Author Archives: Jeff Carter

Jeff Carter is the Director of Rockbrook Camp for Girls in Brevard, North Carolina. He attended Davidson College, earned a master's from Harvard University, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in the History of Religions. He has taught at Vanderbilt University, Davidson College, and the University of South Carolina. He received a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Nigeria, is an All-American college athlete, and a published author. Beginning in 1988, he worked for eight years as a camp hiking and rock climbing guide before becoming, with his wife Sarah, the owners and directors of Rockbrook.

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June 22, 2017May 6, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Fueled by Friendship

The last few days of a camp session have a new momentum, a slightly accelerated pace and intensified rhythm that feels a little like the finale of a fireworks show. There’s a flurry of events that cascade into a blur of activity and emotion. The whole session culminates with different moments of celebration and reflection when we gather as a community and enjoy each other’s talents and accomplishments. Each event is a beautiful reminder of how we’ve grown, and grown together, over our time together at camp. You’ve never seen such support! These girls all mean so much to each other now, it’s amazing to watch.

A good example of this community festivity is the session banquet. Essentially an all-camp party, the banquet is a themed dinner planned by our 9th grade campers (known at camp as the “CAs”). These girls select a secret theme on the first day of the session and then work to transform the dining hall for the party. They work on costumes, music, decorations, the menu, and rehearse group dances and skits to entertain the rest of the campers and staff. This session’s CAs presented their “Into the Storybook” banquet complete with a cast of different fairy tale characters: Little Red Ridinghood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, Snow White, Three Blind Mice, Hansel and Gretel, and others.The girls did a great job decorating the dining hall, covering every inch of wall with floor-to-ceiling posters depicting scenes from fairy tales. They served “Maleficent’s Mac and Cheese,” “Peter Pan’s Popcorn Chicken,” “Jack’s Magic Green Beans,” and “Poison Apple Slices.” The tables included souvenir cups, candies, and streamer decorations. With a large area cleared for a dance floor, soon the entire camp, fueled by friendship, was singing, dancing, and having a great time.

James and the Giant Peach Kids Production

Another community celebration was the presentation of this session’s musical, “James and the Giant Peach.” Over the course of the session, 55 campers, under the direction of 4 staff members, rehearsed songs, built scenery and props, and memorized lines to present this adaptation of Roald Dahl’s popular children’s novel. The story presents the fantastic adventure of orphan James, the magical garden insects he befriends and their journey across the ocean inside a giant peach. It was a joy to watch. The girls really had fun acting the parts, singing the songs, and at times being silly on stage for a laugh. During the show’s intermission, the Junior, Middler and Senior dance classes each presented a group dance. Showing off their moves, choreographed for every dancer to move in unison, it was entertaining and impressive to see what the different age groups could do.

One of the most beautiful moments of the session, our closing campfire or “Spirit Fire,” is another example of how close we’ve all grown at camp. Dressed in their white uniforms, the girls and their counselors all crowd around a glowing campfire to sing some of the more traditional songs and to pay tribute to the experiences shared, the deep relationships formed, and the personal strides made while together at camp. It’s a time to reflect on what camp means to us, to hold our friends close, and to marvel at the Rockbrook Spirit that makes camp special. Campers and counselors are invited to address the group too, sharing their thoughts about camp.

Olivia Vasquez, who is a new counselor this summer, spoke particularly well, and I thought you’d enjoy reading part of what she said.

“The Rockbrook community is a unique and funny thing, hardly something you can explain without jumping into it. It’s so incredibly tight-knit, which can make new people feel unsure and hesitant. How can you fit into a place already so beautifully woven together? But it’s through this same closeness that the magic can happen. That suddenly, before you even know it, you become part of a family you wonder how you’ve gone so long without.
The community here is joyful. When friends and family ask me how it is, I tell them, “It’s somewhere I can be happy all the time.” Not that I need to be or can’t be sad — If I am sad, there are always open arms and ears ready to listen. But if I want to be happy, there is someone to share my joy, to celebrate even the smallest victories, to remind me that there are few more freeing things in the world than to express the deepest gladness you hold inside you.
And so, in these few weeks I’ve spent here in the heart of the wooded mountain, witnessing the magic of my first banquet, the sweetness in the sound of our cabin’s laughter, the realness of the spirit of Rockbrook, I have ended up different, and yet the same. More myself, and yet less about me. These campers have made me laugh, cry and search for answers. Counselors and directors have done the same. But Sofie said it pretty perfectly the other day when she said that no matter what happens, we’re all just here— at Rockbrook and on Earth —to walk each other home. And what an honor it has been, is, and always will be, to walk with each of you.”

