What kind of OD are you?

[who_stole_my_loofa]

Ok so I'm relaly slow and still can't quite figure out how to build a poll..... that's ok haha.

So my question is: What kind of OD are you?

A. Don't mess with me- Lights are out at exactly 9:30, no horsing around, everyone in their own beds, 5 minutes of flashlight time to get situated and no talking! If the kids start talking I will go in their cabin and sit in a chair waiting until they go to sleep. They better not even think about listening to their ipods or doing string! Lights out means go to sleep!

B. I'm not strict, but I follow the rules- The lights definitely need to be off by 9:30 but flashlight time is totally ok as long as they don't abuse it! They can have some time to talk, but by the time I make my first round they should be starting to fall asleep. I won't be happy if the lights go on or I hear lots of noise, the kids need to get their rest or they will be worn out tomorrow, and I don't want to be responsible for that. If one of the kids come out complaining that the cabin is loud- everyone needs to turn off their flashlights and stop talking.

C. I'm pretty easy going- The lights should go off early as possible, but I understand if they're still brushing their teeth. As long as they aren't screaming they can still talk and get on eachothers beds. They can have as much flashlight time as they want. I don't care if they play I never or read to eachother- camp is about making connections and I remember that some of the best connections were made when the counselors were gone and we were supposed to be asleep. I like to go in the cabins and chat with the kids and sometimes I secretly hope they will come outside and play cards even though it's almost 11.

D. Dude I just don't care- Whoa.. we have lightswitches? Bedtime? That's lame- this is camp! Last time I checked the cabin there were 14 kids, but now there are only 10, oops. Hey look- here comes my boyfriend!





I am definitely C, a lot of the other counselors are so uptight when they are OD because they don't get to go out that night so they take it out on the kids. But OD can be as long as 4 hours- if you make the kids suffer they will make you suffer. Some kids just aren't ready to fall asleep at 9:30 and if they want some entertainment for a little while I think that's fine. I love chatting with the girls in the other cabins cause I don't have much of a chance to get to know them if they aren't in mine. I always sing the OD song cause the kids think it's funny. If I am nice to them they are nice to me and they will feel comfortable coming outside if they are homesick or had a bad dream. I don't think I break any rules- I just see everything from a former camper's perspective.

Loofa

[camper]

i'm in between a B and a C, making up my own option lol. its a little different at my camp b/c the counselor who is in has to be IN the bunk, not outside, so we're right there and we do stuff w/the kids anyway. it's a pretty enforced rule all throughout my camp that the lights go out at taps in the front room, for everyone except the seniors (9th and 10th graders) b/c the head OD who is a grouphead who sits in HQ until 1 AM, comes and checks it. i will leave the back light on for them (as will most counselors) so they can go in the back and play jax or cards or talk or whatever, and they can also have flashlights on as long as they want as long as they're not too loud or fighting or anything. kids need to feel comfortable staying awake if that's how they need to wind down to go to bed, so i'll talk to the kids until they're all asleep really. before they all go to bed i also make sure to talk to each girl, that's the time where they most like to talk about anything that bothered them that day. if they want me to i'll read to them and of course i'll play games w/them. if they want to be on each others' beds thats fine, as long as the person whose bed it is doesn't care, lol.

[collissimon]

If I'm being honest, I think I'm an A!

Having said that though, I think my whole Unit is an A, because the kids are usually knackered by the end of the day anyway, and because they're the youngest anyway, if they don't get their sleep they will be pretty cranky the next day, which I don't really want to have to deal with! :D

I think there has been more of an issue at my cabin with the kids getting up before the wake up music, they start playing Game Boys and making a racket, so we have a no noise rule, because counsellors all need their beauty sleep too!

[Flukie]

I'm a B when I'm in the units - and with tents, you seriously can hear all the noise. :) It also depends on the age - I totally expect my 7th graders and up to be responsible for themselves and understand that if others want to sleep, they need to let them. The younger ones, I'll go in, help them settle down, sing them a song or tell them a story... It totally depends though! We sang the Advanced Sailors and CITs to sleep one night because we were still hanging out around the campfire. Lol.

[KiwiCRB]

I'm a B until they start to abuse the privelage. They can talk but have to be on their own beds and flashlights can't be annoying anyone. Once i can hear cleary what they're saying when it's way past time to go to bed and they've been asked multiple times to stop talking i can be an A for a night or so just to prove my point. After a night like that the problems usually stop!

