For first time campers, camp can be a super scary thought before they realize how awesome camp is. Some have absolutely no idea what WMACS is about, some are nervous about meeting 140+ new kids all at once, and some are just terrified of leaving home for a whole week. With our first night orientation, we hope to change all of that. All of the teachers and staff are introduced, as well as all of the counselors that the campers will be with for almost all of each day.
The campers then get a sneak peek at what’s to come during the week. The counselors demonstrate the dances and songs they’ll learn and also go through rules that we have at camp. Campers then break into groups and start getting to know each other. Through activities known as icebreakers, many new campers begin the camp-long friendship making and begin to forget about all the fears they had before camp started. From day 1, the kids are already experiencing what camp is really about.
At the end of the night, the camp song and dance are taught and campers pick up on some of the traditions that long time returning campers do in their sleep. A quick midnight snack, and the kids are off to bed after an exciting beginning to camp.