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Jodi's Weekly Shabbat-o-Gram

August 5 , 2006

Second session is coming to a close, and it’s hard to believe our summer is almost over! One of our seven-weekers told me yesterday that camp was way too short and we should add an 8th week so she could stay longer! It’s certainly been a summer to remember, and tons of campers and staff – me included – keep saying this was their best summer yet!

This week the village of Noar chose “Love” as their Shabbat theme, because the “V’ahavta” prayer comes out of this week’s Torah portion of Va’etchanan. In their creative writings last night the Noar campers spoke about how camp fosters so many different kinds of love. Love for other people in the wonderful friendships that are made here, love for a place because to them Camp Wise is their second home, and love for themselves, as they gain confidence and become happy and proud of who they are. You only need to look at the pictures on the website to see just how true their words are. The smiles and laughter you can see are reflective of the friendships started here, and with so many of our staff here for their 8th, 9th, 10th summer, our campers have great models of what a new camp friend can become. Just this week, so many campers accomplished something they never thought they could do – whether it was getting up on stage with the dance chug to perform in front of the entire camp, taking that plunge off the platform to fly down on the zip line, or putting the final glaze on the bowl made in pottery.

Every activity at camp this week has been packed with excitement! At radio, kids worked on their final shows for FM 88.7, and at video campers put the finishing touches on their videos that will premiere at CW Night Sunday night. Israeli culture tested their knowledge through fun games, and arts & crafts had an evening art show complete with jazz music, grape juice and cheese. The campers in the Ohalim and Noar tower chug who were able to complete the skills test were treated to an afternoon at Kendall Cliffs Climbing Gym, and the mountain biking chugs took an off-road adventure into Burton for ice cream! At swimming lessons everyone completed their American Red Cross swim levels, and at teva campers made lip balm out of ingredients found in the woods. The tennis tournament isn’t over yet, and archery had a great bull’s eye competition. Several of the campers in the guitar chug showed off their stuff by playing along with song sessions this week at lunch, and we’re in final dress rehearsal mode for Bye Bye Birdie, the Trip II ’06 drama production that will be debuting tonight!

A group of Noar and Ohalim campers spent an amazing day hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, led by our Solel supervisor, Brian. This trip was an introduction to an expanded Adventure program we plan to roll out next summer, with more backpacking, hiking, fishing, and outdoor adventure as options for the campers! The SITs also had an overnight adventure, going to Geneva State Park for their own camping trip in the woods. Noar had a very special visit for Project Tikkun from the campers of Highbrook Lodge, the camp of the Cleveland Sight Center. Our campers did an incredible job partnering with their campers who were vision-impaired with multiple handicaps. The Highbrook Lodge campers were able to take part in some of our activities like horseback riding and boating, and then our campers were taught Beep Ball, a really cool version of baseball played at Highbrook Lodge where the ball beeps so you can hear it when you’re not able to see it!

Evening programs this week were the best yet! Chalutzim had Candyland Night, and then Alien Choose Your Own Adventure Night. The boys had Ninja vs. Pirates Night while the girls had their overnight. Ohalim girls also had their overnight while the boys had Fraternity and Brotherhood Night, then the whole village came together for the other evening programs of Stomp Night and Murder Mystery. The Noar campers had tons of laughs at the Miss Noar competition, and then chilled out with yoga and tea at Meditation Night. Everyone came together Wednesday Night for a beautiful ceremony to mark the beginning of Tisha B’av, a day commemorating several tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history.

The campers never saw it coming when a giant painted hippie-mobile came rolling into camp to kick-off Wise-A-Palooza Maccabiah Monday Night! The four teams, representing the current bands of Green Day, Black-Eyed Peas, Outkast and Red Hot Chili Peppers, competed to prove to the hippie judges from Woodstock that today’s music is just as good as their parents’ music! It was a spectacular Maccabiah, starting with a camp-wide festival and ending the next evening with the Song/Skit/Cheer competition. Sports and the all-camp Great Race were highlights of the day, and even though the red team was declared the winner, all four teams showed us what camp spirit is really about!

