July 14th- July 25th (Mid-season Evaluation)

     At this point camp is about midway through the summer. All of the new counselors are starting to get the hang of how camp is run, and they are starting to become more confident with their groups. Our supervisor also did mid-summer evaluations, and I have to say that I wasn't disappointed with mine. They way the evaluations are set up is by a numeric scale. We are rated on a scale of 1-5; 1 being possible probation to termination of the job, 2 means that the counselor needs to work on their skills, 3 means that the counselor has met the expectations, 4 means that the counselor has exceeded the expectations, and 5 means that the counselor has gone well above and beyond any expectation that has been set. Supervisors very rarely give out 1's or 5's. In the four years of working at Smuggs I have never heard of anyone getting either one of those numbers. We are also evaluated based on two main categories that are broken up into 6 subcategories.  
        The first is Job Performance- which includes Teamwork, Versatility, Group Management/ Engagement, Communication, and Safety. I got a 3 in Teamwork and Versatility. The 3 in Versatility was because I only worked for the 5/6 year old group instead of volunteering to do any other age group. But I have since then, worked for the 3/4 year olds, and the 11-15 year olds. I surprisingly really enjoyed working with the older kids. They go at a much faster pace then the younger kids, and they are far more independent. I did not have to play as supportive of a role as I usually do with the younger kids. I was able to participate more in games, rather than facilitating the games. I really enjoyed working with that age group. As for Group Management/ Engagement, Communication, and Safety I scored a 4 in all of those categories. My goal for the end of the summer is to get at least one 5 in any of the categories.
      The second main category is Professionalism. Within that the 6 subcategories are Appearance, Reliability, Flexibility, Customer Service, and Attidude/ Enthusiasm. With the exception of Appearance I got a 4 in all of the categories. I got a 3 in Appearance because I came in every day with my uniform and name tag on, which is what would be meeting the expectations. There aren't a whole lot of ways to rise above the expectations of wearing a uniform. The one thing that my supervisor said that I could improve on was being more confident in my decisions. Her direct quote was "Do not be afraid of saying no. You know what to do! Own it! I appreciate being asked questions, but you got this!"  After reading her evaluation for me, and talking to her I definitely gained confidence in myself and my leadership skills.