The Spirit Fire closed with everyone lighting a small white candle and forming a row around the lake. As we sang softly and candlelight reflected from the lake back onto everyone’s face, it was a beautiful summer camp moment. What could be better than being surrounded by all these friends and filled with so many great memories from our time together? It was the perfect way to close what truly has been an amazing, wonderful session.

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June 20, 2017March 17, 2023 • Videos • Jeff Carter

First Session Highlights Video – 2

Our friend and videographer Robbie Frances returned to camp late last week to film, and now a couple days later, he’s edited a new video for all of us. In just two minutes, the video wonderfully depicts the joys and accomplishments our Rockbrook girls are experiencing each day camp.

Take a look, and let us know what you think.

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June 17, 2017December 20, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

What’s Familiar Inspires

Ordinarily after the first week of a camp session there’s a subtle change. Like in a song when the key slides up a half step, there’s a modulation of the feeling, a change that’s both an elaboration and a settling. Life at camp begins to take on more energy and feel more comfortable at the same time, and today I really noticed it. By now the girls have rotated through different activities and visited most every area of the camp. They’ve met almost all of the counselors and activity instructors. They’ve learned the rhythm of our daily schedule, looking forward to the activity time, but also the slots of free time, meals and snack breaks. Most importantly, they grown more comfortable with all of the other campers, getting to know them through the constant shared experience of camp life. Our days now are more content by virtue of mutual familiarity (like a family) with everything and everyone living here together at Rockbrook.

This familiarity, which can also be understood as a strengthening of our community, ironically leads to new experiences too. Hearing stories from friends inspires you give a new camp activity a try. Fly through the air on the camp zip line! Noticing a shady rock by the creek inspires you to sit and relax there before lunch one day. Learning the camp songs inspires you to sing them even louder in the dining hall. The lake feels more refreshing than cold, “sprickets” (camel crickets) become more like friendly attendants than intruders, the sounds of the forest at night more soothing than unnerving. With a growing feeling of safety and relaxation, the girls also let more of their true selves shine through. Such a relief, that openness feels great. You can just see it on their faces all over camp, laughing and playing so easily, greeting everyone cheerfully, and growing closer to each other as a result. That’s right; the deepest bonds of friendship are forming now at camp, and it’s very cool to see.

Saturday is a day of regular camp activities, but before lunch we hold an assembly on the hill (under the old walnut tree). It’s a chance for camp bonding, announcements, recognizing the cabins with the inspection scores, and counselor skits. The sports and games instructors demonstrated, hilariously, how to play volleyball when duct taped together. The kayakers paddled frantically away from a tsunami (bucket of water!), and the yoga instructor entertained everyone by simply reciting several yoga-related puns. It was all good silly fun to remind the girls about the activity options available to them. Each age group cheered and sang their line songs, and the whole camp exploded when when we sang “Rockbrook Camp Forever.”

The first big surprise of the day happened right after lunch, and to everyone’s delight it was “Biltmore Train.” Before it was the tourist destination it is today, the Biltmore Estate ran a commercial dairy selling milk and ice cream locally, and making deliveries of their dairy in a truck decorated with a train motif (The Vanderbilt family was well known in the railroad business). It soon became a tradition for Rockbrook girls to enjoy Biltmore ice cream, with the girls meeting the truck/train as it pulled into camp. The Biltmore dairy has since closed (It has a more tourist friendly winery now.), but we celebrate the memory by holding an an all-you-can-eat ice cream party once per session. Today we lined up 6 giant tubs of ice cream on tables under the hemlock trees, and our brave counselors wore our their arms hand dipping cone after cone for the campers. Once receiving their cone, the girls raced to get back in line (to the end of the “train”) for another. Under the warm sunny afternoon sky, we all enjoyed a high-spirited, sugar-charged treat.

The second surprise was tonight’s evening program, a disco-themed all-girl dance. Naturally, we all had a great time dressing up for the dance— shiny dresses, tie dye t-shirts, rounds glasses, and head bands setting the tone. Marcus, DJ Dog, set up his lights and sound system in the gym to keep everyone dancing, and we served lemonade and cookies while girls played outside blowing bubbles and making sand art necklaces. For a couple of hours it was non-stop disco, group dances to familiar pop songs, and zipping around the gym to the music. All girls, all fun, all good.

