Firefly Song News Updates
Checking in on Firefly Song!
A collection of updates from FS Director Clarissa Thompson, organized from most to least recent. Enjoy!
We also post photos about once a week! Check out our SmugMug!
June 30th - Senior Lodgers headed out today
They will be gone until Friday – four nights, five days. We are sending out two canoe trips, one to Maine and one to the Adirondacks in New York; two hiking trips, one to northern Vermont and one to New Hampshire; a rock-climbing trip with Timberlake, to the Adirondacks, and a base camping trip to one of our sites up in Ninevah. Campers have spent the last few days getting to know their trip groups and leaders, creating a trip~community contract, learning some of the skills they will need . Yesterday afternoon the lawn was full of gear and all the tents were put up so campers could learn that skill. I am so excited for them to have these experiences out in the wilderness. Meanwhile back at camp, our First and Big Lodgers will carry on with their programming, with camp feeling much smaller and a wee bit quieter with our oldest campers gone.
June 26th - Hello from the tail end of the first full day of camp!
The campers are running all over, playing our first All Camp Game of the session – a fevered engagement, focused on saving the camp from the mercenary hands of the pirates. We are hoping the sailors prevail and the camp can carry on with its important work and sense of agency!
Today our Senior Lodgers spent time hearing about and signing up for their Apprenticeships and their trips (which leave on Monday!). First and Big Lodgers were treated to fun skits by all the different Activity Areas they will spend time in this session, and came up with the names for their rotation groups (great examples: The Teal Leaf-Munchers Who Don’t Eat Cows, Awesome Possums, The Cool Capybaras, The Poppyseed Muffins).
My amazing Program Director, who designed the All Camp Game, just walked into my office and said (about how the game is going) “this is the best night of my life”. I am so lucky to have such a great group of staff to make camp happen.
June 24th - See you tomorrow!
It's been sunny and hot the last few days, and promises to be the same tomorrow. We are so looking forward to greeting you all sometime between 1 and 4. Staff have been working hard to put the final touches on cabins, ways they will create their cabin communities, planning afternoon activities, and also finding time to swim at our beautiful waterfront, given this heat. I look forward to a full lodge at our first dinner together tomorrow night.
June 20th - We are getting ready for you!
Welcome to the FS Newsfeed and post #1! We are so looking forward to seeing you in a few days. Staff have been here preparing for your arrival for nearly two weeks. They have been learning skills in our different activity areas (barns and gardens, waterfront, arts, trips, outdoor living skills, work projects, and rocks and ropes) as well as how to work with kids (creating routines, supporting homesick campers, building community). One thing I am particularly excited about is the new Trips Building we are working on. If you are a returning family, get ready to be awe-struck! The whole area around the (former) Cracker Barrel site is completely changed. The landscape looks different and the new building is well underway – waiting for campers to start work on it. For new and returning families, please appreciate the building you will see there – an in progress construction project that was a learning and training site for all of our staff who will be working in our Work Projects (carpentry and construction) areas this summer.