Hello Canadensis!
So glad April is here! That means we are one month closer to the best summer ever! And, the month of April got off to an amazing start with our Annual New Camper Bowling Event in North Brunswick, NJ at the Brunswick Zone! This get together for our new campers and some of our younger returning campers was an unbelievable opportunity for a meet and greet, some games, pizza and bowling! The event, which was split up into four different meeting times for different age groups in the Junior and Lower Inter divisions, started with each group playing a game of Camper Bingo, which allowed all the campers to meet one another. Some age groups even played a name dance game. Then, campers were split up into different lanes for bowling and a pizza lunch. All campers left with the names of all campers in their division as it is our hope that they will set up get-togethers of their own before the summer begins. The New Camper Bowling was also attended by many of our staff including me, Eric, Pam, Cara and Matt as well as Girls Head Counselor Robin Forti, Camp Mom Stephanie Vorcheimer, Boys Group Leader Pete Tarnoff and Camp Media Guru Jason “Jay Cal” Calabretta. Thanks to all of the families that came to the day. Here are some pictures from this wonderful day…
Me and Group Leader Pete Tarnoff with some of our new Lower Inter Boys.
Eric and Robin with some of our new Junior Girls for Summer 2011!
Pam with some of our Junior Boys for 2011!
Me getting to know some of our Junior Boys.
The home visits keep on comin’ and it’s so great to see all of our campers and camp families. In East Rockaway, NY, I got to hang out with Mitchell Klee, who is in the 3rd grade and will be part of our Junior Boys Division. He has been so excited for baseball season to begin. This season, Mitchell is playing on the RiverCats and will be playing 2nd base, 3rd base, short stop and 1st base. In the winter, he played on a basketball team. He also takes tennis lessons. He is a big sports fan and roots for the Yankees, Islanders and Miami Heat. Mitchell is also a big follower of WWE and his favorite wrestlers are the Undertaker and Jon Cena. This summer, he is excited for baseball, boating and meeting new friends. Here is a picture…
Me with Junior Boy Mitchell Klee.
Also in East Rockaway, NY, I got to hang out with the Goldbergs, Robbie and Sammi. Robbie, returning for his 5 year jacket summer as part of our Freshman Boys Division, is busy playing both soccer and baseball (his biggest passion) while Sammi is working her way through her junior year in High School. Sammi is now part of our staff as a Junior Counselor this summer, which will be her 10 year jacket summer! Sammi showed me her room at home, which is basically an homage to Camp Canadensis, including actually lake water and beach sand from Lake Lenape. Needless to say, she loves camp! Along with dad Lionel, the four of us got to hang out at one of my favorite places…Ralph’s Italian Ices. Here is a pic…
Me with Freshman Boy Robbie Goldberg and Junior Counselor Sammi Goldberg.
In Merrick, NY, I got to see Freshman Girl Sophy Feldman, returning for her 5th summer, and her younger brother Joey Feldman, who is coming to camp for his first summer. Sophy told me just how excited she is for camp to start, saying that it is one of her favorite places. In fact, she was hoping to skip the rest of school to come up and help us open camp for everyone in June. As for Joey, who is in the 2nd grade and will be in the Junior Boys Division, he was starting his baseball season as part of the Blue Jays team, where he will be playing catcher, pitcher and 1st base. Joey also plays goalie on a soccer team. He is a big fan of Star Wars and video games, his favorite game being Ninja Garden these days. He also roots for the Islanders and Rangers hockey teams. This summer, he is ready to try the batting cages, golf, soccer and making new friends at camp. Here is a photo…
Me with Junior Boy Joey Feldman. Freshman Girl Sophy Feldman had to leave before we took this picture.
In Summit, NJ, I spent some time with Lily Ufberg, who will be part of our Junior Girls Division and is currently in the 3rd grade. Lily is a 2nd Generation Canadensis camper as her father Jeff Ufberg remembers all is wonderful days at camp. Lily is rehearsing with her hip hop dance team as she has an upcoming performance in the spring in which she will be dancing to the song “My Shoes.” She is also already skiing black diamond slopes when she and her family go skiing in Scranton, PA. She loves gymnastics and bike riding with friends. She is also a fan of the TV show “Zoe 101.” This summer, she is excited for the activities on the lake such as kayaking and boating, activities at the Art Center like Glass Fusion and Ceramics and making a whole bunch of new friends! Here is a photo…
Me with Junior Girl and 2nd Generation Canadensis Camper Lily Ufberg.
