Camp Birchmont

Monthly Archives: May 2016

Going to Sleepaway Camp As A Kid Might Prepare You Better for College

Written by Camp Birchmont - Posted May 9, 2016

This recent article from NBC News describes how attending summer camp can help your child ease into college campus life with a little more ease. The benefits of summer camp last a lifetime!

Going to Sleepaway Camp As A Kid Might Prepare You Better for College
by Allison Slater Tate, NBC News

Here’s a more fun way to prepare for college than studying: Go to overnight camp.

Summer camp may not help you ace your college calculus class, but experts say being away from home when you’re younger can help you ease into campus life.

“While we don’t track students who have participated in an overnight camp experience, I can comfortably speculate that those who have are more apt to apply the tools they learned there in resolving roommate conflicts, problem-solving in small groups, and learning to live with people from different backgrounds,” Kenyon College vice president for student affairs Meredith Harper Bonham told NBC News.

While some students struggle when they leave home for the first time, veterans of overnight camp arrive on campus armed with some important lessons in communal living.

“Many of our students have never had to share a room, or even a bathroom, with a sibling,” Bonham said, adding that some students have grown up in “highly segregated areas with respect to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic class.”

Overnight camp forces the type of constant interaction, negotiation and direct communication that students will face in the communal, diverse environment of a residential college,” she added.

“ON TOP OF FORGING FRIENDSHIPS FOR A LIFETIME, CAMP TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE AWAY FROM MY PARENTS, INTERACT WITH COMPLETE STRANGERS, AND BECOME INDEPENDENT.”

Benjamin Eidelberg, 22, felt his camp experience came in handy when he got his undergraduate degree. He spent summers at Camp Cobbossee in Monmouth, Maine, starting at age 10.

“Camp was a great way to prepare me for college and leaving home,” Eidelberg, who got his Bachelor’s from the University of Maryland and is now getting a Master’s there, told NBC News. “On top of forging friendships for a lifetime, camp taught me how to be away from my parents, interact with complete strangers, and become independent.”

He drew parallels between the first day of college, when he didn’t know anyone, and the first day of camp, where the only campers he knew were his brother and two family friends.

“Like in college, I was forced to meet and socialize with strangers and ultimately develop my group of friends,” he said.

Eidelberg also found camp fertile ground for developing confidence and a new perspective.

“Camp served as an escape from life at home, whether it was school or just Pikesville [Maryland] in general,” he said. “It was a place, similar to college, that was fresh and where others did not have strong predispositions, at least prior to my first couple of summers.”

Kenyon College’s Bonham said she sees the benefits of summer camp for her own children too: whether it’s sharing care packages with their bunkmates or getting out of their comfort zones and trying new activities.

“While I like to think they learned all of these qualities as toddlers, receiving the additional reinforcement as pre-teens and teenagers can only help as they develop into humane, socially conscious adults,” she said.

Though summer camp experiences don’t often make it onto college applications, college admissions counselor Sara Harberson of Admissions Revolution believes they could still serve applicants well.

“The memories and lessons students have from summer camp will imbue them with a genuineness and adaptability which may come through in unpredictable ways in their essays, letters of recommendation, and interviews,” Harberson said. “Most importantly, their approach to the college process and their choices about how to spend their remaining summers are usually quite thoughtful, because they have a taste of what it means to be happy with their surroundings. That might make going to camp as a younger child priceless in the end.”

Safe Waterfront for Lifeguarding Staff & Campers

Written by Greg Pierce - Posted May 5, 2016

This recent article from Camp Business illustrates how seriously we take waterfront safety here at Camp Birchmont. Our number one priority all summer long is to keep our campers safe and having fun.

Smooth Sailing At The Beach
Creating a safe waterfront for lifeguarding staff and campers
by Robert Attonito

It’s another spectacular New Hampshire afternoon at Camp Birchmont as I sit alongside Lake Wentworth, enjoying a moment of quiet. The lake is calm and crystal-clear, a young bald eagle floats high overhead, and a gentle breeze is the only thing to be heard. In the distance, the tranquility is broken by the sound of happy children rushing to their afternoon “free swim” period at what we simply refer to as “the beach.”

As waterfront director, my responsibility is to balance fun with safety, to allow just enough spirited play while maintaining a watchful eye in preventing incidents and accidents. At Birchmont and especially at the beach, creating a safe and secure environment for campers is still the top priority, while allowing them to learn new skills and have fun frolicking in what can be described as the perfect camp lake.

