Camp Echo Lake – Inter Girls: Week 3 Recap
This past week, the Lower Inter Girls went to Putt Putt, and played an “around the world” themed miniature golf course with the Lower Inter Boys. The night ended with ice cream on Lake George.
The campers loved leaving camp to join “the real world” for a little while. They played 18 holes of putt putt golf that was more fun than competitive. All of the campers definitely enjoyed the special privilege that comes with being an Inter.
Echo Lake hosted its first tennis inter-camp of the summer in the Main Village. Many girls participated as their “camp within a camp option” where a single activity is done for the first three periods of the day. In between matches, the Inter Girls put competition aside and befriended players from opposing camps and enjoyed the down time together.
As we are approaching the middle of the summer, the Inter Girls have learned the importance of reflection and goal setting. The Inter Group Leaders were encouraged to talk to their campers about what goals they set for themselves, how close they are to reaching their goals, and what are they going to do to get there before the summer ends. The conversations that were had were helpful in guiding the campers, and provided positive reinforcement for the girls.
Visiting Day was this past Saturday! Before the campers’ families arrived, the groups worked hard practicing their Group Sing songs to perform for their parents and also put the finishing touches on their art projects.
Once the girls were reunited with their families on Girls Camp, many of the girls brought their parents to the new Field House to participate in activities, and then took a dip in the lake.
The Inter Girls were all so excited for their parents to come that they took joy in even the most mundane tasks and made them fun. Cleaning time in the bunks turned into a dance party. Sweeping was a dance move and the broom doubled as a microphone.
It was such a pleasure to see the girls with their families and to meet the people that they speak about so often!
Any moments of sadness as the girls said goodbye to their families didn’t last very long because they were all looking forward to the candy party that takes place right after the parents left. All of the Inters gathered on the lower soccer field to enjoy their sweets, and chat with their friends about how they spent the day with their families.
After the candy party and general swim, we had Halloween in July, which was hosted by the Lower Village campers. All of the campers on Main Camp dressed in costume and went trick or treating in the grove, played Halloween games and visited a “spooky” museum.
After the Halloween activities, the campers gathered by the lower baseball diamond for Tribal Torch Lighting, a tradition carried out by the LITs before the Tribal themes are announced. The LITs walked two torches from the flag pole to the lower baseball diamond to represent both teams (Iroquois and Mohawk), and lit one big torch together. Once the torch was lit, the LIT Director dramatically announced the Tribal themes and then the LITs taught their teams new theme-oriented cheers.
Visiting Day tends to be an emotional roller coaster for the campers, but Halloween In July and the Tribal Torch Lighting events helped to bring the camp together at the end of an exciting, but tiring day.
Halloween is fun and silly and everyone rallies around the Tribal Torch Lighting. Tribals are an exciting part of camp that becomes more intense in the second half of the summer.
It was a pleasure to meet all of you on Visiting Day! Thank you for your words of encouragement and reinforcement about our staff members, who have enjoyed connecting with the girls all summer long. We all take great pride in providing a safe and supportive environment for your daughters!
The Inter Girls have really embraced the opportunity to become stronger, more independent young women, and it was great to share their growth with you this past weekend!
The Upper and Lower Inter Girls will both be going bowling this week as their final “night off camp” activity before their big trip to Great Escape Theme Park.
The LITs are planning a surprise evening program for Main Camp, which is always a bit hit. The Inter Girls love this evening program because they get to spend time with the beloved LITs.
