Thank you – BE A GIFT!

Thank you for a WONDERFUL and AMAZING summer!
We loved having all of our campers, parents, staff and leadership team join us this summer. We hope your camp memories will last a long time and help you with the start of the school year! Remember to include others, be kind and believe in yourself always. You will do great things this year.

Thank you for being a part of such a FABULOUS summer. Our motto for our staff during orientation week was BE A GIFT and we carried that throughout the summer with our camp experiences.

• Be Generous – give your attention to the campers, help each other out, & think of other’s needs first.
• Take Initiative – look for ways to help out before you are asked, lead a game, & make things happen.
• Move things Forward – be productive and make an activity or experience better – for the campers and for each other.
• Be Transparent – ask questions, ask for help, recognize your mistakes, be honest & admit your mistakes.

The counselors got key chains to remind them to be generous, take initiative, have forward thinking and to be transparent with our campers and as a camp community. We know they will continue to utilize these life skills in school and among their friends.

As school gets back in full swing, we ask that you continue to BE A GIFT and follow your DREAMS. We believe in you and know each and everyone of you that was a part of Banner this summer has a tremendous ability to make an impact on this world. Do great things at school and be kind to those around you. It makes a difference to our community when you are a kind friend, include others and continue to be the best you can.

Thank you for a summer of fun, friendship, dedication, community and so much more. We love you and will miss you until June 15, 2020. Thanks for enrolling your campers for next summer. It makes us so happy knowing we will be able to continue the Banner experience with so many of you!

THANK you parents for sharing your proud moments and allowing your campers to grow at Banner this summer. We hope they enjoy their year at school and look forward to another Banner summer in 2020!!!

Here are some parent’s kind words about their campers summer we thought we would share with you:

“Valentina somehow, inexplicably ran 4 miles on Wednesday afternoon. We were literally all shocked and kept letting her know she could stop anytime; it was such a hot day and she’s only 5 years old! But she kept going…and going and going and going. Later that afternoon I said to her “How’d you do that? That was amazing!” She said: “I learned it at Banner. One of the Starfish awards is “I Believe”…and I just believed in myself”.   I can’t thank Banner enough for this gift you’ve given my little girl. Thank you so very much!”

“Griff had a swagger about him, the way he spoke to strangers, and friends, the way he was able to jump into play, and warm up when faced with a new activity, was making my heart dance. His confidence was undeniable. Friends and family all agreed that his progress was impressive. On our weekly calls, Rachel would share the ways Griffin advocated for himself, and explained that he was right in the mix with the rest of his group, smiling, and engaged. My proudest moment came on parent visitor day while watching Griff do his follies dance. The day before, I watched, with pure enjoyment as Cole danced in an adorable outfit.  (Now Griff’s turn), he hit every move with enthusiasm, excitement, and confidence. He killed it. I was shocked. Tears filled my eyes, I was overwhelmed by his progress and the pride that filled his face and body. Never, could I have imagined that would have been my son, and never before had I experienced a moment so special. It was so much more then a two minute performance. It was the embodiment of his evolution, the blossoming of my once extremely reluctant and anxious child. I could go on and on about my love and gratitude for Banner. My boys have had the most unbelievable summer. They are more then ready to face the upcoming school year. I am  blessed to be able to send my kids to Banner for years to come, knowing they will always be in the best hands. Scott and I could not be more appreciative of the program you run and the passion with which you run it.”

“I want to share with you something that happened about two weeks ago. We went for a bike ride (Isaac on his own bike) to Botanic Gardens which is a few miles from our house. It was a really hot day and the ride to and from was a little stressful because of construction sites which forced us to have to ride on the streets at times. Once we finally got home Isaac said to me “mommy, when we were riding I was starting to feel scared riding on the streets, but I did part of the STARFISH that we learned at Banner. I kept telling myself I believe in myself and I was able to ride whole way without giving up and didn’t feel scared anymore!!” What a testament to the impact Banner has on these kids. We couldn’t be more pleased with our first experience.”