I’m so excited for New Camper bowling!  We have such FABULOUS new campers coming to Canadensis this summer, and on Sunday it will be the first chance for them to meet each other.  This means that summer 2011 is coming quick!

At New Camper Bowling, we will be selling some of our Canadensis Cares “Care Wear”, which helps us raise money to send more kids to camp.  We have blankets, sweatshirts, baseball hats and much more.  Check out this super cute poster that Cara made about Care Wear, and be sure to check out the Care Wear table during New Camper Bowling!

Hello Canadensis!

Yes.  Yes.  I know.  A few weeks without a blog.  To make up for it, though, here is one of my Mega-Blogs to re-cap the time that has gone by without my filling in everyone in Canadensis Cyberspace.

First off, thank you to all of the camp families that came out to Philadelphia, PA on Sunday, March 13 to represent Camp Canadensis at the Jewish Relief Agency (JRA Event).  This was the second year that we did this and just like last year, I was personally amazed at what they do at JRA.  For a few hours, volunteers work together to package kosher, non-perishable food in boxes.  After packing, the volunteers load their cars and deliver the food packages to more than 2500 low income Jewish homes.  The feeling you get doing this is just remarkable and the recipients are just so grateful for the boxes they receive.  Here are a few pictures from the event…

Our Canadensis Team takes a break from our food deliveries for a quick photo.

 

Me (with my crazy hat for Purim) and Jaime with the Cebula Family...Mike, camper Rachel and Suzanne; younger brother Adam (not pictured was still working hard with his volunteering when this picture was taken).

On March 15-18, the winter team of me, Eric, Pam, Cara, Matt and Neil headed down to Atlantic City for one of our favorite times of the year…the American Camp Association Tri-State Camping Conference.  This four day event has over 3000 attendees from camps all over the country and allows us to attend sessions that discuss all aspects of camp.  The conference brings in many speakers.  This year, two of the keynote speakers included best selling authors Seth Godin and Jean Kilbourne.  The conference also hosts one of the largest exhibit halls and gives us the opportunity to scout out new services for camp.  If you would like to learn more about this event, you can visit the website here:  http://www.aca-nynj.org/.  In the exhibit hall, Cara and I stopped and competed in a dancing game.  Here is a shot…

Cara and I in a "Dance Off" at the Tri-State Camp Conference. Cara, who won this match-up again?

For all of our new campers in grades 1-4, we are so looking forward to our annual New Camper Bowling Event in North Brunswick, NJ this weekend on April 3.  This is a great event, along with our Open House on June 5, for campers and parents to meet one another and talk all about camp!  We play ice breaker games, bowl and eat pizza.

BOWLING TIMES

There have been a number of wonderful home visits to fill you in on as well.  In Warren, NJ, I got to hang out with Sophia Brociner, who is in the 4th grade and will be in our Lower Inter Girls Division this summer for her first summer at Canadensis.  In the fall, winter and spring, Sophia is one busy girl.  She is active with a softball team and a dance team, which has a performance in the spring.  She participates in a program called “Girls on the Run,” which promotes physical fitness and self-esteem through long distance running.  She also plays the saxophone, swims, bike rides and is involved in her local Girls Scouts troop.  With all of this, she always finds time to take care of her guinea pig Penelope.  When she gets to camp this year, she is excited for Glass Fusion, the Banana Boat, going on her division’s overnight and the high ropes course.  Here is a photo…

Me with Lower Inter Girl Sophia Brociner and her guinea pig Penelope.

Also in Warren, NJ, I got together with 3rd grader and Junior Girl Sydney Cohn.  Sydney, who is coming to camp for her first summer, is very busy with several different activities.  She is in a hip-hop dance class at Dance Express and will be performing in the spring to the hit song “Supersonic.”  She takes tennis lessons and also likes to play forward on her soccer team, which has games in both the spring and fall.  She told me that she also likes to learn about and collect crystals.  Sydney let me know that she is completely psyched about the upcoming summer and is eager to try the ropes course, archery, swimming, kayaking and biking.  At the same time, she can’t wait to make a whole bunch of new friends as well as get a break from school.  Here is a pic…

Me with Junior Girl Sydney Cohn.

