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7/23/2019 The Weekly Schmooze Issue #2
 WEEK IN REVIEW More MORE kicked off it's inaugural week with a lot of exciting trips! The first day of camp we got to know each other before heading out to the movies where campers either watched Spiderman or Toy Story 4! The next day we went to Medieval Times and got to witness thrilling contests between knights, and an epic sword fight between our hometown hero Red Knight and the Green Knight. Thankfully, our hometown red knight came out of the sword fight victorious! We even had one of our campers knighted as the "Queen of Medieval Times", which was followed by a magnificent ceremony. Wednesday we took our campers to Six Flags Amusement Park, where we rode countless rollercoasters, runaway trains, and even took a trip through the African Jungles and Deserts on a safari! Thursday we took a trip to Top Golf, where we took to the driving range, and got our swings on! Friday we wrapped up the week at Luna Park on Coney Island. We got to ride the historic Cyclone rollercoaster, among other rides. Overall the first week of MORE was a success, and to say it was fun would be an understatement! We look forward to this week coming up! K’ton Ton Week 2 started off with our trip to Europe! Monday we spent time watching Jester Jim do some amazing Juggling and Balancing acts. We participated in Running With the Bulls (relay races) on Tuesday. On Wednesday we went to Italy and ate delicious pizza roll ups. On Thursday we made and decorated Belgium waffles. Friday we painted the Eiffel Tower. Throughout the children continued to make friends and develop relationships with their counselors. We are looking forward to week 3! Shalom Shalom had a great week traveling around Europe. We met lots of new friends as many kids started camp this week. We made pizzas and Belgium waffles, they were so delicious. We learned about pointillism and George Seurat when we traveled to France. We even got to paint the Eiffel Tower. We had a fantastic time on our first trip of the summer. Everyone had a blast trying new thing at Diamond Gymnastics. We rock climbed, jumped on trampolines and swung from ropes. We can't forget how much fun we had watching Jester Jim perform his awesome show. He was so entertaining as he juggled, joked, and balanced on all kinds of objects. We also laughed really hard we watched our counselors "volunteer" to be in his show. We are so excited for next week when we will journey to South America. Chalutz As our second week ends, I’d like to look back on some of the fun from this week. During week 2 chalutz traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. Learning fun facts as well as making our very own French Crepes. Chalutz campers also participants painted using pointillism; just like George Seurat. Chalutz campers also displayed the value of the week - many preserved through our Leagues Games and the Tour de France relay races. Campers did not give up when they were against the odds and helped cheer on their teams to victory! Week 2 Leagues Update:
Maccabiah Second week of Maccabiah was a thrill. This was many camper's first week of camp in 2019, and the counselors welcomed them with open arms. Our trip to Six Flags Great Adventure brought great joy to our division as campers experienced the different rides this park had to offer. Some campers even faced their fears and went on rides they said they were initially scared of. Our counselors made sure all campers were enjoying themselves at camp; Campers mentioned that they really enjoyed the Belgium waffles they made for this week's cooking activity. Other activities that campers enjoyed this week were yoga, swimming, the movie trip to see Spiderman, and many more! After seeing how excited the campers were this week, we can't wait for what week three! Teen Travel This week, Teen Travel started at Palisades Mall Ropes Course Adventure. We had campers ziplining and conquering tough obstacles moving through one of the world's largest indoor ropes courses. On Tuesday we traveled to Metlife Stadium. The home of the Jets and Giants was definitely one of the highlights of the week. Campers were able to kick field goals, win trivia prizes, and play on the actual field. The campers had a blast being on a field that famous players perform on and were able to see the 82,5000 seats in the stands right around the field. Six Flags Great Adventure was on Wednesday, where campers were able to conquer fears and ride on some of the fastest and tallest rollercoasters in the world. Lines were surprisingly short allowing for an even more fun day, with many campers ending their day with a nice meal at Johnny Rockets. On Thursday, the campers begin the morning by going to different activities that included seeing different animals, cooking, archery, as well as arts and crafts. We then went to Painting with a Twist, where we painted a beautiful New York City skyline with buildings and the ocean. Although many of us were beginners, it was an extremely fun time. On Friday, we went to Shabbat, with a special guest speaker named Justin Birnbaum who was a sportscaster and he was really interesting to hear about. We then went to see Spiderman which was an awesome movie. We cannot wait for Week 3! Marvin’s Our first week was an adventure! We met new friends and new counselors. We learned a lot about sea animals at the aquarium! We also had a lot of fun traveling to Italy to make our own pizzas and also to Belgium where we decorated our own waffles! We celebrated our mensch’s of the week with Rachel and James! We can’t wait for next week! Marvin’s Jr It was an amazing first week at camp for our Marvin’s Juniors Campers. New and returning campers enjoyed many fun, exciting activities such as drama, science, arts/crafts and Jiu Jitsu. Campers also had fun making pizza and Belgian waffles to celebrate our week 1 journey throughout Europe! Our first trip this week was to the Turtleback Zoo. Campers loved seeing all of the animals! They especially enjoyed the giraffe, monkey, and lion exhibits! They even took a tour throughout the zoo on the train! We ended our week with our amazing Shabbat celebration which truly shows our camp spirit and values! 
