2011 Parent Feedback Survey – Summary of Responses

Thank you to the 100 + parents that completed our end of the summer survey! Your feedback is incredibly valuable to us. We love hearing about what you love about Liberty Lake, and your suggestions on how we can improve are a big help in our off-season planning.

Below is a quick snapshot of the responses -

Q: What makes Liberty Lake Day Camp such a special place for you and your family?

“My son has Special Needs. This was his first camp experience he has had without an aid. He did GREAT! He was so happy at Liberty Lake. His independence and comfort level were amazing. He said how nice everyone was to him and he can't wait to go back! THANK YOU!”

“We love that it is all about making friends, learning to work with people and playing outside and getting dirty. One of the best things is that there are no electronics ~ this is great! I love that my kids come home dirty and tired after a long day of playing and just being kids. It's nice to be around people with similar views and it's nice to know that our children are being well cared-for.”

“Tons of activities they have never been exposed to surrounded by a caring staff. An opportunity to learn and grow both academically and socially. I wish we signed her up years ago! She loved it!!”

“The chance to be good as in the 'good old days' before sitting on butts playing video games all day.. And of course, the staff, electives etc. There's nothing in NJ like LLDC”

Q: Please RATE your feelings from 1 (poor) to 5 (AMAZING) with this summer's service or program:

More than 95% of parents rated us with a 4 or a 5!!

Q: How can we make the Camp experience better for next summer?

“Food needs fewer carbs and sugar, more veggie options than just salad and more lean protein.”

“You should sell LLDC tees and other items at Family Night ~ I think it would do well and we would definitely make purchases.”

“We would love a bus pickup/dropoff site in Collingswood!”

“I'd appreciate more frequent communication/updates from the counselors. Sort of a group version of the weekly-ish notes we got at the younger levels. Sometimes the incite helps us prime the kids to tell us more about their days...”

"Discuss with the older kids preparing to become CIT/LITs what the program is and that it is important to LLDC if they want to become counselors in the future.”

“Enhance pre and post weeks.”

“Keep the pricing reasonable.”

“It would be fun to see some sort of closer to real time info feed. Hourly twitter updates, or mobile web cam that might follow the action and broadcast the gaga tournament or tug-o-war, live-ish photo stream...I don't know. The kids are obviously excited to be there, but the parents are excited about it too. Just catching the kids crossing the driveway on the webcam is great fun.”

“LOL make it all year long.”

Well unfortunately we can’t make camp year long : ( 

Although it sure would be nice! 

However, the people that are at Liberty Lake all-year (Andy, Jill, Jason, Joe, Brandi, Ellyn & Justin) will work hard to put many of your suggestions into action for 2012! While the Liberty Lake experience is excellent, we also know that it can always be better. Thanks again for helping us with this, and you can send us additional comments & suggestions at any time – fun@libertylakedaycamp.com.

Teen Leadership Program Update

Last Friday we hosted our first annual HalloTeen Party -- and it was awesome! Thank you to the 70+ Teen Leaders that attended, it was great to see all of you. Check out our HalloTeen Photo Album on Facebook!

Here's a look at some of the changes that we have in store for 2012 -

Program Name Change: Entering 9th graders are now CITs – Campers in Transition & entering 10th graders are now LITs – Leaders in Training.

New Daily Schedule for 10th Graders: Entering 10th grade LITs are not going to be assigned to camper groups, but will still spend a lot of their time with younger campers and assisting camp staff. The new daily schedule will allow us to maximize leadership time – as 10th graders are going to spend more time doing more community service and camp-wide projects than ever before.

10th Grade Challenge Training: Exclusively for members of the 10th grade LIT Program. The challenge training will take our young leaders out of their comfort zone, while focusing on goal setting, teamwork, and going beyond their perceived limits. Whether high in the trees on Liberty Lake’s awesome High Ropes Course or in the trenches with their fellow LITs, this training promises to be engaging and exciting!

Leadership Events: As a reward for all of the hard work and effort of our program participants, we are going to host Teen Leaders Only Events during the off-season and in the summer!

Teen Leadership LIT Shirts: Just as members of the Liberty Lake Staff Team have their own shirts, Teen Leaders will too! These shirts will distinguish program participants as the young leaders of our camp community.