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June 15, 2017May 6, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Nancy Would be Pleased

One of the fascinating points coloring the history of Rockbrook is the lineage of Nancy Carrier, the camp’s founder. Nancy was born in 1889, and before marrying Mr. Henry Nash Carrier in 1913, her full name was Nancy Barnum Clarke. Yes, Barnum: that Barnum, P.T. Barnum, the famed circus promoter and showman. Nancy’s mother was P.T. Barnum’s granddaughter, making the woman who founded Rockbrook Barnum’s great-granddaughter.

What better way to recognize and celebrate this lineage than to host a circus themed event? Plus, a circus combines so many of the elements that Rockbrook girls love: colorful costumes and make up, fun upbeat music, lots of action, a few special snacks or treats, and a heap of joyful enthusiasm. We kept all the plans a surprise for the girls, until, that is, a special announcement at dinner got everyone’s wide-eyed attention. A golden-winged, nine-foot tall (on stilts!), jester ducked into the dining hall and walked among the girls as they sat at their tables. With twists and turns, smiling mischievously, she invited everyone to come see her and her troupe, “Imagine Circus,” perform an acrobatics show in the gym!

Before the show, we spent the twilight time after dinner getting into the circus spirit by dressing up and playing games on the hill. We needed clowns! And soon, with enough face paint for everyone, we had dozens. While a few counselors made cotton candy cones, kept the popcorn machine hot with fresh kernels, and helped twist balloon animals, hula hoops and the slack line gave the campers more ways to feel a circus vibe. It was already becoming a fun evening, and as we played on the hill watching the sun begin to set behind the distant mountains, you could feel the girls getting more and more excited for the show.

Just for fun and to add to the already colorful evening, we gave everyone a glow stick necklace as they entered the gym. Inside, they were amazed immediately when they saw a 25-foot tall, pyramid-shape structure, silks, hoops, and other props, and three elaborately dressed female performers. As the campers and counselors sat around the perimeter, the women began an amazing show of ground and aerial acrobatics that included incredible feats of balance, strength and coordination. Accompanied by recorded music, they juggled while holding unbelievable tandem poses. They jumped and flipped using hoops, and perhaps showing the most amazing agility, performed multiple aerial silk maneuvers high above the gym floor. The campers clapped and whooped as the women twisted and spun using only the long silks as support. There was a point of audience participation in the show when a few campers were invited up to help with hula hooping, but the grand finale was truly amazing. The women set several props on fire (!) as they performed different flips and maneuvers. There was a flaming hoop, hand-held rings, and even a mask that supported a ring of fire above it. With the gym lights off, it was mesmerizing to watch the flames draw swirling patterns through the darkness as the performers danced and leaped about. Everyone was shocked and astonished during the whole show, cheering and at times gasping when yet another, seemingly impossible stunt was revealed. Such a great show! It was also neat to see the girls’ admiration for this all-female performance troupe, proving with real-life examples that girls/women too are strong and powerful. After seeing this kind of talent, there could be no doubt.

I think Nancy would be pleased.

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June 11, 2017June 10, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Symphony of Fun

Welcome new mini session campers! We’re very excited to have you join us at Rockbrook. For all of us on the staff and for the First Session campers already twirling through their session, this was a big day where new girls would be joining the camp community. More girls naturally means more fun, more voices singing in the dining hall, and lots more action throughout the camp. After a nice smooth arrival process— cars parking and unloading, luggage being carted to cabins, checking in with the office folks, nurses, and head screeners —cabin groups of new girls where exploring the cabin together. Serving as both a tour of camp and an introduction to the various activity offerings, these groups followed a scavenger hunt where they collected bracelets hidden at different areas of the camp: at the tennis courts, gym, health hut, and upper pottery studio, for example. It’s good to start with a little orientation, and this is a fun, active way to learn your way around camp.

