SSR stands for Support, Sustain, Reflect. When we do all the right things we get SSR. Support is keeping our bunks and the camp clean. Sustain is being responsible. Reflect is doing our “highs and lows” (things we didn’t like and did like, and things that surprised us, in our days) before bed. We put together a list of our favorite things we’d like to do when we get an SSR celebration:

• Dessert
• Sleeping Late
• Picking What You Want for Dessert
• A Dance Party
• Extra Free Time

—Jade and Ruby, Pulsars

7:30 a.m. Morning Bell
In the morning me and all the other cabins wake up and get dressed for breakfast.

8:00 Breakfast
I like the breakfast at Beam; it’s always something good.

8:40 Bunk Cleanup
My bunk, the Neutrinos, clean relly good for the bunk inspector but after lunch it looks like a tornado went through the cabin.

9:10 Project Period 1
During project period 1 each wave gets a place to work. I’m in wave 2. I’m still on the fence about the project. I can’t tell you what it is though.

10:30 Water Break
At watter break you get a little snack like trail mix.

10:45 Project Period 2/Junior Activity
At Project Period 2 my wave goes to work on the Beam project. The SPFFs (Small People Fire Forces) get to go to the lake or play on the field.

12:15 p.m. Lunch
At lunch I go to the the mess hall and Duddana, Justin and Lauren—the chefs—cook us all a meal. What I dont like is that if you don’t like what they serve you, you dont get anything but what they serve.

1:00 Rest And Reading
At Rest and Reading the bunks go back to the cabins to read or sleep.

2:10 Domain Period 1
At Domain 1 I go to the domains I picked for week 1: BEAMtv, fly fishing and video editing. For week 2 I picked BEAMblog ,photo essay, SNERKO T-shirt making (where we interview each other and make hand written T-shirts for one another) and boating.

3:25 Snack
Just another snack…I usaly play ping pong during this time.

3:40 Domain Period 2
I go to my domain I picked for period 2.

5:00 ulse Period
At Pulse Period you can go to the field or go swimming in the lake. I go swiming most of the time.

6:15 Dinner
Dinner is good most of the time; it’s probaly the best meal.

6:45 Free time
At free time I go down to the field with my friends.

7:30 Evening Activity
During Evening Activity the whole camp does something then we usually have dessert.

9:00 Free Time/Juniors To Bunk
We can do something in our bunks. I like to read but we don’t have a lot of free time because of Evening Activity.

10:00 Lights Out

—Robby, 11, Neutrino

Walking up the hill towards the dining hall at BEAM Camp, a camper might hear the shouts of fellow campers or staff members planning activities. However, sounds of the fiddle tuning its strings is quite unexpected. Last Tuesday night, BEAM campers and staff enjoyed the first-annual BEAM Barn Dance.

Often when one thinks of a “Barn Dance,” they might imagine a big, red barn with a bunch of folks “do-si-do-ing” and “swinging their pardners ‘round and ‘round.” A BEAM Barn Dance is this classic event with a few twists. First, the dance took place in the dining hall. Second, the dancers were a group of  rowdy campers ranging in age from 6 to 14, along with their counselors. All were in a giddy mood though many, mostly boys, were not necessarily into the “whole dancish thing,” as Corey, 12, put it. The third and final twist was the music. It was provided by the talented counselors, Mike and Julie. The sounds coming from their guitar and fiddle created a beautiful atmosphere in the crowded and sweaty dining hall.

Dave, a math teacher and square dance caller extraordinaire of 15 years, was our guest caller for the night. He began with a “Big Circle Square Dance” as they call it in the south. This dance was done twice due to the fact that many uneager campers felt like causing havoc. For the second dance, the dancers split into four lines of 6 partners for a wild round of “Over the Top.”

After a quick break, Dave called us to order to begin real square dances such as “Red Wing” and “Dig for the Oysters, Dive for the Clams.” Finally, we wound down and finished the evening with incredible chocolate cake, courtesy of Duddana, Lauren and Justin, our fabulous chefs.

At the end of the night, even those campers who were apprehensive at first, decided that they had enjoyed the “Barn Dance.”

—Bess and Becca, both 13, Quarks