With less than 48 hours left of camp, there’s still a lot in store, with Havdalah, the play, Banquet and CW Night still coming up. It’s been a fabulous session, and on Monday it will be very sad to see everyone go.

Even though it seems like eons away, it’s not too soon to be thinking about next summer! As you’ve probably heard, we’ll be celebrating our 100th birthday, which means a new camp logo will be introduced, alumni events will be going on throughout the year, and - as unbelievable as this summer is going – next summer is going to surpass it! We’re already planning all sorts of exciting ways to celebrate our birthday at camp, and I encourage you to register your kids early. This year we had waitlists by November for some age groups, and by the spring first session was completely full. We’re only going to fill up faster this coming year, and I would hate for you – our returning camp families – to be turned away. By the end of August you’ll be receiving the registration form for 2007, and at the same time our ’07 online registration form will go onto the website. Register right away! Once again we’re offering a very special deal to our returing camp families. If you register by October 30, you’ll pay 2006’s prices for camp – a huge savings! That offer extends to siblings of 2006 campers as well!

As the summer comes to a close I want to extend a warm thank you to all of our camp families who have been so wonderful over the past two months. Many of you have spoken with office staff, nurses, or administrative staff for one reason or another, and you’ve all been so supportive and positive about what we do here. Many of you have written e-mails or sent letters thanking our staff, and I want you to know I share those with our whole staff at our weekly staff meetings and it means so much to them.

Our buses will all be pulling out of camp MONDAY morning,and if you need a reminder of drop off times in your city you can find the schedule in the Parent Handbook by clicking here. Enjoy the last couple weeks of summer, and we’ll be waiting for your campers next year!

Shabbat shalom,

Jodi

P.S. Our Cleveland kids in 7-10 grade were told this week about something really cool that’s starting in the fall. Camp Wise will be launching Club C-Dub at the JCC – camp programming for kids during the year! The kids were really excited to hear about some of the fun stuff we have planned, and they were even more excited to hear that it will be run by our very own Assistant Director, Meredith! We’ll be mailing out more information about this in the fall, but we’re happy to be creating a way for our camp kids -  and even their friends who don’t come to camp - to stay connected during the year.

P.P.S. We’ll be posting Shabbat-O-Grams periodically throughout the winter this year to keep you posted on deadlines, events, and exciting summer news, so keep reading!

P.P.P.S. Don't forget to check out all of the new camp gear at our online camp store! The new camp baseball cap with our new camp logo is now available for purchase - they're going fast so make sure you get yours by ordering online!

July 28 , 2006

This week, Ohalim picked “Change” for their Shabbat theme, and we sure have been experiencing a lot of that here at camp! As campers have been learning new skills and bonding with new friends, it’s not only the weather here at camp that’s been changing for the better! It’s looking like we’re going to have a beautiful, sunny Shabbat, which should be perfect for all of the swimming and playing that’s going to be happening Saturday before our much-anticipated visit and performance by the Israeli Scouts Caravan Saturday night!!!

The Chalutzim boys had their overnight this week, and even though they didn’t quite make it into the woods because of the rain, they had a blast with our Teva staff sleeping under the covered gym. The Noar girls had their overnight, and while they were away, the boys built an amazing new fire pit in the middle of the village complete with wood benches all around it! Ohalim had a very special program Sunday afternoon as they tried to help the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles save Camp Wise from turning into a day camp and had an afternoon of adventure across the lake at Anisfield Day Camp! Even though they had a great time playing in Anisfield’s new sprayground, they were happy to paddle back across the lake home to Camp Wise.

At horseback riding this week our riders got a thrill learning how to ride bareback and with no hands! At the lake a bunch of cabins had a turn on the jet-ski, and at tower I watched a couple Chalutzim campers make it to the top of the tower and ring the bell! At arts & crafts the kids are preparing for an art show they’ll be hosting for the rest of camp, and in video the Chalutzim kids are starting to shoot the music video they’ll be producing, starring in and directing! All throughout the day you can hear campers’ radio shows playing on our camp radio station, 88.7, and our cast of Bye Bye Birdie is diligently learning their lines and dance moves for next week’s big performance.

