No stars were above on this misty gray night, but we had our own. The Stars Division is the oldest in camp (age 15), and we’re proud to have them as our leaders. Together with the Seniors (14 year-olds), they live on the other side of camp at Sky II, and serve as big brother figures for those who are younger.
To be a Senior or Star and live at Sky II is something that most aspire to. They have their own little “village”, with close access to tennis courts, The Gym and The Lodge. Lights out is later, they get to go on “Night’s Out” in town, and best of all, they have “Happy Hour”. That’s when the guys have the option for supervised hanging-out, or they can go to the lake for activities like wakeboarding, waterskiing, sailing, standup paddleboarding and kayaking.
At tonight’s Ring of Champion’s Campfire, Nick included the Stars in his annual introduction to Skylemar’s Cool2Care motto. The concept is simple, and it’s what makes our world a better place. It’s cool to care about being our best self and trying our hardest, it’s cool to care about others, and it’s cool to care about the world around us.
Here’s what the Stars had to share with the rest of camp when asked for examples of what Cool2Care means to them:
- Doing the right thing when nobody’s looking...
- Saying “thank you” to those who don’t hear it enough, like the maintenance and kitchen crew...
- Picking up trash that wasn’t yours...
- Welcoming someone new to Skylemar as if he were your best friend...
The Ring of Champions is always a super-fun night, with lessons like this woven into the program. Cory runs the show which always features classic and much-loved repeat-after-me songs (tonight was “60’s Party” and counselor Zach's rendition of an old favorite, “A Roosta Sha”. There are some hysterical skits like when Cory quiets the whole camp to near silence just to listen for a baby deer calling out to her mother -- then someone in the woods yells “Hey, Mom!” instead.
What’s a campfire without a “musical snack”? Tonight’s was Sarah playing “All of Me” by John Legend on the guitar, and everyone sang along. The other snack was s’mores of course, and then came a visit from Adventure Man.
Adventure Man, who sorta looks like Shep but dresses totally different, shares tips for surviving in the outdoors. This time he pulled out his “Can of Calm”, and explained that this is what’s needed for a sticky situation.
Keeping our fingers crossed for no rain tomorrow. The weather report indicates a 70% chance, but then again, that still means a 30% chance of sunshine.
