​                On May 23 Camp Tanner took part in Thamesford's Calithumpian Parade. Each year on the Victoria Day weekend Thamesford host's their Calithumpian festivities which includes fireworks, events, carnival rides and a parade. For the last few years Camp Tanner has made this a part of our Victoria Day weekend as well by taking part in the parade.
                This year we were lucky enough to have all our CIT's come from their CIT training at camp that weekend to take part in the parade. The CIT's along with some of our other staff built our float the morning of the parade and took part in riding and walking along with it. Our float this year was themed to go along with our Regatta that we have each week at camp. Regatta for us is an all day water day where kids take part in activities in the pool as well as water games in the grass around the pool. Some of these activities include synchronized swimming routines, best cheer competition, biggest splash competition, slip N' slide, sponge games and water balloons. To honour this Regatta our staff built our float to look like a pool and all dressed in poolside attire.
                It was great to have so many voices and so much enthusiasm as we walked the parade float singing many of our favourite camp songs. We had a total of 22 people with our float this year which I believe is a new record for us. Thanks to all who helped build the float, drive staff to and from the parade, and walk/ride along with the float. Also, special thanks to Spork and his family for letting us use their trailer and for driving our float.
                Can't wait to see what Camp Tanner will come up with for our next parade float? Come out and see us in our next parade this winter. We will be in the Woodstock Christmas parade.
We look forward to seeing you all there,
Grrrruff

                Our CIT director this year is Peetree. Peetree has been a staff member at Camp Tanner for 8 years and throughout that time has gained lots of experience and expertise which she was able to share with our CIT's. Peetree spent the weekend at camp with our CIT's leading them in a great weekend program that she planned to ensure maximum learning and maximum fun. She also, had some help running sessions throughout the weekend from some of our other experienced staff members including Tondue, Lutz, Slugger and Grrrruff. Thanks, to all who helped plan and run sessions this weekend.

​                During our CIT training CIT's attended the full weekend so they got to see what a day at Camp Tanner entails. They got to take part in many of our activities throughout the weekend.  While at these activities they are able to watch our staff lead sessions and observe how they interact with campers and handle situations.  CIT's also took part in special sessions just for them. In these they did activities to learn about teamwork, communication, camp policies, how to best handle problems at camp, how to interact with campers, and how to plan camp activities. Lastly, CIT's got to take part in some fun along the way. This included taking part in activities like playing star spinner and a race to find Smarties in whip cream.
                We hope all the CIT's who attended got lots of learning out of the weekend and also enjoyed their time with us. We look forward to having you all with us this summer. Thanks for giving up your long weekend to be with us.
See you this summer,
Grrrruff

                This year campers got to take part in lots of extra special activities to go along with our weekend theme. The theme of the weekend was "Roo's Clue's" which meant that much of our weekend activities had mystery themes. This included meals such as mystery challenge meal, guess who, clue, and mystery draft.  On top of this campers got to work with their cabin throughout the weekend to try and earn clues towards solving a camp mystery. Upon arrival campers were informed of a tragedy that had occurred on Friday at Camp Tanner; Fred the Moose had been stolen! It was up to the campers to try and determine which of our staff had stolen Fred the Moose. To do this they had to earn clues by winning different things throughout the weekend. They then used these clues to eliminate staff from their list until they were left with just one suspect. In the end Sharkbait and his campers in cabin 6 were successful in determining that it was none other than Bubbles who had taken our beloved Fred. Good job cabin 6!

This month we had Summer in the Snow (SITS). This is our first staff training of the year. All of our prospective 2016 staff came to Knox United Church in Embro for a day of fun and learning.
                We had approximately 40 staff at our event. Staff got to know each other while they took part in many activities including: team builders, leadership sessions, anti-bulling sessions, learning to make camp bracelet and about other cabin time activities, learning camp songs, learning how to deal with difficult camper situations, and learning about their role as different staff positions.
                Staff also had fun throughout the day competing in a team challenge. Staff were placed in 6 different teams. Each team worker together throughout the day to earn points for their team in team challenges. The competition was close but in the end the "Sticky Unicorns" were the winners.
                Overall, staff had some fun and enjoyed bonding and being back together after the winter back at school. We were glad to see so many of our staff returning to us and so many of our past campers who are now coming on to staff as CIT's. We look forward to having these great people of our staff this summer. 

See below to take a look at some of the fun we had and to take a look at which staff are returning to us this year:

It's that time of year again. We are looking for some awesome people to be a part of our staff for the summer of 2016. We are seeking summer program staff who wish to experience positive leadership development and work with young people ages 7-15.

All applicants should please have applications in before Feb. 15 2016. Also, it is asked that all potential applicants attend our summer in the snow training on Sat. Feb. 20, 2016. For more information please visit our staff info page.

Preference will be given to applicants who meet the following requirements:
-previous leadership and/or camping experience
-education and/or experience working with children and youth
-current CPR/First Aid "C" certification
-positive teamwork and communication skills
-interest in youth program development and facilitation
-ability to work with/without supervision
-availability to commit to working at a residential camp for up to 6 weeks throughout the summer with Saturdays off
-commitment to attend all training sessions and pre-camp meetings offered by Camp Tanner

Interested candidates should send a resumé, two letters of reference and a cover letter, specifying your position of choice as listed below to the attention of: 
Camp Tanner Staffing Committee
c/o Sandra Schurman
R.R. #4
Embro, ON
N0J 1J0

Here is a list of the postions we are looking to fill:
Camp Coordinator: Camp Tanner requires a camp coordinator from May – June 2016  
Duties will include promotion of Camp Tanner at Churches, community events, community calendars, radio stations, schools, camp open house etc. Help plan and implement staff training events, Leadership Development, May Weekend Camp, CIT Training and other related duties as required by Camp Tanner Inc.

