September Update: What’s Happening at Meadowbrook?

We miss the sounds of happy children, Lunch Pavilion cheering, Lifeguard whistles, and T.I.G.E.R. spirit at Meadowbrook…but we hope everyone’s transition back to school was successful.

While we have moved from our blog to facebook status updates for much of our electronic communication, we will still update the blog with larger pieces of information, like this.

So, what’s been happening at Meadowbrook since Camp ended?

We are already very busy getting ready for the Summer of 2012! There is no off-season at Meadowbrook!!

We started by welcoming back many Campers to our Valley Brook School. One of the differences here at Meadowbrook is that we are a year-round youth-development facility for children. We have lots of blue MCDC backpacks in the halls of Valley Brook. All of the preparations that we do to change Camp back to School (waxing all of the floors, painting, landscaping) also benefits our Meadowbrook Campers. We also did a lot of wall repairs in our Pre-K changing room as we prepared for Valley Brook School.

We have chosen to do a lot of work on our pools this year, and we have started now instead of waiting until Spring. Rain aside, we emptied both the main pool and upper pool. They are being scrubbed, power washed and have fresh coats of paint and tile work. Now we wait for a solid week of dry weather for a second coat of paint and then we refill and cover for next Summer. From there, we will move to improving the deck surfaces around the pools this winter.

Our landscaping crew has also been hard at work. The very hot and dry start to the Summer took it’s toll on many of our grassy areas. We have done lots of thatching, aerating, fertilizing, seeding and haying to get everything back to beautiful for the Summer of 2012! We have also improved some of the gardens around buildings and will continue to plant throughout the fall.

Another Meadowbrook Difference is that ALL of our Staff re-interview every year. We start with our Leadership Team (editorial comment: the largest and best in the industry). Many have already been in to see us, some spending several hours reviewing programs and Staff and brainstorming ideas to make the Summer of 2012 even better!

Generally speaking, our facility has not had too many problems with all of the rain we have been getting, including the hurricane. But we have had a few issues, most notably erosion on the road between our two lakes and a little flooding in the basement and garage at the Camp house. We did lose some carnival games, special events supplies, and furniture; but we are happy to report that all of the Meadosaurus bones that everyone found during the Summer of 2010 were saved! We will be spending time during the next few weeks rebuilding both the road and basement so that they will both be ready long before the Summer of 2012!

Finally, September is a busy month for giving back. We are very focused on practicing Generosity from our T.I.G.E.R. program. Throughout the month, Roz has been attending meetings for S.C.O.P.E., where she sits on their Board of Directors. She also worked on and presented at the American Camp Association (ACA) Day Camp Conference. Our Office Manager Marty also designed and moderated a session at the Conference. Four of us attended and it was a chance to learn what is going on at other Camps as well as share our best practices with the industry in hopes of more and more children having meaningful Camp experiences for years to come. Meanwhile, Jed has also been busy as a chairperson planning the ACA Fall Management Conference and the ACA Tri-State Camp Conference. He also has been fulfilling his Board position with the NY/NJ Section of the ACA.

Looking forward, we are excited to see all of our families at Meadowfest on October 16^th at Camp. Come enjoy a great fall day at Meadowbrook with lots of fun activities. This is also a great opportunity to earn referral discounts with our SWAP program. We encourage you to bring along friends and neighbors who may be interested in sending their Children to Meadowbrook next Summer. When they enroll and list you as the referring family, you receive a $200 discount on Camp for your family!

As always, we thank you for the confidence you place in us and for allowing us to share the wonderful Meadowbrook experience with your children. As always, if you need anything from us, have any questions, or we can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to give us a call in the office. We are available all throughout the year for all of our Meadowbrook families!

Camp does wonderful things for our Staff as well! Check out this college essay from a Meadowbrook Counselor. It was good enough to get her accepted Early Decision at her first choice college as an education major! Enjoy.

“Uh-oh, Melissa, I fell in,” called the little voice from the bathroom stall. Slowly, I opened the stall door and sitting there, with her little legs dangling off the edge and her arms on the seat like she had an armrest, was my four-year old camper stuck in the toilet. She looked up at me, smiled, giggled and waved, and as we both started laughing I knew she was okay. Immediately, I pulled her out and helped her clean up.

If life is like a book filled with many chapters, this situation was a single page in one of my several camp chapters. Meadowbrook Country Day Camp is my favorite chapter. For three summers, I have worked there as a group counselor and a bus counselor. The experience has helped me gain self-confidence and helped me identify strengths that allowed me to discover my interest in early childhood education. Before Meadowbrook, I had previous camp adventures. All of those prior experiences, positive and negative, helped prepare me for my summer at Meadowbrook.

As a young teen I spent a few summers at sleep-away camp. Many of the girls had been there for a few summers and had already formed their cliques, which made it hard to make friends and to fit in. At sports I would be chosen last and often felt excluded from activities. This left me feeling uncertain about myself, wondering why I wasn’t easily welcomed into their group. Based on those summers, working at a camp may seem a bit ludicrous. However, I knew that in spite of everything, I was determined to try again and help make summer a fun time for others.

The first few days at Meadowbrook were a little disorienting, but I managed to figure it out with help from others. Many staff members besides me were new, which made it easy to make friends. I found friends who had opinions and input that I valued. Returning staff members helped me adjust to my new camp, from showing me around the grounds to giving me advice on day-to-day trouble shooting. My co-counselors and I were able to work together to maximize the fun for our campers and for ourselves. I learned that by persevering and trying new experiences, past chapters are merely stepping stones to build on.

On my bus were campers that ranged from age four to age twelve, and it was hard to find a game that pleased them all. Children need constant entertainment and engagement in activities. They get bored easily, and I did not receive a manual during orientation with instructions on how to address each and every situation that can arise. Instead of playing the suggested games exactly as the directions instructed, I manipulated them or created new games so everyone was able to participate and have fun. One of the favorites was counselor charades, because the campers were able to pick an action or character and the other staff members and I made complete fools of ourselves. From acting out the role of Dory from Pixar’s Finding Nemo to singing with the other staff as the Backstreet Boys, we always had a blast. Music was always playing and cheers were always being sung. Our bus was exploding with so much spirit that we won the Bus Spirit Award.

The impact Meadowbrook and Roz and Jed Buck, owners and directors of the camp, have had on me will positively affect me for the rest of my life. This experience has allowed me to identify and focus on my strengths and interests. I have learned how to work with others and how to be patient and encouraging. Now, I am able to trust myself and my decisions. I have become more creative and imaginative in my problem solving methods and in my leadership skills. Working as a group counselor with four-year olds and as a bus counselor has helped me learn how to think on my feet. My experience taught me how to help campers have the best time, and for me I have nothing except, in the words of Roz and Jed, “positive, indelible summer memories”. In addition to these memories, Meadowbrook has helped me overcome my insecurities and has increased my confidence so I am ready to move on to the next chapter in my book of life.