Keep in mind that these are the changes that we have planned for next summer as of now, and camp is still more than 6 months away. We want to know what you think - your input is incredibly valuable to us, after all, these programs, are for YOU. 

At any time you can e-mail suggestions or feedback to leaders@libertylakedaycamp.com.

Upcoming Events & Important Dates

As you know by now, the fun never stops at Liberty Lake! This week we have two important events –

■ Spirit Committee Meeting #1 – Join BC and the gang this Thursday, October 20th, at 5:30 pm in the ACR Room to help brainstorm new and exciting ways to improve Liberty Lake’s Spirit Program!
 

■ HalloTeen Party – All CITs & LITs from 2011 and those entering the programs in 2012 are invited to our first annual HalloTeen Party- this Friday, October 21st, from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm at the Rutgers Eco-Plex. Don’t miss fun Halloween games, reuniting with Camp friends and watching the movie voted by you - BEETLEJUICE! Check out the event on Facebook!

Here’s a look at some of the key dates for 2012. For the complete list, be sure to check out the Important Dates  page of our website. 

Tuesday, Nov. 15th – Pay in Full Discount Ends

Friday, Dec. 2nd – 2012 DVD Premiere at Rutger’s EcoComplex (6:30 to 8:30) 

Friday, Jan. 13th - Team Reunion & Movie Night (6:30 pm to 9:30 pm) 

Friday, Jan. 20th – Senior Camp/Teen Leadership Focus Group at Rutger’s Eco-Complex  (6:30 to 9:30) 

Sunday, Feb. 12th- First Tour Day/Open House (11 am to 3 pm) 

March 13 – 16 – ACA Tri-State Conference in Atlantic City 

Sunday, Apr. 22nd – Teen LEAD Conference in New York City (TBA) 

Saturday, May 12th – Community Health Day + Tour Day/Open House (11 am to 6 pm) 

Thursday, May 31st – All-Team Orientation (4:30 pm to 8:30 pm) 

Friday, June 1st – New Jersey Renaissance Faire School Day 

June 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th – New Jersey Renaissance Faire 

Tuesday, June 12th – Parent Meet and Greet (6:30 pm to 8:00 pm) 

Monday, June 18th – Pre-Week begins 

Monday, June 25th- The Regular Camp Season begins 

Thursday, Aug. 2nd – Family Night (6:30 pm to 8:00 pm) 

The countdown to the summer of 2012 is on! 

September 2011- Update from the Lake!

We've been very busy at Liberty Lake since the end of Camp!

After surviving the QUAKE AT THE LAKE during post week, Hurricane Irene came to town, and boy oh boy- did she leave her mark- We're still cleaning up!  Check out this video if you want to see some crazy flood footage that Liberty Lake had NEVER experienced before, and know that we had most of it cleaned up the next weekend for Brandi's camp wedding with Kyle!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-t0GvhXaW8

The flooding all around New Jersey is hopefully helping our case that there shouldn't be four warehouses bordering the north and west of Liberty Lake, as all of that asphalt and rooftop will undoubtedly make things even worse. In addition, we are dealing with the Turnpike widening, which is also threatening our lake. Thank you to everyone that signed the petition for the DEP public hearing- it should be granted. Check out the video that a few of our amazing Teen Leadershippers created, with the help of about 50 Campers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBrBW4RAsIA&feature=related

We're actually changing the semantics of our Teen Leadership Program- 9th Graders will now become CITs- CAMPERS IN TRANSITION, and 10th Graders will be LEADERS IN TRAINING: http://libertylakedaycamp.com/content/lldc-teen-leadership-program

If you haven't filled out the 2011 Camper and Parent Surveys, PLEASE DO SO ASAP- We are starting to meet and plan for 2012, and we'd love to take your advice in making decisions on new initiatives and programs for next summer.  

PARENT SURVEY:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/32ZRCLM

CAMPER SURVEY: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8TM5CWN

We already have some good stuff that we're working on- How about this for next year: THREE COLOR WAR TEAMS: RED, WHITE & BLUE!