 Value of the Week: Perseverance "A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its perseverance." Perseverance is the ability to go on despite challenges and difficulties an individual may face. At our camp, there is nothing more inspiring than watching a camper overcome an obstacle or fear and achieve something they never thought possible. Whether it is mastering a new swimming skill, hitting the target in archery for the first time, or overcoming one's fears and acting out a scene in drama in front of one's peers, our JCC camp is a place where children are encouraged to persevere and persist in their efforts to attain a goal. At our camp, we strive to create the attitude amongst our children that with hard work, determination, and the support of counselors and friends, great things are possible. As someone once said: Perseverance is not something we need after we become good. Perseverance is what makes us good.
A story about perseverance: An older shepherd was tending flock in the hills of Judah. He became thirsty and went to his favorite brook in the hills to take a drink. As he was drawing the crystal clear water in his palm and putting it to his mouth, something caught his eye. He saw drops of water falling on a huge stone – drip, drop – and directly where the drops were falling there was a deep hole in the stone. The shepherd was fascinated. He gazed at the drops and at the stone. “What mighty power there is in a drop of water,” thought the shepherd. “Could my stony heart ever be softened up that way?” “Hello, Akiva! What are you gazing at?” It was Rachel, his boss's daughter. She was wise and kind and fair. “Look what the little drops of water did to the rock,” Akiva exclaimed. “Do you think there is hope for me? Suppose I began to study, little by little, drop by drop. Do you think my stony heart would soften up?” “O yes! Akiva. If you persevere, if you keep it up as these drops of water.” But I am forty years old! Is it not too late to start?” “O no, Akiva. It is never too late. If you promise to learn, I know you will not be ignorant for long.” The shepherd gazed at the drops of water for a long time, and then his mind was made up. And this is how Akiva the shepherd became the great Rabbi Akiva, the greatest and wisest scholar and teacher of his day, who had 24 thousand pupils! He often told them that it was a drop of water that changed his life. 7/10/2019 The Weekly Schmooze Issue #1
WEEK IN REVIEW from our unit directors
K’ton Ton
The first week of K’ton Ton was so exciting!! So many campers, so cute! Some arrived for the first time, a bit hesitant but willing to give camp a try, and it turned out to be a great decision. Others returned and were so happy to see their friends from last summer! We went swimming, cooked, danced, sang songs, did arts & crafts, played volleyball, went boating and celebrated America’s birthday. Overall our first week of K’ton ton was terrific!