We’ve been getting wonderful feedback about the new covered arena and stable we added to Rockbrook this past year. We wrote about the construction of the arena earlier, but today we had several parents take a tour of the facility and remark how much they were impressed. “It’s gorgeous!” was the most common comment. One mom said she thought this was the nicest covered horse arena in western North Carolina. I’m not sure about that, but its size and its quality footing (fiber additives blended with silica sand) do make it stand apart. Later we’ll post more information about this great addition to the horseback riding program at Rockbrook, but it was nice to hear a few “horse people” say they were impressed with our design and finished project.

We took some time after lunch for the newly arrived campers to demonstrate their swimming ability to our lifeguards, and when successful to earn a colored swim necklace. For some girls, the mountain stream water feeding our lake can be shockingly cold and thereby make it more difficult to swim and tread water as our “swim demos” require. So a girl who swims well in a warm pool may appear less confident in the Rockbrook lake, but we’ve found that with some practice and assistance from the waterfront staff, she can get used to the water and improve. On a warm summer day, the lake feels great, altogether refreshing. And when the water slide is open during free swim periods, and the lake is filled with girls diving, floating, playing games and swimming laps, the lake is absolutely delightful.

One of the best ways to kick off a new camp session is to launch right into an all-camp event, something that brings everyone together for music, dancing and costumes with surprising creative activities, challenges, and games with prizes. Just add a theme, and this combination becomes a carnival, a multi-station, free-flowing symphony of fun. That’s exactly what we did by throwing a Star Wars themed carnival or “Jedi Knight Training Academy.” The Senior campers and counselors built and operated 10 different stations like the “Matching on Mars” game, “Death Start Destruction” shooting game (using Nerf pistols), “Pin the Saber on Yoda” game, and “Shoot the Sith” game, for example. There were two huge inflatable games: something called “Leaps and Bounds” that seemed really difficult, and a bungee cord race. We had our snow cone machine grinding out pounds of ice for everyone, and a couple of sprinklers set up to keep things cooler in the bright sun. For costumes, the were many Jedi Knights, a team of Darth Vader characters, and probably a dozen girls dressed as Princess Leia. One counselor dressed as Yoda and another as Darth Maul, but my favorite was the baby Wookie being carried around. As the campers arrived at the landsports field, they could make their own lightsaber from a foam pool noodle and different types of tape. They could have their fortune told, their face painted (“The Face is with You”), or challenge a Jedi master to a lightsaber duel. There were plenty of things to do for everyone, easily filling two hours with activity. A perfect camp Sunday afternoon!

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June 10, 2017June 10, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Fantastic Success

First a Kayak Camp update. As you know, kayaking has really caught on here at Rockbrook, and in response to that growing interest, we’ve begun offering 2 special 1-week camp sessions devoted entirely to whitewater kayaking. We’ve called these sessions “Rockbrook Rapids.” Today, the first of those sessions ended and we began to hear some of the exciting stories of how their many river trips went during the last week. The girls ran a section of whitewater every day, building skills and confidence on the water as they progressed through class I, II, and some class III whitewater. On two occasions, the crew camped near their river. They ran the Lower Green, the Tuckaseegee, the Nantahala, the Chattooga (2 days), and the Upper Green rivers. This afternoon when the van pulled into camp after their last trip, the girls looked pretty tired and maybe a little grubby, but I’ve never seen a group more proud and satisfied. Unloading their gear, the girls happily handled the work, knew exactly what to do, and chatted effortlessly. It was neat to see that kind of camaraderie after just one week of shared outdoor adventure experience. The staff and the campers alike said the whole week was awesome. Check out the photos above (Click them to view a larger version) and you can see a little of the fun (Others are online in the photo gallery). One girl told me, “I’m definitely signing up for this again!” A fantastic success for the first kayak camp of the summer!

A great moment happened today when Sophia won a chance to spin the wheel in the dining hall. When it was clear she was the winner, Chase asked her where she hoped her spin would land. What prize was she hoping to win? Without hesitating, Sophia yelled “Pie Your Counselor” into the microphone. It’s always very exciting to spin the wheel, but when it lands on what the girl spinning hopes for, it’s so marvelous the whole dining hall erupts. And as you can see in the photo above, “Pie Your Counselor” is exactly what Sophia got! The kitchen helped out right away, whipping up two chocolate pudding pies for the occasion, so right after lunch a crowd gathered on the hill to watch the mess unfold. Everyone laughed and cheered as the counselors proved they could take a pie in the face. It’s not often you have two willing victims for this kind of pie massacre, so we all had a great time watching.

