Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from all the fauns, dryads, dwarves and staff at Camp Narnia! We hope you have a wonderful holiday with family and friends and that the New Year brings adventure, wonder and joy.

Follow the link on the left-hand column to our winter newsletter, The Lamp-post, and we hope to see you this summer!

ANNOUNCING CAMP NARNIA 2012!!!

This summer set sail aboard the Dawn Treader and journey through the land of Narnia!

August 5th - 11th and 12th - 18th for campers ages 6-15

We are excited to announce two camp sessions in August 2012! We had such an amazing summer and can't wait to get back out there again: campfires, great friends, homesteading, archery, kayaking, beach adventures, candle making, our Narnian play, crepes-on-a-shovel, stargazing and so much more!

We will be back at Seven Springs near Parksville; a great central location with easy access for Mainland campers via the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay ferry route. Please email the camp office for more information at campnarnia@gmail.com

The adventure continues! Come and be a part of it!

Register by March 31st and take advantage of our Early Bird discount!

Camp Narnia has arrived!!!

We made it! A cavalcade of cards left Victoria on Tuesday and we've been working hard to get camp started for our official opening day tomorrow. We have an early bird group in tonight and just finished our inaugural Homesteading - boy do they smell smokey! Fresh-baked bread and so much yummy goodness!

Our location this year is beautiful and the staff have done wonders adding Narnian touches. Here are some pictures of what we've done so far.

See you soon by the glow of the lamp-post!

Counting down the days!

Only 13 more days until Camp Narnia opens once again!!!! It's not too late to register! We still have room in all 3 sessions. * Please note that there is no teen camp for the last session (Aug. 21-27)

Our off-season office will be closing as of August 2nd so we will not be receiving mail at that location. Please mail registrations to the following location (office of Seven Springs camp, our rental location)

Camp Narnia c/o Arbutus Meadows
1515 East Island Highway
Nanoose Bay, BC
V9P 9A3

Please make sure that you print off both a registration form and a medical form to mail in to us.

You can still contact us via campnarnia@gmail.com and our camp phone number at 250-661-3957

We are looking forward to an amazing month of August and hope to see you there!

It's registration time!

Updates from the Camp Narnia office! We have been getting many inquiries about camp and are pleased that the word is getting around about our much-anticipated re-opening. Don't forget to send in those registrations! We will be at our camp location as of August 2nd so get those registrations in by July 31st to ensure a spot for your child! We know the campers who have registered are in for amazing time and for all those of you thinking about Camp Narnia, come join the adventure!

Make this unique and much-loved camp part of your child's life!

Be a part of the adventure!

Summer is on its way! Register now for an amazing week!

What are people saying about Camp Narnia?

Years of camp at Narnia still pepper our conversations and sharing at home. It's part of our kids' childhoods. They have a love of humour, theatre and the outdoors that I know was nurtured at Narnia. Fun just for the joy of it. -Cathy

I truly thought it was magical. Amazing camp, amazing memories. Thanks to all those who touched the lives of so many children. - Tamara

Positive and fun! My children and their parents loved Narnia and still do! Wishing you lots of success! - Vickie

One of my favourite memories was during teen camp when we put on a banquet dinner. It was fantastic using the wood stove for cooking and then having a councilor and a camper play the fiddle and flute while we all danced jigs late in to the night. I hope you flourish so I can send my kids there in a few years! - Agust

It was such an important part of my childhood and teen years also my first job and I'm happy to know another generation can have that experience!! - Lisa


The word is spreading! Camp Narnia was featured in the North Shore News summer edition and we will be having advertising spots in several Vancouver Island papers and in the June edition of Island Parent. We will also be in the Victoria Day parade so if you're in Victoria on Monday the 23rd come and see if you can spot the Narnians. I hear the White Witch and even Aslan might make an appearance...

Be sure to sign up for Camp soon! We also still have a few places open in our Leaders in Progress (LIP) program for 16 and 17 year olds. Please email the camp for more information if you, or someone you know might be interested. we hope to see you this summer!

On the road to Camp Narnia!

With Spring Break either over or on its way out it's time to start thinking about summer and camp! Registrations are already coming in and we encourage you to send yours in soon as our space is limited this year. You have 3 sessions in August to choose from and they are all available to both children (ages 6 - 12) as well as teens (ages 13-15).




There are lots of local camping and B&B type accommodations in the Nanoose Bay/Parksville area for parents who want to have their own holiday while your children are at Camp. This site has many of suggestions:

http://www.visitparksvillequalicumbeach.com/

Please do not hesitate to contact Camp Narnia's office either via phone or email if you have any questions about Camp and what we can offer your child. We hope to see you this summer!