In South Orange, NJ, I got to know 3rd grader and Junior Boy Ethan Goldman a whole lot better. For starters, Ethan is an accomplished piano player and he even played me a few tunes. That was nothing compared to the recent performance he put on in front of his entire school! Ethan is also playing soccer on his travel team called the South Orange Fireballs. He also enjoys rock climbing, tennis and ice skating lessons. This summer, he can’t wait for all the stuff to do on Lake Lenape including banana boating, waterskiing and boating. He is also looking forward to the climbing wall, ropes course and zipline and the hondas / go-karts. Here is a picture…
Me with Junior Boy Ethan Goldman.
In Plymouth Meeting, PA, I saw the Brucker Family! David Brucker, now in the 4th grade, will be returning for his second summer in the Lower Inter Boys division. David filled me in that he just recently competed with some classmates in the Odyssey of the Mind Competition. For this, his team had to write and perform an 8-minute skit, which was called “Le Tour Guide.” His team finished 8th out of 26 teams. Way to go, David! David is also playing the oboe (which I initially thought was a string instrument…ha ha!) and is taking tennis lessons. He also visited the Casino Movie Theater near camp on a recent ski trip in the Poconos. This summer, David looks forward to the lake activities and waterskiing, the zipline and ropes course and Color War. He also wanted to say hello to all of the boys from Summer 2010’s Bunk 4. Younger sister Marissa Brucker, who will be attending our Sibling Sleepover Weekend at camp this year, is now in the first grade. She is busy with skiing, piano and gymnastics. Here is a shot…
Me with Lower Inter Boy David Brucker and Future Canadensis Campers Marissa Brucker and Matty Brucker.
In Short Hills, NJ, I spent some time with 3rd grader and Junior Boy Austin Peng, who will be joining us for his first summer. Austin is currently playing catcher, 1st base and 2nd base on his baseball team, the Thunder. He also likes to swim and build with Legos. Austin is a pretty good Wii player and Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Party are his favorites. At camp this summer, he is excited for baseball, go karts / hondas, archery, basketball, climbing wall and ropes course, fishing, mountain biking, soccer, rocketry, lacrosse and cooking. Here is a picture…
Me with Junior Boy Austin Peng.
Also in Short Hills, NJ, I saw Mitch Braunstein, who is in the 3rd grade and will be in our Junior Boys division for his first summer at camp. Mitch currently plays baseball on his team, the Royals. He also plays basketball. Mitch loves building with Legos and he showed me a wide assortment of his amazing creations! He also likes having sleepovers with friends, fishing and candy! When he comes to camp, Mitch is excited to play newcomb, go waterskiing and banana boating and the hondas and go karts. Here is a photo…
Me with Junior Boy Mitch Braunstein.
As someone that “lives camp all year round,” I always get excited to learn about bunk reunions and get-togethers that are planned. A few weeks ago, the girls from Summer 2010’s Bunk 8 had a get-together in southern New Jersey for a full day of fun, swimming and dinner. Here are some pictures I received…
2010's Girls Bunk 8 first went swimming.
Just goofing around! I love this pic!
Finishing a great day off at dinner!
Also, I got a great picture from Lauren “L-Mac” Mcguire of a recent trip she made to the Midwest to see other camp staff. Here is the shot…
Some of our great camp staff (from L to R): Nora Tkac, Lauren "L-Mac" McGuire, Casey Lotz, Andi Riemersma and Mike Millinger.
Finally, thanks to everyone that participated in our First Annual College Basketball Bracket Pool for the NCAA Tournament. Our camper winner was Junior Boy and first year camper Jake Brownstein. Our staff winner was our very own year round employee…Cara Corradetti! Congratulations!
Cara Corradetti won the staff entry for our first annual college basketball pool. And, she claims to know nothing about sports! Sure. (Wink, wink).
Well, that’s all the blogging for now. More to come. Counting down the days to camp. My count says 74 days!
Have a great day…Brian
