Our "High 5 Commitment" - Keeping Campers Safe

UncategorizedBlog

Jun 6

Written By

Recently, a veteran Camp Director in Ontario, Canada was asked what the difference is between summer camp 30 years ago and summer camp today. His answer was funny and insightful, he simply said

"It's mostly the same, but now we actually watch the kids."

While that might be a funny response, there is a lot of truth to his statement. At Camp Arrowwood, the first rule that we teach all campers is that there are "No Solos." Being all by yourself is never an option, at all times and in all places there must be staff supervision.When I was 9 years old (about 25 years ago), I went to a summer camp in the North Georgia mountains. I have lots of fantastic memories of learning to ride a horse, canoeing, swimming, meeting friends, and meeting lots of biting bugs that flew in through the torn screens in our 'rustic' cabin. I also remember games like a "Counselor Hunt" where all the staff hide and we would aimlessly wander around the camp in the woods unsupervised. Was camp back then fun? Yes. Was I supervised at all times? Absolutely not. Camps have changed a lot in 30 years.At Camp Arrowwood, we want to create a safely supervised, bully-proof environment where kids can grow. Instead of having 50 rules that kids forget, we teach them our "High 5 Commitment." Check out the video below to see how we teach them the most important rules.

-Mr Seth