Algonquin Park Ontario Summer Girls Camp & Arts Program

Summer Days are here again!!

IMPORTANT reminders for August campers and parents on policies regarding cell phones, food parcels and the internet.

Parcels containing food and candy are donated to the special events at camp for all children. Please do not send any food to campers OR to staff for campers.
Cell Phones (including itouch and iphones) are not permitted at camp for campers. Cell phones must be turned in upon arrival.
Tanamakoon campers and staff are not permitted to create or use the name Tanamakoon on any social net working site. All parents and campers are well aware of our internet policy.

Hi Campers and Parents!
The August campers have arrived safely and camp is in full swing! The weather is warm and the lake water is still hovering in the mid 70's! We did see the first fall colours on one tree this morning though-the days and weeks are flying by!
There are several exciting events coming up for the August campers! The big play (Little Women) auditions were last night and 9 of our canoe trips left this morning!
We hope that all of you are enjoying a happy, healthy and safe summer! Please feel free to call us at camp if you wish to inquire about your daughter but also know that they are happy and safe and adjusting well to camp life! There is lots of important information below so please take the time to read on! Departures and 2 1/2 arrivals and end of month details are all in this Daisy update!

Take care and have a great August!

xo

DEPARTURE FROM CAMP MONDAY AUGUST 16TH
CAR PICK UP - CACHE LAKE LANDING by 11 AM
BUS PICK UP - YORKDALE 3:45-4:15 (PENDING Traffic)

Please be sure that your daughter takes all of her belongings with her from the transport and the bus. Camper should check out with the staff in charge at the Landing and with the chaperone from their bus at Yorkdale. Children are often emotional and tired when they return. This is very normal. Some children will even want to return right away;) The stories and wonderful memories that are tucked away will begin to unfold as the weeks and months come and go.

ARRIVAL DAY – Monday August 16th (A2 1/2)
BUS

MEETS AT YORKDALE NW CORNER 8:30 AM
BUSES ARE DIVIDED BY GRADES ALTHOUGH SISTERS MAY TRAVEL TOGETHER. This makes it easier for new campers to meet people on the way.
PLEASE DO NOT have any NUT products in your lunch or snacks.
PLEASE have your daughter carry her raincoat and a small knapsack. All bus campers walk in on the path.
CHECK IN WITH A BUS and return to that bus after you take your luggage to the transport and say your good byes. Parents should say their goodbyes off the bus and depart quickly.
Paddles and lifejackets are stored under the bus that you daughter travels on. When she gets to the path she will take her paddle and life jacket with her when she walks in.
Please PACK everything except a small knapsack! This makes the walk in much easier.
All medications and information for camp must be given to the staff member in charge of this at Yorkdale (she will be standing near the camp van). We do not take verbal messages.

CAR

arrive at Cache Lake Landing by 12 noon
check in with the staff member at the landing
load your luggage in the appropriate place (you will be told at check in)
say your good byes quickly - this alleviates the anxiety building for campers who have difficulty with this.
on arrival day Tanamakoon is focused totally on campers. This is the reason that parents do not come into camp with their children. It is a water access camp and our efforts must be placed on getting campers in safely and settling them quickly.

DEPARTURE SUNDAY AUGUST 29TH
CAR PICK UP - CACHE LAKE LANDING 9-9:30 AM
BUS PICK UP - YORKDALE 11:30-12 noon (PENDING Traffic)

Please be sure that your daughter takes all of her belongings with her from the transport and the bus. Camper should check out with the staff in charge at the Landing and with the chaperone from their bus at Yorkdale. Children are often emotional and tired when they return. This is very normal. Some children will even want to return right away;) The stories and wonderful memories that are tucked away will begin to unfold as the weeks and months come and go.

MAIL
Mail arrives at camp Monday to Friday and is given out after dinner on the day that it arrives. We suggest you use XPRESS post for anything that you want to come quickly or FEDEX.
PLEASE respect our policies regarding food. Food is not to be sent to campers or to staff for campers.
PLEASE do not send mail to your daughter in the last week of her stay as it will not likely get here before she leaves. All mail arriving after her stay is returned to send.
It is VERY helpful if you put the session for your daughter on the outside of the envelope.

CHANGES IN TRANSPORTATION
All changes in transportation must be made in writing and faxed to Oakville. 905-338-3039 Changes must be made 72 hours before your daughters arrival or departure.

