Dear CW Families and Friends,

Second session has only just begun and it feels like everyone has been here for weeks! The campers arrived cheering and full of ruach (spirit). This positive energy has rippled through our community and has been felt in every moment since their arrival.

This weekend, we were fortunate to have educator and musician, Matt Bar, of Bible Raps join our camp family. Matt uses rap and hip hop music to teach and introduce classical Jewish text and values. During his time at camp, Matt had the opportunity to perform during services and work with some of our campers. In the village of Noar and Solel, Matt introduced campers to a new form of a rap battle, one built upon gemilut chasadim (acts of loving kindness). Instead of a traditional rap battle, Matt challenged our campers to create raps that were filled with praise. Our SITs spent Saturday afternoon in a workshop with Matt working to create original raps based upon the Camp Wise Core Values. And this afternoon, Matt will be working with campers in our Podcasting chug (activity)! Stay tuned for more information. Learn more about Matt and his programs by visiting www.biblerapsnation.com. Many thanks to the Foundation for Jewish Camp and the Avi Chai Foundation for making this program available to Camp Wise!

Our first Shabbat was planned and led by the Noar village. Together, the campers learned about this week’s parsha (Torah portion) and worked in committees (song, dance, decorations, creative writing) to introduce the parsha to the rest of camp. In this week’s Torah portion, the five daughters of Zelophechad protest, saying it is not fair that land was not given to their family because their father had no sons. Gods tells Moses that the daughters are right, and property should be inherited in the following way: sons are to inherit first, but if there are no sons, property is to be assigned to the daughters.  In cases where there are no children, the property passes to the man’s brothers, and if there are no brothers, then to the nearest relative.  Our core value this week is Clal Yisrael (The Unity of the Jewish People).  This is the idea that all Jewish people throughout the world belong to one big community and are responsible for each other and should take care of each other. I was moved by one of the creative writings that two campers shared at Havdalah. With their permission, I included some of the words written by Danielle Krantz and Valerie Zborovsky below.

“Camp stands up as one community just as those girls’ village did. Camp Wise captures all the ideas of unity.” Friends. Family. The State of Israel. Judaism. Over the years, camp has become a home where I can count on my counselors and friends to be there. And they always are. This is sacred ground, something you will never find anywhere else.” Camp Wise truly is the Home of Happiness and I am looking forward to sharing the next 2 ½ weeks with your campers.

PS – There are also several programs in August & September designed just for you and your families – Alumni Camp: August 11-13, Family Fun Day: August 20, Women’s Weekend: August 25-27, & Family Camp: September 1-3. For more information visit our website (www.campwise.org) or call the CW office!

Have a great week!

Rachel

CABIN PHOTOS

CHALUTZIM

C1 – C1 got to begin their camp adventure with a giant all camp bonfire to welcome in the session.  They also got to enjoy one of camps most popular activities, horseback riding!

C2 – C2 enjoyed their first evening program, Chalutzim goes to the cereal factory, where they dressed up theirs counselor and made a skit and cheer about their cabin cereal.  Later, they challenged themselves and conquered their fear of heights on the giant swing!

C6 – C6 had an incredible first week here at the Home of Happiness. They got to go to the art shack and create amazing projects for their cabin and made delicious food at outdoor cooking. They can’t wait to see what is in store for next week!

C7 – C7 had the opportunity to participate in a bunch of different activities at camp this week. They made delicious food at outdoor cooking, relaxed at yoga, and showed off their voices at song session. C7 is truly having an incredible first week here!

C8 – C8 came into camp with an incredible amount of ruach! Their energy lights up the village. They had the chance to try out one of brand new activities, podcasting this week and they loved it! C8 also improved their leadership skills with low ropes this past week.

OHALIM

O1 – O1 kicked the summer off right by having an awesome time jet skiing down at the lake together! They also loved their horseback riding activity and are really enjoying getting to know each other better.

O2 – The mighty cabin of O2 O-Tau had a great first week! They bonded on their walk down to the lake and enjoyed their ride on the Jet Ski before flying off the tube! They also surprised each other and built trust on the Low Ropes Course!

O3 – O3 has been singing, dancing, and having a great first few days of camp! They celebrated one of their cabin mate’s and their SIT’s birthday by having a campfire with color-changing flames!

O4 – O4 had a wonderful first week of camp! They had a special bunk night around their very own O4 firepit. O4 has shared lots of stories, laughs, and fun facts. The cabin went wild when Easton recited the first 314 digits of pi from memory!

O5 – From tie dye to jet skiing, and song sessions to chill cabin time, O5 is loving camp! O5 is one of the loudest cabins in the chadar cheering at all times!