[audur]

I'm probably a B. We don't have electricity in the units, so flashlights are all the lights we have at night. It really depends on the age of my campers how I handle things... if they're grade 7/8 or older, I usually don't care if they keep their flashlights on as long as they want. They need to be quiet, though, and respect that the other girls in the group may want to go to sleep - and there's usually another group in the unit, and a lot of the time it'll be younger girls, who need to go to sleep earlier. So they can read a book, or whisper very quietly... something like that, but they need to stay in their beds. Usually they're ready to go to sleep around 10 though, cause they're just exhausted after the day. I usually sing to my older campers, cause they really like it, and it's also a nice way to tell them "It's bedtime now, so consider going to bed soon - I know I'm going to go start getting ready for bed..."

If I have younger girls, it's usually flashlight time for about half an hour or so (somewhere between 9 and 10, depending on what we've been doing that night). They do need to stay in their beds during that time, and they're not supposed to be loud. So quiet talking, reading, making lanyards, writing in a journal... stuff like that, they can do. Then I usually go say goodnight to them all individually, ask them to turn their flashlights off, and sing them a song or read them a story, and after that I don't want to hear any talking at all. I don't feel like I'm very strict about it, though... kids just need their sleep, and since you can hear very clearly from cabin to cabin, if two kids stay up talking, the whole unit will be kept up.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I would have to say when I was a counselor I was a C. Now that I am a director It would be between an B-A. I have gotten to many phone call from parents about how their child could not sleep at night. Parents ask where was the counselor!

[speedx5xracer]

i'm in between a B and a C, making up my own option lol. its a little different at my camp b/c the counselor who is in has to be IN the bunk, not outside, so we're right there and we do stuff w/the kids anyway. it's a pretty enforced rule all throughout my camp that the lights go out at taps in the front room, for everyone except the seniors (9th and 10th graders) b/c the head OD who is a grouphead who sits in HQ until 1 AM, comes and checks it. i will leave the back light on for them (as will most counselors) so they can go in the back and play jax or cards or talk or whatever, and they can also have flashlights on as long as they want as long as they're not too loud or fighting or anything. kids need to feel comfortable staying awake if that's how they need to wind down to go to bed, so i'll talk to the kids until they're all asleep really. before they all go to bed i also make sure to talk to each girl, that's the time where they most like to talk about anything that bothered them that day. if they want me to i'll read to them and of course i'll play games w/them. if they want to be on each others' beds thats fine, as long as the person whose bed it is doesn't care, lol.


Basically im in the same boat as camper for this one. except form the male point of view. I can be verry strict if i need to but usually im relaxed just as long as the rules are followed.

[rockinsmiles]

Gotta ask..what the hell is a OD?

[CAMPFRIEND]

It depends on the camp. For us an OD was the person who walked around camp when staff were out of the cabins during their time off. They would walk from cabin to cabin to make sure the campers we not getting in trouble and going to sleep. Some camps might be different!

[collissimon]

It means you are 'On Duty': you are responsible for the campers in your cabin whilst they go to sleep. At my camp, after they are (semi) settled, usually about 9.30-10pm, the one person who is on OD sits outside and reads a book/chats quietly to people around, only going in if necessary to calm the campers down. They are relieved by, or before 1am when the curfew is in place. We usually get in before then though!

[rockinsmiles]

Ohhhhh ok now it all makes sense! :) we dont have them. We are with our campers all but for 1 and half hours a day. And then rather are co-counselor or one of the other staff from are cabin are with the campers in our group.

[EchoLaker]

Some happy medium between B and C dependant on previous experience with a particular cabin, reports from the cabin staff on how they've been that day, and how they behave during the first half hour of the OD shift.

We have canteen from 9 PM - 9.50 PM, so maybe there's still a little bit of energy, and even caffine in there, which would make it inpractical to expect our campers to be soundly quiet by 10 PM on staff transition.

I am pretty easy going, for the first 30-45 minutes, they might use the time to play some music (reasonable level), listen to some sports commentary, or play a game.

I also tend to use this period (as opposed to person A), to allow the campers the opportunity to come and talk to me with any problems, either than day, or since I was last on OD with them - person A having them straight to bed would forego this important chance.

