Last week’s fact -  In which year did camp first start to use the current overnight hut?

A.

The overnight hut as known to many campers and staff members at present has been used by camp since the summer of 1986.  That’s 25 years!  Although the overnight hike has always been part of the International Summer Camp Montana program, the sleeping arrangements prior to 1986 were slightly different.  There was a hut that was used as a base for the Mountain Guide and for storing supplies, but this was swept away in an avalanche in the mid 1980s.  However, the sleeping arrangements for everyone were not quite the same as today.  In those days they would camp outside in tents!

W.

Whilst many people tend to use the internet, others take their lead from the newspapers and some just like to stand outdoors and let their eyes decide, the weather is always a hot topic of conversation at International Summer Camp Montana!  During the summer of 2011, we had some great days and the thermometer at the Head Counselors’ office reached some great temperatures!  Do you know what the record temperature was in the summer of 2011 at camp, as measured at the HC office?!

We will reveal the answer to this ‘Fascinating Fact’ in the next blog!

As always, if you have any questions, queries or comments regarding this blog or anything to do with International Summer Camp Montana, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to the latest blog from International Summer Camp Montana and we hope that you are well, wherever you might be reading from in the World!  Once more we can count down 7 less days until the summer of 2012 and there are lots of campers already looking forward to spending their holidays at La Moubra.  Remember, if you are thinking about signing your children up for a place in the 2012 season, get in quick to avoid disappointment!

This week our blog talks about a special Sunday activity that is for our Junior, Pioneer and Champion campers and is held precisely one week after they arrive at camp.  This activity is called the ‘Camp Carnival’.

This carnival is a collection of games and activities for campers to enjoy and there is a great variety for them to choose from – in fact there are 20 stations!  Normally the carnival takes place in and around the ‘first‘ level of camp; this area encompasses the tennis court, swimming pool and basketball court.   When the weather is good there is no more popular place to be than around the pool for the water games!  When the weather is less favourable, the program is moved into the tennis centre and the area is more than capable of hosting most of the games that would be held outside.

There are tests of speed, skill, strength, mental agility and even your dance moves in the different areas of the carnival!  Whether it is ‘Bang The Nail’, ‘Neptune’s Kiss’, ‘Bowl Me Over’ or ‘Dance ‘Til You Drop’, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Counselors and specialists run all of the activities and award campers points, based on both performance and enthusiasm.  Each camper carries a scoresheet with them and are given their points at the end of their participation in the activity.  Of course, if they really enjoyed one in particular, they can go back later having tried other things to try and better their score!  There are boys and girls winners from each section; these lucky few receive their prizes at the end of the session.

It is important to keep drinking water and to wear sunscreen during the hot summer days and that is why there is both a drinks and sunscreen station in the carnival.  However, one of the most anticipated parts of the day is when all the scoresheets have been handed in and it is time for ice-cream!  What’s your favourite – chocolate or vanilla?!

A very important tradition on the first Monday morning of a session at International Summer Camp Montana are the staff introductions.  This event is held on the tennis court in front of the La Moubra building.  During this time, there is an opportunity for the Directors and Head Counselors to introduce all of the different staff members to our campers.  Each section of staff – Juniors, Pioneers, Champions, Seniors, Language Staff and Specialists – introduce themselves with a particular theme and performance for the campers.  There is never a dull moment during these introductions and a particular favourite was acted out by the Specialists to commemorate our 50th summer during 2011!

Last week’s fact -  Where were ‘Stunt Nights’ held before the clubroom was built?

A.

As many of our recent campers and staff members will know, camper ‘Stunt Nights’ are held in the clubroom.  However, before 1989 when the clubroom was built, the basketball court hosted these evening activities.  The performances were a little different then because of the wide open space.  The seating arrangements were quite different for the audience too; the prime viewing spot was on the grass bank beside the basketball court!

Q.

 The overnight hut was mentioned in a previous blog article and many of our campers and staff members can testify to it being a very special, memorable place.  However, it was not always the case that camp used the current hut for overnight accommodation.  Do you know in which year the current overnight hut was used on the camp program?

We will reveal the answer to this ‘Fascinating Fact’ in the next blog!

As always, if you have any questions, queries or comments regarding this blog or anything to do with International Summer Camp Montana, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to the latest blog from International Summer Camp Montana and we hope that you are well, wherever you might be reading from in the World!  Already the middle of November; already one week closer to the start of summer season of 2012!

This week’s blog provides an opportunity to introduce a special team of people at camp, who do many different things across the camp program.  They organize and run many of the the evening programs, they take different activities on the specialists’ days off and are sometimes counselors too!  These are the Specialists on Assignment.

This small group are very unique in the work that they do at camp and they are probably the staff members who manage to know each and every camper during a session, because they spend a lot of time with each section!

The Specialists on Assignment are behind the execution of many of the special programs at camp too and without their enthusiasm it certainly would be difficult for our Camp Carnival and Colour Olympics to be enjoyed by so many.  The specialist instructors also appreciate their help, as they can step in to their shoes when it is time for a day off!  Of course the Specialists on Assignment do have the skills to run activities; often they have run specialist programs during past sessions.

Most of all though, our campers really like to see the Specialists on Assignment around camp because they are such familiar faces.  Our campers really appreciate their enthusiastic approach and they especially like that they are able to not to take themselves too seriously – dressing up on some occasions is mandatory!