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Showing posts from September, 2016

Review: August/September Holiday Camps

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Splash Birthday week: 28 August - 4 September   Sugar Bay splashed into September as we celebrated our fifteenth birthday with a brand new edition to the family – three wonderful waterslides!    Our Splash Birthday themed holiday camp was definitely the highlight of the August/September holidays this year. Our campers had a ball preparing camp’s birthday celebration with us, as they were even involved in the cake-making and decorating for the grand party. We celebrated in style on the last day of camp with our camp directors, staff, and campers. Our directors also had the opportunity to initiate the waterslides by experiencing the adrenaline rush for the first time ever!    We really took every opportunity to go all out with our Splash theme.  We played “Splashing the Cash”, and got messy “splashing with paint” and even had a “Splashy Fen Party” at uShaka Marine World’s Wet n Wild Water Park during our excursion. Sugar Bay’s fifteenth birthday and the super wat

The importance of technology free holidays

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  These days, it's easy to find yourself on a family holiday where everyone is constantly on their smartphones and tablets, playing on their gaming consoles or engrossed in television. Although the holiday season is meant for connecting and spending quality time with friends and family; technology has made it easy for us to become disconnected from our loved ones and disconnected from a true sense of what it means to relax. Here are 5 reasons why you should unplug during your next vacation: 1. Your brain deserves a break Technology has many of us staring at computer screens all week, and as if that’s not enough, we get home and gawk at our televisions and cellphone screens. This is very stressful for the brain. A great way to relax your mind is to unplug from the bright screens that don’t naturally rise and set and allow us to rest. 2. You will feel less stressed and less negative The immediate need to check and respond to cellphone

5 Ways We Reclaim Communication at Camp

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In a world where our lives are posted online on an hourly basis, it’s so hard for people to accept being disconnected… not from each other that is… I’m talking about being disconnected from the internet that technology carries. Whereas in our daily lives we forget about the importance of direct communication, here at Sugar Bay camp, this is what we stand by. Here are 5 ways we reclaim communication at Camp: 1. No Technology: By removing cell phones, tablets, television and internet from our campers’ disposal, we instantly get rid of the whole “communication via” and our campers are forced to communicate face-to-face. 2. Ice-Breakers: On the first night of camp, we compose a great deal of ice-breakers to allow the kids to get to know one another and communicate for the first time through participating in fun and interesting games. 3. Team-Building Activities: Working together as a team is all about trust and ultimately teaches campe

Why send your child to Sleepover Camp?

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Being a parent is a wonderful gift, experiencing all the milestones with your child is, of course, one of the greatest highlights. Their first word, their first step, their first sleepover… Their first sleepover? That's a good question.    How many parents have actually been keen on sending their kids for a sleepover without the paranoia of their child needing their parent and the parent being absent? What is the correct age to send your kids for a sleepover? Well, that's where a wonderful camp for children and teens between the ages of 7 and 17 came along! This camp is called Sugar Bay! We at Sugar Bay have loving and caring counsellors to give your child individual undivided attention just as you do, and to show your children that they have someone to trust when mum and dad are not around as well as to support and teach them to build confidence in themselves whilst being independent. Here are 5 Reasons why you should send your child to a Sleepover Camp:   

How to improve your child's fitness

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  Recent statistics show a rapid increase in overweight children - a reminder for parents to prioritise fit and healthy lifestyles. One of the contributing reasons is the excessive amount of time children spend in front of the television, and the unhealthy junkfood consumed while watching TV.    Since children are kept busy with homework and extracurricular activities during the school term; it's a better idea for parents to consider ways in which fitness can be promoted during the school holidays - when kids often have no choice but to resort to technology for entertainment. Holiday camps are an excellent option. Fitness and outdoor activities are often a priority at holidays camps like Sugar Bay. Unlike boot camp, which implements a very direct and strict approach to fitness, Sugar Bay integrates fitness and promotes a healthy lifestyle in fun and creative ways through everyday activities at camp.    Here are 6 ways which Sugar Bay holiday camp promotes a healthier

Sugar Bay's CIT Course/Gap Year Program

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  Taking a “gap year” has become a popular term among high school graduates. A “gap year” is an extended study leave before a student begins tertiary education, and is intended to give students more time to figure out what career/ degree they would like to pursue. Many school leavers have decided to work as a camp counselor at Sugar Bay during their gap year to reap the benefits that come with the job. Camp counselors have the opportunity to earn an income without sitting in an office all day. This job appeals to many young adults, because of the casual and fun working environment, as well as the travel opportunities it opens up to work at international summer camps.      Besides supervising & mentoring children, the job requires counselors to be playful, social, active and enjoy the beach & outdoors. Further perks include accommodation, food and the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Students who are between 18 and 28 years old, may appl

Nature Education at Camp

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Camp programs are among the very best ways for children to obtain an important appreciation for nature and a lifelong interest in caring for the earth. An example of such camp programs can be found at Sugar Bay Holiday Camp, which is passionate about nature education, and where environmental preservation is a priority.    The camp integrates nature education into a variety of programs, some of which include:    Interactive Shark Presentation  On the itinerary of many school tours, is the much anticipated “Shark Talk” delivered by one of the camp directors, Zoe Ellender. Ellender is very passionate about these marine species, which is evident in this gripping presentation.    The purpose of this interactive workshop about sharks is to teach children that sharks really aren’t the “monsters” that they are perceived to be. Rather, Ellender wants children to learn that sharks are indeed beautiful creatures which are threatened by extinction. A claim which she supports