2014 - 2015 PSR Summer Camp Calendar

2014 - 2015 PSR Summer Camp Calendar

FALL QUARTER 

December 4-7: AACP Meetings @ Camp Kalaqua
December 9: Leadership Team Applications become available online
December 28: Alumni Christmas Party
December 30: Staff & Kitchen Applications become available online

WINTER QUARTER 
January 5-8: La Sierra University Recruitment 
January 8: Summer Camp Registration Begins
January 21: Probable Last Day to Submit Leadership Applications
February 17: Probable First Round of Hiring
March 17: Probable Second Round of Hiring

SPRING QUARTER
March 20-23: Leadership Retreat
March 30: Contracts for First & Second round hires.
April 21: Probable Third Round of Hiring 
May 19: Probable Final Round of Hiring/Late Hires

SUMMER CAMP
June 15-24: Staff Training Week
June 24-28: Pathfinder & Adventurer Family Camp
June 28 – July 5: Discovery Camp
July 5-12: Junior Camp #1
July 12-19: Junior Camp #2
July 19-26: Tween Camp
July 26 – August 2: Teen Camp
August 4: Probable final day of contract


*Please note: Recruitment dates for Pacific Union College have not yet been added but will probably be in January.

Friday: Teen Week

Greetings Readers,

   Sorry about the inconsistencies in the posting this week. No one has complained, but it's been more difficult than ever to post updates during teen camp. Either the upload speed is to slow or my laptop would throw a tantrum and decide to stop working entirely.  I will try to get a better computer by next summer.

   I hope you've enjoyed the photos so far, and I will post the rest of the photos and some additional information as soon as I can. This blog was an experiment this summer in getting out general information to parents of campers, parents of staff, and friends of camp. I have enough feedback to make some improvements next summer, and I hope it was useful to all of you who spent time following it.

   A lot of you asked for video clips, and that's a suggestion I will take to heart for our 2015 season.

   Teen camp has been a real blessing this year to me; and half of the reason is because we missed out on having teen week last year. Campers aged 13-17 often have some of the most difficult issues to deal with and camp is a great place to leave those things behind and just enjoy being teenagers. I know those issues don't just vanish, and today I watched as campers opened up about their personal lives to each other and their counselor during afterglow (which is right after our camp pageant).

   There was laughter, tears, prayers and hugs shared among so many of them, it's amazing that less than a week ago most of them were strangers to each other. I found myself wondering how many of those 16 & 17 year old's will fill out an application to work here next summer.

   I know our parents send their campers to PSR for so many different reasons, but I hope that your child (camper or staff member) was someone who encountered the transformative power of camp.

   We'll be in transition back down the mountain from tomorrow night until Thursday, so pardon our dust as we get ready to head back down the mountain... it may take a little longer to get to our email, messages, and phones but we'll be doing our best.

   God Bless!

~Jeremy

Wednesday: Teen Week

Lined Up

Exiting the Pit

Good to go

On Track

Finished the race

Enjoy these photos from our 'day away' trip (for our small engine racing class)!

~Jeremy

Monday: Teen Week

Basketball Camp

MONDAY
   Breakfast: French toast was our main course, we also had a selection of cereal, granola, fruit, and juice available.
   Lunch: Vegetarian chicken nuggets, scalloped potatoes, green beans, jello, fruit, & salad bar.
   Dinner: Tostadas with beans, vegetarian protein, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, olives, salad bar, fruit, and more!  

MY TOP THREE
   #1: Late last night we completed our camp rotation schedule in order to ensure program variety for campers. We try to get every camper into as many activities as possible so they can try them out. It's not a perfect science and we try to minimize the amount of times that cabins have to repeat an activity. Here is a list of our activities:
    Morning Classes
       Basketball, Self Defense, Marksmanship, Drama & Theater, Teen Skateboarding, Team Water Sports, Junior Chef, Ropes Course, Soccer Camp, Small Engine Racing, & Crafting Art.
    Afternoon Rotations
       Archery, Arts & Crafts, Climbing Wall, Go-Carts, Field Games, Junior Chef, Mountain Biking, Nature, Skateboarding, Sports, & Swimming.

   #2:Check out these photos from today!

Cake Decorating

Small Engine Racing

 
   #3: Crafting Art met today for it's first class this week. We did another set of experimental pieces of art using Starburst candy. Tomorrow we'll be working with more traditional mediums, but the candy art was lots of fun!

Flamingo, Rubber Duck, & Butterfly

PARENTS & CAMP
   We always have parents calling to come visit on Saturday, and we are able to accommodate most requests. Please remember to call us in advance to let us know you're coming to visit. Thank you!

STAFF & CAMP
   It's out final week of camp and our staff are still on track to finish the summer strong. We are praying that they can keep up the good work!


TOMORROW 
   We'll be sending out our second 'Day Away' Trip to Wet 'N Wild in Palm Springs...
   Our guest instructor for the basketball class is going to put the campers to the test...
   We'll be finishing up our second night of the outpost (for the final time!)...

