We’ve been anticipating this moment all year, and it’s almost here: Summer 2018 at Camp Nor’wester kicks off in three days! Our First Session campers will be making their way to camp on Monday, and all of us here on Johns Island are eagerly awaiting their arrival. For the past two weeks, over ninety staff [...]
Summer on Johns Island is winding down, but the final week of August holds one last gem before the season ends. After our Second Session campers leave and before Camp closes for the fall, we welcome prospective campers and their families to a short, four-day session known officially as Explore Nor’wester – and affectionately as [...]
Camp is strangely quiet this afternoon, even as the gulls call to one another and the waves lap against the shore. But there are no campers chatting and joking along Mission Point as they head to activities, exclaiming with delight as their toes touch the water down on South Beach, or filling the Lodge with [...]
While many of Camp’s traditions and events remain the same from year to year, we’re always brainstorming ways to make each summer and each session unique and memorable. This session, a creative idea from our Camp Director led to an innovative activity for the whole Camp. The project was affectionately dubbed “Operation Nightlight.” Sheila, our [...]
Last Saturday and Sunday, we welcomed many of our campers’ family and friends to Johns Island for Visitors’ Weekend! Sea planes, barges, and boats came and went throughout the weekend as almost 300 visitors arrived to visit their campers. Groups of picnickers covered Mission Point, while others walked the property or reconnected with Camp friends [...]
Camp has been a little smaller for the past few days, but for a wonderful reason: Big Trips are happening this week! For five days each session, our four oldest units set out on a grand adventure. In small groups of 10 to 20 people total, campers embark on trips that are at once challenging [...]
Friday was a special day on Johns Island: It was Island Fair Day! This Nor’wester tradition is celebrated only once a year, during the first half of Second Session. It’s a camper favorite because of all the memorable events and activities that take place only on Island Fair Day! Campers' delicious and unique creations [...]
An exciting creation has been taking shape at Camp this week! We’re privileged to have Camp alumna Kim Frey and her family with us as part of our artist-in-residence program. Kim is an artist and educator in Philadelphia, and she was previously on staff at Nor’wester as the ceramics instructor in 2006 and 2009. Over [...]
Once a week, the entire Camp gathers together for a day of mutual reflection, engagement, and sharing. We call this special day "Anchor Day" because it offers us a consistent touchpoint for connecting to one another and to our values as a community. This past Sunday, we had our first Anchor Day of Second Session. [...]
Today is the fourth day of Second Session, and our campers are having a great time settling into camp life. Unit mates are forming friendships, department activities are taking place every morning and afternoon, and the first week at Camp is humming along! Lots of tasty treats - and great memories - are being [...]
