Rock Talk - Our Cairn Newsletter

Rock Talk - September 2007

The September Newsletter is now available!
Download rock_talk_september_2007.pdf

Cairn's Concert Night - October 14th, 2007

All summer camps, and Cairn especially, have a rich tradition of music.  Starlit evenings around a campfire circle, singing in the lodge, singing at meals, singing grace, learning to play a borrowed guitar...all of these things are camp traditions.  Mark your calendars, because October 14th is Cairn's first ever Camp Concert!

• When? October 14th, 2007.
• Where? Trinity York Mills Presbyterian Church.
  • 2737 Bayview Ave., Willowdale, ON M2L 1C5.  Here's the website: www.trinityyorkmills.com.
       
• Cost? $20 for adults, $10 for children under 14.  Tickets will be sold at the door, and tax receipts mailed out to all attendees.
• Why? To celebrate camp, and to celebrate the music that makes camp so memorable.

The concert will feature songs and performances from Cairn's 5 Camping Programmes: Music Camp Muskoka, Music Camp Quinte, Glen Mhor, Iona and Dorothy Lake Family Camp.  We welcome all campers, alumni, friends, relatives, music lovers and those who are young-at-heart to join us for an evening of music.  For more information, please contact us: info@ilovecamp.org.

Saying Goodbye...and Saying Hello

The summer of 2007 will be remembered for a lot of things.  It was a summer of growth and renewal; it was a summer of celebration; and, it was a summer where we said goodbye to the longest serving Camp Director in this Synod's history. 

Zoic has spent his last summer as Co-Executive Director of Cairn, and is leaving camp after 15 years of full-time dedication and hard, hard work.  He leaves an amazing legacy, though.  Zoic began as the Director of Glen Mhor Camp in 1994, and diligently guided and nurtured that programme.  Then, when Cairn was born, Zoic accepted the responsibility of building Iona @ Baysville in only 2 months.  It was an amazing feat, and visitors to Iona cannot believe that we managed to create so much in so little time.  So, as Zoic leaves to pursue some of his other dreams, he leaves behind a camping ministry that is healthy, innovative, viable and (most of all) welcoming and safe for our campers and families.  Thank you for everything, Zoic.

Topaz is staying on as the sole Executive Director for Cairn, and will be very involved in reaching-out to other ministries in the Synod.  She and Zoic have moved to Woodstock, Ontario, and Topaz will be working from her office there.

Match, our longtime Head Counsellor, is joining the full-time leadership team at Cairn.  She and Taps are becoming the Co-Directors of Baysville, and will oversee the Glen Mhor and Iona programmes.  Match brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, a degree in Recreation from the university of Waterloo, a well-earned familiarity with camp, a loving heart and many, many talents.  She will work wonders in this place, and we are lucky to have her.

What's On A Camp Director's Reading List

So, what's on our reading list at the moment?

Topaz

• "Seeking a Simpler Spirit: An 8 Week Guide to a Closer Relationship with God" by Deborah DeFord
• Grant possibilities for camp.  (The not fun stuff).
• Outdoor Experience magazine articles.

Zoic

• "The Search: How Google and its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed our Culture" by John Battelle
• "Thinking Two Products Ahead" by Ben Mack

Taps

• "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
• "Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative" by Ken Robinson
• "Pattern Recognition" by William Gibson
• "Rule the Web" by Mark Frauenfelder
• "Marketing on a Shoestring" by Jeffrey P. Davidson

Match

• "An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore.
• "Super Staff, Super Vision" by Michael Brandwein.

New Programmes 2008

Every year the programmes at camp change and grow to meet the needs of our campers and to offer new choices to our families.  2008 is no different.  While many of the camp choices stayed the same, we are offering a few new programmes to try.

• (Iona) Outdoor Teen Adventures (ages 13-16)
• (Iona) Wild Wonders (ages 9-12)
• (Iona) Woods and Water (ages 7-10)
• (Iona) Eco-Adventures (ages 9-12)
• (Tripping) White Water 2: The Spanish River (advanced White Water trip)

For more information about these programmes, and to register for camp, visit us at www.ilovecamp.org.

"Our Kids" 10th Annual Photo Contest

If you have photographs from Camp in 2007, you could win the 10th Annual Photo Contest run by Our Kids Publications and The Society of Camp Directors.  First prize is a Pentax Optio M30 Digital Camera (7.0 Megapixels).
The winning photographs will also be published in the 2008 issue of Our Kids Go To Camp magazine.

Visit ourkids.net for details and to enter.  The deadline is November 1st, 2007.