Camp Blog
Footage from NY Day!
New York, New York
New York, are you ready for Camp Simcha?! Well ready or not, here we come! Our day began bright and early for breakfast, after which we went straight to the buses for our New York Trip! Our first activity was at the New Jersey Harbor where went on boat and yacht rides that took us to Manhattan. The ride was awesome–we had wind in our faces, sea spraying against our skin, and sun shining down on us. Camp Simcha flags waved as we sailed, and some boats even had dancing and karaoke!
Once we reached Manhattan, we were greeted by our waitresses and specialities who made a tunnel to welcome us to the greatest city in the world (after Glen Spey, of course). After loading the buses, we were immediately rushed to our very own private viewing of Stomp! We watched in awe as ordinary brooms and garbage cans were turned into cool musical arrangements complete with colorful lights and funny acting. We joined in the performance, clapping with Stomp and getting into the cacophony of clangs and bangs.
After Stomp, we headed over to Cadman Plaza to prepare ourselves for meeting the King of New York, Mayor Bloomberg! We practiced our march and ate dinner as we waited for the Mayor to arrive. When the Mayor’s arrival was announced, we stood division by division, in four groups of two rows, to perform Seize the Day and King of New York– the Camp Simcha version (recorded by our awesome married staff guys). Then, Elisheva, Yachi, Elana, and Tzipora presented Mayor Bloomberg with The Key to Camp Simcha, a beautiful piece created in our wood and leather-making workshops.
Finally, the moment that we were all waiting for arrived… it was time to march across the Brooklyn Bridge in our March of Hope and Courage! With balloons tied to our wrists and Simcha flags waving high, we began our journey. We sang and cheered as we showed New York all that Camp Simcha stands for– joy, happiness, courage, and strength. Passersby joined in and cars below us honked in support.
At the halfway point of the bridge, or as we dubbed it, the top of the world, we released our balloons into the sky. The hundreds of pink and blue balloons, carrying so much emotion and hope, was truly an inspiring and uplifting sight to see. We then finished our march and crossed to the end of the bridge where we danced some more and then loaded the buses back to camp…
New York Day Poem
Camp Simcha,
Is there any place in the world like you
You uplift us and guide us
And make dreams and wishes come true
You teach us courage and strength
But campers, you do the same
You spread love and joy to all
Proclaiming the Simcha name
In New York we saw more courage than ever before
You turned walls into wide open doors
We walked the Brooklyn Bridge with a passion so strong
It was a moment to remember, a memory that will go on and on
Campers of Camp Simcha, it’s for you that we’re here
To tell the world of your greatness that we all hold so dear
It’s empowering and beautiful how you fight each day
Our flag will always be waving, forever we shall stay
(Poem by Adina L.)
Starlight Star-bright
There are celebrities all over camp stealing the spotlight on imagine if you were a star day! The path to the dining room is paved with stars complete with our campers’ signatures. Campers and counselors alike are clamoring for photographs from Hannah Montana, Justin Bieber, and the Jonas Brothers. (or really Tess, Bekkie, and Zoe-but in their costumes you really can’t tell!)
After breakfast, Goldie’s Gaga’s went on a trip to the shooting range. The staff at the shooting range said that the Camp Simcha girls have great aim. Shayna confirmed that the trip was “super cool” and she even got a bullet as a souvenir!
In the afternoon, we went to the Social Hall for the show of a lifetime: the Camp Simcha Shining Stars Talent Show! Bassie, Chaya Noa, Eden, Mika, and a bunch of other campers showed off their dancing skills. Gali and Ariana left the camp in awe after their beautiful solos. Everyone agreed that Daniel and Tali’s rapping was not only impeccable but also highly entertaining! Danielle and Mano told jokes that made the whole camp laugh. For the grand finale, a couple of Israeli campers performed the newest Camp Simcha rage: Waka Waka! The entire camp joined in and then headed off to dinner where we heard plans about…NEW YORK DAY! We are all very excited and we’re planning a really fun day for tomorrow.
After dinner, we headed to the gym for Super Simon Says with Steve Max! It was pretty hard to follow Steve’s instructions, but it should be known that when it came to the campers vs. counselors round, the campers won! Chaya was crowned the Simon Says champion of the counselors, and Bethany was super proud of her! Shayna also did a great job keeping a straight face even when Simon called her a little cupcake. On the other hand, Michelle, our office girl from London, was unable to keep it together when she was called a lil fish and chip!
Camp Simcha really shined today, and tomorrow is our chance to show the world just how bright we can shine! Come join us as we cross the Brooklyn Bridge and meet Mayor Bloomberg. See you tomorrow! And if you can’t make it don’t worry-I’ll keep you updated 🙂
Wild West aaaand Deal Day!
Today we had double the fun, double the excitement, and double the Simcha. Not only was today Wild West Day, but we were joined by our friends from Deal for another fantastic Deal Day! The Deal girls came to camp with abundant energy and love to share with our campers.