In Short Hills, NJ, I met up with 2nd grade boy Justin Green, who will be in our Junior Boys division.  When I asked him about what he is looking forward to in his first summer, he replied with excitement, “I can’t wait for a great summer at Canadensis!”  Justin also filled me in that he plays left midfield for his travel soccer team, the Millburn Blast, and that he takes tennis lessons.  At his house, I also got introduced to his new dog Rafa.  While there, Justin also beat me in a game of Foosball.  Justin let me know that he is a really good joke teller.  This summer, he is ready to try activities like rocketry, all of the lake activities, the Banana Boat and soccer.  Here is a photo…

Me with Junior Boy Justin Green and his new dog Rafa.

In Morristown, NJ, I spent some time with the Hawks brothers, 6th grader Drake and 2nd grader Branden.  Drake, who will be back at camp for his 4th summer as part of our Freshman Boys Division, has been playing a lot of lacrosse as an attacker for his team the Colonials.  With the many weekends he spends skiing, he just recently placed 5th out of 90 skiers at the Kandahar Challenge Championships.  In the fall, Drake also played goalie on his soccer team.  Drake wanted to say hello to all of his bunkmates from Summer 2010’s Bunk 11.  He is also looking forward to a Lacrosse inter-camp and Color War.  Drake’s younger brother Branden will be at Canadensis for his first summer and will be in our Junior Boys Division.  Also a big skier, Branden just took 2nd place in a recent Hunter Mountain Race.  In the next few weeks, he will be starting his baseball season, where he really enjoys pitching.  He also plays flag football for his Jr. Colonials team.  In the fall, he will be moving up to play tackle football.  When he gets to camp in 2011, he can’t wait for baseball, fishing, waterskiing, sailing, woodworking and the Corn Man!  Here is a photo…

Me with the Hawks Brothers, (left) Junior Boy Branden Hawks and (right) Freshman Boy Drake Hawks.

In Bala Cynwyd, PA, I had so much with the Rosenau Girls, Julia and Emma!  Julia, now in the 7th grade, is so psyched for her 5th summer at Canadensis as she will now receive her 5-Year Jacket!  She has been extremely busy this year on the Bar and Bat Mitzvah Circuit seeing all of her camp friends.  She also showed me pictures from her own Bat Mitzvah which took place  a few months ago.  She has also been playing basketball and softball.  Julia is so happy to be a Lower Senior this year and wanted to give a shout out to all of her bunkmates from Summer 201o’s Bunk 12 as well as Assistant Head Counselor Karen Sharir!  She also can’t wait for Cooking and Hondas.  Emma, who is now in 4th grade and will be in our Lower Inter Girls Division as part of her second summer at camp, has been involved with gymnastics, softball, basketball and playing the cello.  At camp this year, she anxiously awaits Color War, Glass Fusion and once again beating me in Basketball.  Last summer, myself and two other counselors lost fair in square to the Girls of Bunk 4.  This year, we will have a rematch!  Emma also wanted to say hello to all of the Girls from last summer’s Bunk 4.  Here is a picture…

Me with the Rosenau Girls, (left) Lower Senior Girl Julia Rosenau and (right) Lower Inter Girl Emma Rosenau.

Finally, in Rye Brook, NY, I saw first time camper and 3rd grader Zack Richman, who will be in our Junior Boys division.  Zack plays travel soccer in both the fall and spring as part of his team, the Rye Brook Raptors, where he plays left wing and striker.  Zack told me about his recent trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, where he just learned how to ski a black diamond trail.  Zack also enjoys basketball and is even a real student of the game and learns about NBA legends such as Walt Frazier, Clyde “The Glide” Drexler and Wilt Chamberlain.  He also likes ice skating and hopes one day to start playing ice hockey.  When he gets to came in a few months, he is looking forward to the Banana Boat, waterskiing, making S’Mores, tennis, and most importantly, making new friends!  Zack’s younger sister Zoe, a future Canadensis camper, let me know that she has been busy with hip-hop dance, cooking, ice skating and soccer.  Here is a pic…

Me with Junior Boy Zack Richman and Future Canadensis Camper Zoe Richman.