Maybe for 30-45 minutes, a time to wind things gradually down, brush teeth, certainly by 11 PM down to flashlights, and then provided it doesn't get out of hand, then all lights by 12 Midnight before the staff sign-in at 1 AM at the latest.

We have OD report sheets, this allows us to report any issues relating to any incidents that night, but also write down anything our campers bring to us as concerns. On the reverse of the sheet, there's also a Staff check up sheet, which gives us an opportunity to report how we're doing personally; what our favourite moments were of the past week, and to write down anything concerning us as a staff member or a group of staff.

[speedx5xracer]

Our old style was 2 or 3 staff per area (areas are usually one division except for the younger 2 boys divisions were withing the same 10 bunks so it was combined). And they would sit til every bunk was covered. Our new style is 1 person on IN each bunk.

[CAMPFRIEND]

Speed - I think that a lot of camps our making a change like that, where a counselor must be in the bunk at all times. Too many things happening at night between campers!

[camper]

at our camp we have the head OD, who is a grouphead who is basically in charge of the camp from taps until about 1 AM when the counselors who are out have to check in for curfew, and the head OD checks them all in. the head OD rotates through all of the groupheads, they all have it once a week.

in addition, there is at least one counselor IN each bunk at night. not on the porch, or anywhere outside, if they're in they have to be inside the bunk until at all of the kids are sleeping, at which point they can go to sleep or if they have younger kids who are sleeping somewhat early, the counselors in the bungalow who are in are allowed to sit on the porch and talk quietly.

the nights in and out also alternate, everyone has 3 in and 3 out a week and saturdays rotate.

[Flukie]

We have two staff on Taps in each unit every night. The other two staff can be scheduled for off Taps - they must be in camp, but they don't have to be in their unit. If you are on, you need to be in the designated area after you bed down your kids - generally, it is in the unit house or the centralized location in the unit if you don't have a unit house (two units have a shared pavilion and one units is too far away).

[ocean]

I am between A and B.

what does OD stand for though?

[EchoLaker]

I am between A and B.

what does OD stand for though?

On Duty.

[rockinsmiles]

Ok even though we dont have a OD i guess as a counselor in the cabin im another person in between b and c...i do think with younger campers it helps to enfource bed times more often and i will tell them to be quiet if they are keeping me from sleeping or other campers! however i dont give them flash light time. i tell them that the universe is outside and it is much prettier than the flying lights of the flashlights.

[Skater Bubbles]

I am pretty much a C when I am on duty, I actually never really understood why we had OD until I had a way scary situation happen in a cabin once and me and my OD partner had to fix it.

[EchoLaker]

Our OD runs similar to that of 'campers'.

We have a Head OD on each village who'll be based where we have to sign in at the end of the shift.

During Canteen we see our Head OD, and we're given our cabin allocations for that shift.

We relief the cabin staff at close to 10 PM, they can't go for their evening until they're relieved by the OD on shift.

We're told to make ourself known to the kids in the cabins, spend sometime asking about their day, remind them of how I'll being doing things, and for the first hour I'll rotate between each cabin every 10 minutes.

After we go down to flashlight time we take a comfy chair, and sit in a position such that we can see each bunk that we're covering - at around 11.30 the Head OD will bring round a soda, bag of chips and some cookies.

We are relieved when there is at least one member of cabin staff signed in to each of the bunks on our shift - at this point we take our OD Report Sheet to the Head OD, sign ourselves in, and kip down for the night, knowing that the next full OD won't be until the next week.

The last two days of camp we have an OD lottery, the ones you totally don't want to be drawn out for - Head OD is drawn for each camp, and then the 7 or 8 unfortunate staff from each who are to be on shift. The good thing is once you've been drawn out for one of the two shifts, you can't be drawn out for the second. It also tends to be a time at which you get offered money upto around $30-$60 to cover their OD.

Every Friday, we have rotating OD, because of the fact it's an ON night, and each Friday we have arranged onsite staff activities following the all-staff meeting.
So on a Friday you do about 30 minutes worth of OD and then can get back to whatever Dodgeball, Climbing Wall, Zip Line, Basketball tournament we were playing.