Our day started with a treasure hunt that lead us all the way down to the lake to find buried treasure. At our wild carnival, our friends from Deal helped man booths like the ring toss and dunking station. Some campers, including Bat-Chen and Mika, even allowed themselves to get dunked into the freezing water by their counselors! We jumped on trampolines and flipped in the sky, and some campers (like Batsheva) were even able to flip!
During our Carnival, our friends from Deal outdid themselves with tables full of presents, toys, and more for the greatest campers in the world.
Our WILD day ended with a BANG– Avraham Fried! He performed Simcha favorites and we danced our hearts out. After all the excitement, Camp Simcha got a chance to chill around a campfire cooking s’mores, corn, and marshmallows. Aviva played her guitar while the girls sang along…
Camp Simcha– you know how to show us a great time… Can’t wait for what’s next!
Oh Say Can You See…Girls in Bonnets…
Bells are ringing, pots are clanging… Camp Simcha has been transported 100 years into the past! Our day began with an outdoor meal, complete with fire cooked potatoes, yodeling waitresses, and fresh baked loaves of bread. Despite the dreary weather, we were kept sunny and bright with our photographers lighting up the dining room with professional pictures of our campers dressed in their finest olden day garb. Our day was busy, busy, busy with a colonial fair. We made soap, cheese, and each camper baked her own pie! By the end of the day, there was an abundance of pie splattered around camp- cherry, blueberry and lemon meringue filling flew all over our staff and campers’ faces!
Back at our fair, we wove beautiful baskets, quilted, danced up a storm to a Camp Simcha favorite– Newsies!!– and designed corn husk dolls.
The rain didn’t stop us from having a pretty inventive night activity– old fashioned races! We shucked corn, raced in potato sacks and Waka Waka’d once more!
Whew, another super crazy day in Camp Simcha… and more fun is in store!!
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat in Camp Simcha started with an early breakfast for our younger campers and early risers. Breakfast was followed by division groups, where we got to play games to get to know each other better. After lunch, we had a skit by our campers/actresses. Then, we headed to the canteen for BINGO! Elana called out the numbers, and the winners got to choose from a wide array of prizes including stuffed animals, dolls, and board games. Then, some campers hung out in canteen, some went to the playground, and some went to play mini-golf. After supper, we had a choir where our campers dazzled us with their beautiful voices. With arms wrapped around one another, Shabbat ended with an uplifting kumzitz. As the Havdalah candle sizzled out, our dining room erupted with enthusiastic dancing and a concert, and in the Simcha style…lots of yummy food!
Friday the 13th!
Imagine if…you lived in a haunted house! The dining room looks pretty scary today. We have monsters, ghosts, goblins, and even jello with eyeballs! Our special morning activity was Zombie Zumba where we learned the Waka Waka in Simcha dance. We watched a murder mystery where we ruled out all the suspects, even the most suspicious Miss White (Tali!) and finally figured out the Jeeves committed the crime! After lunch, we watched our zombie staff do the Thriller dance. Then, we got to chase around some “ghosts” with hands full of paint that stained their sheets.
Before Shabbat, the Simcha Spa opened and our campers got to get their makeup and nails done. Massages were also given and campers got to choose from a wide array of jewelry to wear for Shabbat. After we finished getting ready, our photographers went around camp to take pictures of our beautiful campers and counselors. Shabbat Shalom!
Chocolate Day
Today was chocolate day in Camp Simcha! Our whole dining room was decorated with giant candy bars, chocolate fountains, and Hershey kisses. Anyone who loves chocolate absolutely loved today, and even those who aren’t such chocolate fans (are there actually such people?!) had a good time because who doesn’t love sliding down a giant chocolate slide?
Our chocolate activities included candy molding in the sweet shop, chocolate building in the canteen, and a chocolate slide on the baseball field. In candy making, Sara made chocolate flowers and Leah made flower lollypops. While some campers chose to build a house out of marshmallow fluff, graham crackers, and chocolate in chocolate building, Eden decided to make a really cool old-school car! Out on the baseball field, we had chocolate fueling our slip-and-slide, which ended in a very chocolaty water fight.
At lunch, campers were each given their very own Camp Simcha chocolate bar, and five lucky campers found a golden ticket inside their candy! Willy Wonka awarded each winner with a fantastic prize. We got a chance to get our division heads all chocolate-y as well when each one called up a camper to help out in a chocolate-chip/whipped cream eating competition!
As chocolate day came to a close, we were treated to a magic show by David Garrity in the social hall. Tziporah and Leah got called to the stage to help with a really cool trick in which a hollow apple suddenly became full. Elisheva also got called up to help Mr. Garrity read our audience’s mind. Finally, Mushky got cut in half with a real saw, but David Garrity put her back together which was great because Shayna got to have her counselor back!
Special happy birthday to Tziporah and Bethany! Good night to everyone!
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