Creating Campus Culture!!

Greetings uCampers,

Tiny here, I hope y’all have had an awesome school year so far and are ROCKING IT in your respective artistic fields. I know the actors at San Ramon Valley High School represented the uCamps family well in their Fall production of The Laramie Project. There must have been 7 or 8 uCampers in there, and Y’ALL STOLE THE SHOW!!! I was so proud.

This Fall has been CRAZY, but really GOOD. uCamps  launched our inaugural season of “Creating Campus Culture” (CCC) programs, and they were absolutely incredible. Many of you have been asking for details on the CCC program, so I thought I’d fill you in on all the action.

California High students doing their first ever 50-yard scream

Creating Campus Culture is a new type of uCamps program where we take an individual performing arts department on a weekend retreat. Students board a bus immediately after school ends on Friday, and return home on Sunday afternoon. During the three days and two nights, participants get a crash course on the uCamps ways; attending two campfires, a hoedown, four workshops, gaga ball, team-building games and activities, a creek hike, and all the best uCamps has to offer. At its core, CCC is about instilling our values of Acceptance and Appreciation of each other, the arts, and the outdoors into a school’s campus. We’re hoping to bring together and unify groups of students so that they can support each other throughout the school year.

Charlotte Wood students learning from their art teacher, Mr. Leveque

We hosted four different retreats this Fall, each beautiful and inspiring in their own unique way, and the Spring is filling up quickly. What’s cool is that the teachers get to pick the classes and activities they think their students will benefit from most. For example, California High School students learned “Can You Hear the People Sing?” from the musical Les Miserables in just two workshop sessions with Sushi! This was perfect practice for them since they will be doing a musical back on campus this Spring, so keep an eye out for that!

Benicia Middle School, Walnut Creek Intermediate, and Sequoia Middle School warming up for their character development workshop with Tiny

Best of all, the weekend brought together members of the Cal High Theater Department from all four grades. Since the students returned home, we’ve heard numerous stories about how the department was more unified, supportive, and functioned more as a family. That’s exactly what we were going for, and are so happy to have given those students such a positive experience.

Students gather for team-building games

If you think your theater, dance, band, choir, or visual arts program would benefit from a Creating Campus Culture retreat, please put us in touch with your instructor. A simple introduction may lead to the best weekend of your school year!

Students from Centerville Junior High School joined neighboring Washington High School students for Halloween Weekend.

This also means that hundreds of new campers have been introduced to the uCamps family, and as a result Winter Camp is filling up faster than ever! There are only a few spots remaining, and at this rate we will be SOLD OUT BEFORE DECEMBER!!! If you plan to attend, lock down your reservation and register today online at www.ucamps.org

We hope to hear from you all! Let us know on Facbook or Twitter when you have upcoming shows or events that you want us to attend. And check out our Instagram and Pinterest to see awesome pictures and videos of your camp friends and maybe even U! Go share the good!

Take Care,

Tiny