Author: Camp Admin

January marks the start of new beginnings, and we’re thrilled to introduce the newest members of our Camp Wise family: Merida Rheaume and Amy Kalk! Merida joined the CW family on December 29 and is the first child to proud parents Zach (CW Facility Manager) and Lindsay. We can’t wait for Merida to settle into her home at 13164 Chardon, Ohio (she’s so lucky she gets to go to camp every day)!

We had another amazing week jam-packed with fun and activity! By dinner on Wednesday evening, the chadar was sent in a whirlwind and all four seasons hit at once! We had leaves falling and snow blowing and it sounded like there was a thunderstorm all at once. That’s when we found out it was Seasons Maccabiah and only the best season could remain. After all day of competitions ranging from dance to sports to fire building and more, only one team and season could prevail. The Tie Dye Summer team took the crown and the captains and judges celebrated with a pool jump while the campers cheered them on!

This has been such an incredible week here at the Home of Happiness. After Shabbat was over and our entire camp received our negative covid results we had a giant dance party in the chadar (dining hall)! The next day we were able to start our chugim (elective activities) and we also celebrated Yom Yisrael (Israel Day). It was so much fun to learn more about Israel from all of our Israeli staff that we have in camp this summer but we are missing the teens that are traveling in Israel. Be sure to read to the end to learn more about what our 43 teens in Israel have been up to in the last week!

The first few days of second session have been filled with energy, ruach (spirit), and excitement! We love the energy that all of our second session campers brought with them to the Home of Happiness. On Wednesday our cabins spent the day getting settled and getting to know each other. And in the evening each cabin participated in bunk night where they worked to create a special dynamic and bond in each cabin. Last night the villages had their first evening programs. Chalutzim and Ohalim participated in an epic lip sync battle, Noar cabins had a Wrestlemania night with fictional places, and Solel grew closer together during their cruise night.

We’ve had another very exciting week at the Home of Happiness! n the middle of the week we had a break from our normal activities for our first Maccabiah since 2019, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Maccabiah! Mickey Mouse was moving out of his clubhouse and the camp was divided in to five teams to battle over who could move in; it was between Goofy, Daisy, Donald, Minnie, and Pluto. Over the course of a day and a half, each team participated in competitions full of sports, spirit, and arts.

This week has been filled with laughter and fun! On Sunday, we were finally able to join as a full camp community for meals in our chadar (dining hall), it has been so wonderful to be together as one camp three times each day – you can feel the energy when you walk in the room! In between all the daily activities there have been a lot of moments to celebrate. There have been special parties for birthdays and the tooth fairy has been very busy visiting campers in Chalutzim and Ohalim, we’re lucky they can find us all the way in Chardon! The villages have also had some unique programs this week including a snow day in Chalutzim and a Silent Disco in Solel!