Monday night was Israel Night, and after a delicious dinner of falafel, each village had their own program where they learned something different from our Israeli counselors. Chalutzim learned about the pioneers of Israel, and they were excited when they realized that “Chalutzim,” the name of their village, actually means “Pioneers” in Hebrew! Ohalim campers took a pretend flight to Israel and had their own “masa” – or “journey” throughout the country on their own private El Al jet plane. Noar campers had a particularly meaningful program, where they created their own Israeli political parties and then debated events and issues impacting Israeli society right now.

On Wednesday everyone headed out for their day trips, with Chalutzim hitting the slides at Pioneer Water Park, Ohalim making waves at Geauga Lake, and Noar riding the roller coasters at Cedar Point. Some highlights from evening programs this week were Chalutzim’s Battle of the Bands and Disney Night, Ohalim’s Crazy Go Nuts Night, and Noar’s Dance Off Night.

As we enter the last week of the summer, there’s a ton more in store, and I can’t wait to tell you about it next Shabbat!

Have a wonderful week, and try not to be too jealous of all the fun we’re having out here at camp! J

Shabbat Shalom,

Jodi

P.S. If you’re a mom (sorry dads) and you feel like you deserve a break yourself, there are a few spaces remaining for our new Mom’s Retreat, August 18-20. In addition to all of the fun camp activities planned like hiking, swimming, campfires and arts & crafts, we’ll also have special treats like massages, meditation, and yoga! Click here for more information or call us at (440) 635-5444.

July 21, 2006

Second session may be smaller in size than first session, but you would never know it from the cheering in the dining hall! Second session has gotten off to a wonderful start, and the spirit and energy in camp right now is off the charts!

When the campers arrived on Tuesday they were warmly welcomed into their cabins and spent the afternoon learning their way around camp, meeting the other kids and picking their activities for the session. With so many exciting options, it was hard to pick, but luckily there’s a new period in the daily schedule called chofesh (free), when campers can pick a different activity each day! That night they got to know the other campers in their cabin at Bunk Night, and then came together with the rest of their village to learn some village cheers and have their first s’more of the summer around the campfire. Our growing 7-week camper contingency returned back to camp for another 3 weeks of fun, showing the new campers just how exciting it is to be at Camp Wise!

Activities are off to a great start, with old favorites like horseback riding, archery and arts & crafts and new additions like hockey, video and outdoor cooking. At teva (nature) campers have been able to sample all the vegetables growing in our camp garden, and at guitar and dance the campers are getting ready to perform in front of the whole camp! At pottery the campers are working on making hamsas and learning the Jewish significance of this symbol, and at the climbing tower the kids started by learning how to put on their harnesses (I was definitely the slowest of the group!) and took their first steps onto the tower. At the lake campers had a blast trying out our new Iceberg and Blob, in addition to taking a spin around the lake on the Jet-Ski. The second session drama production of Bye Bye Birdie was announced and casted, and the campers are all excited to show off their talents both on stage and behind the scenes, working on the sets, costumes and make-up! Within the first week of camp every cabin group goes through our low ropes and team initiatives course, where they have to work together to accomplish tasks like getting everyone to balance on a rocking platform while keeping it completely balanced! Low ropes gives each cabin group an opportunity to build trust and support each other, and those skills are brought back into each cabin.

Some amazing evening programs over the past couple days have set the bar pretty high for the rest of the session! Chalutzim campers put their teamwork to the test at  Barbie vs. GI Joe Night, and then made secret potions and played Quidditch at Harry Potter Night. Ohalim campers competed for the Village Treasure Chest at Pirate Night and turned into wizards and fairies at Fantasy Night. Noar campers took on the staff at their Counselor Hunt, and then the boys had their overnight while the girls had Girls Night.

