This year we’ve put a lot of work into making the Camp Wise summer program even more incredible than summer’s past. How about a new lake toy? Got it!  What about new jet skis? Two are on the way! Other major program additions are the expansion of our Horseback Riding Program and the addition of a second archery range! Yet that’s only the beginning! In an effort to ensure that every summer is more exciting than the last we’ve completely revamped our Noar and Solel trips programs!  To make sure everyone gets the “chugs” (electives) they want in the summer, we’ve added more choice  to each day.  Let’s break it down and take a look at the amazing additions to summer 2015. 

Down at the lake. Make sure to sign up for some boating this summer!  Down at the lake, in addition to all of our SUP (stand up paddle) boards, canoes, kayaks, the trampoline, and the “blob”, you’ll be seeing two new jet skis, and a new lake toy called the Saturn!  The Saturn is like a multi-directional, on-water teter-totter.  You can get a rockin’ ride and enjoy the lake on a hot day!  Plus with our new jet skis you’ll have more time to spend tubing, water skiing, and wakeboarding during lake cabin activities!

Home, home on the range.  Horseback Riding is always one of our most popular activities and this year its going to be better than ever!  We’ve added more horses and additional staff.  Now campers will have more opportunities to choose Horseback Riding as an chug!  What’s more, is that with the additional staff and horses,  instruction will be in smaller groups, and can focus extra attention on each individual in the lesson.  This way novices can leave feeling more comfortable on a horse, and those with a more thorough riding background will leave with strengthened skills.

I volunteer as tribute.  We’re not sure if its because of how popular The Hunger Games has become, or just because of the thrill and challenge of doing something totally different, but Archery has quickly become one of our most popular chugs.  So popular in fact that we decided to add more archery!  We’re adding a second archery range and a second archery specialist.  We’ll be able to offer archery to more people at the same time, and add more variance in instruction for different ages and skill levels to keep the challenge growing as children age through the program.

Let’s take a trip. Noar campers should get ready for some incredible trips this summer! 8th graders will spend two days and one night down with the OU Outdoor Pursuits Center in Athens to check out all the local attractions including waterfall hikes in Hocking Hills, rappelling on some local crags, and sea kayaking on some area lakes.  They’ll spend the night at the OU Outdoor Pursuits center.  No tents required!  9th graders will travel to ACE Adventure Resort in West Virginia where they’ll have some time to play on the incredible lake toys, and spend a full day whitewater rafting the New River!  Solel’s “big trip” just got even bigger.  Solel will head down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center to do some whitewater rafting, some ziplining, and even more during their “big trip.”  Did we say big trip…we meant mega trip!

More choice, more fun.  This year we’ve added even more choice into the daily schedule for all campers.  Firstly, all campers will have the chance to sign up three times during Session I, and twice during Session II.  This gives everyone the opportunity to add a lot of variety and individualization to their summer.  Campers will attend their chugs every day for about a week in order to engage in a more cohesive skills progression, and choose more variety on a regular basis.  If a camper has a favorite chug, they will be able to pick that chug multiple times throughout the summer!  Chalutzim and Ohalim campers will have three chugs each day (instead of the previous two), and in addition to their chugs Noar campers will have a daily activity period where they get to choose one of 7 or 8 activities on a daily basis!  Never a dull moment.

We’re so excited that camp is just around the corner.  We highly value parent and camper feedback, and have done our best to incorporate wishes and desires into new programming and exciting changes for this summer.  As always please share comments below, give us a call, send an email to wisekids@mandeljcc.org, or fill out the form below to let us know your thoughts.

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