Applications may be sent to Sandra Schurman, R.R. 4, Embro   N0J 1J0. Please respond with resume and two letters of reference by Feb. 15 2016

All other positions
Positions to be Filled:
All of the following applications are due by February 15, 2016

2 Camp Directors (born in  1996 or  earlier), available for up to 6 weeks)                          

1 CIT/ Craft Director  (born in 1998 or earlier), available for up to 6 weeks)                   

1 Sr. Camper Director  (born in  1996 or earlier)                                                              

1 Lifeguard (fully certified, born in 1998 or earlier, available for up to 6 weeks)             

1 Assistant Lifeguard  (fully certified, born in 2000 or earlier, available up to 6 weeks)  

8 Male Counselors (born in 1999 or earlier), available for up to 5 weeks)                        

8 Female Counselors (born in 1999 or earlier), available for up to 5 weeks)                     

1 or 2 Kitchen Support Workers available for up to 6 weeks                                              

2 Houseparents available for up to 6 weeks  (1 Live in)                                                        

1 Nurse available for up to 6 weeks (Live in)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Resumes will also be accepted for volunteer positions:

For Counsellors-in-Training (born in 2000)         

    What to say about 'Imaginarium'? It was such a fantastic week. We had over 50 (wow!) amazing campers and 20 staff, making it an absolutely huge camp! Thanks to our cooks as well, for serving us up some amazing food! This camp could never have happened without you all!
    If this camp did anything, I think it lived up to our motto, "Small Camp, Big Spirit". The kids and staff were so energetic and enthusiastic this week, despite some very chilly weather! With raucous rounds of Jesus Loves Me in the mess hall, to the energy and creativity during Craft sessions, we used every moment to really explore our theme 'Imaginarium'.
    Highlights of the week included SS warm-fuzzies and 'harmonized' good-nights, all-day Unit Day on Wednesday, Dundee's fabled 'Story' about campers becoming superheroes, singing Frozen songs before bed, and a visit from the 'Skunk and Raccoon Ladies".
    We'd also like to give a special shout-out to our staff of the week...drum roll please...Lutz! Lutz is camp's proverbial 'go-to-guy', and he definitely lived up to it by coming in to work this week. Thanks again Lutzy, for an awesome week and being the amazing help you always are.
    There are so many stories from this week, we could probably write for hours about it! But, unfortunately we can't, as there are more weeks going on and more adventures to be had. We'll get some photos uploaded to our Gallery asap, so check back if you want to see some photos we took during the week! One last thanks to everyone for the amazing week! Hope to see you all back for a second helping of awesome next year!

-BeNdEr and Spork

So our first ever week of Sr. Coed has come to a close, and what a week it was! We were lucky enough to have almost 40 campers at the week, and 18 full-time staff to play games; do sports, musical theatre and dance; and hang out. We'd like to extend an extra special thank you to our amazing cooks that took time out of their schedules to come out and provide us with great food!

Everyone in Musical Theatre was lucky enough to have Mgomp as our Musical Theatre Director this year! We chose to present the song "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls, that included a dramatic interpretation during the instrumental part in the middle. We'll try and upload the video to our Gallery as soon as possible, so check back regularly to see some great acting and singing talent!


Verv was kind enough to take a week off to teach us Beach Volleyball! Volleyball had a huge turnout this week and some great skills were developed by all! The group was so supportive and we couldn't ask for a better group to make up our Sr Co-ed volleyball team.

Dance this week was made up of about 8 campers and staff, but the small numbers made the dance even longer and more polished! Tondue produced an almost 4 minute long dance comprised of a number of styles including jazz, contemporary, lyrical...and the harlem shake. We'll be uploading a video of it within the next few weeks, so make sure you check our Gallery for updates!

Loafster ran our Soccer program again this summer, and this week had a great turnout! With drills and miniature games, the kids learned essential soccer skills as well as teamwork abilities! The most popular game was World Cup, which was perfectly timed with the one going on in Brazil. Though the glory may not have been as large as Germany's win, our awesome players had the opportunity to compete and give the goalies a run for their money!

We were also blessed with some amazing (hopefully) future staff! We had 12 Sr. Campers this year, all of whom in one year's time may be your new CITs! You guys are super awesome, and we hope you had a great week with both Vector and J'Fro! Make sure you check the website early next year for news on hiring, because we'd love to have all of you back to join our staff team!

We'd also like to thank our staff of the week, Peetree! Peetree did so much for us this week, and as the program co-ordinator and one of the directors for the summer, she made our week run so smoothly! We couldn't ask for a better partner in crime and amazing friend!

Thanks again to all our amazing staff and campers, for one of the smoothest and best weeks we could ever ask for! We'll be uploading all the photos as soon as we're done sleeping off a week of craziness and fun!

-BeNdEr and Spork

Camp has come to a start for the season with the yearly May long weekend camp! Nail painting, games, and good times were had by all! Thanks to everyone who came to the week as well as our amazing staff who worked the weekend!