This week Chalutzim planned all of Shabbat, and they’ve done such a beautiful job leading everything so far! The theme they picked for the week based on this week’s Torah portion of  Matot-Massei is Community, and through creative writings, a dance, a skit and a song the Chalutzim campers have really shown us what community is all about. To give you a glimpse into our special community here at camp I’ll share with you one 4th grade camper’s creative writing:

“Hi, I’m Amanda Herman and this week’s Torah Portion is based on community. I think community means being together. For example, camp is one community. I’ve been coming to camp for two years and every year the community gets better and better. When I first came to camp I was very nervous. But my counselors and friends supported me. And now they are my community. This year I was not this nervous, but still my counselors and friends made sure I was okay. So they are part of my community. That is my community. What’s yours? Think about it.”

Warm wishes for a beautiful Shabbat and a great week!

Shabbat shalom,

Jodi

P.S. Check out all the fun on our camp photo gallery at www.campwise.org. Call our camp office for the username and password.

July 14, 2006

My apologies for the delayed Shabbat-O-Gram, but our internet was down for the better half of the day. I’ve just come back from seeing the first session production of Annie, and it was so great! You could tell everyone worked really hard…from the acting to the costumes to the sets. We had our very first Shabbat service in the new covered gym tonight and it was so cool to watch the storm but stay dry!

It’s hard to believe this session is coming to an end – only one more Shabbat and then everyone goes home! Solel’s Shabbat is this weekend and their theme of Perspectives is so fitting. All of us here at camp can understand the importance of how you see things. Yesterday, a Chalutzim boy who was sure he wouldn’t make it past the second day of camp told me that two weeks is way too short and he doesn’t want camp to end! An Ohalim camper who took two steps up the vertical playground and had to come down right away in tears was beaming with pride after a pep talk from one of our ropes staff helped her all the way to the very top! A cabin of Noar girls struggling to get along at the beginning of the session told me yesterday that they wouldn’t change their cabin for anything. Our 42 Solel campers came into camp two distinct groups of first and second session kids, sure that they had nothing in common, and are leaving one unified, tight-knit family. Camp changes you for the better whether you’re 7 or 17, and this session, campers have been growing in confidence, independence, skills and spirit.

We’ve had a jam-packed week, starting on Sunday with our Alumni Picnic and Dedication Ceremony. For those of you who missed it, it was a great day! All of us here at camp loved showing off our favorite place, and all of the guests had a blast. As the alumni arrived, they were blown away by the crazy ruach (spirit) they could hear from all the cheering in the chadar, and then they joined us for a song session with some of our favorite camp songs. After the Dedication Ceremony parents were able to walk around and visit with campers while those of us without visiting parents got extra time to play and double canteen! (For those of you worried about not coming and how your kids would react, don’t worry, they were all great and that extra piece of canteen was like magic!) J

The one group missing on Sunday was Solel, and that’s because they left early that morning for their big trip! They headed to Ohiopyle where they spent four days caving, hiking, climbing, rapelling and whitewater rafting. A lot the kids said their favorite part was the duckies –  inflatable kayaks they maneuvered down the river!

This week the Ohalim and Noar campers in the tower chug had a very special trip to Kendall Cliffs Climbing Gym. To be able to go on the trip the kids had to show a bunch of ropes skills, like being able to tie knots both in front of you and behind your back, knowing how to belay and explaining climbing safety. Would you believe all 30 kids in the chugs worked so hard that they all passed the test and were able to go? They had such a good time and they all agreed that their hard work paid off. The kids in mountain biking also had a special trip, veering out of camp to bike into Burton for ice cream! The kids had a great time, but probably their favorite story was how David the biking specialist had one of his pedals fall off and how cool it was that he was able to ride home with only one foot! In pottery and arts & crafts the campers finished up their artwork, and seriously, their projects came out gorgeous! I especially like the hamsa project the pottery chug did. They learned about the symbol of the hamsa and its importance in Judaism, and then they made their own, using the special firing technique called Raku. At the lake everyone got a turn at jet-skiing and tubing and at riding all of our riders hit the back trails. In teva they built a sweat lodge, and yesterday some of the Noar kids tried it out!