Tonight we also had our first dance of the summer with Camp Carolina. We again held two dances, one at each camp with the older girls traveling over to dance in the CCB dining hall, and their younger boys coming to Rockbrook to dance in our gym. You might think these dances with boys are awkward since they contrast so completely with the all-girl world of Rockbrook. In reality though, we do what we can to keep everything lighthearted and silly. The counselors dress up in crazy costumes, and are quick to encourage group dances rather than pairs. Sure, the older girls spend a good deal of time on shall we say “hair care,” but for them too, what’s fun is the loud music, wild lighting, bouncy dancing and overall exuberant tone. Of course, being their with so many friends is what really makes these dances great. But that true for everything at camp!

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June 8, 2017March 17, 2023 • Videos • Jeff Carter

1st Session Highlights Video

We’re excited to welcome again Robbie Francis of Go Swan Filmworks throughout the summer to present a series of short highlights videos.

For two years now, Robbie has made these occasional videos by spending a day filming at Rockbrook and then presenting an edited couple of minutes. We’ve had great feedback from parents about how much they enjoy seeing all the action at camp, hearing what life here sounds like, and gaining a better sense of how happy the girls are.

Robbie filmed on Wednesday and now we have his first video of the summer. It’s great fun and I think you’ll really enjoy it.

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June 7, 2017June 10, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Easy Going Excitement

This first week of camp continues to settle into a comfortable pace just as it seems also to energize with enthusiasm. We could call the feeling “easy going excitement.” That may sound odd, but it’s one of the magical aspects of camp life. It starts with the people here at Rockbrook. There’s such a strong sense of community glued together by kindness, caring and cooperation, it’s typical for our daily encounters with everyone to be encouraging and positive. It’s part of the camp culture. We do what we can to help each other, with, for example, cabin chores or getting ready for an activity. We share— gosh almost everything! —costumes for skits, friendly greetings, songs, and virtually non-stop conversation, for example. There’s very little competition to distort this sense of bonding, no real ranking or struggle for power over someone else since noncompetitive, just-for-the-fun-of-it play rules the day.

With this kind of easy, pleasant personal interaction being the warp of your day, when you can count on this kind of true community encouragement, the weft of new and perhaps challenging experiences are perfectly supported. Instead of being scary or “too difficult to try,” new activities become intriguing opportunities. The comfort, care and support of the camp community makes new challenges exciting, even thrilling because any sort of “failure” that might follow is easily cast aside as a first attempt, as an opportunity to be silly or to laugh with friends. Knowing you’re accepted by those around you helps soften insecurity and defensiveness in the face of imperfection. In this way, the inevitable struggle, whether minor or major, we all encounter when grappling with some new activity, skill, or emotional situation becomes a concrete opportunity to learn and grow rather than something to duck. This fabric of support and challenge, woven from the newness of camp and a mindset engendered by a positive, relationship-focused culture, makes true what we’ve said for decades; “Rockbrook is a place for girls to grow.”

You might by familiar with the notion of a “Growth Mindset,” coined by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her best-selling book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. It has become a well-known concept championed by all sorts of educational institutions. Contrasting with a “Fixed Mindset,” which combines a relatively deterministic worldview with a belief that innate personal abilities like intelligence, creativity and talent are static, a “Growth Mindset” begins with the opposite core beliefs, that individuals can grow and learn, that obstacles, criticism and challenges are valuable opportunities to develop, change and grow. Dweck found that people with a strong growth mindset are more inclined to work hard, apply novel strategies, accept input from others to continually learn, and as a result tend to achieve more while enjoying a greater sense of free will. You can see why educators love this notion and are always advocating a growth mindset in their students.

Rockbrook too! Living here at camp, buoyed by the caring supportive community of friends, it’s much easier for our girls to adopt a growth mindset and to experience the feeling of success that often follows. We’re not worried about innate talents here. Instead, there is a real spirit of experimentation, of knowing that what’s new and challenging can also be surprising and fun. When we’re always ready to celebrate simply being together, no matter what the outcome, the process of stretching ourselves becomes a constant joy. Camp proves it everyday; a growth mindset is fun and rewarding. So cool!

