Spring Staff Training

The new staff has arrived for the spring, and we've just finished our first week of staff training. We have a few new faces, as well as some returning friends. 

Tim Oprzadek, who worked at Poko last fall, has returned for the spring season after spending the winter working at Bolton Valley ski resort is Vermont. Tim worked on the snow-making crew at Bolton, and

 he's been threatening to hook the air compressor up to a garden hose to make snow at Poko. Given that we've finally started seeing signs of spring, the rest of us would rather he not put his snow-making skills to use. But threats of snow aside, we're all happy to see Tim back again. 

Ginny Tice has joined the staff this spring as our intern. Ginny is taking a term off from her studies at University of California San Diego, where she's studying Ecology, Earth Science, and Computer Science. Ginny has done an admirable job of dealing with the weirdness of the rest of the staff, and has reassured us that the first week wasn't enough to make her want to run away screaming. (She's braver than most.) We've all been enjoying the fact that Ginny has many of the same interests as others on staff--she's into botanical stuff and computers, so most of us have found something to geek out with her about. She has even passed an important initiation rite--a mere 5 days after ice-out on Long Pond, Ginny joined some of the braver (or crazier, depending on your point of view) members of staff for the first swim of the year in Long Pond! It was a very short swim, but everyone survived. Here are some before, during, and after photos:

         

We also have a new chef this season. Mike Gast has worked as the chef at summer camp for years, so we know he can handle cooking for crowds, and he's already completely won over the outdoor ed staff by making us all sorts of treats. (A few nights ago we came back from a night-hike on Bare Mountain to find warm chocolate chip cookies!)

Our new director, Stites McDaniel, has not officially started work yet, but he has been joining us for dinner most nights and then participating in our evening training sessions. We have enjoyed having him with us when he can be there, and can't wait until he officially starts!

Staff Training is always a busy time, and this spring has been no exception. We've hiked three of the four Poko-Patch Mountains, reviewed our most common classes, done a lot of group bonding, and managed to have quite a bit of fun. Next week we'll get training-in-action when we host our first-ever Spring Break Camp, where Ginny and Stites will get a chance to see what Poko is like with 30+ kids around.