As is always the case here on Brian’s Blog, I love to hear about camp friends getting together over the fall, winter and spring months.  When I get this information, I am always eager to see pictures, so I can then post them hear.  Well, it turns out that a few weeks back, the girls of Summer 2010’s Bunk 6 had a sleepover at Alexa Dersovitz’s house.  According to Alexa’s mom Nicole, the girls had an absolute blast!  Here is a pic…

The Girls of Summer 2010's Bunk 6 recently had a sleepover.

I hope all of our camp families are gearing up for the summer as we are now less than 100 days away from an amazing summer.  We just recently sent out our latest camp mailing with a whole new bunch of forms.  If there are any families with questions, please call us.  If there are any prospective families looking to book tours of camp this summer, please give us a call as we are beginning to book tours on April 1.

Well, that’s all for now.  More to blog next week.  See everyone soon!

Have a great day…Brian

It’s time for another round of everyone’s favorite game!  (Well, that might be an overstatement…it could just be my favorite game…)  Please submit your rhyming quotes for this “Annie the Dog” photo!

“Annie the Dog, at her desk working hard…Annie the Dog, do you have a business card?”

Let me set the scene: I had been overseas for almost 6 weeks in 2 months time. That’s alot of time sleeping in random hotel rooms, eating international “cuisine”, and tons and tons of airline flights/miles. So, it’s my last day in Paris before flying home. It’s the last international trip until after camp and I say to Robin (who I so graciously took along to Paris and Milan with me) how much I have enjoyed being overseas and seeing the world, but that I was looking forward to returning home to the good ol’ USA.

The camper fair went great at a private American school in Paris and ended around 8PM. By the time we cleaned up and got back to the hotel, it was around 9PM, so we decided to grab some Chinese food quickly for dinner and call it a night before flying home the next morning. That’s when it all started…

The front desk recommended a Chinese restaurant right next door. The food was sitting in large plates in a trophy looking display case and yes, everyone says “that should have been your first sign”. We ordered our food, which they put into plastic tubs and microwaved (2nd sign) and ate dinner. Because Robin is a vegetarian, we don’t share very many things (I had beef and she had shrimp).

Fast forward to 3AM—I wake up, went to the bathroom, and the rest is history. I will spare you all of the details, but let’s just say it wasn’t pretty, the hotel was sold out so they couldn’t switch our room, and we were both up until 7AM, when we were to leave for the airport. I skyped with Continental Airlines and without any argument (I was shocked!) they rebooked me on the next day’s flight to Philly, while Robin continued on the original flight to Newark. I officially had food poisoning and couldn’t fly home, literally hours before my final trip came to an end! Talk about jinxing it…

All ended OK as I took a day to recuperate at the airport hotel in Paris and flew home the next day. I think my body was just telling me to slow down, stop flying so much, and just RELAX! Of course when I arrived home I went right back to fast paced environment, but it was good to rest for a day.

Highlights in Paris and Milan include:

Amazing pizza, pasta, and gelato. It was nice in Milan to be able to walk into ANY restaurant and order pizza and a calzone and share it with Robin. Yummy!

We did a pastry/baking class while in Paris and that was so much fun. We went to a working Pattiserie and had a tour of the back of the house operations. Afterwards, we had a chance to bake our own croissant (think TONS OF BUTTER, OY) as well as our own baguette (a long French bread essentially).

We had a chance to meet some of our new International campers for this summer! We will be having a few campers from France throughout the summer, and it will provide a unique opportunity to learn about different cultures and what it’s like to grow up in a different country. Last summer we had 3 international campers and they loved the Canadensis experience. Their bunkmates also enjoyed getting to know them, so we are looking forward to yet another positive experience for Summer 2011!

