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Category: Camp News
Happy New Year!
Vaccines! Dates! Tuition Lottery!
Dear Camp Families,
We hope this email finds you happy, healthy and enjoying the change of seasons. The countdown to camp is on!
Vaccines
We are thrilled that the FDA has now authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include all camp-age children. It is our policy that all counselors, staff and campers must be fully vaccinated before camp.
Dates
In order to accommodate the ever-changing needs of our campers and staff and in response to requests, Summer 2022 ends on a Friday instead of Saturday. The last day of camp this year is Friday, August 12th, 2022. This allows staff and campers to travel home for critical back-to-school responsibilities. It also gives families the entire weekend together. Thank you for encouraging this change and for your support.
New Camper Events
Here are other dates to put on your calendar for our NEW CAMPER events :
– Philadelphia, April 2nd: Elmwood Park Zoo
– NYC Metro-area, April 3rd: Turtle Back Zoo
– Maryland, April 24th: South Germantown Recreational Park
– Florida, March 13th: Markham Park
Tuition Lottery
Early Bird tuition registrations have been entered to win our lottery prize of camp tuition at its original rate ($800)! We’ll be announcing the winners around Thanksgiving. We are thankful for each and every one of you.
Warmest wishes from the mountains,
The Camp Office
Thank You from Pine Forest Camp
Dear PFC Families,
The trouble with camp is that camp ends. Tomorrow night is the candle-lighting ceremony. Songs will be sung, good-byes will be said, and tears will be shed.
It’s hard to leave Pine Forest.
Tonight is also a time to reflect on camp friendships, fun and an unusually memorable season. And for us, it’s a time to express special gratitude to every family who shared their children’s safety and well-being with us. We hope that your children come back to you a little more independent, confident and a little happier than when they left.
On behalf of all 5 generations of our family, thank you for being a part of our 90th summer, one of the most monumental in our history. We look forward to seeing you back “Up Where the Sky Begins” in 2022 and for many years thereafter.
With heartfelt appreciation and warmest wishes from us all for a happy, healthy school year ahead.
The Black/Morin Family
Color Days 2021 has begun!
Color Days 2021 has begun!
And the teams are…
Gold Autumn vs. Blue Spring
What was the surprise, or “break” to start it all?
Quiet came over the crowd at our counselor basketball game, galloping was heard in the distance. Two riders on horseback with torches trotted up girls’ loop, pointed their torches toward the upper field…then, “Cue the Music!” Two amazing floats traveled down, one with springtime flowers, the other with bales of hay and autumn leaves. In each float were counselors dressed up as baseball and football players, butterflies and scarecrows. Next stop, Mitchell Field, where a huge bonfire ignited for our 90th summer, and then a grand finale of fireworks. Awesome!
But it wasn’t over! Back at the bunk on every camper’s bed was their own team’s knee-high socks and wristbands.
Color Days lasts for 4 full days of competition with games, skits and songs all culminating in “The Sing.”
To follow every score, game, and exciting moment, we have a special page designed just for PFC’s Color Days. Keep checking it for the latest news!
Reminder: Please no visitors at camp for any reason.
P.T.B. Protect The Bubble!
Let the fun and competition begin!
Forever Lee Forest Black
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A *FLASH* of News from Boys Camp!
Eric Morin talks flashlights with Bunk Birch!
As their auction prize award Bunk Birch chose to take some quality time in their bunk with director Eric Morin as he showed them his famous flashlight collection. Turn off the lights, get out your notebooks and pens, because it’s all you need to know about flashlights.You got your Archer 2A v3, compact, small but mighty. The Manker E12 as sleek as a stiletto and of course the rechargeable TC15. Campers were mesmerized. And intertwined with the tech talk was Eric’s story telling and jokes all about his wilderness adventures. Come back Eric! And bring the Super Mag light next time!
