Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,
It is said there are two seasons: “Camp” and “Not-Camp.” That’s an expression that speaks to lots of camp people, including camp directors! It’s so true!! For us, a “year” actually begins at the end of camp, and culminates with our two months with campers. That sometimes causes confusion when we talk with some of our non-camp friends and refer to things that happened “last year” or “early this 
year”. Our calendar is just different from theirs sometimes. Camp season is the best…it’s what we absolutely live for! Not-Camp is the long time during which we prepare for Camp. Not-Camp has some great things too….there’s the World Series, football season, the winter holidays, and life for us in Tucson is pretty great. But the main objective during Not-Camp is just to get everything prepped for Camp.
Since Camp is coming soon, we thought we’d help you parents out in case your camper starts getting nervous about his camp experience. Although some kids feel no nervousness at all, most do to some degree, and some kids get very nervous before camp starts. And y’know what? It’s all completely normal, understandable, and A-OK. What we mean is that – even if your son has been to camp before – being nervous before it starts makes total sense. New experiences await, along with new people, and just being away from home and parents can inspire some to be nervous. Doesn’t that make sense? So if/when your guy starts to talk about being nervous about camp, what do you do? Here is the idea….keep your eye on the “end game.” That’s another way of suggesting that you maintain perspective, but in particular, remembering why going to camp is such a great idea for him. That’s what we mean by the “end game.”
Will he have fun at camp? Yes. Will he make new friends and, if he already knows some of the other kids, deepen existing friendships? YES. Will he engage in activities and trips and bonding experiences that will help him grow? YES! Will he interact with counselors who are young, positive role models who will befriend him and guide him? YES! And, at the end of his camp experience, will he come home having a sense of real accomplishment? A realization that he is far more capable than he may have thought just a month or two before? An enhanced capacity for living and working with others in a positive community? A more developed sense of self and independence? Will you – that very day he returns home – notice that he’s more confident, more resilient, and more aware of others around him? And will he seem happy and content? That, folks, is the meat and potatoes of the “end game,” and if we’ve done our job right, the answer to all of those questions will be yes!
Getting to that end game may require a little patience and empathy from parents of kids who are very nervous about going to camp. Most things worthwhile take some work, don’t they? We are your partners in this, and we work together. We suggest you listen and hear your son if he is nervous about camp. You can empathize with him even if you never went to camp yourself. Any adult has experienced some of those same feelings of uncertainty and nervousness. You know how it feels, and you can understand that. And then, you can redirect a bit by reminding your boy of other things he was maybe nervous about at first, that he was ultimately able to overcome, and now he feels proficient. That could be playing a sport, singing in a theater or choir, or anything like that. That same process of digging in, facing that nervousness, and coming out on the other side a stronger person is EXACTLY WHAT GOING TO CAMP IS AND SHOULD BE. Remember, nervousness about camp is normal and totally fine. It’s how one addresses that nervousness that is important. This is NOT a problem. It is a great opportunity for critical growth. And, let’s not forget…camp is SOOOO much fun!
All of the points above are part of the core substance of our staff training. We have been working on our training agenda and content for many weeks already, and very soon it will start. Of course, we have some other skill development in store for much of our staff as well. By the time your kids arrive, we will have had a Wilderness Responder Course, a Lifeguard Training course, a Lifeguard Training Re-certification course, a CPR Re-certification course, a Ski Boat Driver training course, a Climbing Wall Instructor training course, and a Sailing Instructor training course. Then our Trippers will spend a week training in camp and out at some of our trip destinations. Our admin team will spend a week together training and getting ready, and then our 1st Year Staff will have 2 days of special training just for them. Finally, our entire staff will be together for 8 days of training and prepping camp, all culminating on June 20th when those big beautiful buses filled with happy, energetic, and (maybe) nervous campers roll into camp. We WILL be ready for your boys, and we honestly cannot wait! 
It is that time of year, and we want to wish all of our college and high school graduates a hearty (if perhaps a bit early) congratulations on your fantastic accomplishments!! Oh the places you’ll go! And we’re so excited that one of those places will be beautiful Arbor Vitae, WI for another summer of great leadership!!
We had a great time last month at the Camp for All Kids fundraiser in the Chicago area. It was a nice evening event at the Art Center in Highland Park, and Timberlane folks were well represented. One of the highlights of the night was a beautiful speech given by Timberlane alum JACOB SCHULZ, who was a CFAK scholarship recipient at camp for 6 summers. Jacob is now a graduate 
assistant at Loyola University and a blues recording artist under the name “Brother Jacob.” The crowd of 200 was thoroughly gripped by his tale of how his days at camp significantly impacted his life and helped him steer clear of some of the trouble that his neighborhood peers were into. With no prompting from us at all, Jacob hit the nail right on the head, expressing exactly why this program is so important and powerful. We say thanks to Jacob and to all the Timberlane folks who volunteered at the event and who joined to support Camp for All Kids.