When Solel arrived back at camp Wednesday evening they headed down to the lake to join the rest of the campers for what everyone thought was going to be a beach banquet. Much to our surprise, it was actually the start of Maccabiah! As the judges rounded the corner of the lake riding the AquaJump pulled by the jet-ski, we knew it was going to be an AMAZING maccabiah! The judges were tooth fairies and wizards upset by the number of cavities in the teeth collected at camp because of all the sugar cereals! The four teams – Captain Crunch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix and Fruit Loops competed for the next 24 hours to determine which one cereal would be picked to be the only sugar cereal allowed to stay at camp! It was such a fun maccabiah and we all had a great time. Sports in the morning, the Great Race in the afternoon and the Song, Skit, Cheer competition at night kept everyone involved and excited, and at the end when the blue team was announced as the winners we all ran up to the pool to watch the judges and team captains jump in. A lot of campers said it was their favorite maccabiah ever!

Although it’s already Friday night, there’s still a ton in store. Tomorrow after services led by Solel and then packing time, there will be a lot of options during Saturday free time to make sure everyone gets one last visit to their favorite parts of camp. One last jet-ski ride, one last lanyard to make, one last jump in the pool, and then it’s time for Banquet! After Banquet we’ll have village award ceremonies and then Havdalah. The night ends with CW night, the most sacred night of the summer, where we honor kids who have been true “mensches” with village and cabin candles, we sing songs, and we watch the slide shows, revisiting all of our favorite memories of the session. Our seven-weekers are lucky – they get to come back on Tuesday for another three weeks of camp! Everyone else has to say goodbye to camp until next summer.

Even though it seems like eons away, it’s not too soon to be thinking about next summer! As you’ve probably heard, we’ll be celebrating our 100th birthday, which means a new camp logo will be introduced, alumni events will be going on throughout the year, and - as unbelievable as this summer is going – next summer is going to surpass it! We’re already planning all sorts of exciting ways to celebrate our birthday at camp, and I encourage you to register your kids early. This year we had waitlists by November for some age groups, and by the spring first session was completely full. We’re only going to fill up faster this coming year, and I would hate for you – our returning camp families – to be turned away. By the end of August you’ll be receiving the registration form for 2007, and at the same time our ’07 online registration form will go onto the website. Register right away! Once again we’re offering a very special deal to our returing camp families. If you register by October 30, you’ll pay 2006’s prices for camp – a huge savings! That offer extends to siblings of 2006 campers as well!

As the session comes to a close I want to extend a warm thank you to all of our camp families who have been wonderful over the past four weeks. Many of you have spoken with office staff, nurses, or administrative staff for one reason or another, and you’ve all been so supportive and positive about what we do here. Many of you have written e-mails or sent letters thanking our staff, and I want you to know I share those with our whole staff at our weekly staff meetings and it means so much to them.

Our buses will all be pulling out of camp Sunday morning,and if you need a reminder of drop off times in your city you can find the schedule in the Parent Handbook by clicking here. Enjoy the last couple weeks of summer, and we’ll be waiting for your campers next year!

Shabbat shalom,

Jodi

P.S. Our Cleveland kids in 7-10 grade were told this week about something really cool that’s starting in the fall. Camp Wise will be launching Club C-Dub at the JCC – camp programming for kids during the year! The kids were really excited to hear about some of the fun stuff we have planned, and they were even more excited to hear that it will be run by our very own Assistant Director, Meredith! We’ll be mailing out more information about this in the fall, but we’re happy to be creating a way for our camp kids -  and even their friends who don’t come to camp - to stay connected during the year.

P.P.S. We’ll be posting Shabbat-O-Grams periodically throughout the winter this year to keep you posted on deadlines, events, and exciting summer news, so keep reading!

July 7, 2006

Our first (almost) rain-free week of the summer and it’s been fantastic! The highlight of this week was definitely the 4th of July. Everyone was decked out in their finest red, white and blue attire, except for our international staff who tried to fool us by hanging their flags from the flagpole in a failed prank! After lunch our international staff got revenge by creaming the American staff in our annual 4th of July soccer game, and after dinner we all had a blast at the carnival planned by the S.I.T.s (staff-in-training). The carnival was the best I’ve seen, with fun games, huge inflatable toys and cool extra-fun stuff like slip and slide and a dance party. I beat our assistant director Meredith and a Solel boy in a watermelon eating contest, but then they got back at me with a pie-in-the-face! Each cabin got to pool their winning tickets to bid for cool prizes like a sleep-in, story night, or cookies and milk in my house, and following the auction the campers couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw our awesome fireworks display!

