Debby greeting families outside the Beit Am at our 2012 New Camper Orientation
Dear Friends,
Summer is just around the corner! We have moved to camp, staff have begun arriving, and we are all busy setting up and starting our pre-camp training. We cannot wait for our Israeli staff to arrive this weekend!
On June 3rd, we hosted our annual New Campers Day – with 80 families spending the day with us. They were joined by nearly 40 senior staff and counselors, who introduced them to camp facilities and activities. Our goal was for every new camper to end the day excited to come back and see their new friends, and for every parent to leave with a sense of comfort in the quality staff who will be taking care of their children.
I’m excited to introduce all of our campers and their families to our new Director of Jewish Life, Sarah Lauing. Thanks to a prestigious five-year grant that we received for the Nadiv Fellowship, partnering with Temple Shaaray Tefila in NYC, Sarah has joined our full-time summer staff. Sarah just graduated from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at Hebrew Union College, with a Master’s in Jewish Education. This summer, along with supervising our Limud program, Sarah will work with all of our staff to help them put our Jewish values into easy and relevant language for all of our activities. She will also work with us one day a week during the winter, and spend the rest of her time at Shaaray Tefila. This way, camp will benefit from her teaching experience and then she will take the creative learning we do at camp back to the temple during the school year.
On the programming front, we also have great news. This summer, our drama program will be performing Seussical the Musical and Once Upon a Mattress. We have expanded our garden to a 30’ by 20’ feet area and have planted squash, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and herbs – all of which will be incorporated into our amazing Teva (nature program) meals. Sassy, our mini horse (aka “little Sebastian”) will be also be back for another summer. Finally, we have heard your feedback, and are bringing lacrosse back into the weekly schedule.
Greg and I look forward to seeing all our new and returning camp families on Opening Day!
L’Shalom,
Debby