The event is over, but the opportunity to support Camp for All Kids is always there. If you’d like to make a donation and help send great kids from underserved communities to one of 5 fantastic camps, please click here. We thank you very much.
 We are arriving at the home stretch, and we still have some space in several age groups for the 2nd Session. So, if you’re still giving it some thought, c’mon! Join us for an incredible summer!!Welcome back to the following “old-timers” who re-enrolled this past month: ETHAN SCHWARTZ of Carol Stream, IL; DARION STARLING of Cleveland, OH; EMILIO RODRIGUEZ and RODRIGO CRUZ of Puebla, Mexico. And welcome aboard to the following 1st Year campers who will join us this summer: XANDER BREGMAN of Highland Park, IL; DIEGO GÓMEZ PIZZUTO, and CARLO & PIERO PIZZUTO ALLENDE of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. We’re happy to have you all with us!! |
As you probably know, your final and full payment for camp is due by May 15th. If you have not yet paid your camp balance, please take care of that. You can always access your statement on your Keylog Page from our website. If you’d like to pay by check, you can mail that to our Summer address in Woodruff. If you’d like to pay by credit card, you can click here, and pay it securely. Remember that credit card payments incur a 2.75% surcharge. Thank you very much.
A few other reminders for parents:
Many forms are also due on May 15th. We cannot stress enough how important this information is to our preparations. Even if your son is a 2nd session camper, those preparations happen now, before camp starts, so your cooperation is critical and very much appreciated. - If you are going to mail any payments or forms to us, please stop using our Winter address now, and direct all mail to our Summer address.
- REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR FILLING PRESCRIPTIONS WITH THE CAMPDOC PHARMACY FOR 1ST SESSION IS MAY 20TH. 2nd session deadline is June 17th to get your prescriptions to them.
- Any non-prescription pills and any other types of medications your son will take this summer can be filled at home and sent up to camp with prescriptions from the doctor for prescription meds or instructions from you for non-prescription meds. THESE MUST BE MAILED TO ARRIVE AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOUR SON ARRIVES . So the deadlines are June 6th for 1st session/8 week campers, and July 3rd for 2nd session campers. Fees will be charged for medication that arrives past those dates.
- ANOTHER DEADLINE: If you are going to buy logo’d items from the Everything Summer Camp website, you should place your order by the middle of this month to assure receipt of your items before the start of camp
- If your son is or may be planning to participate in one of our trips to Canada, HE WILL NEED HIS PASSPORT! We ask that you err on the side of caution and send his passport to us even if he is only considering such a trip. We ask that you mail the passport to us when or shortly after your son is coming to camp. Please address it to Leslie's attention. We hold all passports in a safe place until the boys need them. The Trip Leaders hold the passports during the trips into Canada, and then after the trip, we mail the passports back home. So your son is never responsible for the safe-keeping of his passport.
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HEY CAMPERS! We have 2 exciting announcements for you regarding activities this summer. Ready? YO OLDER GUYS: 2 reminders for you:
If you have been assigned a camp Little Brother, please remember that you are to CALL (not text, email, tweet) your little bro as soon as possible. If your little bro is from another country, then you may email him. Please try to get that done by May 15th. Thanks very much.
We have had a very good number of guys pre-registering for our big trips this summer. If you are eligible for one of these trips and you want to go, we recommend your pre-register to help assure you will have a space on the trip available to you. THIS IS FOR RETURNING CAMPERS ONLY. Trips eligible for pre-registration include:
- Isle Royale Backpacking - 10 Day trip (1st Session)
- Sand River Canoeing (1st Session)
- Apostle Islands Sea Kayaking (1st and 2nd Session)
- Quetico Provincial Park - The Canadian! - 12 Day trip (2nd Session)
- Isle Royale Backpacking - 6 Day trip (2nd Session)
- Lake Superior Provincial Park Backpacking - 8 Day trip (2nd Session)
YO STAFF: Please remember to read and get familiar with the Staff Manuals we have posted online on your Keylog page. If you are a CIT, we have mailed you a great little book to help you start thinking about how to communicate well with kids. That's just a little platform that we'll build on throughout Staff Training, so read up, and everyone - please be sure to bring all the manuals and books we have sent you to camp. Thanks.