Before I sign off, I wanted to mention the awesome trip the Senior girls took to Sliding Rock this evening. We first headed into the Pisgah Forest for a dinner picnic and a few group games. The girls loved playing “I’m a Rockbrook Girl” and dashing about in the grass. At Sliding Rock, the water seemed colder than usual, but that didn’t discourage most of the girls from zipping down the rock multiple times. We had the whole place to ourselves, so it was easy for everyone to slide as many times as they liked. And all that cold water didn’t cool the girls’ enthusiasm for a stop at Dolly’s and a cup or cone of their favorite ice cream. For everyone, it was a classic camp night out with good food, lots of shrill laughter, some challenging outdoor adventure, and time with our very best friends.

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June 6, 2017June 10, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Hilarious Delight

At Rockbrook, every girl who has completed the 5th grade or older (our “Middlers” and “Seniors”) can go whitewater rafting on the Nantahala River. For many years now, since the early 1980s, we simply ask the girls “Who wants to go rafting!?” There’s no extra charge, no pressure to go, and the girls decide for themselves if they are interested, but without a doubt, rafting has become the most popular outdoor adventure trip we offer. I’d say 95% of the girls old enough to go, do go, and go every year they come to camp. In this way, it’s become part of Rockbrook’s overall program. Rafting is popular, of course, because it’s really fun for the girls. They have an absolute blast rocking and bumping down the river, splashing and being splashed by the cold water, chatting a singing along the way, and laughing hysterically whenever someone falls out of the boat (which happens quite a bit… often intentionally, or at least partly so). Rockbrook is the only girls’ camp that has a US Forest service permit to raft the Nantahala, so we can use our own equipment and as guides, our own adventure staff as who are familiar to the girls. For us there’s no stranger in your boat, just someone you see around camp ordinarily, and that’s really nice for the girls. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day on the river for all 57 people (plus our 6 guides) who took their trips today. The first rafting day of the summer was an excellent success.

If you don’t know about “Muffin Break,” let me describe it because it also has become an important feature of camp life at Rockbrook. It’s essentially a yummy surprise for the girls each morning provided by one of the bakers in the kitchen, a freshly-baked muffin served as a snack between the first and second activity periods (about 11am). The muffin flavors are different everyday, ranging from traditional varieties like chocolate chip and cinnamon crumble, but often have an added twist. For example, we’ve seen pumpkin chocolate chip, key lime pie, white chocolate strawberry, and even zucchini sprinkles. Today was another new flavor, maple pancake. The muffins were reminiscent of pancakes, and sure enough, included a drizzle of maple syrup on the top making them sweet and sticky, and fun to eat. The next time you send a letter or email to you daughter, you might ask her about the muffins and if she’s had a favorite flavor so far.

On the wall in the dining hall, right up front where everyone can see it, is something we call “The Wheel (of FUN!).” Somewhat like the game show “Wheel of Fortune,” our wheel spins and clicks around until stopping on a random section where we’ve indicated fun activities that the lucky spinner wins. You can see these prizes in the photo above, but they are designed for an entire cabin to enjoy and include things like “Rest Hour at the Lake,” “Polar Bear” (an early morning, before breakfast, jump in the lake), Dance Break (picking a song to blast during a meal where everyone stops to get up, sing and dance for a couple of minutes), and “Dress a Director,” for example. Though not every time, we often spin the wheel during the lunch announcements. Selecting which camper gets to spin the wheel is a big part of the fun. Chase hops on the mic and has everyone stand up, and then by announcing random qualities, narrows down the crowd. She might say, “Stay standing if you have your hair in a pony tail” and those without pony tails will sit down. Then, “Stay standing if you’ve made a friendship bracelet,” or “Stay standing if you have a brother.” As the excitement builds to almost explosive levels, this process continues until only one person remains standing, our wheel spinner. Today that person was Alden and her spin landed on “Pie a Counselor,” which to everyone’s hilarious delight (well, maybe not so much the counselor) happened after dinner.