This week the Ohalim boys, Ohalim girls and Noar boys all had their overnights, and so many campers said it was the best overnight they’ve ever had at Camp Wise! That’s thanks to our teva (nature) and ropes staff, who have totally revamped our overnights program this summer. Also in teva the campers started building a brick oven, and they’re building new wooden containers for our composting program. The jet-skis were running in full force at the lake this week, and at pottery we had a special visiting artist teaching raku – a unique pottery method using an outside kiln.  At arts and crafts in addition to our favorite activity of tie-dye, the campers were working on special exhibits for our July 9 dedication ceremony at camp.

Evening programs were a hit this week, and our new one- and two-week Chalutzim campers were able to jump right in to the fun! Sunday night for Chalutzim was tribal night, and each cabin had to come up with their own tribe name and chant. They also had a lot of fun at Game-O-Rama Night and Israeli Games Night. For Ohalim’s James Bond/Indiana Jones Night the skit at lunch was so incredible that everyone thought it was Maccabiah! When Yaron, one of our Israeli ropes staff rappelled out of the loft in the dining hall we were all screaming! Noar did an incredible program called Partisan Night, where they learned about the teens who fought back in the Holocaust, as they reenacted what it was like to be a resistance fighter in World War II. Later in the week they had Counselor Appreciation Night, which was actually get your counselor as messy and gross as you can, and then turned into a big Noar-wide sloppy, crazy fun mess! Solel went to a Lake County Captains baseball game and chilled out at Meditation Night, learning some new yoga moves. They started working on their big Shabbat, the final one of the summer, and they had Fantasy Night. Last night they took a surprise trip to the drive-in, and today they did part II of Second Wind Dreams at the nursing home nearby! Two weeks ago they had visiting the residents for a first time to find out dreams of the residents, and today they went back to fulfill those dreams. Not only were our kids incredible with the residents, they had a fantastic time there!

We’re about to start our Shabbat walk now! The theme of Noar’s Shabbat this week is the power of speech, and I can’t wait to hear what the kids have to say about it. I also want to wish one Noar camper, Jeremy Kulbarsh, a huge mazel tov on his bar mitzvah this weekend! I can’t wait until next Shabbat when he will read from the Torah in front of all of us so that we can celebrate with him. I hope many of you will be joining us Sunday at camp for the Alumni Barbeque and/or the Dedication Ceremony! Please visit our website for the details for both of these events.

Shabbat shalom,

Jodi

June 30, 2006

Today was the perfect camp day! The sun has been shining and everywhere I walked around today there were kids and counselors playing and having a great time.  In fact, it was a pretty awesome whole week!

We started the week off with day trips and they were a blast. Chalutzim spent the day at Pioneer Water Park, Ohalim went to Geauga Lake and Noar rode the coasters at Cedar Point. Solel had their second amazing trip, starting off with a day at Kings Island, a night spent playing at the Columbus JCC, then waking up Tuesday to spend the day at Wyandot Lake before putting on their Shabbas best to go see Wicked in Cleveland!

Since Tuesday we’ve been making the most of our beautiful weather at camp. Luckily, the storms have held off during the days, so even though both the girls’ and boys’ Chalutzim overnights didn’t end up sleeping in the woods, both groups had a blast hiking out to our new overnight sites, setting up the sites, and cooking their dinners over the fire. The boys had quite a surprise when they returned from the woods, finding the beloved Chalutzim ga-ga pit painted pink by the girls in a prank!