   Wishing all of our parents, grandparents, and camp family a good night!

~Jeremy

Thursday & Friday Photos: Tween Week

Hanger 18 in East Riverside is a great place to climb and belay for our campers.

Taking a break.

Bouldering @ Hanger 18.

Smile for the camera!

Reaching the top.

Group photo: Ropes Course @ Hanger 18.

The campers who are standing at their seats decided to recommit themselves to Christ. The campers who are standing on the stage made the decision to study for baptism or accept Christ into their lives for the very first time.

Praying with those who made special decisions at camp.

Wednesday: Tween Week

Wednesday's 'Day Away' Trip to an indoor go cart track!

WEDNESDAY
   Breakfast: Waffles, with assorted fruits toppings, syrups, canned fruit, fresh fruit, and juice.
   Lunch: Hot Dogs, macaroni salad, vegetables, and a full salad bar.  
   Dinner: Chilli cheese fries (with optional cheese, onions, sour cream, etc...), ice cream cones, jello, fruit, and salad bar. 

MY TOP THREE
   #1: The 'day away' trip today was such a blast. The campers had the opportunity to do two races (24 laps each) the second one was timed (so technically we had a winner), but everyone was just happy to be on the course. Keep scrolling for more photos!

2014 Small Engine Racing Activity @ PSR Camp

    #2: Junior Chef made quiche today and it smelled wonderful. I wandered into their small working area and heard one of the staff telling the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as a spiritual appication for the class.  Next week we have cake decorating so I'll probably be making more time to stop by.

   #3: Marksmanship is going well on our new course. As many of you know our former course was destroyed by the Mountain Fire in 2013, but our new course is pretty impressive and has lots of places to hide and shield yourself. Our campers are already getting better at finding their counselors.

PARENTS & CAMP  
  If you're planning on coming up on Saturday, please let us know soon. If you are trying to contact your camper, they may be involved in activities so we'll make sure you have the opportunity to talk to them at the earliest possible time. We still discourage calls home, but we also understand that things can happen where you need to communicate with your child.

STAFF & CAMP
   The staff have been asking about the outpost program, and I think that once camp has ended I will write a few short stories that provide more information about the characters in the play. This might also be interesting to our campers and maybe even our camp family, so please look forward to that in the future.


TOMORROW 
   More ultimate cabin points are up for grabs...
   Campers will get a nice treat at Town Hall...
   We'll be getting ready for more big events, special family group times, and so much more! 

   Wishing all of our parents, grandparents, and camp family a good night!

~Jeremy

Tuesday: Tween Week

@ Wet N' Wild in Palm Springs!

TUESDAY
   Breakfast: Breakfast potatoes, cheesy eggs, peaches, bananas, apple sauce, toast, selection of cereal, and juice.
   Lunch: Enchiladas, Spanish rice, corn, churros, salad bar.
   Dinner: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, tomato soup, jello, salad bar, and assorted fruits.

MY TOP THREE
   #1:I know everyone is probably tired about my consistent pattern of blogging about the Crafting Art Class but today they did this:

 

   We handed out tiles of this poster to all of our campers, and then had them (1) duplicate, (2) or color shift the image, (3) and they weren't allowed to trace. Then we placed all of the tiles together on grid paper to assemble the final image. Considering that they didn't know what the final image would be, I think they did very well.    

   #2: We had our Tuesday 'Day Away' trip to Wet N' Wild in Palm Springs. While we only had two participants, it was still an exciting experience and everyone got back to camp safe and sound. Tomorrow we'll have twelve campers and six staff members going to an indoor cart racing track. The photos will be posted tomorrow night!

   #3: We have so many campers away at Lake Silverwood that we took them another boat this morning. With two boats they'll get more time out on the water and spend more time learning to tube, wakeboard, and maybe even kneeboard. We already have some talented campers who clearly have some skills, and we're looking forward to going back out on the lake for another day of fun tomorrow. 

PARENTS & CAMP 
    We love your feedback. Thank you for all of your emails of encouragement. Today our blog reached over 10,000 VISITS from our camp family. We hope you enjoy reading how things are going at camp and we will keep posting information to keep you informed. If you like the blog let us know, we're already planning to make a few improvement next summer.

STAFF & CAMP
   Our camp counselors are amazing. Our staff awards are coming up soon and we started discussions today about which employees have been impressive and deserve some special recognition for going above and beyond the call of duty. It was quite a discussion, with all of the supervisors considering so many different staff. It's always a good thing when we have many different staff to consider.


TOMORROW 
   Navajo, Nez Perce, and Mohawk are in the pool during our afternoon rotations...
   Hopi and Arapaho will be doing arts & crafts...
   & Iroquois and Mojave are going to be at the PSR Camp skate park...

   Wishing all of our parents, grandparents, and camp family a good night!

~Jeremy