| RULES
AND POLICIES FOR STAFF
Job
Requirements for a Staff Members
| Spiritual |
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You
need to be chatting with God, listening to God and reading the
book that God wrote to you (Bible). You also need to be able
to share “God” with your campers in a way that they
will understand. As always, you need to be open to learning
from God anywhere, anytime.
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| Physical |
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Not
only do you need to be able to stand the noise, stress and energy
levels of camp, you will need to join it or control it (whichever
is necessary). You also need to get proper rest for yourself
and (if in a cabin) ensure that your campers get it too. Those
of you who are not on the front lines with the campers need
to recognize that your work has its own physical aspect whether
it be carting program equipment, mowing lawns, cooking, or using
your mental power to handle the office. Camp is physically tiring;
rest is key.
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| Emotional |
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You
need to be emotionally mature – this means patience.
Patience is as much about waiting as it is about your attitude
while you wait. So if you are hungry, lunch is late, and your
frustration is building, try this:
- Stop
- Find a quite place and pray. Ask for God to take hold
of your aggravation.
- Drop
- Drop what you’re doing and go play with
the campers or some fellow staff. A change of pace might
be exactly what you need. Better to save your work till
you have a refreshed feeling. You’ll be able to accomplish
more.
- Roll
- Get that ballpoint pen out and start rollin’. Write
an encouraging letter to someone. Just think that if every
time we got flustered, we habitually made a point to “do
unto others”, we would find that God bless our heart
more then we could dream.
If
you are a Cabin Leader, remember to show no favouritism to
campers and to always put campers’ needs ahead of your
own. If you are a non cabin staff, putting others’ needs
if front of your own will be a daily opportunity as well.
Try doing what some asks of you before you get to the work
you have planed for that day. I wonder what would happen?
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| Social |
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ENJOY
CAMP! Hang out and enjoy being with campers. Spend time with
your fellow staff (you know what’s appropriate).
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| Attitudes |
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Look
for the bright side. Love your work (all of it) and be loyal
to the camp’s purpose (mission – Pursues Excellence
in Christ-Centred Camping That Changes Lives), the director
and the other camp staff.
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| Skills |
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Always
be ready to learn something new. In fact, look for new things
to learn and to teach. Love the outdoors and have enthusiasm. |
Curfew
Why?
Because if you don’t get your sleep, you will not be able
to give 100% to the campers the next day. It doesn’t matter
if you’re on maintenance or kitchen duty or a cabin leader,
curfews are important for your health. Tired people get sick and
sick people can’t work at camp. Tired people are not alert
people and people who are not alert cannot be trusted with the safety
of campers at camp or the use of camp machinery/tools or appliances.
Your sleep is critical to your ministry here.
Time
Off
Some
who work at camp will work until they cannot work any longer and
others will work only when necessary. Neither one is
good or useful in God’s work. Even Jesus took
a break once in a while. When He worked doing ministry and helping
people, He worked hard and gave everything He had. When He took
a break, He got away completely and spent time with God, His pillow
and His friends.
Since
Jesus is the supreme example we should take a look at how He coped
with ministering to people and how He kept Himself from getting
overtired and burnt out.
When
Jesus took a break He:
- Got
completely away from everything
- He
spent time with His Father
- He
spent time with His pillow and caught a few Z’s
- He
spent time with His friends (disciples)
The
order of these things is as important as the things themselves.
We all need to get away and then spend time God. We got to spend
time with God because it is the most important. If you
don’t spend time with God, you won’t know Him and how
will you be able to tell your campers about a guy you don’t
know or spend time with? After that, rest is most
important for our bodies. Bodies that don’t rest don’t
do ministry well.
Finally,
our minds need some good ol’ friendship and fun! This is a
great stress buster. To do these in the wrong order may mean that
we run out of time before we get to the most important stuff. Missing
out on any of these is when we get burnt out or overtired; and we
stop being what God trusts us to be for our campers.
Nutrition
Don’t
think that you are too busy to eat at camp or you will find that
you have a lot of time on your hands while you are sick in bed.
Nutrition is critical to working at camp. Camp is an energy eater
and if you don’t feed your body well, you won’t be able
to supply your body with the energy it needs to run, play, be in
a cabin, listen and teach all day long.
What
makes good nutrition? Well at camp, you don’t have to do much
work. The cook will provide everything that you need to be healthy
at camp . . . providing that you eat what he/she cooks. Two desserts
and no main course is not the way to go. The best thing to do is
to eat a balance, which means some
of everything at a meal. Enjoy eating, but don’t over-eat
or under-eat because either way you will be tired and unable to
work well.
If
you have food allergies or don’t like a certain food, don’t
worry because there is likely enough variety that you will get what
you need for nutrition. If your allergies are severe, you are extremely
picky or are a vegetarian; you will need to make sure you know a
good deal about staying healthy in a high energy job. You may need
to bring some food supplements or snacks that are healthy energy
foods and that will replace nutrients that you may otherwise miss
at camp.
Rooms
A
Few things:
- Guys
in guy rooms and girls in girl rooms.
- Other
people that may share your space at times during the summer. Respect
them and they will respect you.
- This
is Camp and we want to treat our facility as God would have us.
So Tulakadik staff are asked and required to keep a clean and
tidy living area. Room check will happen sporadically through
out the summer and report will be made to the executive director
after each check.
Music
ENJOY!
Christian music only, please!
NO
MUSIC IN THE CABINS. Time spent listening to music in the
cabin is time not spent listening to your campers in the cabin.
Please
be careful of any other media forms you bring to the camp.
Dating
Camp
is a great place to meet “on fire” Christian boyfriends
and girlfriends. Sometimes staff even meet the person that they
want to marry. But remember what you came to camp for (hint –
the campers)! If a relationship should spark, keep the fire down,
no public display of affection (PDAs). Campers should not know that
there is a relationship going on. If the relationship overtakes
one of you, hold off until the camping season is over. You should
not want to jeopardize the ministry that God has called you to.
If it does become a problem, then perhaps one of you will have to
be asked to leave, either for a period of time or the duration of
the summer.
Staff
Meetings
Staff
meeting will be held every day. They are a MUST for all.
It is encouragement and information for the day. These are important
meetings and they are intended for you, so you need to be there.
Phone
The
only people that will be answering the phone are the Executive Director,
the Assistant Director and the Office Manager - any more that these
individuals and messages, etc., tend to get lost. If there are any
immediate calls that need to get to a staff person or a camper that
will occur ASAP.
The
office is not a place to congregate around the phone, nor is the
kitchen. Both are camp lines that may have something important coming
through on them, so they need to be clear. The phone is not to be
used after curfew except in case of a fire or accident. If you really,
really need to use the camp phone for any reason, PLEASE ASK PERMISSION.
This is also the case of the internet and the fax line.
Supplies
and Activity During Time Off
Camp
supplies for sessions are for campers only. If you use it without
permission, there may not be enough for campers. You MUST ask permission
from a senior staff member first.
Laundry
Do
your laundry and your laundry only. Camp kitchen laundry and camper
sleeping bags, etc. are first priority. Please follow the schedule
posted in the laundry room according to your room, as to when you
are to do your laundry. Please respect each others belongings at
all times. Laundry is also not to be done after curfew. If at all
possible please take your dirty laundry home with you on your weekend.
Wash only your essentials at camp.
Physical
Appearance
Staff
are required to maintain a reasonable and professional appearance
that will not be threatening to the campers or parents that visit
our site. This can tend to be a gray area in terms of defining actual
parameters, however we simply use the guideline that our staff should
appear neat and tidy, and abstain from provocative apparel while
serving at the camp.
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