Camp Journal - Village Day Camp Geneva

Another fantastic day!

Well it was another fantastic day at Village Camps, if a little sad due to the fact that it’s the last normal day of camp for a whole year! Tomorrow there is Olympic Special Day, and after that, nothing until 2009- rest assured though, we will be back, better than ever, and we will be at the same location at the College de Terre Sainte.

The most frantic activities on campus today were dance, drama and music. Every specialist counselor, group counselor and camper were working extra hard to make sure the performances tomorrow are perfect! We have quite a multi-cultural set of dances and songs tomorrow, which is only fitting seeing as the theme is Olympics, and from what I’ve seen and heard while doing the rounds here at camp, they are all going to be fantastic. The mini campers were the ones to visit the pool today- both the four year olds and the six year olds were at Nyon today, enjoying the sun, which did eventually come out, even though it was a bit chilly in the morning. The Sevens were up at Signal de Bougy, they are a bit small to go on the ropes course, but they played lots of games, visited the small zoo, and mucked around in the amphitheatre for a while also.

The Nine’s were up in the Jura today, although there was a possibility of rain this afternoon, the weather held out and their hike wasn’t affected at all. Apart from that, the only groups off-campus were three Senior groups that went bowling this afternoon. It was really a quiet day in terms of excursions, and a lot of campers seem to be saving their energy for tomorrow, which is good, since they are going to need all of it!!

If you are able to join us tomorrow from 14:30 we would be pleased to see you. The children have been working on some dances which will start at around 15:00.  We will all be in the Sports Hall and there will be counsellors to help you find your way.  We have a special seating area for parents and refreshments available.  If your child normally takes a bus but will be returning home with you please be sure to let us know before you leave. Directions to camp can be found on our website, just follow the ‘Day Camp’ link from our home page.  See you there!

This is Liz’s first time working with us at Village Camps, and so far this summer she has worked as both the Arts and Crafts Specialist for the Intermediate and Senior groups, and as a counselor for one of our senior groups. She is half English, half Colombian, and speaks Spanish as well as English. She enjoys mountain biking, rafting, drawing and animation- when not at camp she works in stop-motion animation as a set dresser and prop designer.

The good weather is back!

Hurrah!

Well thankfully the good weather returned today, and looks like it might stay around for a while, although the forecast for Special Day is a bit iffy … Well if worst comes to worst we’ll go into the gym again, that worked really well last session. However we don’t need to worry about that yet - and today was another great day of camp; everybody seems to be aware that our days here are numbered and they all seem to be trying to take advantage of what time we have left!

The Four’s and one senior group went up to Signal de Bougy today- unfortunately the man who runs the bakery is on holidays this week, so instead of making the brioche bread, they baked chocolate-chip biscuits in the cafeteria this morning. We baked them during the day and they were piping hot and ready to be brought home at four o’clock. The Seniors spent their time on the ropes course again- it seems to get more popular every time we bring a group up there!

The Five’s, Seven’s, Eight’s and two Senior groups were the lucky ones at the pool today, it was a bit chilly in the morning, but great fun nonetheless. All our groups on campus were very busy today- everybody is furiously preparing for Special day, the fact that the theme is Olympics and they are actually on at the moment, has got everyone all excited! I’ve been sneaking into some of the rehearsals in dance and music and the performances are really coming along, so parents, please come along if you can- it will be the last for a whole year!

She has come all the way from Canada to work with us, and is doing a fantastic job! She is polish and Canadian, speaks English, French, Polish and Spanish, and is currently at York University in Canada. She is very sporty, but especially likes swimming and athletics, and she is a competitive horse rider, she also likes singing, film and art. She was working as a group counselor for the first two sessions but is currently our drama specialist and the kids love her!

Second day of the final week!

We got a bit wet today ...

Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we got a bit wet today…Unfortunately, although for the first time this summer, the weather was so bad that it forced us to completely change our schedules, everybody was inside for the majority of the day, and our excursion program changed drastically, which posed a bit of a problem as today was one of our busiest excursion days of the session.

Obviously, the Senior Groups did not go up to the Jura for their hike, they went instead to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Although that is a great place to visit normally, the fact that the Olympics are on at the moment made it even more enjoyable- they had a special display and presentation on the Chinese Olympics. The other senior groups and the nines, who were scheduled to go to the pool this morning, went instead to the Museum of Natural History in Geneva, they sent the time doing a scavenger hunt, visiting the two headed turtle, and checking out all the other weird and wonderful things in that museum.

The other groups who visited a museum today were the Sevens, who went to the Musee Du Lac Leman in Nyon, it is a new activity that we have been using this year on rainy days, and the kids have a great time learning about all the boats and fish of Lac Geneva. Our groups scheduled for the pool in the afternoon went to the indoor pool in Geneva, its not as much fun as Nyon, but the children enjoyed themselves and this way they do at least still get to swim. Thankfully the weather is supposed to be nicer tomorrow, so this is all the rain we’ll see for the rest of the week (hopefully!)

but her first as a senior counselor and so far she is doing a fantastic job! She is half-Dutch, half-Swiss, and speaks English and French. She likes psychology and sociology and plans to start college next year. She also has an interest in the history of religions, and loves to travel and discover new cultures. 

First day of the final week!

Started off with great sunshine...

Unfortunately the weather changed slightly in the afternoon and we were forced to alter the schedule somewhat- the Six year olds, who were at the pool this afternoon, were forced to come back early, and some of the groups who were scheduled for outdoor activities, had to make a quick retreat inside just after lunch. Thankfully it wasn’t too severe, and the Senior groups who were up at Signal de Bougy on the ropes course, were able to stay until the end and only got a little bit damp.

The Eight year olds, who were also up at Signal this morning, beat the rain as they went straight to Gland after their picnic lunch, for an afternoon of bowling. Unfortunately the weather looks like its going to be horrible tomorrow, we have an alternate rainy day schedule planned but please make sure the kids all some raingear just in case.

The seniors who were sailing today were also able to go without too much trouble, but we will have to wait and see how the weather is before deciding whether or not to go tomorrow.

The rainy day schedule is still great fun- the Olympic museum in Lausanne is on the schedule for the older kids, and the younger campers go to the Natural History Museum in Geneva to visit Timmy the two-headed turtle!

With any luck it will be sunny and warm, but even if it isn’t we’ll still have a good time.

Phil has also worked at our programs in the Ardeche and in Leysin.

Currently he is our botchy ball specialist, and assistant to the logistical director.

Phill speaks English and French, and currently works with special needs children in a small private school in Gstaad.

He enjoys sea cruises, origami, and wearing his socks up to his knees, and when he is not at work, he is usually watching David Hasseloff reruns, or re-reading the Harry Potter books, which he maintains are the most imaginative set of books ever written!