There are two nights every season where the LITs are on OD for the shift - staff Ice-Skate night, and Staff Bowling night - they tend to be relieved to see us when we get back !

[camper]

i really like that idea of having staff events one night a week. i'm going to bring it up b/c as much as like going out, its nice to have some times where there's no pressure of finding rides, how to get back to camp, etc.

[EchoLaker]

i really like that idea of having staff events one night a week. i'm going to bring it up b/c as much as like going out, its nice to have some times where there's no pressure of finding rides, how to get back to camp, etc.


I think its a great thing. We take the energy and motivational speeches from our staff meeting and go and have a great evening - having 30 minutes OD is no problem - especially if you get 12.30 - 1 AM !! (On these nights the GLs choose the rotation order).

It's useful also to allow anyone who many find themselves feeling slightly excluded to have a great night, with the staff. Integration of all the little social groups that tend to form over the season.

Although to some it's a drag not being able to get out of camp; for others it's nice like you said not to have to worry about finding rides, or even having to bother about counting the cash.

[who_stole_my_loofa]

The only reason we have staff programs is because we're not allowed to leave camp on Friday nights (because of Shabbat).

[collissimon]

We had staff events four times a week last summer. I think the Directors don't want to tell people they can't go to the bar in town, but at the same time, they don't want to encourage them either!

We had 'SummitBucks', where they opened the canteen for two kinds of coffee, and a pie from the local diner.
We also had staff swims, soccer tournaments, a trip to the bowling alley and 'fun and games', staff trivia nights, staff movies, and staff clubs, which is a lot of the crafty things opened up to staff at night. It worked quite well, if you weren't too tired to go!

[rockinsmiles]

We started having camp activities towards the middle of the summer. After the campers went home on Friday we would clean, have our staff meeting, and then unless you had a good reason all the staff would have some sort of competition. The director and owner divided us up by teams (so there was the owner's team and the director's team) and we would play some sort of "game" they thought up. It normally didn't last more than an hour and it could be quite fun but also nerve racking when there were things you would rather be doing. We also had an oppitional canoe trip and a trip to an arcade type place.

[rockinsmiles]

Correction ment staff not camp!

[martha27]

pretty similar to camper's and echolakers' OD. regular counselors are on a quad(there are 4 quads, so you are on OD 1 in 4 nights) and get assigned to one or two bunks for the evening. all the other counselors can go out from 9pm and then come back and relieve their OD before curfue at 12.55am. everybody is signed in and things are looked after by the head OD and the assistant OD(these guys are only on once a week). so it's all fair and everybody gets a chance to get out of camp if they want to. works great
as for what kind of OD i was. certain bunks i was a B and other bunks i was a C. depended on my past experience with them, behaviour and whatnot

[campCardinal]

I can be an A,B,or C depending on the night and the group of campers. I'm most often a B though. I follow the rules and whatnot, but I'm not completely a stickler for them. I try to have lights out and kids close to being asleep by 10:30. We don't have a specific lights out time- it depends on when evening program ends. I hate when my girls decide to shower at night because it takes so long for them... and most of them get up and go swimming before breakfast... but I'm not going to tell someone they can't shower either. I have the 6-9 year olds. We have a lot of games to get them in bed, tooth brush parties, story time if you're ready in time, and we count down from 10 to get the "comfy factor" as high as possible. Usually once lights are out lights are out. Counselors will sing usually 10-20 songs to the girls until they're mostly asleep. Then we leave the bunk and the OD staff takes over. The OD staff sits outside on the porch and just goes in if there is any noise. If they need a cabin counselor they can get us quite easily.

[Fallen]

Between B and C depending on my mood, the campers and anything else that is going on. At the camps I worked at everyone was on duty during the time the campers were getting ready for bed. We would do our nighttime bathroom stuff once the campers were done and quite

[Indigo]

I'm somewhere between B and C. I'd like to have a relatively strict routine, but it just isn't feasible with my group. Normally I like getting to bed fairly early, but I have one of the oldest groups on camp, and they spend a few hours riding every night after dinner, and after that we have WIT Love (vespers-ish), then I send them off to take showers and go to bed, unless for some reason we have to do some emergency cleaning... So usually, the lights go out between 10:45 and 11. And we get up between 6:30 and 8, depending on which group has early morning corral, and which breakfast the other group is going to...