Ocky for Boys Archives - Page 2 of 13

Thought of the Day

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-17T12:18:09-04:00May 17th, 2013|

Thank you to former Matolly Staff Member, Danielle Wiest, for sharing this great Thought of the Day. Can't you picture a 7-year old camper doing this!!! A little boy went out to the backyard to play with a baseball and bat. He said to himself "I am the best hitter in all the world!" Then he threw the ball up in the air and took a swing at it, but he missed. Without a moment’s hesitation, he picked up the ball and tossed it in the air again, saying as he swung the bat, "I am the best hitter in [...]

Camp is Changing

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-14T05:14:14-04:00May 14th, 2013|

Watching the seasons change our environment is one of the great benefits to living here at camp. I love the sudden change when the leaves grow back and everything is green again. The changing seasons always bring about new families staying here at camp. For instance the geese are raising five babies that follow them around near the lake everyday. Behind Ockenhouse there are two wood ducks named Wilma and Fred waiting on their eggs to hatch. Watching deer in the Matolly field eating with their young is a sight to see. If you haven’t gotten a chance recently to [...]

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-10T22:05:32-04:00May 10th, 2013|

It is a mother's responsibility to protect her young. To protect her young, she must keep them close to her. I would imagine that it goes against many motherly instincts for moms to send their kids off to Camp without them. Yet they do it anyway. Moms send their kids to Camp because they know it will be an enriching experience full of fun, adventure, challenge, and friendship. Thanks to all of the moms (and dads) who give us the gift of Camp, even though they miss us dearly while we are away. Have a happy Mother's Day Weekend! Brent [...]

Summer Time!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-05-06T06:56:48-04:00May 6th, 2013|

I typically mark the start of summer when the first international staff arrive. Jason Garrity from New Zealand arrived last night and first timer, Lex Kelly from Australia, arrived early this morning. Welcome to Lex and welcome back to Jason! Over the next few weeks, loads of international and American staff will be arriving at Camp to get things set up, to work with groups, to go through various trainings, and to begin forming the 2013 Summer Camp Teams for Ocky, Matolly, and Stockwell. Before we know it, the campers will be arriving and Camp will be in full swing! [...]

Fish

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-04-25T12:46:30-04:00April 25th, 2013|

Floating around camp there is a video called “The Fish! Philosophy”. This video has been shown to our staff and sometimes incorporated into our CIT and LIT programs. About this time last year, I watched the video for the first time. I was amazed about culture of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market, where the video takes place. Although just getting up and going to work or school can be challenging some days, your day will depend on how you make it. Below is The Fish! Philosophy. I challenge you to apply their philosophy in your everyday life whether it’s at [...]

Once a Camp Director, Always a Camp Director

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-04-25T12:38:06-04:00April 25th, 2013|

It was truly a pleasure to watch former Ocky Director and current Pitman Principal, Chris Morris, lead his students during their stay at Camp Ockanickon last week. Having worked with many school groups over the years, I can tell you that I have not seen too many principals get as involved with their students' activities as Chris did! You can tell he still has a passion for Camp and for working with young people. I guess you can take the man out of Camp, but you can never take Camp out of the man! Having had Chris as my Ranger [...]

Ancient Prime Time Television

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-04-16T10:07:40-04:00April 16th, 2013|

In the 21st century, it is safe to say that when most people look at the stars, they think of science. Perhaps they are reminded of lessons that they learned in school about what causes the motion of celestial objects, or perhaps they are looking for something they heard about in the news. What we often forget; however, is that before we were able to scientifically explain astronomy, the stars were more of a cultural phenomenon than a scientific one. Before television, electricity, the printing press, or even a written language, parents of ancient times had the same monumental task [...]

The School Flyer Shore Route

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-04-12T18:03:01-04:00April 12th, 2013|

Every year, we deliver thousands of Summer Camp flyers to schools during the week after Easter Break. There is one route that I especially enjoy for a few different reasons. A few years back, we started delivering to some schools down at the Jersey Shore from Absecon to Cape May. Since we had such amazing weather this week, it made for a beautiful drive with the windows down and the radio cranking. Summer is almost here! The other reasons that I love this delivery is that it takes me right near my favorite restaurant and that restaurant is right across [...]

April Is Here!

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-04-09T10:01:34-04:00April 9th, 2013|

Last week was very exciting for all of us here at camp. We hosted the Northeast YMCA Outdoor Education Affinity Group Retreat, Spring Break Day Camp, Learn to Climb, the Moorestown Friends School Fourth Grade, and the South Jersey Law Enforcement Outdoor Challenge. We found ourselves in many different settings learning, instructing, and playing. Some things that really flapped my shutters; - Watching so many campers get to the top of the wall when they thought they couldn’t. - The exciting new games I learned from my friends at The New York YMCA Camps like Sonic the Hedgehog and Super [...]

A thought on summer …

By YMCA of the Pines|2013-04-02T12:15:54-04:00April 2nd, 2013|

"Nobody changes at summer camp. They merly find out who they are and become it more." - Wichita (Brad Renfro), Happy Campers