Perspectives from the Photographers

Hi Skyline parents!

I’m Kaylee, one of the photographers around camp. Every day, it’s been a pleasure to go out and capture memories, smiling faces, and the day to day life at camp!

Yesterday we all woke up refreshed after a restful day of Sunday School and Carnival fun. It was a bit rainy, but that didn’t stop the sounds of birds and quiet chatter right before morning watch. We heard from Kirby Osborne who taught the girls about reconciliation out of Romans 5:10. After flag raising, girls enjoyed fluffy biscuits, sausage, and melon for breakfast.

During first period, I waited by the misty canoe dock as girls paddled in with smiles on their faces. Not only because they saw me and were smiling for the camera, but because they were beaming with pride as they finished their trip. Usually the girls get more guidance from their counselor, but today they were so independent I almost had mistaken Tessa, the activity head counselor, for a camper!

During second period, girls in Circus were flying high as they got to use the trapeze for the first time this session! As the girls climbed the ladder, I could see their determination to try something new. While watching their friends, the girls in line listened to The Greatest Showman soundtrack–a great inspiration for the activity.

A fun tradition we don’t always talk about is birthdays at camp! During this session we’ve had one almost everyday - that’s a lot of birthdays! At lunch, the table is prepared with pastel balloons, a birthday crown and a decoration at the girl’s table. At the end of lunch, the birthday girl is announced to everyone while the birthday girl skips around the dining hall to the tune of everyone singing happy birthday. Once she makes it back to her table, a counselor is ready with pink cake and the glow of candles for her to make a wish and share with her cabinmates. Yesterday was Caroline’s birthday and lunch was nothing short of a proper Skyline celebration. Happy Birthday, Caroline!

After rest hour, girls in Home Science learned about portions and balancing the meals. They cut up Publix ads and glued their chosen meals onto paper plates with the assistance of April from admin who the girls adored. While the girls did that, they also made homemade strawberry jam for their tea party happening later today. They cut up strawberries and heated them to make jam right before they packed them up in jars!

One of my favorite activities to witness is photography. We have a group of a few girls who brought their cameras to camp and love to see what perspectives camp has to offer. Today they worked on perspectives. They captured from a worm’s eye view down on the ground while taking pictures of our circus class, while the other group went on a scavenger hunt to find things from a bird’s eye view from up above. They were also tasked with other creative ideas to capture such as “things that look like an animal” to “things that are round.” I started photography around their age and I love seeing it bring joy to the girls exploring it.

But the best part about the day was the Speed Challenge! Sydney from media team was there to witness it, and here are some words from her all about it:

Our challenge was originally supposed to take place on Riverside field, but due to another onset of rain, it was relocated to the gym. Though it was unplanned, the gym could not have been a more perfect location for this to take place in my opinion! The girls’ energy was electric, and their cheering and hype was absolutely non-stop. It felt just like being at a college basketball game!

I’ll take some time now and tell you about the challenge itself. The girls were split up into their clubs and age group, and each team of girls had to complete the tasks as fast as possible during their age group’s heat. Girls from each club emerged from 3 different corners of the gym relay-style to complete challenges. Some of these challenges included:

• Run as fast as possible to the middle to put on your shoe and run back
• Balance a dodgeball on a plunger
• Carry a teammate on your back
• Sweep a dodgeball down the floor
• Wrap a teammate completely in crepe paper
• Jump rope down and back
• Hop with a dodgeball in between your legs
• Team over-under challenge with a hula hoop
• Crawl under your teammates’ legs until the whole team has passed under

And more! The girls totally rocked it, and were being cheered on by the rest of their club the entire time. We had party jams blasting, admin and campers breaking it down on the dance–I mean–gym floor, and the loudest club chants I have ever heard! My ears were literally ringing from all the noise, but it was such a blast! I didn’t see a single camper without a smile on their face whenever their heat was completely finished with all the challenges and could celebrate.

Though the challenge was extremely competitive, the sportsmanship demonstrated by each club was admirable. Whenever two out of the three clubs finished their challenges during any given heat, the entire gym would cheer on the remaining club as if it were their very own teammates. That’s just the spirit of sisterhood that we have here at Skyline, and that continued even after the challenge was finished. Evan got up to the mic to announce the winners (which ended up being the Troopers!) and after a short celebration with jumping and cheering, the girls all broke out into the chorus of “Love Story” by Taylor Swift as it played over the speakers. It truly was a magical moment, and I know the girls felt so connected.

I’m sure the girls go to bed in need of some good rest after every nighttime activity, but I guarantee that last night they needed it the most. We had the most amazing, surreal time at Speed Challenge, and I know that it will definitely end up being one of the highlights of your camper’s session.

We hope you are having a good week, and hope these words offer a little comfort to you while you’re missing your girl. Rest assured, she is being surrounded with tons of fun, friends, and faith.

Check out our next “Day in Camp” video below, and we’ll be sure to fill you in about all the best details from today!

With love,

Kaylee and Sydney