The latest edition of the Akeela WI Circular is here!

In this edition of our newsletter:

• Family planner for parents/guardians and campers to help you get ready for camp
• Year-round professional development
• Winter birthdays for campers and staff
• Akeela Camper Referral Program
• Upcoming Akeela travel plans (with camper reunion date!)

You can also find this note from Kevin, Kristin, and Mike in the newsletter:

Dear Akeela Families,

We are officially in the “dog days” of winter. After it took forever for the chilly winter weather to settle in (we were not complaining about that!), it seemingly has now arrived. This makes our days together at Akeela in the warm sun seem so far away. One thing we’ve learned is that while camp seems far away right now, time is going to FLY and summer will be here before we know it. Soon enough your family will be working on camp forms (woohoo!), planning out your packing for camp, and then campers will take to planes, trains, and automobiles to get to camp for Opening Day!

How are you getting ready for camp? This time of year, we spend a lot of our time meeting new families and professionals as we begin welcoming the new families joining the Akeela community. Kevin has spent a lot of time on the road this fall and winter at fairs and conferences spreading the word about camp, while Mike and Kristin are busy meeting many new campers and their families as they prepare for their first summer at camp! We feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to think about and share camp with others every day. That helps us get through the especially tough “dog days” of winter.

In this newsletter you’ll find some ways you can start preparing for summer. They’ll help you (both parents and campers) get excited about your upcoming Akeela experience and get a better feel of what to expect. Many of us feel better and more comfortable with something, especially something new, when we take time to intentionally prepare for it. We hope the ideas and other notes in this newsletter will spark some anticipation and preparation for the amazing summer we’re about to share together! If there is anything we can do to help make your transition to Akeela a smooth one, whether you’re a fourth-year camper or this will be your first year at camp, please let us know. We are here to help and can’t wait to spend our summer with you!

Fondly,
Kevin, Kristin, and Mike

The latest edition of the Akeela WI Circular is here!

In this edition of our newsletter:

• Notes from Mike and Kristin
• Program updates for 10th grade campers!
• POISE-a-thon recap
• Fall birthdays for campers and staff
• Welcoming Arlo & Simon Trimble!
• Upcoming Akeela travel plans (with camper reunion date!)
• Re-enrollment reminder and early bird discount
• Summer highlights from Akeela and Beyond Akeela!

You can also find this note from Kevin, Kristin, and Mike in the newsletter:

Dear Akeela Families,

When we all return home at the end of each summer we often get the common question from our non-camp family and friends, “So, how was the summer?” It’s a simple and very appropriate question, and yet each year we struggle to find an answer that really encapsulates our summer experiences. Saying, “Great!” just doesn’t seem to give justice to our summer experience. Do you feel this way when you return home, too?

So much happens every day at camp. We experience emotional highs during those magical spontaneous moments, and have to acknowledge that spending as much time as we do around others during each day at camp is going to create some moments of disagreement and stress, which is OKAY. Taking time to reflect on those highs and lows both individually and with our peers each day helps make camp such a special place for us all. Sometimes it feels like we’ve lived a whole separate life for the summer, and trying to explain that to someone who didn’t share those experiences with us is a daunting task!

As we look back on this summer, saying “Great!” is a good start to describing to our time at camp, but there is so much more that we can share. There was that time we went on a hike and took a wrong turn, got really muddy, but sang songs and played games along the way to keep everyone in positive spirits. Or that time when a few campers were uncertain about showing off our talents in front of all of camp, but blew all of their friends away with their performance. We remember seeing the joy and pride on camper’s faces after that so vividly. We remember the feeling of community when each of you made announcements about your new friends in camp, even if you were unsure about meeting someone new. We remember the feeling of friendship that you shared with us by going out to breakfast with a new friend and their family on pickup day.

We hope that as you think back on your summer at camp, that you can reflect fondly on those special moments, the new friendships you made, and acknowledge the hardships you persevered through. We can’t wait to share all of that with you again, and hope that we can all help each other answer the question, “So, how was your summer?” next year.