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Clubs
Also on boys camp. Today’s announcement about the first meeting of the “Club Club”. It’s a club to talk about and analyze all of the clubs in boys camp- there’s Jonah’s Design Club, Zach’s Soccer Club, Ethan’s Baseball Club and Mickey’s Book Club. Lots of clubs and lots going on.
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Lifeguards
Also big news on boys camp- 10 of our CA’s completed their lifeguard certification. After many hours of drills, study and demonstrations, they did it! New lifeguards and a new skill for life. Thank you gentlemen! We’re safer now!
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Assagi
And it wouldn’t be the 4th week of camp without the all campus wide, always exciting, exhilarating, exhausting and somewhat confusing “Capture the Assagi”. Campers raced around boys camp looking for the secret Assagi hiding in plain sight. Did they find them? We’re not sure, but everyone had fun!
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Line-Up fun
What will be Jack’s “Day of the day”, Jon’s quote of the day, Adam’s fun fact,r Poppel’s Pop Drop, or Josh’s sports scores? Never a dull moment on PFC boys camp!
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What’s Happening! Divisional Round-Up!
Junior Girls had a fun-filled week!
We are all about the lake. Canoeing, paddle boarding, beach volleyball, swimming, and climbing on the Wibits are among just a few things we enjoy. On our walk down the lake trail, we are sure to pick up a rock, spin three times, make a wish and throw it over our shoulder into Lisa’s heart-shaped pond!
Our evening activities are HUGE hit! Junior Girls joined Jaime at art for a special night making bunk plaques. Each bunk collaborated, shared ideas, and sketched plaques to represent them! We cannot wait to hang the finished products in our bunk! We also joined our Big Sisters for a fun night together singing, playing the Mostest, and making picture frames for our portraits.
This week we also took a trip to three different waterfalls! The Junior Girls hiked and enjoyed the views of the roaring waters. On the way home, we enjoyed a special treat!
We cannot wait to see what adventures are in store for our next week at camp!!!
Inter Girls
What a week it has been, running on the field and court,
The rain came in but the fun was not cut short.
Little and big sisters gathered as one,
Making picture frames and dancing we sure did have fun.
The photo scavenger hunt had us on the run through camp,
A human pyramid led the judges to a champ.
During swim, we did relays and diving for rings,
In art, we are decorating our initial letters with strings.
Canteen is a hit after evening activity,
In STEM and music, we share our creativity.
Olympic Day is quickly approaching,
Swimming, running and jumping our counselors can’t wait to be coaching.
Our wrists feel heavy with bracelets by the ton,
So much to come with the fun in the sun.
Senior Girls
Another great week is in the books for the senior girls! It started off strong with several girls participating in the 4th of July talent show and everyone having a blast at the carnival. Through all of this week’s rainy days, the girls had extra time to continue bonding with one another and enjoyed dodgeball, gymnastics, and crafts. One rainy night, the girls even dressed up their counselors as “dynamic duos” and made up backstories for their counselors as the counselors modeled their new hair, makeup, and wardrobe. It was awesome! Another huge evening activity hit this week was Guest Your Best where we found out some girls’ hidden talents. The senior girls are SO amazing and I can’t wait for another week of fun together!
High Senior Girls
The last 2 weeks have been AMAZING up where the sky begins for the hi-senior girls. It started with the 4th of July. Everyone got all dressed up in red, white, and blue and in full spirit for the events. The 10s woke the whole camp up with music and a golf cart and the 11s planned an amazing carnival with games and activities for the rest of camp to enjoy.
Camp is in full swing now. Hi senior girls are rocking out in their leagues, preparing for their MTV night mixes, enjoying coed lake and helping out with activities all over camp. The 10s did an amazing job last Friday night leading the campfire by singing songs and talking about camp. We can’t wait for the rest of the summer!
Junior Boys
Bunk Cherry had a party in Bunk Apple for having the cleanest bunk in the Junior Division. Leagues are off and running and the boys’ competitive juices are flowing.