Back here in the US, it’s camp, camp, oh and Passover. Robin decided that we should host 23 people this Passover at our house…that’s TWENTY THREE PEOPLE! Wow. Our first time doing a holiday, did I mention 23 people??

Anyway, like I said, camp, camp, camp. Matt Unger and I are taking weekly trips to camp at this point to check-in with things there. The weather a few weeks ago was great, nice and warm, and outdoor projects were going on. Unfortunately, 8 inches of snow dumped on camp and now we can’t work outside. So, it’s back to the inside projects…which by the way are coming along nicely. I will have more info on that shortly.

New Camper Bowling is coming up this Sunday! Our year round winter staff will be there, along with Robin,  Peter Tarnoff, and Jcal!! Looking forward to a fun day with all of our NEW campers for Summer 2011!

That’s all for now, but check back soon.

I’m SO excited to see all of our adorable new campers next weekend!  New Camper Bowling is on Sunday, April 3rd, and we’ll be bowling the entire day with the different age groups.  Hope to see you there!

Guest Blog by Rafael Rodrigues

So I have been reading Eric’s tweets from across the globe and I am pretty envious. I am excited for the collaboration to begin between Eric,  JCal and I. I will be assisting in the production of the today show.

In my spare time I love to rock climb, play soccer, and challenge opponents in table tennis/ ping pong. I have a younger brother who is 17 years old. As far as my skills I have been interning at an video production studio in Providence, RI. This semester I am taking two fine art classes ceramics and old fashion photography. Yeah I am mastering the development and processing of film in the dark room. Film makes digital photography seem like a breeze. Ceramics is a fun course to as I have been making some pinch bowls, coffee cups, and vases.

Outside of school I ran a half marathon last May. I love crepes and sweets. I can make some delicious smoothies, shakes, and banana splits as I have made thousands of them at Ben & Jerry’s.

I am excited to meet all these new faces at camp from the campers to the staff. I can’t wait to engage in games, stories, and sports with your son or daughter this summer.

See you in June,

Rafael Rodrigues

Last week I told you about some of my favorite incoming Jersey Girl campers, and today I thought I’d introduce you to some awesome incoming campers from my home state of New York!

Jaynie is a current 4th grader at Birch Elementary in Merrick, NY, and she will be a Lower Inter Girl this summer.  She is a super fun, goofy and silly girl, who would be an awesome bunkmate this summer.  As you can see from the picture above, she was actually practicing decorating her camp bunk by decorating her bedroom door!  It’s full of pictures of Justin Bieber, she had just seen his movie and is a big fan!

Jaynie is an even bigger fan of basketball, dancing and gymnastics.   Her favorite gymnastics event is the bars, her favorite subject in school is reading, her favorite color is blue, and she loves to eat mac & cheese, which we serve about every week at camp!  She’s not a big fan of vegetables (which we need in order to get energized for all the camp activities!!) and she really likes to sleep late, so I’m going to prepare her counselors during orientation to drag her out of bed in the morning so she can enjoy all the camp fun we pack into a Camp Canadensis day!  When I was over her house, we watched the new camp DVD, and she’s excited for the first day on June 25th!  Jaynie can’t wait to make new friends, try the activities on the lake, learn how to water-ski, and go on hikes.  I told her all about the overnight program where we hike to the waterfall, pitch tents, and cook dinner and breakfast, and she’s totally pumped for it! When she’s not on overnights or swinging from the gymnastic bar, she promised to write really long letters home, and I’m sure that her younger sister and brother are going to be very excited to hear about her camp adventures!

Jamie is current 3rd grader from Port Washington, who will be a Junior Girl at camp this summer.  When asked to describe herself in three words, she said “Funny, Goofy and Loud”!  I know Jamie from the Tour and More Weekend at camp last summer, and I have to agree…she says the funniest things, and she promised that she is so super loud and will never lose her voice.  That never-ending voice will really come in handy while cheering during Color War this summer!  Her big sister Lauren is going to be a Freshman Girl, and luckily that means they are both on Lower Girls Side, so it will be a bit easier for their parents to find them in our online photo system this summer!

