www.ilovecamp.org

Presentations to Presbytery in the next month

We wanted to update you about how we're promoting camp over the next couple of months.  Here's a schedule of our talks to Presbyteries.

• February 3 - Presentation to Brampton WMS
• February 10 - Presentation to Presbytery of Barrie 
• February 17 - Presentation to Presbytery of Oak Ridges 
• March 3 - Presentation to Presbytery of East Toronto 
• March 10 - Presentation to Presbytery of Waterloo-Wellington  

If you regularly attend Presbytery - we'll see you there.  If not, these might be good dates to go and see how the Church operates.  There is a worship service and a business meeting each evening, and it can be very affirming to see the love and diligence with which the Church governs itself.

Where do you spend your time online?

Camp at Cairn is all about community.  We'd like to know how to best continue to build that community online.

How would you like to connect to camp people online?  Tell us in the comments.

Things we LOVE about Pee-Wee Camp

We love Pee-Wee Camp!  It's a fantastic way for young campers (ages 5-7) to get an introduction to camp.  We keep the pee-wees busy from sun-up until bedtime, make sure the food, activites and bathroom breaks are age-appropriate and generally have a fantastic time.

Things we LOVE about Pee-Wee Camp:

• Free Swim at 7am
• Costumes!  
• Taking all 24 pee-wees on a canoe trip (and only needing 4 canoes) 
• Campfire stories  
• We love that pee-wees believe in every character, costume and adventure we present to them
• Pee-Wee parents arrive SUPER early in the morning on pick-up day, because they can't wait to see their little ones.  
• Giving kids their first opportunity to be away from home for more than a night.  Lots of us miss home, and it's such good practice for the pee-wees.  Plus, our staff team has lots of strategies to help kids deal with their feelings. 
• Pee-Wees are hilariously honest, and ask great questions.  
• Pee-Wees don't ever need to be asked to have fune - they know instinctively how to make all activites more fun!  

We have spaces remaining in Pee-Wee Camp this summer.  Register today.

Why do YOU love Pee-Wee Camp?  Tell us in the comments.

Meeting Day for the Directors

Match and Topaz and I met in Nobleton today at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church.  It was a snowy blizzard outside, but we're already hot into plans for the summer.  Today, we talked a lot about staffing, and it was very exciting to have so many great applicants to think and pray about.

This is St. Paul's when it's NOT a wicked winter morning.  Very pleasant inside though, and we're thankful for the meeting space!

Resource Day

It's that time of year already!  We've begun to hire the Staff for 2009.

Saturday was Resource Applicant's Day in Toronto.  We gathered at Morningside High Park Presbyterian Church, and spent the day running interviews, group challenges and games to give our applicants a chance to show us their best stuff.

The highlight of the day was likely the Lego Warrior challenge, where we asked each group to replicate a lego model without speaking to one another.  Each group had all the necessary pieces, but only one person could see the model at a time.  The fastest group took 22 minutes to build their model, and Match and I were impressed by the creativity shown by every group.

We'll hire our full Resource Staff within two weeks, and then Counsellor Day is right around the corner.

Are you excited for the summer?  Let us know in the comments below.

The 1st Edition of the XX Games has arrived!

The 1st Edition of the XX Games ~ Cairn's online women's magazine, has officially arrived! Every four months we will publish another edition of this magazine for women of all ages! Enjoy the 1st edition and lets us know what you think! Contact camp with your ideas for the next issue.

Get your own - Open publication

Youth Group Event - Building Bridges

Cairn is really pleased to announce a Youth Group "Building Bridges" Event, February 21st!

This event will be a day jammed full of great activities and programming for Youth Groups, and is open to High School-aged participants only (Grades 9-12).

Time: 10am - 4pm

Lunch: Provided!

Cost: $10.00/person

Location: Amberlea Presbyterian Church

To register, or for more information, contact Chantal "Match" Jackson (match@ilovecamp.org)

Baysville Wishlist 2009

We get a lot of support from our camp community.  Our volunteers, families and even our campers are always willing to do what they can to make sure Cairn stays successful and wonderful.

If you're eager to volunteer or donate - or you simply wish to keep up-to-date on the needs of camp, here is the 2009 Wishlist for Glen Mhor and Iona.

Download Wish List 2009 

If you have any questions, or you would like contribute, please contact the camp office.

Sr. Girls Performance Art Camp

At Glen Mhor, we're offering a Performance Art Camp for Sr. Girls.  It will run from June 28th - July 4th, and will be a fantastic opportunity for our campers to discover new talents and hone existing skills.  The week will wrap-up with a big performance in the Dining Hall, where we'll get to see the product of amazing talent and practice.  So, if you are a born performer - this is the week for you!

8 Reasons I'm Excited about Boys Camp

I'm really excited about Boys Camp this Summer.  It's a new programme for us at Cairn, and we've put a lot of thought into it!

My Top 8 Reasons:

1. Boys are fun.  Camp is fun too.  That seems like two pretty essential ingredients.
2. Co-ed camping is really great, but there is a great calming effect when we run programming for a single gender at a time.  It allows our campers to relax, and to show us who they really are.  
3. Iona is perfect for a tight community experience, where all the spaces are built for smaller groups.  
4. Boys sometimes learn differently from girls, and we can really take advantage of that to teach canoeing, swimming, cooking, low ropes, etc.   
5. It will be really special to sing, make music and pray with a group of boys.  Often times, boys have trouble "finding their voice", and this will be a good chance to help them express themselves.
6. It will be a great chance to mentor to the boys, and show them good examples of young men who treat each other properly, and who demonstrate a growing Christian faith.
7. It will be great to teach these boys how to do dishes, tidy a campsite, maintain good personal hygeine, take care of their belongings and use proper manners.  (A note to parents: you're welcome...it's our pleasure!)
8. At mealtimes, it's sometimes hard for boys to remember that they are human beings.  I'm excited to help them remember that portion control is a good thing.  They will be very well fed, we'll just help them to eat more slowly!