Our campers love getting e-mail! To send your camper an e-mail, include her NAME and BUNK NUMBER in the subject line of the e-mail. Please send all e-mails to mail@campsimcha.org. Unfortunately, we cannot download any attachments so please include all content in the body of your e-mail.

Before the session begins, we would like to clarify some things about our Facebook galleries, public galleries on our website, and ParentSpace galleries.

Firstly, if your child is photo-release “in camp only”, he or she will only appear in the ParentSpace gallery. Your child will not appear on Facebook, nor on the public side of the site. So if your child is a camper, go ahead and sign up for ParentSpace. Not only will you see more pictures (2x more pictures than on FB), but you will also be privy to a video that will be produced special for you every day, a special blog, the daily camp newsletter, camp schedule, and forums where you can communicate with other parents.

Secondly, we have received emails from some parents who were having difficulty signing into ParentSpace. Please follow the instructions below for the proper way to log in to your account. If you haven’t applied for an account, please go ahead and apply for an account. You should be verified within 24 hours.

To log into your ParentSpace account please click go to campsimcha.org and click on LOGIN in the top right corner.

Then type in your username and password.

You will automatically land on the ParentSpace site.

From this page you can access a special blog just for parents, the daily schedule, and daily pictures and videos.

A COMMON PROBLEM: If you attempt to visit campsimcha.org/parentspace directly, and login there, you will be bounced to another login page. If you type in your username and password there you, will be granted access to ParentSpace. However, until we correct this glitch, we ask that you instead login by going to campsimcha.org and clicking login in the top right corner.

If you are still having trouble with parentspace, or if you have any questions, comments, requests, or suggestions for the blogs, please contact zahavah@campsimcha.org

You can also follow us on twitter @CampSimcha

First day at Camp Simcha and we are anxiously awaiting our camper arrivals! Everyone is hyped up and in vibrant colors. Our counselors are all well prepared after a full day of orientation. Orientation included speeches from our medical staff, division heads, head counselors and more. Even the head director of Chai Lifeline, Rabbi Scholar, shared his encouraging words of wisdom with us. Camp is ready, counselors are prepared, so get ready campers for the best summer of your life. Game on!

Check out and share this year’s music video, Happiness Heals.

There were some new color war games being played during second and third activity. The wacky Olympics in the gym got wackier, adding two games: 1.A bubble game, where campers had to blow bubbles and aim them to go through a hula hoop a couple of feet away. 2. A valiant egg toss. Two brave campers were even able to make it across the width of the entire gym! There were paddle boat races in the lake, and an actual sand castle contest. There were updates to the props as well. The full size camp made tank is now able to launch real live rockets, that were made in the camps very own rocketry workshop!!

After supper we all made our way to the social hall for the final chapter of color war. The skits were hilarious, the alma mater was sung passionately, and the both team projects were creative and magnificent. The blue team made a new set of very large doors, painted with great detail (and a lot of blue), for the candle works workshop. The green team made five green recycling bins, in a move to “go green”.

At last, it was time to announce the winner. First, dramatically, the scores were announced: 202-199. One could hear the nervous murmuring of the campers. In the climatic words of Ari Dembi, the head counselor: “And the winner of this years color war is….the green team!!!”.

From the games, creativity in song writing,skits,and projects, to the sheer energy and excitement that was experienced in the past 24 hours…It made this an epic color war, and one that this author will always remember.

Color war in Camp Simcha Special is off with a bang! First activity was filled with wacky olympic games ranging from holding a spoon in your mouth with an egg on it and racing to the other side of the gym, to a mummy your counselor  contest, were the object of the game was to cover your counselor from head to toe in toilet paper  “mummy style”. Whichever team covered their counselor more than everyone else in the given time limit, won! It was awesome and all the campers had a blast!!

When it came to lunch time, every inch of the dining room was completely outfitted in color war gear. From Oscar the grouch and Shrek posters on the green side, to Cookie Monster and blue tooth signs on the blue side, the ambience was loaded with energy. The camp creative crew, run by koko, really out did themselves filling the dining room with at least 20 foot long, authentic looking aircraft carrier, battle ship, and tank models in honor of the color war theme. So cool!

Afterwards each team rocked up the dining room with their color war songs, dancing and singing with a wild amount of enthusiasm. It all paled in comparison though to the “good sport” dance in the center of the dining room, where both teams dropped the competition for a few minutes and all danced together in a true show of unity.

Stay tuned for more on this, the greatest color war ever!

Our campers love getting e-mail! To send your camper an e-mail, include his NAME and BUNK NUMBER in the subject line of the e-mail. Please send all e-mails to mail@campsimcha.org. Unfortunately, we cannot download any attachments so please include all content in the body of your e-mail.

For technical assistance, please email estein@campsimcha.org

Over 200 CSSB2012 staff  arrived in on our beautiful, luxurious, and comfortable camp grounds today for CSSB2012 orientation. After a delicious lunch and some general bonding time, meeting new and greeting old, we went to the Social Hall to hear orientation speeches from Dembi, Rabbi K, Racheli Meister (our Head Nurse), and Shaindy Lowenthal, our program director. We were inspired, informed, interested, uplifted, and UPROARed. Following the orientation speeches, we followed Sergeant Dembi for “Staff Boot-Camp” during which we received a tour of the camp grounds, and were introduced to the staff hotel, dining room, bunkhouses, lake, etc. We sang, chanted, and denounced  slacking.