Jamie’s favorite color is hot pink, she loves to play tennis and basketball, and she’s a total thrill-seeker.  She has gone on all the crazy rides at the amusement parks in Disney World, so she is already sure she wants to be in one of our fast groups when we take the whole camp to Dorney Park this summer!  When she grows up, she wants to become a teacher – and she really enjoys reading.  Her favorite book is “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer“, which I had never heard of, but might be worth checking out.  Jamie gets super hyper when she eat sugar, so watch out after you go to canteen at night with her!  She also loves to eat steak which gets served at camp a few times during the summer, and she’s looking forward to Chinese Food Night at camp, which is when we serve lo-mein noodles out of Chinese takeout containers.  She is super excited for the summer, she can’t wait for Glass Fusion and hanging out with her big sister and friends!

The entire Ambos family has major Camp Canadensis spirit!  Before I left their home, Jamie and Lauren showed me their computer desktop…the wallpaper is the Canadensis Logo!  That means that every time the girls use the computer to check the camp blogs or do homework, they start thinking about the summer fun ahead in 2011!

Abby is a current 3rd grader from Briancliff Manor, NY and she’s going to be a Junior Girl at camp this summer.  I was lucky enough to meet her when she came up to take a tour of camp this summer, so I know that she’s going to be a fun, energetic and crazy (in an awesome way) camper!  She will be easily recognizable at camp because instead of wearing Yankees, Mets or Phillies gear, she’ll actually be showing her Chicago Cubs Spirit!  She loves the Cubs, Bears and Notre Dame, which is the area of the country where her parents used to live.

She is an all-around camper, the ideal Canadensis kid, who loves a little bit of everything we do at camp.  She loves sports, and plays basketball, soccer and lacrosse as extra curricular activities during the year.  She actually even played in the basketball championship, so she knows how to stay cool under pressure, which will come in handy during Color War!  She also loves Arts & Crafts, she goes to an art studio during the year, and she is very excited for Glass Fusion at camp, and she plans to make one of the pizza plates, which was a popular camp project last year. She really enjoys gymnastics too, and the balance beam is her favorite.  She is also a great swimmer, last year at Elmwood  Day Camp, she was a Blue Stingray.  And, it doesn’t stop there…you can also find Abby on stage, she loves to sing and has been in a lot of shows.  Right now she is preparing for a part in Annie, and she’s been in a long list of shows including Hairspray, Sound of Music, Wizard of OZ, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Bye Bye Birdie and Alice in Wonderland.   Even though she is super comfortable up on stage, she hasn’t been in a lake before, but she’s pumped to try banana boating and sailing on Lake Lenape!

Annie is a current 2nd grader at Village Elementary in Woodbury, NY, and she will be a Lower Junior Girl this summer!  She is going to be joining her two big siblings at Canadensis this summer – her older sister Rachel is going to be a Super Senior, and her big brother Matt will be a Lower Senior, which means that Annie is going to have Lower Camp all to herself this summer!  She is nice, funny and athletic, and her big sister says she’s aslo “crazy, artistic and lovable”.  She won’t be the only “Annie” at camp this summer…if you are a regular reader of the my blog, you’ll know that I also have a dog named Annie who comes to camp during the summer.  I brought a picture of my pup along on the home visit, and I’m excited to introduce the two of them in June!

Annie had just gotten back from a cruise when I came over, which is why she has super cute braids in her hair in the photo above.  She loved being on the beach and winning prizes in the arcades.  When she’s not on vacation, she loves to read, her favorite books are Amazing Days of Abby Hayes and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  Not only does she like to read, but she actually writes books too!  She actually writes a book almost everyday, so I’m sure that is preparing her to write some awesome letters home!  She loves to play sports too, her favorite sport is soccer because she enjoys running and scoring goals!  She likes to draw pictures, loves to dance, and sing songs.  Because she has older siblings at camp, she has already learned some of the old Color War songs that we sing, so if Annie is in your bunk, she’ll be excited to teach you how to sing along!