 

* EARLY ENROLLMENT IS GOING ON *
* UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER *

While the prices of EVERYTHING at Liberty Lake has gone up: Insurance, Bus Transportation, Staff Salaries, Food, etc- AT LIBERTY LAKE, WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING- SO WE HAVE FROZEN OUR TUITION!  Tuition has stayed the same since October 1st of 2010, as we are committed to helping our Camp Families as much as we can- We realize that most families are going to great lengths to financially afford Liberty Lake, and give their children the best possible summer experience they can- So at LLDC, we want to be your partners, and work with you through this economic downturn.  

So CLICK HERE to Sign Up, Put Down a Refundable Deposit for 2012, and join the hundreds of Camp Families getting preferential bunking with their Camp Friends, plus reserving theFROZEN 2011 RATES, and are now eligible for the November 15 EARLY PAY DISCOUNT.  Many families have opted for our monthly payment plan- splitting up tuitions over the course of the Fall, Winter and Spring!  If you have any questions, just call us in the Camp office.

"10-Year Pioneers" Cruise

We had our 10-Year PIONEER Cruise with the 28 Campers- now mostly staff- who started with us in the summer of 2002. This makes us REAL proud: 

There's lots pictures and news like this, including awesome photo albums- on our LLDC Facebook Fanpage.  We also have been Tweeting and Blogging great stuff- Check out this awesome article from the NY Times that validates a lot of what we do with our Liberty Lake 5-Points Character Development Program which we started last summer: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&smid=fb-share

Please fill out the Surveys, stay in touch, and let us know about anything that can make Liberty Lake better for next summer.  Look out for the Summer DVD Movie Premiere announcement soon- We already miss our little Liberty Lakers, and are looking forward to next Summer!

Sincerely, 

Andy Pritikin and the Liberty Lake Team

http://libertylakedaycamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/LLDCFANPAGE

http://libertylakedaycamp.blogspot.com/

http://welovelibertylake.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/LibertyLaker1


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Burlington Twp. Young Men’s Conference at Liberty Lake

On Thursday, September 15th, Burlington Township High School hosted their annual Young Men’s Conference at Liberty Lake. The conference was attended by all 160 of Burlington Township’s 9th grade male students, as well as several district administrators, teachers and community leaders. The theme of the day-long conference was “Man Up: Accepting the Challenge of Authentic Manhood.”

Dr. Rafe Vecere, the Student Assistance Coordinator at Burlington Twp. High School, organizer of the Young Men’s Conference, and valuable support staff for Liberty Lake Day Camp, is passionate about the issues young men face in our society today. As he explains, “now, more than ever, young men need older positive role models in their life to provide direction, support and encouragement.” Unfortunately, young boys are under-performing and under-achieving in our society. 

In his book, Why Boys Fail: Saving our Sons from an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind, Richard Whitmire explores the significant gender gap in which girls are dramatically outperforming boys in American schools. Here are just a few of the statistics his books identifies:

• Only 40% of college graduates (bachelor’s) in 2010 were male
• In 2007, there were 2x more girls than boys in the National Honor Society
• Boys are 33% more likely to drop out of school

The Young Men’s Conference is a timely and extremely positive response to these issues. The program consisted of several team-building challenges, a relay competition, and a keynote speech delivered by Keith Elias, a graduate of Princeton University and former NFL player for the New York Giants. Elias has dedicated his life to being an inspirational public speaker. On his personal website, Elias describes his life’s mission of “Speaking Life” to others, “I believe we live in a time when our world is breaking apart at the seams and people are desperate for real hope and true life. People of all ages need to hear that there is another way, and the choice is theirs.”

Elias speaking at Young Men's Conference at Liberty Lake on 9/15/11

Elias’ keynote speech at the Young Men’s Conference focused on several important issues relating to young men today, including making good choices, developing an authentic character, not giving in to peer pressure and creating a future vision to strive for. Elias’ main takeaway message is to be “Be the Voice, not the Echo” – to be a leader, not a follower - just because "everyone else is doing it" doesn't mean that you have to. The boys of Burlington Township enjoyed Elias’ engaging and captivating style and they seem poised to be the Voice, not the Echo.

We’d like to thank Burlington Township High School for choosing Liberty Lake as the site of their Young Men’s Conference and we applaud them- and the 30 community volunteers- for addressing the very real and very serious issues facing teen boys in our society.