Speaking of dinner, tonight’s had a theme: Nickelodeon. The counselors set up the dining hall to play several Nickelodeon-inspired games throughout the meal. First, they surprised the girls by revealing that every chair had a colored “splat” hidden underneath, and that each color indicated they won a small prize, like a jump rope, silly putty, or crazy fidget sticks. The main event though was a game of musical chairs where the counselors roamed about while music (a Nickelodeon theme song, of course!) played, and sat down at a different cabin’s table then the music stopped. It was a fun way for the campers to get to know other counselors. For dessert, the kitchen made green “slime” glaze for each table to “slime” it’s own chocolate cake. A little messy and a lot of yummy. After dinner the games continued out on the hill. Again inspired by Nickelodeon, the girls tried an egg toss where they had to catch the egg in a pail taped to a helmet. Like the Nickelodeon game show “Double Dare,” other groups had a challenge to use only their feet to remove a banana from a tub filled with different types of canned food like cherry pie filling, jello, and sliced beets. I think you can understand why we held these games outside! Sure they were a little gross, but the girls loved playing like this— small physical challenges, silly costumes, messy consequences, with cheering each other all the while. It was one of those wonderful camp moments of full exuberance and laughter that is very difficult to find anywhere else.

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June 5, 2017June 9, 2020 • News • Jeff Carter

Confident and Capable

Let’s start with an update from the kayakers, particularly the staff and campers who are enjoying a week-long specialty camp devoted to kayaking. Over the last few years, we’ve seen a growing interest in whitewater kayaking among the girls at Rockbrook, so to meet that interest, we now offer two specialty kayaking camp sessions called the “Rockbrook Rapids.” Led by Leland Davis, and our two head kayaking instructors Sarah Arvidson and Stephanie Whiting, these 1-week sessions are essentially small-group kayaking trip camps where the girls can improve their boating skills while enjoying some of the many whitewater rivers in the area. Everyday is a different river trip, with some including overnight camping. Today the girls ran the lower section of the Green River, which is a great place to start out because it provides a series of class II rapids, plenty of moving water to practice eddying and ferrying, and at one point a perfect surfing wave. Despite the light rain that fell most of the day, the girls had a great time on the river. Back at camp for a hot shower and a huge pasta meal, they seemed happy and proud of the day’s accomplishments on the river. If you are an Instagram user, Leland is posting now and then to a specialty account for the Rockbrook Rapids. Follow along! (By the way, here is our main Rockbrook Instagram account.)

Our 9th grade girls, who we call “CA campers” or “CAs,” accomplished an important goal today. They selected their banquet theme. Right after breakfast, we loaded up a couple of buses and drove to the Dupont State Forest for a hike, and more importantly, a private place to discuss what the secret surprise theme will be. The girls brainstormed more than 40 different ideas, and after hiking to a beautiful overlook, stopping along the way to narrow down their list, they settled on their theme. They cheered after the final decision, and immediately started offering new ideas about the special food, decorations, music and costumes they would organize for their big party of the session. The girls were so eager to take on the responsibility of planning and implementing this complex project for the whole camp, I can already tell that this is going to be an excellent banquet.

Our 10th grade girls, known at camp as “Hi-Up campers” or just “HUPS,” likewise had a special day— their first “Girls With Ideas” meeting. Getting together with their counselors, this was a discussion session focused on what it means to be a Rockbrook girl and how those character traits can help make our camp community stronger, contribute to the magic of camp for the other, younger campers’ experience, and potentially make the broader, outside-of-camp, world a better place. The Hi-Ups are the oldest true campers at Rockbrook, so we count on their leadership with several camp projects, special events, and important jobs, like clearing dishes from the dining hall, and setting all the tables before each meal. This particular group of HUPS is already showing amazing maturity and enthusiasm for their new roles at camp.

After tenth grade, we offer one last step in leadership training, and it’s for those girls interested in becoming a cabin counselor at Rockbrook: our “Counselors in Training” or “CITs.” These 11th grade girls (We only accept six per session) live in the cabins with the younger campers, and as their name suggests, take on the duties of a counselor managing cabin life. They teach a camp activity for part of the day, and also take on the task of running the kitchen dish washing machine after every meal. You can imagine, depending on the meal, this can be a monumental endeavor easily taking a couple of hours. So these girls are hard workers! It’s a paid position designed to be ideal training for returning as a full counselor.

For our 9th, 10th and 11th graders, this coaching and progression of camp responsibilities, adds up to concrete leadership training. Working together as a cooperative group, focusing on important tasks, accepting responsibilities with real consequences for the broader camp community, these teenage girls are growing more confident and capable while developing real-life leadership skills. …Another example of how “camp is a place for girls to grow.”

With good sunny weather most of the day, and only a slight late afternoon shower, this has been an excellent first day of activities. The girls have scattered across the camp excited to try everything— adventure, crafts, sports, and horseback riding. It’s been a great start to what already feels like a fantastic session!

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