Summer Program Information

Let's Become Acquainted | Our Setting | A Typical Day at Camp
The Cabin | The Age Group | Program | Our Staff | Sundays
General Information | The Directors | Dates and Rates

2006 Dates and Rates

High Rocks is a place for fun and learning, for challenge and adventure, and for living in an environment that is geared to a camper's needs and interests. Aided by a well-trained staff we seek to teach and to inspire lasting skills and values.

We offer ongoing opportunities for success, a freedom from inhibiting competitive pressure, and daily instruction in activities which promote rapid development of skills, an increased self-esteem, and a sense of community.

Our Setting

We enjoy complete privacy and seclusion, and yet are just eight miles from our nearest town, Brevard, and thirty five miles from Asheville, North Carolina.

A Typical Day at Camp

• 7:45 Rising Bell
• 8:15 Breakfast
• 9:00 Assembly
• 9:30 to 12:30 Activities
• 1:00 Lunch
• 1:45 to 2:45 Rest Hour
• 3:00 to 6:00 Activities
• 6:15 Dinner
• 7:15 to 9:00 Evening Program
• 9:30 Lights Out

The Cabin

The Age Group

Program 

Although competitive fun is a part of High Rocks in such activities as tennis and soccer, competition is not used as a motivator and is not emphasized in the learning process. The test of a camp is its success with individual children, and here success is available as a result of individual effort, not as a result of being better than someone else. We give no ribbons or medals for such titles as "best camper" or "best rider." Instead, we reward an individual's effort and skill progression with more challenging and exciting experiences within the activity.

Staff

The selection of the counselor staff is the most important choice that we as directors make. No camp, regardless of its facilities and equipment, can be stronger than its staff. Our counselors must have completed at least one year of college, be competent in their teaching field, and have an understanding and interest in children. Their most important role is that of cabin counselor. They are chosen for their maturity, experience, enthusiasm, personal values, and ability to have fun. The staff-camper ratio is approximately one to three, the average counselor age mid-twenties. As a result of our counselor training program, our counselor group includes many former campers. There is a high percentage of returning staff each year.

To assure that we grow as leaders we conduct pre-camp training and continuing education during the sessions. This training makes an effective team capable of providing guidance to children. A counselor who listens and responds can build a highly effective relationship with a child and can have a strong influence on that child. We therefore place great emphasis upon the counselor's personal habits and values.

Sundays

Afternoons include water games, tennis, field sports, or an age-group hike and cookout. Campfire programs are a regular part of Sunday evenings.

General Information

High standards of health and safety are set and maintained. A resident Registered Nurse is on duty at the camp infirmary. Our doctors are in nearby Brevard (eight miles), with a well-equipped clinic and hospital. Dental and medical specialists are also available to us in nearby Asheville, North Carolina.

Each year the camp has earned a Grade "A" rating by the North Carolina Board of Health.

Food is good, nourishing - and plentiful. The kitchen is supervised by a dietitian skilled in appealing to children's tastes. For those with birthdays during camp, a party is arranged with a home-baked cake and ice cream for cabin-mates and friends.

We welcome an opportunity to supply additional information and to answer questions. We live here year 'round and would be delighted to show you the camp at any time. With movies of camp in session, we present our program to many people in the course of our fall and winter travels. We would be glad to arrange a time for you and your children to see the film.

References and the names of our representatives in various cities are available upon request.

The Founders

The Directors

Hank and Townsend Birdsong have directed Camp High Rocks since the summer of 1988.  Hank has had more than 25 years of experience working with young people in summer camps and related outdoor activity programs, including two Outward Bound Schools and Discovery, Inc. He graduated with a BA degree in Recreation Administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Townsend Birdsong, the daughter of camp founders Jane and Sumner Williams, grew up at High Rocks. She has been a camp counselor teaching horseback riding, tennis, and canoeing. Townsend graduated with a BA degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and has four years of hospital Intensive Care nursing experience.

The Birdsongs live at High Rocks throughout the year.

Accreditation

During the summers of 1997 and 2002 we were again visited by accreditation teams that did a very thorough job.  Representatives from the AEE national office, North Carolina Outward Bound School, Nantahala Outdoor Center, and Camp Merrie-Woode conducted the reviews.  We continue to be very pleased by the positive results of the accreditation process.

Read All About It!