The Weekly Schmooze Issue 6

K’ton Ton
Our 6th week started with the Wild & Wacky Show. Many of our campers got pied in the face and absolutely loved it!
We went on a trip to Antarctica. Tuesday was our Semi Formal. It was amazing and the kids and counselors danced the afternoon away. Then they relaxed and enjoyed some refreshing lemon ices.
We made puffy penguins. They were so cute.
We ended our week with a Day of Caring & Sharing. Everyone brought in pajamas to donate to kids in need. We showed respect by making cards for the first responders. We made friendship bracelets, bird feeders to show that we care for animals, and kindness rocks. We United the World by tasting different foods from different places.
We danced again at our pajama party to end our most amazing 6th week ever.

Shalom
Shalom had a wonderful time traveling around Antarctica this week.  On Monday we got to watch the Wild and Wacky Challenge, lots of our friends got very messy and everyone had a good laugh.  Tuesday was super exciting! We went to Launch Trampoline Park and everyone had a blast jumping on different trampolines.  In the evening we had our camper semi-formal, everyone got all dressed up and had lots of fun.  On Wednesday, we had some rain at camp, but it did not bother us because we went to see Toy Story 4.  On Thursday we had lots of fun making penguins.  Friday was our day of caring and sharing and we had an awesome pajama party.   We collected pajamas to donate to the Pajama Project; we made button snowflakes, pancakes and Challah. It's hard to believe that we only have two more weeks of camp; this week we are excited to travel around Australia!
The girls from Stella, Amina, Jessica, Madison, Sydney and Hanna from Shalom 10 made me a very cool Lego house to live in. They made me the beach, a fountain and an arch.
 
Chalutz
Greetings from Chalutz! During week 6, Chalutz “traveled” to the continent of Antarctica. Campers celebrated the value of repairing the world.  Chalutz campers participated in many activities that encompassed the wildlife and beauty of this continent. 

Maccabiah
As our 6th week of Maccabiah ends, we reflected on a few of our favorite events of the week. On Tuesday, we made ice cream sundaes for Club Macc because our continent of the week was Antarctica where there is a lot of ice. On Tuesday night, we had our annual camper formal, which was a big success. On Wednesday, we went to Splish Splash, and while everyone else experienced bad weather in Staten Island, the weather luckily held out and we had a beautiful day! The campers really enjoyed the lazy river and the numerous water slides. Lines were short and the park wasn’t busy, therefore making it the perfect trip. On Thursday, Bricks 4 Kids, fencing, and painting with a twist came to us for Club Macc. For painting with a twist, the campers did a beautiful landscape painting, everyone loved it and agreed it was easier to paint than they thought it would be. On Friday, we participated in Day of Caring and Sharing where numerous campers gave generous donations. We cannot believe that week 7 is here! We are looking forward to Hershey Park and our overnight!

Teen Travel
On Monday, we traveled to our neighboring borough of Brooklyn to attend Luna Park.  Many campers took on The Cyclone, one of the oldest rollercoasters in the world.  We played games throughout the day and had a great time on the Boardwalk.  On Tuesday, we went to NYC and went to Madame Tussaud’s, the wax museum.  Campers were delighted to take pictures with the celebrity figures.  We saw many different presidents, Kim Kardashian, Derek Jeter, David Wright, Taylor Swift and many more.  On Wednesday we attended Splish-Splash Waterpark.  Campers went on many different slides, including the brand new drop slide.  Many campers loved the lazy river as well!  On Thursday we went to a trampoline park called Launch Trampoline.  Campers were bouncing around all day.  There was Extreme Dodgeball, an American Ninja Warrior Course, and basketball hoops to dunk on.  On Friday, we ended the week with Shabbat.  We sang, danced and had a lot of fun.  We played a game of Deal or No Deal which had the crowd going.  We ended the week with some rollerblading at RollerJam.  We cannot wait to see what Week 7 has in store!
 
Marvin’s Jr.
This week at Marvin’s Junior Camp we enjoyed many fun adventures. We started off the week with the Wild n Wacky show. Campers loved this show! They got to pie their counselors and compete in various competitions. On Thursday we went to Sesame Place! Campers enjoyed this long, adventurous day. They went on water slides and other theme park rides! We finished the week with our traditional Day of Caring and Sharing. Our service project included a Walk a Thon with benefits going to Autism Speaks! It was a wonderful end of the week celebrating our values!
 
Marvin’s
Week 6 was so much fun! On Monday we had a good time at the show. On Tuesday we danced the night away at our semi-formal where we enjoyed ice cream sundaes. Wednesday was great because we got to watch the New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins at Citifield! That game was amazin! On Thursday we had ourselves a nice relaxing day at camp, followed by Shabbat and visiting our value booths on Friday! What a great week it was!

Marvin’s MORE
Week 6 was a blast for MORE!  We started off by going to Gagasphere on Monday, where we played different versions of Gaga.  We also learned about the physics of roller coasters, and how they work.  We even got to build our own roller coasters!  Tuesday we went to the National Geographic Ocean Odyssey in Time Square.  We got to swim with underwater creatures, fight off a giant squid, and navigate through an underwater kelp forest!  Wednesday we went to the Mets game to watch the Mets battle for a wildcard spot against the Miami Marlins.  There were 3 home runs hit into our section!  Thursday we battled one another at Fireball Mountain in a friendly game of laser tag!  Friday we wrapped the week up by having Brickz for Kidz come to our campgrounds and build some cool cyclones with us.  We're looking forward to Week 7!