Shalom
We had a great first week in Shalom. We made new friends and reconnected with old ones. We met some wonderful counselors that are going to help us all summer and encourage us to try new things. We got to make worry dolls, celebrate the 4th of July with a picnic and do some Mexican bark painting. We had many new experiences and are very excited for all the fun things to come. - Megan Adinolfi “A Week in the Life of a Chalutz Camper: Volume 1”
As we wrap up on our first week of camp, I’d like to reflect on some of the highlights of this week! During week one Chalutz traveled through “North America”, learning fun facts as well as historical information about the United States and Canada. Chalutz campers also participated in many collaborative art projects (which are hanging beautifully in our shelter), showed sportsmanship during leagues, and cheered their friends on during lawn games at our 4th of July Celebration on Squeaky Field! The campers and counselors showed their patriotism as well as practiced the value of “Friendship” throughout the week. Campers and counselors alike reconnected with old friends while also making their new friends feel welcome! Jeff and I are excited to continue this journey with all of our campers and staff, but we felt that it was necessary to Menschen a few that truly encompassed the spirit of friendship this week! Senior Counselors Sam Suhr and Nick Veneziano, whom have been inseparable since they met at camp two years are just that!
Week 1 Leagues Postings:
Maccabiah
First week in Maccabiah was full of creating friendships between campers and counselors. Although there was no Wednesday trip this week, everyone in the division had fun engaging in several activities with their groups on the campgrounds. Many campers said that their favorite things about the week included swimming, archery, cooking our apple pie parfaits, making friendship bracelets, basketball, bowling, and our shabbat celebration. You would never believe that it was some of the campers first time ever at camp, as we all already feel like we are one big happy family and it is only the first week! Speaking on behalf of the whole division, I know we are all excited to be welcoming even more campers into our family for week 2!
Teen Travel
Teen Travel had a very fun first week. We began on Monday by rock climbing and challenging each other to climb difficult rock walls. Many were successful in conquering the 12-foot warped wall, a difficult task. Pizza made the day even better completing an overall fun trip. On Tuesday, we attended IPlay America, which made us feel like we had the indoor amusement park to ourselves. We had a blast on the bumper cars and laser tag. We played kids vs. counselors/directors in laser tag with both teams winning once, an awesome experience. Wednesday we went to Chocolate Works, to make our own chocolate and to buy lots of sugar. People made chocolate baseball bats, ballet slippers, phone cases, and many other cool things. We then all shared one humongous oreo cake, which was delicious. Finally, on Friday, we went to Shabbat and had bowling. The Challah bread was awesome as always, and we sang and danced at our culminating end of the week Shabbat show. Then at bowling, we bowled, ate, and played arcade games, and polished our day off with watermelon and ice cream. We cannot wait to see what's in store for Week 2! 
Value of the Week: Friendship
“The greatest gift in life is friendship.” -- Jewish Proverb The foundation of friendship is a willingness to help each other, loyalty, unselfishness, and love. It is these principles that the JCC Camp strives to teach our campers. Additionally, we seek to foster a community where our campers make life-long friendships. Friends are those people who help improve the parts that need improvement and strengthen the good parts. Friends are people who you can count on in the bad times and take pleasure in the good times. There is a story of two brothers that lived and farmed next to each other. One was married and had a large family, while the other was single. They lived in close proximity to each other, and each worked his land growing wheat. When harvest time arrived, each was blessed with a bountiful crop and piled up his grain for long-term storage. The unmarried brother, observing his good fortune, thought to himself that God had blessed him with more than he needed, whereas his brother, who was blessed with a large family, could surely use more. He arose in the middle of the night and secretly took from his grain and put it in his brother’s pile. Similarly, the married brother thought to himself that he was fortunate to have children who will care for him in his old age, while his brother will depend on what he saved. He, too, arose in the middle of the night and quietly transferred grain from his pile to his brother’s. In the morning, each pondered why there was no noticeable decrease in his own pile, and so they repeated the transfer the next night. These nocturnal activities went on for several nights until one night the brothers bumped into each other in the field between their homes. In that instant, in the dark of night, the glow of brotherly love lit up the mountain sky; they each understood what the other had been doing and fell into each other’s arms in a loving embrace. The field where the brother’s met is known as the “The Field of Brotherly Love,” and legend has it, that the field where the brothers embraced is the sight of our campground. For God felt that this was the perfect location for a summer camp for children, where so many friendships are born and nurtured. |
