Monthly Archives:May 2015

Driftwood Can’t Wait for Summer!!

Driftwood 2014 Favorite Things

Sofia G: I love being in a cabin that is your age, the awesome counselors we have (Jenny and Tori), aqua tramp, activities, canoe trip, Gold Rush, Alien Invasion, Fairs, TP/Woodland exchanges

Ana Marta: food (grilled cheese, lasagna, pizza), activities (sailing, tennis, water-skiing), cabin mates, camp songs, counselors, lake, sun, friends, EVERYTHING!

Sarah: my bunk, crazy dance parties at night, the woods, canoeing in the middle of the lake and having the deepest conversations, sprinting up to the cabin, failing at tennis, riding, GiGi outlawing saying that camp is over, the waterfront, they way the sand feels on my feet, Gold Rush, midnight dreams

Jenna: having Jenny and Tori as my counselors, the coziness of Driftwood, talking to cabin mates about challenges, riding Cat Dancer on trail rides, canoeing with Claire when the water is calm, sleeping in one tent on our canoe trip, writing letters, hearing the bell in the morning, getting ready for the 4^th of July campfire, TP & Woodland Fairs with the cabin!

Gigi: taco bar, riding, my cabin mates, sunny weather, the smell of pine, my cabin counselors, my activities, Camp Woodland!!

Lorenza: friends, cabin, tennis, arts & crafts, food (everything), Big Banana and tubing, movie night, cabin night, campfire, sailing, canteen, counselors (Jenny and Tori), canoe trip, aqua tramp, ropes course, Song Contest, Lip Sync, Ugliest Counselor Contest, Gold Rush, Spoon Assassins

Tamarack 2014 Makes a Splash!

Hilltop 2014 Favorite Things

Barbie: Olympics because you cheer other team but you also play and fight for 1^st place, 4^th of July because I enjoy watching the fireworks at TP, my cabin because of the trust I have with all of my cabin mates, the food, the nurse because she takes care of you when you are sick, counselors because they help you with whatever you need, activities because you get to have fun while doing sports, friends because they trust in you and you have a true friendship, Fair Day because it is fun, Spoon Assassins because it is a fun game, Canoe Trip because you go across the lake and get to sleep in a tent, and Aqua Tramp at TP

Valentina: my favorite things about camp are Olympics because I have a lot of fun cheering for my team and playing all of the games, Sunday’s because we get to sleep in and have breakfast in our PJ’s, movie Night because the movies are the best and we get candy, and Spoon Assassins because it is so much fun

Adri: Olympics because you get to do something different and cheer for your team, the food is good, my cabin because I feel comfortable with them and I have fun (I LOVE my cabin!), activities because I like how you can do different things and have fun, all of my friends, and Spoon Assassins because it is a fun game. Bascially, I LOVE EVERYTHING!

Hilltop 2014

Kelly: excelling in activities and meeting new people

Abbey: Spoon Assassins, Olympics, and EVERYTHING (except leaving!)

Irene: peaches, Gold Rush, Spoon Assassins, and riflery

Cayley: because this year everyone had really good sportsmanship, the food because everything was extra good this year and we are the best eaters at camp, my cabin because we got along and everyone is soooo nice, camp activities because I can participate in different things that I can’t do at home, my counselors because they are so understanding, and I know that I can talk to them about everything and I can trust them

Taylor: my favorite things about camp is the variety in the activities and how everyone is different. I like how event if you are different, you are accepted. I also enjoy Sunday’s!

Georgia: my favorite things about camp are the food, Fairs, Spoon Assassins, Gold Rush, activities, and friends.

The temperature’s gradually increasing, the trees are blooming and the refreshing smell of pine fills the air. You know what that means, summer is just around the bend! Camp Woodland awaits the campers to come experience the glorious days filled with activities and wonderful food!

Although I was very anxious about the experience my first summer in 2009 (I will never forget the day my mom and grandpa dropped me off), I thrived! Over the past several years I have personally grown and learned so much while at camp. This will be my 7th summer at Camp Woodland and I wouldn’t want to spend my summers anywhere else or in any other way. The day the campers leave at the end of the summer is the day I begin counting down until they arrive for the next summer.

