Camp Arowhon
Social Inclusion
Friendship in the time of COVID
I felt lonely all summer. Sure I missed the camp kids, and yes, I found joy in my beloved family, my fabulous spouse, and the delightful new grandchild. Not to mention nature, the lake, yoga, blah blah blah. But I didn’t see my friends. Like most folks I know, my pod is my family. When […]
ContinueAbove and Beyond
With 2 weeks under our belts we’re starting to really get in the groove of camp life. Campers are feeling settled, staff are confident in their jobs, and we’re starting to see the next level stuff that only comes from spending this much time at camp (one of the reasons why we have such limited […]
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Sunshine on Tepee!
The summer weather finally decided to show up in Algonquin Park! Day 3 of the session saw campers really getting into the groove at activities and watching them find their confidence was truly inspirational. I took advantage of the perfect conditions and spent 4th period on a windsurfer getting tips from Senior Boys, and as […]
ContinueDid St. Mike’s have to happen?
I feel awful about what happened at St Mike’s. Awful for the boys and their parents, and sad for our culture where such goings-on can occur – and be tolerated. I have been hearing this from parents, the worried question: Could what happened at St. Mike’s happen elsewhere? Some parents ask this question, some don’t. […]
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Super Special Sunday
For our first sleep-in Sunday of the summer we went all out! After a fabulous buffet brunch that got a rave review from critic Joanne Kates, campers had plenty of energy to do a super cabin clean up and distance swims (thanks to all that hollandaise-flavoured fuel). Then we took it up a notch from […]
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Getting Through to Tough Boys
An excerpt from Arowhon Head Counsellor Jonny Reed’s recent article on #Metoo and teenage boy culture. This perfectly reflects Jonny’s (and Arowhon’s) approach to mentoring young men. Worth a read for everyone with a boy in their life. “In the three months since the rise of #MeToo, I’ve seen an upswing in the conversation about […]
ContinueIs Smartphone use harming kids’ mental health?
An incisive article in The Atlantic makes a strong argument that their excessive use of screens is leading to increased depression and anxiety in children. Read the article at https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/
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The Mission of Camp
Our management team arrived at camp this week and hit the ground running to get camp ready for another amazing summer. We spent all day yesterday with a professional facilitator doing team building and goal setting exercises. Here’s what our amazing Head Counsellors came up with as their summer mission: “We want to provide all the […]
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Why Camp?
Over the years we’ve shared dozens of articles with our community espousing the value of summer camp for kids, staff, and even sometimes parents. We’re thrilled that so much research is being done proving what we already knew, but we’re probably starting to sound like a broken record (and preaching to the choir) when we […]
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Defining “Bullying”
By: Mara Kates, Assistant Director “Bully” has been the buzz word amongst parents and people who work with young people for the past few years now. And it’s great that we are so aware of our kids’ social and emotional well-being. And it’s great that we’re teaching kids that it’s ok to reach out and […]
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