Fondly,
Kevin, Kristin, and Mike

The Akeela Vermont Fall Circular is here!

In this edition of our newsletter:

• An update from our program director about exciting things to look forward to in summer 2020
• Our gratitude for all of the Akeela families who completed their post-camp surveys
• The 6th annual Winter Weekend will be January 11-12, 2020!
• Check out a few photos of camp during prime “leaf-peeping” season
• Congratulations to Kevin and Kristin Trimble, who recently welcomed twin boys to their family
• POISE-a-thon results
• Upcoming birthdays

Also in the newsletter is the following letter from Debbie and Eric:

Dear Campers,

We can’t believe how quickly time has passed. It seems like yesterday that we were all at camp singing “Friends, Friends, Friends” on the shores of Miller Pond. Suddenly, the trees are changing colors here in Philadelphia and we’re wearing our sweaters. We thought this was a great opportunity to remind you of some of your amazing successes at camp this past summer. Sometimes, after something has ended, it’s hard to remember all of the great feelings you had about it and what you learned. While at Camp Akeela …

• You made your own bed EVERY DAY!
• You helped clean your bunk EVERY DAY!
• You helped with “dining hall duty” with your bunk.
• You participated in meal-time discussions with your bunkmates and counselors.
• You participated in activities, even new things that made you uncomfortable.
• You considered the feelings & needs of the rest of the community.
• You survived without electronics or internet access for three and a half weeks!
• You made connections with other campers.
• You spoke at an Evening Meeting or were recognized at an Evening Meeting.
• You went on a hike every week.
• You left the comfort of your home and your family to be at Akeela.

We hope you take this opportunity to think back on your time at camp and remember your friends. You should know that your friends are thinking of you too! We think it would be a great idea to email or call your friends from Akeela. You might tell them about your new teacher, your activities outside of school and anything you’re doing for fun. Maybe you’d like to send them a picture of you in your Halloween costume!

As always, we’re thinking of you with great fondness and can’t wait to be together again at camp.

Love,

Eric & Debbie

The newest edition of the Akeela circular for our Wisconsin families is here! See what’s inside:

• Letter from the directors
• What to expect on the first day of camp
• How we assign counselors to bunks
• Geography update
• Camp forms
• Upcoming staff/camper birthdays
• Pen pals
• What’s new for 2019!
• Double session campers inter-session plan
• POISE
• Information about optional and choice trips
• Parent communication at Akeela
• Important reminders for the summer!

The Akeela Winter Circular for our Wisconsin campers and their families!

In this issue of our camp newsletter:

• Letters from Mike and Kevin.
• It’s not too early to start planning for camp! A planner for campers and parents as camp approaches
• Meet your new activity leaders, Taylor and Caroline!
• Akeela Alumnus Spotlight
• Upcoming birthdays, and more!

We had a great time at our FIFTH annual Winter Weekend reunion for our Vermont campers. Winter Storm Harper couldn’t stop the Akeela magic over the weekend! Campers reunited with their best friends and made new connections with other Akeela campers, the Akeela spirit was in the air! It is remarkable to watch our campers jump right back into camp mode when their with each other, no matter the location or weather outside. They shared stories, played games, and strengthened their bonds with one another over the course a chilly and snowy weekend. Weekends like this get us even more excited for the summer, when we get to see all of our friends back together again.

See the link below for a photo recap of our Winter Weekend fun:
Winter Weekend 2019 Photos

See you this summer!

The 2018 Fall Akeela Circular is here for our Vermont campers and their families!

In this issue of our camp newsletter:

• Exciting news about new directorship roles for Mike Deutschman, Kevin Trimble and Kristin Wills Trimble!
• Announcement of dates for Winter Weekend and Parent Stay & Play: January 19 – 21, 2019.
• A recap of what we heard from campers and parents on our post-camp surveys, along with an invitation to help us re-craft our camper reports.
• A HUGE thank you for helping to raise more than $15,000 for the POISE Campership charity!
• Akeela staff wedding bells, engagements and babies!
• Upcoming birthdays, and more!