possible - trip planning. They'll need to learn to belay, leave no trace camp etiquette, fire building, tent and tarp construction, water treatment, bear bagging, T-rescues, cave etiquette, and more.
9th-12th graders Session 1: July 6th - 18th, 2008 Session 2: July 20th - August1st, 2008 |
Activities will
include:
|
|
| Leaders
in Training The leadership training program provides a growth experience for teens who would like to have some experience in outdoor leadership. The program is designed for high school students seriously interested in working as summer camp counselors. LIT's contribute to the camp by working with the staff to teach younger campers. Campers who would like to be involved in the Leadership programs should contact the office for a separate leadership application at (540) 743-6603. Training dates: June, 29th - July 4th, 2008 |
|
Camper Application and other summer downloads:
Camper Application 2008 (as pdf file)
Medical
Form 2008
Physical Form for physician (as Word Document)
Packing List (as a pdf)
LIT Application 2008 (as a Word document)
LIT Reference form 2008 (as a Word document)
Letter to potential LITs 2008 (as a Word document)
Parent guide (as a pdf)
Summer Video (requires shockwave player)
Summer Video (as mp4 for personal media players)
What makes us special? / Why choose us? / What's our niche?:
Our Staff: - Like everyone we want the best staff possible. So, we make our salaries of the most competitive out there (around double the going rate). More than half our summer counselors are composed of staff who will have been working with schools groups coming here in the spring. Our average summer staff age tends to be around 23.5 years old, have multiple seasons of experience working with kids, college degrees and have their wilderness first responder. What's wilderness first responder? - it's a medical certification covering 76 to 80 hours of coursework specific to outdoor injuries and illnesses. For a perspective, 1st Aid and CPR usually fall in around 8 course hours
Our goals for our summer campers:
-
To be safe.
-
To create a common bond though shared adventure experiences so that making new friends is easy
-
To develop new skills (generally adventure-based ones) and encourage quality character
-
To give them experiences that they can't stop talking about.
-
To encourage responsibility
-
To have fun
What draws people to us and makes others flee?
-
Campers sleep in platform tents with Bunk beds.
-
We have pit toilets, a shower house with individual stalls, and campers wash their hands and teeth at community sinks near the dinning hall.
-
Our Sessions sizes are small. We max out our summer bunk space around 45 campers. It's possible for a session to only have 9 campers in it. Individual trip groups tend to be around 8 to 10 campers. Usually there are two different age groups in camp made up of around 22 campers each.
-
Some of our staff have dogs (who are friendly)
-
Campers help around meal times by setting up tables, washing them, and helping with dishes
-
All our activities are outside (or at least almost all)
-
Everyone in a program shares the same choice to experience and we offer - no special classes.
-
For our younger programs we use LIT's (Leaders in training) in addition to our staff. These LIT's were all once campers who want to share their enthusiasm for the place with younger campers. Not to worry our staff ratio stays the same about 1:5, but our trained high school students add extra energy, and help guarantee no one ever feels left out.