There are so many different activities that you may never get a chance to try at home. If you’ve always been more of a waterfront person, there’s always an opportunity to experience and thrive with some land sport activities! That is what is so great about getting to change your schedule every 2 weeks, because you’re able to try various activities throughout the summer.

You’re sent out on your own with a group of about 8 other girls to live in a cabin (under counselor supervision, of course!), learn from each other, and grow together. The girls come from all over the country and world, giving them the wonderful opportunity to explore different cultures and learn new things. It’s amazing what knowledge and experiences other people can bring to the table; there’s so much to learn!

Over the years, I’ve realized camp is the best place to be yourself, somewhere where you are not being judged. I learned you should always express your true self, because you are the only “you” there is in this world and you have a lot to offer!

The summer awaits for levels to be passed, unbreakable bonds to be formed, experiences to be shared and memories to be made. I am ready to thrive in the summer of 1-5 and enjoy being myself, are you?

Authored by: Raquel R.
High School Graduate Class of 2015

Natalie teaching Sailing!

It’s that time of year again—when school is spiraling to its end, and it becomes that much harder to pay attention in class as a hint of summer drifts with the breeze through the open windows.It’s also a time of year when contact with our camp family tends to spike:

• Camp friends rise to the top of your messaging inboxes
• They become your most frequented contacts on Skype (if they weren’t already),
• and get tagged the most on your Instagram photos (#60days!).

For me personally—and, I’m sure, for a lot of others as well—it means taking little moments for myself to reflect on past and future summers. Not only does doing this help keep my sanity in tact for final exams, but it helps ease my restless eagerness to get back to the north woods. As always, my mind naturally wanders to the theme for this summer — “Where I Thrive in 1-5” — and what it means to me.

What strikes me most about “Where I Thrive in 1-5” is that it isn’t a theme that only applies to this upcoming summer. Rather, it’s relevant to the Camp Woodland experience as a whole.

There have been endless conversations — both within summer camp communities and outside of them — about how school, while a fundamental factor in the growth of one’s character, can certainly be supplemented by other learning environments. Undeniably, a more traditional education offers foundational knowledge necessary to understand the world around us; however, there are other settings that teach us helpful rudimentary skills and simply don’t get the same recognition. Camp manifests this idea in the most perfect way — that a child or teenager can thrive not only within school, but also outside of it in environments that are equally conducive to his or her individual and intellectual development.

Education is a valuable and cherished privilege, and — as an aspiring educator — I will be the first to admit and endorse that idea. At school I’ve learned a multitude of things: from reading and writing in kindergarten to calculus and European history in high school. We are told, time and time again, that the world holds these things to the highest esteem.

However, within the same span of years as my formal education, I have also learned how to not only respect adversity, but to treasure it. I have learned how to succeed creatively as well as scholastically, and that weaknesses can become our greatest strengths if they are guided with care and passion. I have learned how leadership can shine through in hundreds of unconventional ways, and that it is possible to have two homes and sisters that were borne not of blood, but of the deepest friendships. And I have learned all of this not through school, but through camp.

Camp is where people of all ages can go to learn that thriving and succeeding can be measured by so much more than academic standards. You can explore dozens of different activities and hone hundreds of different skills, but it all boils down to one thing: you will discover that you have more potential than you ever thought possible.

Camp is not only the place where you will thrive in the summer of 2015, it is the place you will return to time and time again to find how you have grown and evolved into the person Camp Woodland shaped you to be — someone who flourishes with the help of skills and experiences that you gain in the summer and carry with you into the fall, winter, spring and years to come.

For me, “Where I Thrive in 1-5” isn’t limited to this summer because — like so many things at camp — the memories I make and the abilities I gain during those six weeks are unlimited; this idea was just as relevant during my first summer as it is for me today, thirteen years later.

So as you’re Skyping, texting and Instagramming your little heart away, be sure to take a moment out of your day to think about how you can thrive this summer, whether it be trying a new activity or stepping up as Team Captain during Olympics. Because camp is right around the corner, and the opportunities you seize this summer are sure to last a lifetime.

Author: Natalie B. ~13 year at Camp! Sophomore At UW-Madison