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About Us Philosophy Parent Guide Activities Registration Information |
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Parent Guide
The Parent's Guide to Camp Eagle Wing has been designed to be a single source for answers to the questions that are of concern to every parent. For additional information, or comment, we invite your calls.
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For more than thirty
years, at Camp Eagle Feather, our camp mission has been best described as
helping parents teach their sons and daughters to become Gentlemen and
Ladies. What is a Lady or a
Gentleman? Life
in the “bunk” is the element that differentiates day camp from
resident camp. The cabin is
the center of life at camp. An
adage oft heard from camp directors is, “Happy in the bunk, happy at
camp.” Why is this
so?—it’s simple—the bunk is where our friends are.
Learning to make and maintain friendships is central to not only
life at camp, but to life itself. The
cabin is the place where we find rest at the end of a long day.
It is where we find quiet space to read, to write a letter, to play
a musical instrument, to tell or listen to a story.
The cabin is also the place to have a pillow fight or plot a prank.
Every day begins and ends in the cabin; it’s the “Home Room” of life at camp. The cabin counselor is an important figure in every camper’s experience. The counselors that have been selected to live in the cabin with our campers are former campers who have, themselves, acquired the habits of Ladies and Gentlemen. Along with the Cabin, the Dining Hall is the locus of much of camp life. The Dining Hall is not, merely, a feeding station and mealtime is not, merely a refueling stop. Campers sit with their cabin mates and counselors. Meals are served family style, with the head of table plating the food. Campers take turns setting tables and serving as waiter. |
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Because
of the limited storage area available to each camper, it is important to
adhere to the “suggested” camp outfit that follows.
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Clothing
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Equipment
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**At
Sunday dinner, Chapel, and season-end banquet ceremony, campers and staff
will be wearing “camp whites” (long
white pants & white, short-sleeved collared shirt). NOTE:
CAMPERS’ FIRST AND LAST NAMES SHOULD BE WRITTEN ON EVERY ITEM OF
CLOTHING/EQUIPMENT BROUGHT TO CAMP. The Camp Outfit (required tee shirts and shorts) is available from Hadfield’s Sporting Goods in Berlin CT. After registration an order form will be sent to campers. |
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What
Not To Bring Electronic
Devices “of any kind”—(flash lights are excepted) Cell
phones
Pagers Food and
candy
Blackberries Computers
Games Hair
dryers
Curlers, etc. I-Pods
Matches Make-up
Explosives Candles
Lanterns Alcohol
Tobacco Money
Watches Expensive
and/or unnecessary jewelry Drugs—other
than those prescriptions given to the Camp Doctor Water
bottles or canteens—water is provided everywhere around camp The
Camp Doctor The
Infirmary is staffed by our resident physician who provides care and
treatment for all the bumps, bruises, cuts, scratches, and maladies that
are a “normal” part of camp life.
There is no charge for treatment provided by the camp doctor. The
Local Hospital Treatment
of injuries or illnesses that require facilities not available at camp
will be provided by The Down East Community Hospital, which is located
20 minutes away in Machias. Camper’s
Personal Insurance Camper’s
personal medical insurance will be the primary respondent for any
medical care that is provided by the Machias Hospital, or for
prescriptions filled by the local pharmacy. Medicines
Brought to Camp Campers who bring medication to camp must deliver the medications, in their original containers to the camp doctor who oversees the administration of all medications. Homesickness
is a natural response (by all humans, not just children) to being
separated from our friends, loved ones, and the place we call home.
Like everything else that happens at camp, homesickness becomes
part of the program. Hence,
its occurrence provides an opportunity to learn the skills with which we
cope. What are those skills
and how do we learn them? Our
parents, siblings, friends and home cannot be replaced.
They have a position of primacy that will remain for our entire
lives. However, the love,
friendship, camaraderie, and comfort they provide, can be found in other
people and places. It is
through this transference that counselors can become surrogates for
parents, fellow campers can become additional brothers and sisters, and
camp can provide the same sense of haven, as does our home. Camp
is a community, and like all communities is a construct of those who
call it home. At the
beginning of every camp season and session, we (staff and
administrators) engage in the process of building that community.
It must be understood that this is a process, which requires
time. It is not an event,
which instantly occurs. Moreover,
the effects of this creation are not felt either to the same degree or
at the same rate by all campers. Children,
like adults, have different capacities to adjust to change.