SUGGESTIONS & COMMENTS FOR YOU!
Green socks are NOT mandatory (however, socks should be worn with shoes for health reasons)
Bug shirts and pants are AWESOME! We encourage you to pick up a set for camp! They are cool to wear over a t-shirt and shorts when the evenings are hot. Tanamakoon has a long sleeve and long pants (West Nile Style) policy for after dinner programs. You can purchase these from Mt Equipment Coop or Algonquin Outfitters, Canadian Tire and lots of sporting goods stores!
Dunnage bags are like large hockey bags. These are essential for packing your sleeping bag and last minute items on the last morning of camp. The majority of your luggage ALWAYS goes out the day before you leave.
Checking on Campers: Please feel free to call us up at camp if you have concerns regarding your daughter. The normal procedure is for the office staff to check on your daughter with the Tribal Head, Cabin Counselor or Nurse and then return your call in the evening. If you call during the evening then your call will be returned the next morning with an update. We would ask that your calls NOT be made to camp during meal times (8-8:30, 12:30-1 and 6-7) or after 11pm unless it is an emergency. Our camp phone is answered during the night by a real person-not a machine. ;)
Calls to the Nurse: If you wish to speak directly with the nurse we would ask you to call camp between the hours of 2 and 4pm daily. Faxes and Emails: Tanamakoon does not receive faxes for emails for campers. If you need to fax forms or camp business please fax to 905-338-3039. The information will be relayed to camp. The camp does not accept emails nor will they be returned with the exception of international business emails.
READ the CAMPER NEWS DAISY on a regular basis! There are always notes and reminders for parents and campers!

WE GET QUESTIONS!
2010 Visitors Days are Sat July 24th and Sat Aug 21st
Please note that these are the only days for parents to visit camp and that Visitors Day is now for first time campers ONLY!

If you wish to see camp before you come, please give us a call and we'll let you know about the Bartlett family weekends in June! We also welcome tours for new and interested families anytime between May 1st and the end of October!

Directions to Camp
Hwy 401 to Hwy 400
Hwy 400 to Hwy 11
Hwy 11 to Hwy 60
Hwy 60 to Algonquin Park (25 kms inside west gates at Cache Lake Landing)

MAILING ADDRESS & PHONE FOR CAMP - all mail for campers, cits and staff should have the envelope marked clearly-Camper, CIT or STAFF

Camp Tanamakoon
PO Box 10010
Huntsville , Ontario
P1H 2H5
Phone: 705-633-5541

PLEASE DO NOT USE UPS for parcels. You may use FEDEX or CANPAR or EXPRESS POST.

Cabin Request Information
Campers may make cabin requests in the spring. Your BULLETIN contains a Camp Information Form that has a space for cabin requests. Please DO NOT call and make verbal requests. All requests must be in writing. We ask you to limit your request to one mutual request. Please be sure that you are approximately of the same age and grade and that your request is mutual. Your parents must co-sign your form. If you have any updates on cabin requests please put them in writing and you can fax them to the Oakvile office at 905-338-3039 prior to May 15th Please remember that an important part of camp life is meeting new people and making new friends.

ALL requests must be in writing and must be received by May 15th. Cabin placement is not given out until you arrive at camp so please DO NOT call the camp for this information. They are not authorized to give this out.

You will have noticed an icon our homepage that refers to Tanamakoon being Bullfrogpowered! Read on and find out why Tanamakoon is helping to lead the way environmentally in today's world! You'll be hearing and seeing lots more this summer about our newest environmental actions and programs! Stay tuned for more updates!

"We believe in fostering a sense of responsibility for our natural heritage among our campers, and that means we need to model that in our own day-to-day activities. Our decision to support clean, renewable power by becoming a bullfrogpowered organization aligns with our overall commitment to operating in an environmentally responsible manner." (Kim Smith)

Now entering its 82nd season of operation, Camp Tanamakoon is a renowned summer camp for girls. Located on its own lake in Algonquin Park and accessible only by water, the camp has welcomed four generations of girls from all over the world to share adventures and build lifelong memories. In addition to its popular summer program, Camp Tanamakoon also operates an Outdoor Ed Program in the spring and fall for grade seven and eight students, as well as a seniors program, a Kindercamp for four to six year olds, and an in-depth art instruction program. Over the course of the summer, more than 900 school children, 600 summer campers, 50 Seniors, 80 kindercampers and 12 artists visit the camp.

Camp Tanamakoon demonstrates a strong commitment to the environment and to educating campers on protecting and promoting environmental stewardship. The camp has implemented state-of-the art environmental practices including installing waterless, pollution-free composting toilets and an on-site sewage treatment system, constructing a solar-powered building, and using solar thermal systems to preheat the water at the camp shower house and its new commercial kitchen.

Thank you campers for your participation in Earthhour

Make every hour Earth Hour

Don't stop at Earth Hour - live The Good Life! The Good Life is WWF-Canada's new campaign that helps Canadians track the actions they are taking for the planet so you can actually see how your actions add up to help fight climate change. http://thegoodlife.wwf.ca/Home.cfm

Sarah Vingoe Reflects on the Benefit of All-Girl Summer Camps

Thank you Camp Tanamakoon!