K’ton 
This week’s mensch is Amy D’Albero. She always has a smile on her face and greets everyone with a big hello in the morning. She loves to swim and play with her friends. The next mensch is Matthew Romano. He is always sharing with his friends. He loves to swim and play GAGA. Matthew always listens to his counselors. Our next mensch is Nico Rosado. He always listens to his counselors and plays nicely with his friends. He loves the playground and the pool. Nico also just became a big brother. We’re sure he’s a big help with his little sister. Our last mensch of the week is Emma Kaplanovich. Emma is always helping her friends when they need help. She loves to swim and do arts & crafts. She loves coming to camp and always has a smile on her face.

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Shalom
Valery: group 9- always shares and is nice to others.  She always listens to her counselors and loves coming to camp.
Russell: group 4- for being a great friend and always showing great manners.
Madison: group 7- for being a great leader and being creative.
Parker: Group 1- always listening and being kind and friendly to others.
Natalia- for always having a smile on her face, bringing a great spirit to Shalom and always being ready to help and care for her campers.
Erica- always ready to work and showing compassion for all her campers
Emilie- for having such a positive presence in Shalom.  Always showing kindness and compassion for her campers and working hard to make sure all her campers have a great day.

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Chalutz
This week’s Menschen are five campers that exhibited this value:
Natalie Esposito of group 2 received the honor of mensch because her smile is contagious. This week Natalie helped her counselors cheer up a fellow camper. 
Lexi Kleinman of group 4 received Mensch as well as the title of “future counselor”.  She is responsible and always asks to help her counselors. 
Jacob Shlomovich Matt Burdman, and Ethan Noykhovich of group 8 received the honor of Mensch for helping Jeff and Meaghan with a special cleaning and recycling project this week! 

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Maccabiah
Hayden Lucente, Abby Balice, Jenna Balice: for always doing the right thing and asking their directors if they ever need help. These girls are always respectful to counselors and their peers.
 
Aidan Doctor: for always being nice to counselors and campers and having great manners.
 
Marcus: for stepping up as a counselor when the group was short staffed.
 
Issie: for always being kind to counselors, campers, and directors. Issie is the counselor that any camper feels comfortable going to.

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Teen Travel
Sammy Miller and Noah Miller (absent) won Mensch of the week for being extremely kind to other campers and helping them gain confidence while attempting flips at the trampoline park.
 
Daniela Shulman and Peyton Bradley won Mensch of the week for cleaning up at the art/cooking tents as well as being very respectful to other campers throughout the week.

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Marvin’s Jr.
Counselors Andrea, Meagan, Cheyenne, Jessica, Nicole:
Julia Jamrog: This week, Julia helped to introduce a new camper and get her used to camp. When her new friend was having a rough time, she offered her toy to her friend to help her. She really showed the value of friendship this week which lead to her being our Mensch.
Joshua James: Joshua is a fun and energetic camper who is always following directions, helping friends and being a role model for his group. He shows the true value of caring for other each and every day at camp, which led to him being our Mensch.

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Marvin’s
Joseph DiStefano was picked as mensch this week because he is always asking Gabby and myself if we need help. He cleans up after himself when there’s a mess. He helps his peers and is always looking for ways to make himself a better person. Jordyn Campbell was picked as mensch this week because when she first started at camp she came in with a smile even though she was nervous! Her friends were so excited to have her join us after she had been traveling around with Marvin’s MORE for the first several weeks of camp. Jordyn has been a  great addition to our camp and we are so happy to have her!

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Marvin’s MORE
Brandon Martinez was named Mensch of the week for the counselors.  Brandon made all of his campers feel welcome, especially some new campers that we had this week.  He also helped out other groups when needed.
Hunter V. is one of our Mensches this week.  Hunter helped build different models of roller coasters at Gagasphere, and gave some tips to some of his fellow campers on how to build a more efficient roller coaster. 
Jesenia P was courageous in trying new things, and was enthusiastic when participating in the activities.
Michael G is our final mensch.  Michael has been a positive role model for his fellow campers, and has been an uplifting member of our division.  Way to go Mike!

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Value of the Week – Repairing the World

The most powerful statement of human value is not made by giving money or transferring goods from one person to another.  The fundamental ongoing communication of human value takes place when one person spends a piece of his or her life – some unique and irreplaceable amount of time – in relation to and in service to the other.                                                                                                                                                                                       Yitz Greenberg
Healing the world, known in Hebrew known as Tikkun Olam, is a supreme value in the Jewish tradition.  It is based on the idea that we are partners with God in making our world a better place.  The world is not perfect.  Some things are broken.  Some things are not finished.  People are hungry.  People are homeless.  It is our job to finish the work and someday make our world perfect.
Walking through the campsite on Friday one could sense a spirit of kindness and generosity among the campers.  It was our annual Day of Caring and Sharing at which our children took time to help others in need and make our not yet perfect world a better place. 
Campers brought in pajamas and food items for those in need.  They prepared food packages for hungry Staten Islanders, and participated in a walk-a-thon and roller skating-a-thon for worthy causes.  They also participated in a “values day” program at which they celebrated the values they learned at camp this summer.
This day was all about making the world a better place and imparting to our children the belief that we all can and should play our part in making a difference in the world.​