Start With Staff Members

To start the summer, the camp’s lifeguard orientation begins before all other staff orientations. Prior to arriving, all lifeguards receive emails that contain lifeguard manuals, a staff handbook, and other articles on camp and boat safety. All waterfront staff must study for and take the challenging New Hampshire Commercial Boat Licensing exam in accord with state requirements. From the time they are screened and eventually hired, all lifeguards are scrutinized for experience, certifications, and general knowledge as it pertains to both the camp experience and waterfront acumen. Creating a great espirit de corps among guards is essential in creating a high staff return rate among waterfront staff. During the extensive orientation, lifeguards are taught the skills they need to master before the children arrive two weeks later. Although most come with proper certifications, the entire waterfront staff benefits from a thorough review. The orientation time is spent on rescue skills, CPR/AED, and first aid. An emphasis on boating safety with the inherent dangers, as well as all waterfront policies and logistics, are covered to ensure an effective response to any incident. Our emergency-action plan is repeated often to ensure an immediate reaction. Skills are taught and reinforced throughout the summer and reviewed weekly by the waterfront directors, based on observations or incidents to guarantee there is no deterioration of skills and to combat complacency. Waterfront staff members are required to swim laps daily to build endurance and help fight fatigue. Once the members are ready and the kids arrive, we have a tradition of administering our own high-level swim test for each camper, prior to giving them full access to the lake.

Swim Tests

For us, morning instructional swim is not optional until campers have completed 7th grade, and/or have completed a vigorous deep-water swim test. Morning swim is comprised of three periods of American Red Cross swim instruction, which includes lessons for a wide range of ability levels, from novice swimmers to those pursuing a highly sought-after Lifeguard Training Certificate at age 15.

During the afternoon swim, campers are offered a wide array of choices, including a free swim, kayaking, sailing, skiing, paddle boarding, floating iceberg, and trampoline with a rope swing, and more! Having established a safe environment provides campers an envelope of security that promotes a love for the “beach.” Swim time remains as popular as ever, since the Pierce Family established the camp back in 1951. In fact, parents and campers looking for a traditional, big lake experience are drawn to Birchmont and beautiful Lake Wentworth! While we’d love to share all of the success stories of kids learning to ski, sail, wakeboard, swim, pass “LIT”, etc., this article’s focus is on some of the protocols and policies for safety we have adopted over the years.

What we do at the beach may not be for everyone, but we continually refine the program so it works well for today’s campers and adheres to our camp traditions. The hope is that readers might obtain an idea or reinforce one of their own practices so that all camps provide secure waterfronts.

Lake Wentworth is 13 miles in circumference, and at 3,097 acres, is the seventh-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire. Campers need to be confident swimmers, even with the use of life preservers, which are required once outside the roped-in swim area. To that end, we adhere to a deep-water test that consists of a lap requirement (approximately a 200-yard continuous swim), which campers must pass in order to gain access to the lake at large for boating (sailing, canoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking), waterskiing, wake boarding, and/or tubing. Not only is the policy safer in the long run, but it becomes a clear esteem-booster as campers are always recognized for their efforts by staff and peers. Once children do pass, a myriad of activities are open to them, regardless of age. In fact, we encourage children to try every waterfront activity that is offered as an integral part of camp life.

Keep Staff On Their Toes

As director, my major focus is on constantly watching over my staff of 18+ members to ensure they maintain the safest possible waterfront protocols that include the “five-minute scan” developed at Penn State University and the RID factor, recognized by the American Red Cross. Additionally, we use the buddy system for all campers and staff, who also must pass a required staff swim test. In addition to myself as the director, the staff hierarchy at the waterfront includes my longtime assistant director, Polly Goldman (W.S.I.), followed by three team captains who are senior lifeguards, and who supervise a team of six other guards. Every afternoon (consisting of three activity periods), each team rotates between lifeguarding, sailing, and waterskiing, keeping individuals fresh, and yet working as a team that is familiar with one another. Instilling a true family atmosphere that includes the directors and the entire staff creates a vested interest in not letting each other down. We make sure staff members know that “bad things can and do happen to everyone,” regardless of the camp or program. In that regard, a healthy sense of fear help keep lifeguards on point for the entire summer.

One final distinction is that the beach is always closed to visitors, campers, staff members, and even owner/directors when lifeguards are not on duty.

Explore And Excel

We want all campers to have fun, and we encourage them to truly enjoy the beach and all of the waterfront activities, not only the ones within their comfort zone. Having a large, well-trained, and competent lifeguarding staff is essential to maintaining that safe environment for children to explore and excel!

Ultimately, all of these efforts and protocols lead to a safe and rewarding waterfront experience, and one that for 65 summers has left campers running back to the beach for more!

Robert Attonito is a retired N.Y. teacher, coach, wrestling official, and fireman from Deer Park, N.Y. He is an AMT, a WSI since 1964, and member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “Bobby” has been at camp since 1954 as a young camper, and is now considered a Birchmont living legend.