Hello Canadensis!
I hope this April blog finds everyone in great spirits! Things here are at camp are just amazing! We are definitely getting into the Summer spirit! As I sit here on a Friday afternoon, I got the real urge to do some blogging! I’m so pumped for the summer!
This weekend, we will have our New Camper Bowling Event for campers currently in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade. It’s always great when you get to see our campers and this event is always a nice way for them to meet one another before they spend a summer at camp together. We will be sure to post pictures to show everyone next week.
On April 1, we opened up our Tour Book for any future family that would like to visit Camp Canadensis. Over the past few weeks, we have heard from so many families that were referred by existing families. As always, we like to thank them for telling others about Canadensis. If you know of any family that would be interested in touring, please have them call our Winter office to set up a visit. The schedule starts to fill up really quickly. We will once again be having our Tour and More Weekend on July 13-14 for any future campers that would like to experience a weekend at camp. Spots for this opportunity go really quickly. In addition to the Tour and More Weekend, we are introducing the Tour and More Play Day on Sunday, July 28. This is for future campers that would just like to stay at camp for the day. For more information about the Tour and More Weekend or the Tour and More Play Day (including a registration form), click here.
Earlier this week, the excitement for camp really built up as me, Eric and Pam locked ourselves away in a secluded and top secret location to begin working on our 6-Day Master Schedule. Only kidding about it being top secret. However, this process is one that requires a lot of attention and no distractions. Sorting out all of the bunk/division activities and the electives for 400+ plus campers truly is a huge task. The whole process usually takes anywhere from 3-4 full days as we try to develop a daily schedule that has a wide range of activities and ensures that our campers get a little bit of everything after each week of the summer is completed. We take into consideration a wide range of criteria when it comes to determining frequencies of activities, proper staff coverage and instruction to age and gender appropriateness of activities. At the same time, we look at the feedback that we get from campers, parents and staff from the previous summer. We will continue this scheduling adventure next week at an all new top secret location. Ha Ha!
On top of all this, we have been busy planning all of the other stuff for the upcoming summer, too, including evening activities and special event days, Pike County Inter-Camp tournaments and games, overnights, off camp trips and of course…COLOR WAR! Matt and Eric have also been up to camp several times over the past few weeks to check up on camp projects. Now that the weather is getting nicer, our maintenance team can start to get outside again and complete all the projects on our list. The water slides at the Blue Pool have started to be built, courts are getting resurfaced and painted and bunks are getting upgraded.
We are happy to announce that one special event to return to Canadensis after a summer away will be Adam Issadore and his Path To Rhythm Drumming Program. Adam has been at Canadensis before and he is so great with our campers, creating bonding activities through percussion. For more about Adam and his program, click here.
We hope our camp families are preparing for the summer, too. Camp Forms are due in just a few weeks. So, if you haven’t started on them yet, please get them to us ASAP.
Congratulations to Natalie Pearlman of Parkland, FL for winning our Annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Pool. Natalie is a new camper in 3rd and will be part of our Upper Junior Girls division in Summer 2013. She will receive her prize while at camp this summer. Way to go, Natalie!
Speaking of the NCAA Tournament, I got these pictures sent to me by Jason “J.Cal” Calabretta, who attended the Syracuse-Marquette Elite 8 Game a few weeks ago. J.Cal was at the game with Rebecca Waxman and Matt Kissler. Here are the pics…
J.Cal and Rebecca Waxman take a picture before the game. Look at J.Cal, posing as a Syracuse fan! Rebecca attends SU.
By the look of it, they had great seats!
As for my Syracuse Orange, they made one great run in this year’s tournament! I never thought they would make the Final Four, but they played really well and I will now have bragging rights over all those staff that go to Indiana University. Ha Ha! Congratulations to Louisville on their championship run but I’m fairly sure we don’t have any staff that attend there. The final game vs. Michigan was one for the ages…a truly hard fought battle that reminded me just why I love this tournament so much! At least I got a great new shirt out of it…
My new Syracuse shirt!
Last week, my love of music was very much satiated as my all time favorite band, The Black Crowes, came off of it’s 3-year hiatus to play four shows in our area. Of course, I am completely crazy and just had to attend all four nights. Very exhausting, but very much well worth it. Jaime had a great time with our friends and even ran into a few camp parents at each of the shows. Good to see all of those we ran into. Here’s a clip of the Crowes at one of the shows we went to, playing one of their greatest hits, Wiser Time…
With all of this, there is still time to see so many of our campers. Here are some more home visits to tell you about…
In Wayne, NJ, I caught up with the Tombacks, Brett and Sammie, both who will be back at camp for their second summer. Now in 4th grade, Brett is starting his third season on his travel baseball team, the Wayne Warriors. He also let me know that he recently finished up his basketball season on the Wayne Wolfpack, a team that posted a 42-8 record and made it all the way to the championship game. Brett wanted to give a shout out to his bunkmates from Summer 2012’s Bunk 4. This summer, as a Lower Inter, he is really excited for CBL and CFL sports leagues. As for Sammie, now in 2nd grade, she was in the play, “The Little Mermaid,” where she was a lagoon animal. She is also really busy with jazz, acro and hip hop dance at her Stagelight Dance studio, where she is rehearsing for a recital in the Spring. Sammie also filled me in on a new craft that she has been doing called Rainbow Loom (see picture below), where you can make all different kinds of bracelets. She even made me a blue and gold one! When she is a Lower Junior this summer, she is ready to go waterskiing (this time on the rope). She also wanted to say hello to all of her camp friends from Summer 2012’s Bunk 2. Here is a picture…
Me with Lower Junior Girl Sammie Tomback and Lower Inter Boy Brett Tomback.