Inter Boys
Monday Night Flag Football evening activity has proven to be a highlight each week. The boys are thoroughly enjoying the lake and are starting to explore all the opportunities to explore the water.
Upper Camp Boys:
Senior and High Senior boys are enjoying week 3 of camp here at PFC. Leagues are in full swing, cookies are being made at Cooking, trips to Blueberry island at the lake, and we had our second social of the season. Everyone is excited for Olympics starting up and the anticipation of who will be victorious is mounting. Will it be Senegal 🇸🇳, Greece 🇬🇷, Japan 🇯🇵, or New Zealand 🇳🇿?
Arts + Crafts, Pajama Party!
Dear Juniors
You girls are so special and always so fun
Let’s celebrate together, United as one
I’m throwing a Pajama party up at art
You are all invited, at 7:30 we will start
We will paint and dance and bond together
Creating memories that will last forever!!!
Love,
Jaime
No Tours, Here’s Why: An Update
Hello friends and followers! We’re writing to share some news with you which we sent out into the world this morning. We have made the difficult decision not to open up camp for tours this summer. We are doing so because we’re putting the health and welfare of our current camp community first.
Please see below. And please let family and friends interested in camp know that we’ll look forward to meeting them after the summer! Thank you for your ongoing support!
The best thing about camp is our wonderful camp families: YOU!
Dear Future Camp Families,
Thank you for your interest in Pine Forest Camp for the 2022 summer! Although it’s been a challenging year, we are thrilled to report that we’re off to a remarkably great start, our 90th under the same family ownership. Ask any camp family what a wonderful season we’re having! And we don’t take it for granted. Campers and counselors are healthy and happy, there are more new, young campers than ever before, and we are fully enrolled.
Being at camp together this summer has been nothing short of magic. And we are very grateful for the many new and re-enrollments and for the enthusiastic interest in Summer 2022. Our most discounted tuition, “Early Bird” tuition, ends on July 31 when we expect most places to be filled. Here’s a link to save a spot at our lowest tuition, refundable through 2/1.
We have made the difficult decision not to host in-person tours at camp this summer. Our top priority is keeping our current community whole. First and foremost, we feel that tours could compromise the “bubble” that has been created with much effort and cooperation by our entire camp family. Our parents, campers and our extraordinary staff have made great sacrifices for camp to run smoothly this summer, and it’s working! And, as much as we’d like to show off camp, our staff, and most importantly our amazing, welcoming, down-to-earth campers, we do not feel that it is in their best interest to have visitors on campus. Even if vaccinated, even if wearing masks, even at a distance, we need to preserve the bubble at all costs.
In our view, keeping camp truly limited to those within our bubble is extremely important at this time. We have asked staff not to go home or to see family or friends on off days, cancelled Visiting Day for parents and grandparents, postponed overnight trips to public areas and taken every safety precaution recommended. In our opinion, it just doesn’t feel right to allow some ins and outs but others not. It is not business as usual. We want to ensure our current camp family is prioritized above all else, that they feel as though we are being fair and keeping their best interest at heart.
We’re committed to having you get to know us, and we’re excited to get to know you! Instead of an in-person visit, here is what we can offer:
1) A virtual tour of camp! We’ll be sending it out soon!
2) A zoom with the directors!
3) A LIVE virtual tour experience from camp, in a bunk or with real-live campers!
4) A visit to camp after the season or our fall open house!
5) A home visit from one of our directors!
6) A camp gathering throughout the year (we’ll keep you posted)!
Thank you for your understanding as we focus on those here in our community during this unusual summer. We hope you can trust our judgement and care and, for those reasons among others, decide to join our camp family for 2022! We look forward to prioritizing you and your future camper in 2022 and beyond!
Please, keep in touch, and we will too!
With deep appreciation and all the best from Greeley, PA,
The Black/Morin Family
The Black/Morin Family