O6 – O6 Pure Life have had a great first few days together. At Bunk Night Part 2, these ladies talked and bonded over sharing about their spirit animals and favorite types of shoes. Another highlight of the week was making yummy treats that they made during their Outdoor Cooking cabin activity.

O7 – O7 has tried out podcasting, drama, archery and so many other fun things around camp! They have proudly been walking around with the “Silver Plunger” in hand, which they earned for being the cleanest cabin in Ohalim!

O8 – What a week for O8! Nighttime has been really special for this cabin – whether it has been reading Shel Silverstein poems, sharing funny moments from the day, or hearing their Great Uncle Jonathan read them a bedtime story, O8 always ends their fun-filled days in the best way! They have also shown on the stage while doing hilarious drama games during a cabin activity and creating a special keepsake during Arts & Crafts.

O9 – O9 learned lots about Israel in Israeli culture, shot bullseyes at archery, and so much more! They loved showing off their sporty side at basketball and soccer, and are creating amazing cabin bonds already!

O10 – The ruach, spirit, of O10 is contagious. These girls love cheering their special O10 Smart Water cheer at all meals, while getting ready for cabin activities, and out in the village. This cheer was passed down from when their counselor, Reagan, was in O10 many summers ago! This cabin also celebrated their bullseyes while down on the archery range during their cabin activity!

OT – OT loves their tent and is having so much fun at camp. They loved their low ropes activity and are very proud of their cabin’s victory at our “Kanye Wild Wild West” dance-off!

NOAR

N1 – Everyone can already see how close N1 has gotten in this first week. They had a great time together recording a podcast and learned to trust each other and themselves at the Leap of Faith at the ropes course!

N2 – N2 got to represent their cabin theme and came together to pain their cabin plaque. They can’t wait for the rest of camp to get even closer!

N3 – We all can’t wait to see N3 wearing the beautiful tie dyes they made this week! They even got to know the woods of camp better in their teva activity!

N4 – N4 has made themselves known throughout camp by creating such a strong cabin theme and dynamic in just a few days! They really showed off their moves in their dance cabin activity and they’re so excited to continue to build up their cabin.

N5 – N5 had so much fun splashing around in the rain together during their basketball activity. They then got to relax later in the week during yoga. N5 is already planning all the fun things they want to do together for the rest of the session.

N6 – The girls of N6 have been taking turns being cabin leaders as they continue to get to know each other even better! They got to showcase their basketball and tennis skills this week too.

N7 – N7 had such a great time at their pool party with N4! They worked so well together throughout Noar’s scavenger hunt and successfully completed the mission!

N8 – This week the N8 girls got so involved in planning the first Shabbat with the rest of Noar for all of camp! They’ve already gotten so close and are looking forward to getting even closer through the rest of the summer.

SOLEL – Solel 2017 Trip II started off the session with a bang, and it’s hard to believe we haven’t even been here a full week yet! From double trouble night, where campers had the opportunity to form close relationships with their peers, to sing-off battles on the deck, and insane amounts of ruach in the dining hall, it’s safe to say Solel has already seen some fantastic highs. The group has such a special appreciation for their Solel experience, and the unique presence they bring can already be felt throughout camp. We can’t wait to see what experiences the next week has in store for us! When can we finally go on a trip?!?!

SIT – In Camp

The SIT group has had a great start to second session. We welcomed our excited new campers and we have continued to bring the ruach! While we miss the other half of our group in Israel, we have continued to create bonds and develop our skills here at camp! Being a smaller group, us SITs who are still at camp already have enjoyed the benefit of getting to step up in bigger ways and continue to work on making their impact felt amongst their campers, in the cabins, in the village and around camp. One of our SITs, Sam Richards of Ohalim, played an integral role in planning of one of our first evening progress – Kanye Wild Wild West night! Needless to say, the program was a huge success! Additionally, the SITs have also focused on planning programs for each other to help foster community amongst our group and also develop programming skills, something we have already done a great job with. Finally, we had the chance to work with Matt Bar, who teaches Jewish text and programming through hip hop on Saturday. With Matt, our group got a chance to learn about a number or resources to help create programs, participated in a battle rap, and wrote our own hip hop verses to reflect the core values of Camp Wise. Of course – we are still enjoying serving lunch! We can’t wait sit to create more memories and continue to learn, and are excited for another great session!

SIT – Israel

Our SITs Israel trip group arrived in Israel Thursday afternoon! After an easy flight, full of lots of naps and in flight movies, the SITs went bowling while waiting for Camp Interlaken to arrive. Once everyone was together, they started their journey down to the Negev. The first few days were filled with icebreakers, hiking, repelling, and Israeli salad! They celebrated Shabbat with Camp Interlaken by sharing some favorite traditions from the both camps. The SITs are looking forward to snorkeling in the Red Sea and learning about life on a kibbutz!