Here is the Rainbow Loom that Sammie showed me. She even made me a bracelet. For more information, you can go to www.rainbowloom.com. It is a lot of fun!
In Scarsdale, NY, I got together with the Kaller Family, who will now have three campers at Canadensis this summer; Jordana (Lower Senior; 4th Summer), Ben (Upper Inter; 3rd Summer) and Noah (Upper Junior; 1st Summer). Jordana is starting lacrosse season this time of year and playing tennis. This year, she has seen a lot of her camp friends, attending a number of bar and bat mitzvahs. She is also busy planning her own big day. When she gets to camp, she is excited for the Hondas, Color War, cooking and just being in the Senior division. Ben is playing tennis in both private and small group lessons. He also has enjoyed playing with the new family dog, Barkley. Coincidentally, Ben was also seeing some of his bunkmates the very next day. Ben can’t wait for all of his mountain biking opportunities at camp this summer. Noah has been very active with a number of different sports as he plays football in the Fall, basketball in the Winter and baseball in the Spring. He is also a very big fan of WWE wrestling. This summer, Noah told me that he is really looking forward to having great counselors at camp. Here is a pic…
Me with Lower Senior Girl Jordana Kaller, Upper Junior Boy Noah Kaller and Upper Inter Boy Ben Kaller (and the family dog, Barkley).
In Tenafly, NJ, I got to hang out with the Waldmans. Ally Waldman is returning for her 4th Summer as a Freshman girl and will now be joined by her brother Jason Waldman, who is in the 3rd grade and will be an Upper Junior. Now in 6th grade, Ally has been active with tennis, soccer and skiing. Of course, there is always time for her camp friends as she is always on the computer, connecting with her camp friends. She is really excited for her Freshman year at camp. Jason told me that this was his first year of playing tackle football, where he played DE and TE, for his team, the Tenafly Tigers. In the Winter months, he was also on a basketball team. Jason is also an awesome skier. When at home, he likes to build legos and play video games. His favorite game at the moment is “Lego Lord of the Rings.” For his first summer at camp, he can’t wait for the quads, all the lake activities and gaga. While there, I also got to see oldest sister, Samantha, who is now in the 7th grade. While she won’t be back at camp this summer, she wanted to give a huge shout out to all of her camp sisters. Here is a picture…
Me with Upper Junior Boy Jason Waldman, Freshman Girl Ally Waldman and oldest sister Samantha Waldman.
In New York City, I spent some time with Damian Stellings, who is currently in the 3rd grade and will be an Upper Junior this Summer. Damian does a little bit of everything! He plays soccer, tennis and baseball. He is also a big time chess player and showed me a huge trophy for winning the elementary section of a recent chess tournament. Damian is enrolled in an actors workshop and recently starred in a production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” On top of all that, he takes a computer class each week. When he gets to camp, he is looking forward to soccer, tennis lessons, rocketry, gaga and glass fusion. Here is a photo…
Me with Upper Junior Boy Damian Stellings.
In Livingston, NJ, I met up with Mitchell Konstandt, who is currently in the 2nd grade and will be in our Lower Junior division at camp. Mitchell plays travel soccer on his team the Livingston Lightning. In the Winter, his indoor soccer team actually had an undefeated season. Right now, he is also playing in a full gear lacrosse league, where he was drafted onto the Syracuse team. In addition to all of this, Mitchell loves participating in lego robotics and is on a Mindstorm team. He goes rock climbing, too. He is a big fan of the New York Giants. And, he showed me two full bags of paper airplanes that he made. We flew a few of them together. At camp, Mitchell can’t wait for fishing, rocketry, woodworking, the quads and the water slides. Here is a pic…
Me with Lower Junior Boy Mitchell Konstandt.
I met up with Keim Family as we shared a meal in my hometown of Montclair, NJ (although they are from Livingston, NJ). Both Harrison (6th grade; Freshman Boy; 3rd summer) and Ben (3rd grade; Upper Junior Boy; 2nd summer) will be back at camp. They told me that they recently got back from a trip in Mexico, which they both said was amazing. Harrison and Ben have been busy all year long with sports. They both play soccer, basketball and baseball. With camp getting closer and closer, they are very excited about coming back to Canadensis. Here is a picture…
Me with Freshman Boy Harrison Keim and Upper Junior Boy Ben Keim.
Got some other great photos that were sent to me that I’d like to share with you, too…
The Lefkowitz and Minion Families got together for a day in Central Park in NYC. From left to right: Devin Lefkowitz, Ryan Lefkowitz, Josh Minion, Cody Lefkowitz, Dan Minion and Zach Minion.
Upper Junior Boy Jack Cohen sports his Camp Canadensis shirt while on vacation in Las Vegas.
Freshman Girl Gaby Hirsch’s grandpa also sports his favorite T-Shirt!
And, even my own grandma wears her favorite camp sweatshirt!
Former camper and counselor Adam Scharfberg got to meet one of his favorite celebrities…Phish singer and guitarist Trey Anastasio.
I got this You Tube video sent to me a few weeks ago and I thought it was a really funny statement on how technology has begun to influence our lives, but how we still need old fashioned paper at times. It is a commercial that is featured in France, but it definitely makes it’s point regardless of where you live. I thought it was hilarious. Check it out!
Well, that’s all of the blogging for now. Until the next time…HAVE A GREAT DAY!
-Brian