CERTIFICATIONS: We have just a few more spots in our American Red Cross Lifeguard Training school from June 7th – 9th. The course will cost you nothing, and the certification is valid 
for 2 years. We pride ourselves on having a staff full of lifeguards (more than 40 each summer), and it is so vital to our program. So even if you're primary role at camp is not on the water, we want you to get this training. You can sign up from your Staff Keylog page. Click the "Extra Training" link.
- If you are a first-year Junior Counselor (CIT last year), your LGT and CPR certs are valid through this summer.
- If your LGT and/or CPR will expire before the end of the summer, you must re-certify. You can do that at camp FOR FREE! That class is on June 8th and 9th. The cert will then be good for 2 years.
- If you will be a member of our Ski Staff and are not a certified Boat Driver, that course, also at camp, also FREE, runs from June 3rd- 6th.
- You know we think this is important, right? Why else would we make this so easy for you and so affordable (FREE!). Please sign up today if you haven't already. To see our list of who we have signed up, please click here. Thanks.
STAFF TRAVEL TO CAMP: Most of you have been great about getting this info to us. If you have either not sent us any info, or if you sent us a travel date but not a method of getting to camp, please get in touch with us right away. We try to coordinate travel when we can, but we need good info to help with that.
 Our staff is just about complete for the summer. We’ve been working hard around here, and we’re so excited to welcome these great men and women to our camp family this summer:
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JUAN RODRIGUEZ
 Bar Mitzvah congrats to OWEN MONIESON who celebrated in Chicago last month. Owen had an out-of-town visitor in for the big event with JOEY ETTINGER making the trip in from St. Louis. And out in Los Angeles, Bar Mitzvah congrats to CHARLIE LOVETT who also celebrated last month. And he too had visitors from St. Louis with OWEN FRENCH and SAM SIWAK making the trip in. We send our thanks to Charlie for making a generous donation to Camp for All Kids as a part of his Bar Mitzvah celebration. |
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JAKE REUTER spent a week ski mountaineering in the Selkirk Mountains of Canada's British Columbia with “old-timer” DOMI BRUNEAU. He enjoyed great weather and stable snow conditions which allowed for several successful ascents. Since his trip to the Selkirks Jake has opened our first international office in Nelson, BC., where 
he’ll stay till he comes to camp next month BRIAN STRAIN took advantage of his spring break, and traveled around the west and southwest. He made his way to Tucson and we hung out with BILL MILLER and some guys from the U of A, ate some great Mexican food and hit the links! Not long after returning home, Brian had a date with the Vince Lombardi trophy, and it seemed to go well. ARI SINGER also came to our part of the country over his spring break, doing a hike in the Grand Canyon and then a ropes course up in Flagstaff and a visit to Sedona. Now it’s back to St. Louis and school and lacrosse. In Chicago, CHRIS TOMPKINS is back to school after a spring break trip to Virgin Gorda in the Carribean. 
BRAVO TO OUR MAY BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: Eli Garber - 5/1/2006, 
Adam Wasserman - 5/2/1998, Dylan Port - 5/3/2005, Rayj Rikimaru - 5/3/2001, Jackson Turner - 5/6/2004, Drew Cushing - 5/7/2008, Tina Dundore - 5/11/1958, Alfredo Kuri - 5/12/2004, Leo Sclamberg - 5/12/2004, Charlie Weiss - 5/12/2006, Jacob Kline - 5/13/2002, Corrie Hitchens - 5/15/1971, Charlie Olesker - 5/15/2004, Timofey Voronin - 5/15/2008, Joseph Lourie - 5/17/2005, Tyler Borstein - 5/18/2004, Eddie Tepper - 5/18/2004, Luke Sclamberg - 5/19/1999, Akil Dickerson - 5/20/2005, Ben Ellis - 5/20/2004, Ben Goss - 5/20/2005, Zach Miller - 5/20/1998, Ben Schachter - 5/20/1999, Ben Wright - 5/20/1997, Carlos Saenz - 5/21/2002, Jake Hoffman - 5/22/1999, Jack Van Ooyen - 5/23/2002, Jacob Elias - 5/27/1998, Rich Mc Gowan - 5/27/1972, Owen French - 5/29/2003, Lucas Levy - 5/31/2005.
So, this is the last issue of “Timberlife!” that we will write from Tucson until next year (which means next September). We will have travel information coming to Full Season and 1st Session families in early June (it’s already posted on your Keylog page), and 2nd Session families in early July. We are so excited to get to camp and welcome everyone when you arrive. Have a great May, and we’ll see many of you very soon!!
Benches up,