The final New Yorker that I want to introduce you to today is Carly!  She is a current 4th grader who goes to Hewlett Elementary, and lives in Hewlett NY.  She is going to be a Lower Inter Girl this summer, and her big sister Lindsey also started camp as a Lower Inter Girl three summers ago, so she is following in really great footsteps!  Carly was a Tour and More Camper last summer, so she’s already spent a few days up at camp trying out the activities, lake and pool.  She’s very excited to go to camp this summer and make tons of friends…Lindsey has told her how close you get with your bunkmates, and it’s like making 10 new sisters!

Lindsey is going to be a Lower Senior Girl this summer, which means she’ll be going on a bunch more trips this summer and that she’ll be living on Senior Girls side.  That means that Carly will have a great place to go visit during the summer when she has free time during rest hour and shower time, and that she can visit right before the dances to have help getting her hair ready!  It also means that hopefully she’ll be getting some souvenirs when Lindsey returns home from her trips.  Carly is going to get so much out of camp this summer, she loves playing sports – especially soccer, which is what she chose for her elective last year!  She loves to swim, and is excited to have her chance to go on the Summit (huge inflatable slide) at camp this summer.  She will miss some things about home (including her cats) but she is pumped for an amazing first summer at camp!

Hi Canadensis! It’s been a long time since I updated my blog – things have been so crazy in the winter office this year! Between a road trip to Michigan and a Tri-State Camp Conference so much preparation for summer 2011 has happened!

Pam and I went on a fabulous road trip to Michigan to hire some amazing staff for you all!  Here are some pictures of the friends we saw along the way:

Bridget and Mike meet us at BGSU!

Hanging out with Sarah, Kayla, and Ricky!

Ricky and I take a break during interviews...

So Sushi at University of Michigan!

More to come!

I’m about to head down to Atlantic City, NJ to meet the rest of our amazing year-round Camp Canadensis staff team (Eric, Brian, Matt and Cara) at the annual American Camp Association Tri-State Conference. It’s my favorite time of the year, besides actual camp! Since I’m heading to Jersey, I thought I’d introduce you to two awesome Jersey Girls who are going to be coming to camp this summer, and who I recently got to spend some time with on home visits…

Jordan is a spunky 2nd grader that I got to meet during her tour at camp this summer.  She actually came during Color War, and got to see our super spirited end-of-summer tradition in action!  Jordan lives in Norwood, NJ and will be coming to camp for the first time this summer.  She will be a lower Junior girl, and she’d like to go by the nickname “DJ JJ Rock”, so I’m sure we won’t be getting her confused with anyone else!

Jordan loves to sing and act, and she can even do a few different accents.  I really enjoy her British accent, which she had to learn in order to play Verruca Salt in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”.  She is also loves playing sports, doing arts, and she is very excited to test our our zipline at camp this summer.  I think she’ll be great on the high ropes course because I saw how good she was at climbing our small boulder when she was up at camp this summer!  Jordan has been helping her Mom make a bunch of adorable Canadensis clothing items for the summer, and in the photo above she is modeling a cute tye-dyed and studded example!  Lisa (Jordan’s mom) is very talented, and you can see some additional examples of her items here: http://handmadewithheart.phanfare.com/

Another awesome Jersey girl is Julia, who is a current 3rd grader from Tenafly, NJ.  She is going to be a Junior Girl, and she remembered so much about her tour of camp this summer!  Brian and I came over a bit early while Julia was still eating dinner, but once she finished, she had tons of energy and questions about camp, and I hope we gave her all the answers she was looking for!

She loves just about everything camp offers as an activity, including gymnastics, arts and crafts, soccer, and swimming.  Julia loves to sing and dance, so hopefully she will be on the Camp Canadensis stage this summer!  I had such a fun time with her and her little sister Casey (pictured above) and I can’t wait to have some camp fun with Julia in a few months!