We can’t believe we’re more than halfway through the summer, this year has flown!
Session One is officially over and we miss our campers a lot, but Session 2 is off to a great start and our new campers have brought vibrant energy to Camp Mah-Kee-Nac!
The beginning of this week was dominated by tournaments. We hosted a co-ed archery competition at MKN. Because we have the best archery course and instructor (Rudy – who has been at camp longer than any other staff member), camps from far and wide showed up to sling their arrows. MKN took first place! Meanwhile, our seventh-grade baseball players and fourth-grade flag football players both headed out of camp for tournaments of their own. And basketball games took place across multiple ages and multiple camps.
This week also saw the return of a niche favorite, “Survivor Island.” Campers who have shown particular interest and proficiency on the ropes course and survival skills are selected to participate in an overnight camping trip to a nearby island. Much like the show, the kids must live off the land, but they do not have to outwit or outplay anyone because luckily, no one gets voted off.
We also continued our Stockbridge Series, a full-session cumulative competition, with an intense game of Disc Golf. This score was added to the previous scores from the marathon. Later in the week, the third event – Watermelon – took place. This game is like a mix between wall ball and dodgeball. The final event of Stockbridge Series was Tramp Ball, which began Thursday night, but was so intense and close, we had to pause the competition before the sun went down! Final scores to come…
Another major event this week was the Founder’s Cup finale! Beginning after dinner, the kids competed for multiple hours across a variety of sports around campus – from basketball to ultimate frisbee. The closing challenge was a big puzzle that each team had to build to reveal their logo. At the end of it all, Team Lilley was our big winner for the second year in a row!
We also had our second trip day of the summer. The gorgeous weather and exciting outings produced a wonderful day for all. Our youngest campers, TJC, went to Zoom Flume water park in the Catskills. Our “middle” ages went to Brownstone Adventure Sports Park – filled with zip lines, rope swings, cliff jumps and waterslides or headed out for white water rafting. And our eldest guys collected their courage and thrill-seeking vibes to ride some of the biggest roller coasters in the country at Six Flags!
All week long, the campers also practiced for the big closing event of Session One – Camp Sing. Each division (age groups by school year) was responsible for creating a song and cheer, memorizing both, and performing them for our judges. They were graded on music choice, lyrics, performance, and energy. Everyone did a great job! When the final scores came in, The Cherokees won for song, and the Algonquins won for cheer. Due to a higher differential (these calculations are very scientific), the Algonquins came out on top as our big Camp Sing winners!
We ended the week by saying goodbye to our four-weekers (sadly, there were some tears) and hello to incoming, Session Two three-weekers. Most of camp (the seven-weekers) went to a trampoline park to play the day away as new campers settled in.
That’s it for week four. Don’t forget, you can get daily updates with our newsletter MKN Today on MKNTotem.com. Be sure to create an account and read about all about the daily happenings at camp!