As the week went on, our evening programs got better and better, with Chalutzim girls doing “Sisterhood of the Traveling Girls,” and the boys having  “Guys’ Night.” In Ohalim at “Knight Night” they made catapults and conquered dragons. The winning cabin won a Crest of Honor that will hang outside their cabin until another cabin wins it. Wednesday night Ohalim did an Amazing Race around camp. Noar had a pool night, and then made some tasty treats at Food Network Night. After returning from their trip, Solel had Commando Night Wednesday. Wednesday night Noar had a very special program, where they went to Highbrook Lodge, the camp of the Cleveland Sight Center. There, we had dinner with a group of vision-impaired adults with multiple handicaps, and did a carnival for them. The highlight was definitely a rousing song session with our kids and their participants where we all shared our camp songs together, even finding a few we had in common. They even did almost the same “Announcements” song as us! The Noar program was part of our camp-wide community service initiative, Project Tikkun (repair).

Yesterday at dinner Israel Night was launched for everyone, and it was GREAT! Each village had their own program learning about Israel. The Chalutzim campers reenacted the story of Exodus in “Escape from Egypt,” Ohalim visited different cities in Israel, and Noar and Solel got a taste of Shabbat in Israel through the eyes of three different populations: Religious, Secular and Shabbat in the army. All three programs were so fun, and they all culminated in watching some really cool fire signs made by our Israeli staff. The programs were planned in partnership by our Israeli staff and our Cornerstone Fellows. Our camp was selected this year for our second summer in Cornerstone – a selective national counselor training program run by the Foundation for Jewish Camping that identifies a select group of our 3rd year bunk counselors as leaders and Jewish role models and gives them additional training with 200 counselors from Jewish camps around the country!

In activities, chugs have gotten off to a wonderful start, with all sorts of cool stuff going on. At arts & crafts the cabins started tie-dying their camp t-shirts and making hamsas and mobiles. At pottery some really amazing bowls and mugs have already come off the wheels (although I still can’t seem to make one without it spinning off the wheel!).  At mountain biking they’ve been riding through all sorts of new trails made this year by David our British mountain biking specialist, and our hockey rink has been full at all hours of the day! Our horseback riders are also hitting the trails, and at the lake our new Iceberg is a hit. At the climbing tower we’ve been learning how to belay and tie all the knots properly (both in front and behind their backs!) and at teva they’ve been working on the garden and making some neat foods like dandelion salad and banana boats. At video the chalutzim kids are getting ready to hold auditions for actors for their music videos they’ll be filming, while Ohalim is already on post-production on “Camp Wise Cribs,” their version of the MTV show that tours famous people’s homes. Noar is working on their news shows, and in radio they’re hard at work making their radio shows and commercials that we can hear all through camp. Play practice for Annie is well underway, and a couple of kids from the guitar chug will be playing with me tonight for our Shabbat Walk.

I’m going to go get ready for Shabbat now! It’s Ohalim’s Shabbat, and the theme is loyalty. Come back next week to hear about Week 3. With the 4th of July coming up, it’s going to be crazy! We’re looking forward to seeing some of you Sunday, July 9 for the dedication at camp. If you’re alumni, I hope you’re planning on joining us first for our Alumni Barbeque Lunch! Please visit our website at www.campwise.org to learn more about this fun event and see the schedule of the day! At 2 pm after the alumni lunch we’ll be having a short ceremony to honor those who have made the incredible renovations at camp possible, and then there will be some time for parents to visit with their campers. If you’re not planning to come, don’t worry, a lot of our campers won’t have their families there, and we’ll all be having way too much fun after the ceremony ends getting on with our regular camp day to even notice!  Our counselors will be making sure that every camper gets tons of hugs and has a great time that day as we show off our awesome camp.

Have a wonderful Shabbat, and try not to be too jealous of all the fun we’re having out here! J

B’shalom,

Jodi

June 23, 2006

Dear parents and friends,

Yesterday after lunch as we were cheering and singing, a few of the girls in 010 said to me, "How is it possible that camp is even better than it was last year?” They’re right! Even with all the liquid sunshine (rain) we’ve had this week, we’ve had an incredible first few days, and there’s so much to share with you!

We weren’t sure how we’d fit almost 300 campers in the chadar ochel (dining hall) – but we did it!! For the first time in years camp is full, and it’s AWESOME!!! The energy and spirit in camp is unbelievable, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you could actually hear us cheering at camp all the way from Beachwood! Hey, you might even be able to hear us in Akron! J The best part is that our counselors are so amazing this summer that even with a full camp, each and every camper is feeling the warmth and inclusion of a close-knit family in their cabins. All week, everyone’s been busy reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. Our first time campers are quickly learning why kids come back year after year, and our old-timers are proving why Camp Wise is known as “The Home of Happiness!”