Following a tasty dinner, served by our Head Chef Ruevin, we headed to the social hall where we were shown a part of last year’s video. The lights were then turned off, the disco lights turned on, and we stamped and danced until we were utterly zonked.

It took a while to get fully recovered from the intensity of the mudsliding and dancing, but once we managed to recover ourselves, we all split in our respective divisions and had our first meeting get the down-low on this years theme “Game On’, and plot and plan the most amazing Camp Simcha boys session ever!!!!

A day full of glorious uproaring and TIKUNification, orientation has come to an end.

CSSB2012: Let the games begin

Before the session begins, we would like to clarify some things about our Facebook galleries, public galleries on our website, and ParentSpace galleries.

Firstly, if your child is photo-release “in camp only”, he will only appear in the ParentSpace gallery. He will not appear on Facebook, nor on the public side of the site. So if your child is a camper, go ahead and sign up for ParentSpace. Not only will you see more pictures (2x more pictures than on FB), but you will also be privy to a video that will be produced special for you every day, a special blog, the daily camp newsletter, and camp schedule.

Secondly, we have received emails from some parents who were having difficulty signing into ParentSpace. Please follow the instructions below for the proper way to log in to your account. If you haven’t applied for an account, please go ahead and apply for an account. You should be verified within 24 hours. We once again apologize for the hassle we have caused.

To log into your ParentSpace account please click go to campsimcha.org and click on LOGIN in the top right corner.

Then type in your username and password.

You will automatically land on the ParentSpace site.

From this page you can access a special blog just for parents, the daily schedule, and daily pictures and videos.

A COMMON PROBLEM: If you attempt to visit campsimcha.org/parentspace directly, and login there, you will be bounced to another login page. If you type in your username and password there you, will be granted access to ParentSpace. However, until we correct this glitch, we ask that you instead login by going to campsimcha.org and clicking login in the top right corner.

If you are still having trouble with parentspace, or if you have any questions, comments, requests, or suggestions for the blogs, please contact estein@campsimcha.org

You can also follow us on twitter @CSimchaSpecial

—>This public service announcement has been brought to you by the letter T (for Tikunim) and the number 12.

CSB2012 has officially come to an end.

Oh, the memories that we shared this summer… tikunei twelve…arrivals…cirqutacular…The Tikkunim band…first day band stand…steaks…Kunstler-boiangiu concert…combinos…”1-2-3 oh snap”..mad science… watermelon eating contest…fruit juicing… steve max…frog hat…aces…elvis…shooting range…eugene the magician..barn in the dining room…tailgate supper outside…tamir goodman…rocketship in the dining room…helicopter rides…car washing…carlebach Friday night…coby iPods…”how pathetic are you”…middos awards… tuna beigels…seudat shelishit and havdalah on the porch…I got a feelin’…tikunification…”playas are meant to fly”…Dr. Lenny water fight…live angry birds……challa baking… motzei shabbos in the house tonight…george the drum man…tonight tonight…Farmville……shuffelers…alan veingrad…jet skis…alain nu…stamp on the ground… ventriloquist…ny trip…happiness heals…double decker buses…ferry with entertainment…our dance by the apple…mets game…martz trailways……don’t be that guy…fencing…karate…paint twister…candle making… slackers…ductagami…new rock climbing wall…good shabbos…Shabbat shalom…birthday cake faceplant…zuccotti park..pottery…deal day…free presents…sweet shop…isolation… fitted caps…fireworks… darkroom…bingo…new niggun… duuuuvi becker yisroel…stall for time…good shtickel…portraits…awesome blog 😉 …mafia…party rock anthem..arts and crafts…leather…get ready for Simcha ’13 in Jerusalem. Wow! We did a lot!!

The New York trip was one for the books. Our protest in Zuccotti Park, and song and dance in front of Citi Field, showed the world that Happiness Heals. With our signs held high, we faced the world and showed them how strong we are and how strong we will be. And don’t let that overshadow the rest of the amazing trip. From the double decker buses, to the  boat ride, to the Mets game, it was a day that will be remembered deep into the winter.

To keep the memories of the session alive, and to publicize our message, our camp worked together to create a summer theme song, Happiness Heals, and a dance to go along with it. Our campers spent time learning the choreographed dance, and then reaped satisfaction after mastering it in front of Citi Field. They also worked together to record it in our brand new on campus recording studio. Stay tuned for the finished product.

All the friends we made, the lasting bonds we created…

Now home safe and sound, our unbelievable campers now have memories to last till next summer to keep them going strong and happy. They now have the strength of confidence of a summer in Camp Simcha to help through the year which we hope to fill with so much fun they won’t have time to miss camp.

And to our amazing Camp Simcha staff…. this summer would not have been possible without you. Your countless hours of work, intense devotion, and unending love was palpable every second of our time in camp. Your dedication to your work and to our campers is truly an inspiration. There are no words for what you did, for the children you renewed, for the memories you created and for everything else that you did.

So yes, the last bus may have rolled out of Glen Spey, taking with it our incredible camper,s but we know it won’t be long till we see them again…

Stay tuned for more exciting posts here… this may be the Camp blog, but just because Camp is over, it doesn’t mean we won’t keep you posted on all the great things that we experienced and the even greater things to come