Camp is great for kids!

So why should you send your child to camp? How will camp benefit your child; how will it positively impact their life, build skills and help them grow? Every camp offers something different; there really is a camp for every child. There are over 700 summer camps in Canada not to mention the thousands of camps in the rest of the world!

If I were to chose aspects of camp that I believe to be most beneficial to kids it would be providing them with a place where they can truly be children, where they can explore and invent, where relationships are built, where they learn to live in community, where imagination is valued and where they create connections to and within the natural world.

If you want to learn more about why summer camp is such a valuable experience and how it will benefit your child I would suggest taking a look at the link below. Although the camps listed are, for the most part, in the East coast, there is a lot of valuable information about camps in general including the chart below. Do something wonderful for your child and send them to camp!

http://www.ourkids.net/camp/why-go-to-summer-camp.php

Camp Builds Skills for Life

Concrete Skill Development	Soft Skill Development
School, work and life skills problem solving, self-discipline, perseverance, goal setting and time management and team building	Gaining confidence and self-esteem
Leadership and personal growth learning to inspire and to work as part of a team, achievements at camp build self-esteem and confidence	Becoming more independent
Igniting future career interests an actor, an astronaut, an athlete, an astronomer	Internalizing morals and values
Specialty training mastering sailing, horseback riding, hockey, swimming, computer skills or debate transfer back to classroom work	Gaining better self-awareness
Learning to try new things Kids discover and explore new sports, crafts and challenges like high ropes or an adventure trek	Improving interpersonal and social skills
Learning through success and failure There are no grades at camp. Kids are encouraged in a supportive environment to test and master new skills and try again and again if they fail	Becoming a good community member and good citizen
Physical activity and increased strength kids are up and active and using their bodies as well as their minds	Taking responsibility for self and others

Narnia Through the Years

Presenting Narnia Through the Years! There were so many pictures to choose from thanks to one of our founders, Anton Voorhoeve, who over the years captured so well the spirit of Camp through his lens. Thank you Toon! I hope you all enjoy the trip down memory lane, looking to the past as we head off into the future. What a journey and so many people who have been a part of Camp Narnia!

Notes from the Wardrobe

Our first registrations have come in! Congratulations to Holly, the first camper registered for the much-anticipated re-opening of Camp Narnia! We are so excited and are looking forward to many more.

On another note, our Program Director, Sam Clinock, and myself just returned from the BC Camping Association's annual Camping Conference. I hadn't attended in 5 years and it was great to see both new and familiar faces and to see what has been happening in the BCCA and what plans lie ahead. The BCCA is an organization that promotes summer camps in BC and also provides the framework for the camp accreditation process. We are proud to be a member of both the BCCA and the CCA (Canadian Camping Association). As a result of attending we have set up a Camp Narnia Facebook page where we will be posting updates, articles of interests, etc... and where we invite you to keep in touch and see what's happening with Camp Narnia as we grow. We will be putting up a link to the Facebook page as we update our website but for now you can find us at

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Camp-Narnia/133695756696601

or by searching Camp Narnia once you're on Facebook.

See you in Narnia!

Your Camp Director,
Agnes

And we're off!

The response to the announcement of Camp Narnia's re-opening has been wonderful and I have enjoyed hearing all your camp memories! We are so excited to be planning Camp and look forward to an unforgettable summer.

We have an exciting announcement! Due to the overwhelming response we have decide to add Teen Camp sessions (ages 13-15) during the 3 August camps. Spaces will be limited so sign up soon! I will be uploading an up-dated registration form soon but for now simply please indicate your interest in Teen Camp on the form. We look forward to many familiar faces and to new campers as well -bring a friend!

We will also be running our Leaders In Progress program for 16-17 year olds. This is an excellent opportunity to help out with activities and Camp operations as well as to develop valuable leadership skills. If you enjoy working with children and are thinking about becoming a Camp Narnia counsellor in the future then this is the program for you! The cost is $175 which covers board as well Leadership Training. If you are interested in this please email me at campnarnia@gmail.com and let me know. I will be sending out application forms early March. Space is limited to 4 LIPs per session. We hope to see you at Narnia this summer!

We continue to work on our website and hope to have it up and running soon. For now if you need more information please email me at campnarnia@gmail.com.

Aslan is on the move! The adventure awaits!

Your Camp Director,
Agnes Bartle