There's always something going on at camp, whether that's a cabin theme day, a backpacking trip or a visit to Shaver Island! Check out the outpost schedule below to see where each cabin is going this session.
We can't wait to welcome our Session 4 campers to camp today! This session we have campers coming from Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, and Switzerland! We also have campers from 9 states outside of California! Of these campers... 74 are 1st time campers at GAC 197 are returning campers 46 are 3-year campers 10 are 5-year campers
Because all of us make mistakes in our relationships, an important friendship skill is learning how to apologize sincerely and effectively. Apologizing well when we hurt a friend with our words or actions is a skill we're working on growing this summer at GAC. In just about every conflict, the disagreement or issue is never ALL one person’s fault. Usually both people did or said something that hurt the other person. With campers, we brainstorm examples of conflicts they get into with friends - often minor things like disputes over card games or using an item that belongs to someone else without asking. Sometimes, we unintentionally hurt a friend. Apologizing well includes owning up to mistakes and apologizing for words or actions that hurt another person. A sincere and thoughtful apology is the most effective way to resolve conflicts with friends & family members. Conflicts are a normal part of all relationships, so we are normalizing for campers that all of us - at times - need to apologize to our friends. These are the simple steps to making a meaningful apology when we’ve done or said something we regret or that has hurt our friend.
Today at morning assembly, we talked about the importance of getting outside our comfort zone and getting into our "growth zone" as we try new things at camp. Camper Jojo shared about how she's gotten out of her comfort zone and learned many new skills over her eight summers at GAC. We also talked about setting SMART goals for this camp session.
Sharing our nervousness with others, and understanding that most of us feel the same way when we're trying something new, can help us push through the discomfort and discover new things we really enjoy at camp. An example we talked about was going on the high ropes course. Many of us feel nervous about being up so high, but for campers like Jojo, who've been at camp for many years and gone across the ropes course numerous times, it can start feeling comfortable up there. To get in our growth zone at an activity we have a lot of experience with, we need to try a new skill - like going across the course ... Read more