Activities have gotten off to a great start this week, with one program area more popular than the next. Riding, archery, ropes and boating are old favorites, while guitar and pottery, added just last year, are always full! Our sports program has been improved with our new hockey rink, tennis and basketball courts, and even in the rain our sports program has continued in full swing thanks to our new covered activity pavilion. Our new video chug (activity) is awesome, and each cabin is making a scene of a special movie that will be added onto the end-of-camp DVD that every camper receives in the fall! At the lake kids are loving the new Iceberg and our new pool with zero-entry and a double-flume slide is definitely the most popular place to be at camp! Annie, our first session drama production was announced and rehearsals are already underway for what is sure to be a camp play to remember.

Our teva (nature) program has been expanded to include outdoor cooking, and our camp garden couldn’t be looking better. We already have a sprig of broccoli and the beginnings of a tomato peaking out! Probably the reason why the garden is doing so well is because of our new composting program, and campers are learning about food waste through a camp-wide competition to reduce the amount of waste at camp. In our continued efforts to make Camp Wise more environmentally-friendly we made a big switch this summer from Styrofoam cups to reusable plastic cups, and it’s been an awesome way to teach everyone about how important it is to take care of the Earth, especially here at camp when we’re living in nature.

We have an AMAZING group of Israeli staff with us this summer, and they are already teaching us fun games, songs and stories. Naor, our new Israeli song leader is like our very own rock star, and we’ve been having a great time learning new songs from him to add to our camp repertoire!

We have a new period in our daily schedule called “chofesh” which means free time in Hebrew. This has already proven to be an incredible addition to our day, enabling kids to try new activities and explore all the program areas Camp Wise has to offer. It’s so exciting to see everyone going to different activities during this period and next week we’ll also start using this time for things like sports clinics, tournaments and special projects. 

Evening programs this week have been so fun, and each night has been better than the last! Chalutzim has been busy with Dinosaur Night, Ball Game Night, Chocolate Night, and a Get-To-Know-Camp Scavenger Hunt. Ohalim raced around to avoid bandits at Oregon Trail Night and made some pretty tasty concoctions at Iron Chef Night. Noar showed their skills at Olympics Night and found their inner 5-year olds at Kindergarten Night.

They say Solel – our 10th grade program – is the best summer of your life, and I think it’s safe to say that in this one short week it’s already started to happen for our Solel campers! They started the week right off the bat leaving camp for their first trip. They headed to Mohican with Josh Lake, a native Clevelander who’s one of the leading Jewish Environmental Educators and trip guides in the country! He led them on an amazing canoeing and camping adventure that included enough laughter and singing to carry them through the storms that hit them! On Thursday Solel began their community service project with Second Wind Dreams, a project where the kids meet residents in a local nursing home and help to make their last dreams come true. Even though we’ve only been at camp for a week, all of the first session and second session groups are mixed and Solel has become one big happy family.

The theme this week for Chalutzim Shabbat is self-confidence, and our youngest campers have spent time this week preparing services, creative writings, songs and dances that reflect the week’s theme. We’re looking forward to a beautiful, sunny Shabbat.

There’s so much exciting stuff happening this week, you’ll have to come back next week to read about all the fun in week 2! I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures on the website so far, and we hope to see you on Sunday, July 9 for the Camp Dedication Ceremony, the official ribbon-cutting of the new facilities here at camp. If you’re an alumni of camp, please join us earlier that day for an alumni-only barbeque lunch where we’ll be kicking off our 100th anniversary! Please call our camp office at (440) 635-5444 for more information about either of these events. 

Warm wishes for a peaceful and relaxing Shabbat.

B’shalom,

Jodi

P.S. Please email your campers at wisekids@campwise.org, and check out our photo gallery at www.campwise.org. For the username and password, just send us an email or call our office, at (440) 635-5444.