It’s hard to believe three weeks have passed since camp ended! We have been busy with Family Camp and Special Girls Weekend, and now we’re looking forward to our Women’s Weekend 9/15-9/17. There’s still space; if you’re interested in a get-away in Maine!
We hope your family has enjoyed some reconnection time, and that the start to the school year has been smooth. At Wawenock, we believe in a growth mindset, a term coined by Dr. Carol Dweck, meaning the belief that one can improve with hard work, new strategies, feedback, etc. In fact, we talked with staff and campers about a simple way to shift to a growth mindset by adding the word “yet” to a sentence. For example, “I can’t hit a bull’s eye in archery yet,” acknowledges that you can learn to hit the bull’s eye with effort and practice. One thing that makes working with children in a camp setting so rewarding is that we’re always learning and growing too! Part of that growth is enabled through feedback we receive from you and your daughters. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us grow, and to help Wawenock continue to offer positive growth opportunities for girls. Thank you!
We know that the connections made at camp are important ones, and therefore, many girls will want to stay in touch with friends and counselors throughout the year. Let us know if you have not yet received the 2017 camp family address/birthday list and we’ll send it your way. Please be aware that each child will seek her own level in regards to connection with camp friends outside of camp. Some girls may want to connect frequently while others, particularly younger campers who live life in the moment, will be happy to wait until next summer to reconnect with camp friends. It’s a good idea to allow your daughter to take the lead on this.
It is important to us that the connections outside of Camp continue to perpetuate the philosophy of our camp family and our Components of Wawenock Spirit such as tolerance, honesty, thoughtfulness and respect for others. Wawenock gives girls both roots and wings. In order to have fun, succeed and soar, girls need to feel safe in the Wawenock family – during the summer season and virtually throughout the year. If your daughter is 13 and engaging in Social Media, please help her do so responsibly with members of our camp family. If for example, she creates an Instagram profile and blocks one individual, or if she creates a group text which excludes one cabin mate, this will have negative ripple effects in our camp family.
If your daughter is younger than 13 and pressuring you about social media access, we encourage you to wait to allow her to access social media. Here’s an article outlining three reasons why age restrictions matter. Though the article is 3 years old, the reasons all still apply. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-graber/3-reasons-why-social-media-age-restrictions-matter_b_5935924.html . If you haven’t already seen the documentary Screenagers or read the book Glow Kids, these will also give you pause for introducing your daughter to the online world of social media, smart phones etc.
If your daughter wants to stay in touch with camp friends and snail mail won’t suffice, you may want to suggest your daughter starts with an email account to which you both have access. In addition, if she wants to follow camp online, she could do so with you through your Facebook or Instagram account.
We are already making plans for Summer 2018, and you will be receiving information about enrollment very soon! In addition, you will receive a personal letter sometime in the next month reflecting on your daughter’s individual growth and development at Camp this summer. As always, we thank you for you partnership with us in making the camp experience a positive one for your daughter and for all girls throughout the year.
Best Wishes,
Catriona, Andy and Kristy