WeHaKee World

Hi Everyone, its me Franky with our next round of 2013 WeHaKee Staff introductions. So let's go ahead and introduce you to several more members of our staff team, shall we!!

Theresa Zettel

Originally from the St. Paul, Minnesota suburb of Vadnais Heights, Theresa has been a long time member of our WeHaKee Camp for Girls staff.   She recently graduated from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota last May and spent the past year as a kindergarten teacher.   Theresa returns this summer for her second year as our Waterfront Director!

Hi Everyone, its me Franky with our first round of 2013 WeHaKee Staff introductions.   You already met our Directors and Assistant Director, so today I want to introduce you to several members of our staff team.   So let's begin, shall we!!

April Coogan

A veteran WeHaKee staff member, April joins us for her third year this summer.  April comes to us all the way from Karana Downs, Australia.  

"I have backpacked around europe for over 3 months, I have a slight addiction to youtube, and my laugh is pretty distinct & can be heard a mile away!"  

With her wild creativity and her fun-loving enthusiasm, April is stepping up to be our Program Coordinator this summer.  We are thrilled that April is returning and can't wait to see what amazing & unique ideas she has for us to make WeHaKee even more fun and crazy!   Make sure you ask her about her unique collection of jumpers!

ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND AT WEHAKEE!

Saturday, August 3rd and Sunday, August 4th at Camp WeHaKee in Winter, Wisconsin. Come enjoy WeHaKee activities, meet old camp friends, and celebrate all that WeHaKee has to offer! $25/person includes all meals and cabin accommodations. Register HERE for the weekend at WeHaKee!

Hi Everyone ~ it's me, Franky!   This is an encore presentation of a post I first shared last February.   Though you might enjoy another chance to see what I had to share about relationships.   You know... At the Heart of WeHaKee is Relationship!

During my first summer at WeHaKee, I really enjoyed watching how the girls made friends.  It seemed like the WeHaKee environment was a place where girls felt at ease stepping beyond their comfort level to meet and make new friends.   Some even told me that it is much easier making friends at camp than it is at school or in their neighborhood.   I started to wonder why that was?

Now that I am housebroken, I am able to read the New York Times and Boston Globe and other respected publications!   One day as I was perusing the Times, I spotted a report that some educators around the country, in a response to bullying and exclusive behavior, were discouraging their students from developing close relationships with other students.   What?   Really??   I just can't understand how limiting relationships will really help these students!

WeHaKee Camp for Girls prides itself on a 90 year history of safe and fulfilling experiences for all of girls.  In fact it was safety that was the primary motivating factor for moving WeHaKee from its location along Lake Michigan to the tranquil shores of Hunter Lake in the 1960's.   The rapidly changing waters of Lake's Michigan's Green Bay could often produce challenging safety issues for swimmers and boaters.   Moving to an inland lake in northwest Wisconsin reduced those challenges significantly!

Safety at WeHaKee is constantly being reviewed and updated to ensure a safe and secure setting for the members of the WeHaKee community.   As you can note from this 1962 photo above, our canoists are not wearing PFD's (personal flotation devices).   Although this was the safety norm at the time, it can be a bit shocking to see what would be considered a serious safety error today!

Recess is much more than a break between classes or subjects at the elementary level.   And now the American Academy of Pediatrics has an official stance advocating that recess remain or be reinstated in our schools.   Thos of us in the camping world who constantly see the endless benefits of an outside physical experience could not agree more!

Recess has rapidly disappeared from the scheduling of many of our elementary schools for a variety of reason - security concerns, bullying events, equipment safety questions - but primarily to free up more time for academic classroom work and perhaps test preparation under the pressures of the No Child Left Behind protocol.   Many of us in the youth development arean of camping have suggested that the No Child Left Behind elements have really translated into a no child allowed outside mentality.

Hi Everyone! It's me Franky once again sharing my words of wit with you this fabulous Friday!   I want to continue on the theme I started last week and that is the importance of play in our lives. Sadly, as many of you may know, play is not getting its due in our schools or in our homes.   Too often it is not considered as important as such intellectual pursuits of studying, practicing or rehearsing, yet people are discovering that play is extremely critical to healthy physical, social, emotional and yes, even intellectual development in children and youth (and I would ponder that it is probably pretty darn important for adults to engage in frequent play for their health as well!).

This is an encore presentation of a post that originally debuted in November, 2012.   Please enjoy and share if you like it!

This week we are shedding our standard format of comparing and contrasting our history and choosing to explore 90 Years of WeHaKee from a different perspective. Our topic is faith and spirituality, something that has been an unwavering constant at WeHaKee since it started nine decades ago!

Nearly all camp experiences have a spiritual element... sometimes the experience itself is an inwardly looking & spiritual.   As a camp owned and operated by the Dominicans of Sinsinawa (a Catholic order of Sisters), WeHaKee Camp for Girls has always been a place of faith and spirituality open to ALL girls, regardless if they consider themselves Catholic or not. And the Sisters have insisted upon this since the day they founded WeHaKee in 1923!