At the young age of 6 my mother and father sent me to camp for 2 weeks. They packed me up and shipped me off. It was scary and exhilarating all at the same time. In the end, Camp Tanamakoon was one of the very best gifts they ever gave me.

I was a very clingy kid. I would not leave my mothers side. I would hang off of her like an ornament. I could only imagine the annoyance and grief this caused my poor fun mom. She tried everything to curt tail the cling that was little ole moi. She would accompany me to play dates and then try to tip toe off once she knew I was knee deep in funÉshe would slowly and slyly try and sneak her way out the door but I was too smart and coy for that. I always caught her and would run to her side and ask "mommy, where are you going?" She would smile and simply say "Dolly you are having such fun, I thought I would leave you to it... "Before the words could even escape her mouth I would announce, "I am coming with you". This little game went on for quite sometime or at least until I attended camp.

I remember my very first camp departure day like it was yesterday. I wore a cute and well-pressed camp uniform. (Camp Tanamakoon is a traditional all girls camp where both campers and counselors wear uniforms daily) I was decked out in a beige polo shirt with hunter green sweat pants and sweatshirt. I was a ball full of nerves but stood bravely in the Yorkdale Parking lot with my Dad, waiting for the bus to arrive to take me far far away to the unknown. My mom could not come for obvious reasons to me now but not at the time. If she had come I never would have ever gotten on that bus. The excuse that day was she had to tend to my little brother.

When the bus arrived I gave my Daddyo a big hug and hopped on. I remember looking out the window watching my Dad wave at me feverishly and crying my little green eyes out. Camp. I did not want to go to camp. My little brain was spinning in circles in my head. "WAIT!" I yelled, the counselor upfront looked at me and said "what is it?" "I forgot my sleeping bag". This began quite the little distracting adventure. The counselor came and grabbed me and took me off the bus where my Dad ran up with concern written all over his forehead. "What is it?" he asked. "I do not have a sleeping bag!!" I shouted with fear. His concerned forehead relaxed and he lifted me up and said "Of course you do. Your mother would never send you away to camp without a sleeping bag." He hugged me tight. I sobbed hard. Back on the bus the counselor and I went, and off the bus went to Camp Tanamakoon.

I am not sure my parents knew how special and important camp would become to me. Camp Tanamakoon changed me. It helped make me, me. At the end of that first summer I got off that bus a different little girl. Not only did I come home a little dirtier then when I first left, I came home with new friends, new memories, new strengths and a new confidence. I was no longer clingy. Obviously I did not know it then but I most definitely know it now, I found a second family.

The word "Tanamakoon" is a Native American word meaning "Hail fellow, well met", an appropriate name for a camp that creates long lasting friendships. Mary G. Hamilton, principal of Margaret Eaton School in Toronto, started Tanamakoon in 1925. Miss Hamilton chose the site where the camp stands on the shore of a sheltered bay of Tanamakoon Lake, then known as White's Lake in Beautiful Algonquin Park. Everything about Tanamakoon makes my heart smile. I can close my eyes and be there in an instant. Tanamakoon is what I would term heaven on earth.

I attended camp Tanamakoon for thirteen glorious summers of my life. I started as one of the youngest kids at camp and by the time I left I had been on staff for three summers and my last summer I was co-head of swimming, led a trip to Temagami in a war canoe for seven days and was honoured to be cabin A's (the oldest campers in camps) counselor.

At Tan, I learned many skills and lessons. Such skills included: canoeing, kayaking, archery, woodcraft, sailing and more. I learned leadership skills, team building skills, the importance of morals and values. But the most important thing I learned at Tan was the value and importance of a true friend. The friends I met at Tan are quite frankly the truest of true blue, life long friends. They are the type of friends whom love and support you no matter what. They are also the type of friends whom you do not need to speak to daily but you can go days, weeks, months...even years, and pick up right where you left off! These friends are magical. They are what you deem truly beautiful inside and out.

Last week I was reminded of how special and important my Camp Tanamakoon family is. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to attend camp and to have Tanamakoon as part of my life. Not only am I the farthest thing from shy but also I am so lucky to be part of this unique family. Tan taught me so many important lessons and values I still carry with me today. May this beautiful place remain forever and continue to bring other little girls what it brought me.

The Tanamakoon family is one that continues to grow year after year. It's funny and wonderous how Tan provides a common bond among any girl, young lady or women who has shared in its magic. With many years passed since I last attended camp I still meet and greet girls who shared the magic that is Tanamakoon. Some are individuals I have known from days past, some I am only meeting for the very first time. But as with all first impressions it is amazing to discover that a new found friend, colleague or associate went to Tan. You immediately share a common bond, an understanding and respect for one another.

Thank you Tanamakoon for everything you are and everything you have given me.

V.

"There is nothing quite as special as a friend of summer days, learning from each other in so many different ways...We are growing towards tomorrow, our past will keep us strong...The memories of Tanamakoon live on."