Time,
the great healer of most emotional upsets, when accompanied by a
concerted effort by the staff to help every camper become “deeply
involved” in camp life, is the medicine that works.
Campers need time to make “that first new friend.”
They also need time to begin a project that directs their
thoughts forward. Throughout
the summer, it is best that campers neither receive nor place telephone
calls. We realize that
parents are often anxious to know how their children are doing at camp,
thus we invite you to call our office and speak with one of the camp
directors. We will give you
an accurate and up to the minute update. During
that period when campers are adjusting to their new community, too much
contact with home lengthens the time necessary to make the transition.
Campers
will be writing a weekly letter home.
We recommend that they also receive a weekly letter.
Parents should not be surprised if they receive a “lonely”
letter during the first week of camp, and they should respond with an
upbeat reply. Since
campers will not have access to a computer, it is best that mail come in
the form of written letters delivered by the post office.
Please do not send e-mail letters. The camp mailing address is Camp Eagle Wing, P.O. Box # 230, East Machias, Maine 04630. (The camp’s physical address is Tech Camp Road, Marion Township, Maine.) COMMUNICATION
WITH THE CAMP OFFICE Communication
with our office can be by either telephone or by e-mail.
Please have mercy on the staff
by calling during camp business hours, which are (9:00AM-Noon)
and (1:00-4:00 PM). We also
check for voice mail that is left during times when the office is
closed. During
the first week of each new session, the camp will be closed to visitors.
This is to give campers a chance to settle into camp life.
Following the first week, visitors are welcome at camp at any
time, and are invited to share a meal with us in the dining hall. We
ask that parents who take their children off camp during a visit, return
them before bedtime. No
camper will be allowed to leave camp with anyone other than a parent
without prior written permission. Sundays
are a special day at camp. Sundays
began with a sleep-in, followed by the optional morning masochist swim,
breakfast and cabin clean-up. Campers
and staff dress in Camp-Whites and attend the non-denominational chapel
service. Following chapel is
Sunday Dinner, which is the best meal of the week.
After
Sunday Dinner, the camp returns to the normal schedule, and the weekly
regatta is held. Campers
send their laundry out once a week.
In order to help campers keep track of their belongings, it is
most important that their name be placed on every article of clothing
they bring to camp. Since it takes a full day for laundry to be sent out, and then returned, campers must have enough clothing to get through an eight-day laundry cycle. It is also important for campers to have a mesh laundry bag in which to store their dirty clothes. Pillows,
sheets, and blankets are provided by the camp.
Sheets and pillow cases are laundered each week along with the
camper’s clothes. By
Private Car In
order to avoid the traffic congestion in southern Maine, camp sessions
will begin and end mid-week. Parents
who drive their children to camp should plan to arrive between three and
four in the afternoon. Parents
who pick their children up at the end of the session, should plan to
depart between 9:00 and 10 a.m. By
the Camp Bus The
Camp Bus will depart the School of Swimming (Rocky Hill, CT) parking lot
at 7:00AM sharp! Please
arrive early. An on-time
departure is necessary to assure a mid-afternoon (3-4PM) arrival at
camp. Campers should bring
money for 2 small stops made each way.
This money is collected upon arrival at camp and returned upon
departure. The
return bus leaves Camp Eagle Wing at 7:00AM, assuring an arrival at the
School of Swimming (Rocky Hill, CT) parking lot, between 3 & 4 PM. 7:30AM
Wake Up 8:00
Breakfast 8:30
Cabin Clean-up 9:00
Assembly and Activity Sign up 9:30
First Activity Period 10:45
Second Activity Period 12:00
Free Time with counselors 12:30
Lunch 1:00
Rest 2:15
Sign up for afternoon activities 2:30
Third activity period 3:45
Fourth activity period 5:00
Free time with counselors 5:30
Dinner 6:30
Evening programs begin 9:30
Lights out Sunday
- Sleep-in, Chapel
(non-denominational) , Regatta Day Monday
- Movie Night Tuesday
- Regular Activities Wednesday
- Laundry day (boys) Thursday
- Laundry day (girls) Friday
- Staff Meeting Saturday
- Campfire Program
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Winter Office (December - May): P.O. Box 265 Rocky Hill, CT 06067 Office: (860) 563-2804 Fax: (860) 529-8915 Email: eaglewingcamp@aol.com |
Summer Office (June - November): P.O. Box 230 East Machias, ME 04630 Office: (207) 255-3116 Fax: (207) 255-3255 Email: eaglewingcamp@aol.com |
