Session 5 Day 1

There will be a link to a Dropbox folder with pictures of the day's events at the bottom of this blog post. 本篇部落格文章底部會附上 Dropbox 資料夾連結，您可以在裡面查看當天活動的照片。

Special notice: We are aware of Typhoon Dolphin to our east. We are monitoring the situation and will provide updates as the week progresses. Safety is our primary concern, and appropriate measures will be taken to keep your children secure.

我們已注意到位於台灣東方海面的颱風白海豚。目前我們正密切關注颱風動態，並會隨著本週天氣狀況的發展提供最新資訊。孩子們的安全是我們最優先的考量，我們也會採取適當措施，確保所有學員的安全。

Our first day at camp is off to a great start. Everyone arrived on schedule, and the morning pickup went very smoothly. Thank you to all the parents for arriving on time and for your patience as we got everyone checked in and onto the buses.

Once we reached camp, we spent some time helping the campers settle into their tents and unpack their belongings. The teams then began with a variety of name games and icebreakers. These activities help the campers become comfortable with one another while giving the counselors a chance to start getting to know the children in their groups.

Next, everyone gathered in the dining hall for a short orientation and an introduction to our camp rules and expectations. Each tent group reviewed and signed a Community Standards and Behavior Agreement. Creating a respectful and supportive environment is extremely important to us, so we want every camper to understand what is expected from the beginning of the week. In the photo folder, you will find a special section containing a picture of the signed agreement and a group photo of each tent.

After orientation, we had lunch followed by rest hour. This gives the campers a break from the sun during the hottest part of the day and provides some relaxed time for each tent group to spend together. This is especially important on the first day when the campers are just getting to know each other. They don't have to sleep, but they do have to stay in their tent groups and engage in low-key activities. They might play cards or board games, read a book, talk with their tentmates, or take a nap.

Once rest hour was over, we began our first scheduled activity period. For families who are new to Camp Taiwan, here is a brief explanation of how the daily schedule works. Campers are placed into color teams based roughly on age. Hopefully, you noticed your child’s team when they boarded the bus this morning. Each day includes four 90-minute activity periods—two in the morning and two in the afternoon. The color teams rotate through different activities throughout the week. After dinner, there is also an evening program that everyone joins together.

Today’s team schedules were as follows:

Red Team: Sports

Pink Team: Crafts

Orange Team: Ecology

Blue Team: Giant Swing

Green Team: River Tracing

For the final afternoon period, the youth campers played their first wide game. Wide games are those that all the campers play together. Today, it was a series of relays. The campers are divided into four groups and each group goes to a station for a 15 minute game. At the end of 15 minutes, they rotate to another station.

The teens (Gray Team) did not participate in the wide game. They have their own schedule. Today they had climbing, followed by archery.

At 5:30, everyone returned to the tent area for showers and a short break before dinner began at 6:30. The campers are finishing dinner now and will soon have some time to write in their journals before tonight’s evening program.

This evening, we will gather for our opening campfire. The counselors have prepared a short skit, and we will spend the evening playing games and singing songs together. We will finish the night by roasting marshmallows and making s’mores.

You will find a link to today’s Dropbox photo folder below. If you are unsure which team your child is on, begin with the tent-group photos. Once you find your child, look at the color of the lanyard attached to their name tag. That color indicates their team. Most photos of your child will appear either in that team’s folder or in the folder for whole-camp activities.

That brings our first-day update to a close. It has been a very positive start to the week, and we are looking forward to another full day of activities tomorrow. We hope everyone at home has a restful evening.

Dropbox link