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Questions From Summer Staff
- What are the meals like?
- The session meals are designed for the kids. This
means that many staff think the food is lacking in creativity
and variety. Menus are on a two week cycle with a little
variety thrown in here and there. We cook staff designed
meals when only the staff is at camp during precamp
training and Sunday supper before meetings. Our staff
lounge has a microwave and refrigerator for staff to
heat up their own food.
- Are there vegetarian options?
- Most suppers have a vegetarian entree option and all
suppers have a salad bar. Lunch always has a peanut
butter and jelly option. Our staff lounge has a
microwave and refrigerator for staff to heat up their
own food.
- When is our time off for Cabin and Program Counselors?
- Every other weekend from Friday at
2pm to Sunday at
2pm.
- Every day:
- Cabin have off nature/art activity and free swim.
- Program have off hobbytime, snack, and quiet time.
- All staff have off half of the morning activity
and half of the night activity periods per session.
- Every week every staff has off a few nights.
- Every two week session, staff have off a half day
(about 5 hours) on Sunday.
- What is there to do during our time off?
- I ask staff what they like to do on their time off
during the interview and I haven't heard anything yet
that you can't do at camp. We have a comfy staff retreat
called Hickory House that has a TV/VCR/DVD (can't get TV
reception), Pepsi machine, and various board games. Most
staff said they like to listen to music, nap, go on the
internet (we provide FREE internet access), write to friends, talk to friends, read, walk
in the woods, and various forms of exercise. We
encourage staff to take a break from the kids to get
themselves recharged.
We do have programs for staff on site. On a particularly
hot night we might have a staff swim or a pontoon ride.
We'll schedule various eat treats and other staff stuff
to do. You can go for a bike ride on the country roads.
- Do I need a car at camp?
- I read this as "Can I leave camp when I need to
and can I get where I want to go?". Staff may leave
camp five staff at a time (this is to maintain ratios)
whenever they have time off during the session.
Delavan known as "Town" is about 5 miles away
(10 minutes by car, 20 minutes by bike, too far to walk
unless you have a lot of time). Most of the stores you
might need in your daily life are in Town--Wal-Mart,
Shopko, Walgreens, several grocery stores. Camp
maintains bicycles for staff use and this is a very good
way to get around Town.
To get to and from camp on off weekends, we have
shuttles at the beginning and end of the weekend to the
trains and buses that go to most major cities.
So, do you need a car? Depends. If on your weekend off
you want to go to somewhere other than a major city.
Yes. If you think that you may need to go into town
daily (although I can't imagine why). Yes. If you can't
give up the convenience of having your own car. Yes.
Otherwise--NO.
A few other considerations about your car... Camp is not
responsible for your car on camp property. Other staff
are likely to ask for rides or to borrow it (after all,
it is convenient) so you will need to decide what you
are going to say to them.
- When do I get Paid?
- Depending on when you arrive to work at camp you will
be paid 4 or 6 times during the summer. This works out
to roughly every other week. See the calendar sent to
you for the exact days. Your season's check is split evenly
into 4 to 6 parts with an extra bonus at the end.
- Where will I live?
- Cabin counselors live in the cabin with the campers.
There is a separate room for staff from the main
cabin.
- Program counselors usually live in the bottom of
Hickory but may also be housed in the two oldest
cabins
- Support staff (kitchen, office) is housed in Cubs
& Chipmunks--the oldest boys and girls cabins.
- Core staff are housed in White Pines.
- LIT staff? You usually live where there is a space.
One session you live with your LIT's
- Will I live in the same place the entire time?
- All staff are assigned to camper cabins the first week
of training so they can get to know each other. Then
they move to other housing during the first session.
- So, probably not. Most cabin staff move two or three
times, and most other staff move one or two times.
(Remember that part about pack light?)
- When do cabin counselors know what age they are working
with? Is it the same the entire summer?
- Cabin Counselors will find out the week before the two
week session starts what age they are working with. It
is decided by taking into account staff preferences,
staff skills and our judgment of where you would work
best. You will probably NOT be working with the same age
group all summer.
- Hey!--the question you have is probably what
someone else is wondering too. So,
ask it!
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Questions From Parents
- I have been sending my
children to House In The Wood FOREVER! Why do I need to come to the
Settlement to register EVERY year?
--We have a lot of
paperwork that is for other agencies. They are very picky about how it
is done. In fact, they are SO picky that they will not give us our money
until it is done RIGHT. We have you come into the Settlement so that we
can get ALL of this paperwork done right the first time. Sorry, we don't
like it either. Besides, then you get to chat with Adam :)
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Questions From Retreat Center Users
I have food allergies. What are the menus like at House In The Wood?
--We routinely plan menus that take into consideration lactose
intolerance and wheat allergies. We always have alternatives like soy
milk and rice cakes. We make most of our food from scratch so we have a
lot of control over what we put into our food. If you are concerned,
please tell you retreat center leader and they will pass the information
onto our menu planner. Some of our participants on special diets have
brought their own food. We can hold it in the refrigerator for you and
warm your food in the microwave. Just give us notice ahead of the meal
time.
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