Camp Blog

Hands went up, hands went down, but not one person had a frown. Simon Sez with Steve Max tonight left everyone rolling of laughter. Girls got out, but everyone was a winner in this game. Steve called up our girls to play the game while the crowd cheered them on. At the end of the game one of our very own counselors joined Steve in a chair-balancing on the nose contest.I I won’t name who lost but let’s just say that we have some talented counselors on staff. Simon says put your hands up and give it up for the best campers in the world, the campers of Camp Simcha!

Today’s game is Monopoly! Many girls are donning the Monopoly man’s mustache. Others are dressed up in all sorts of money-themed costumes. Faces flash money, literally, with huge dollar signs painted on. The dining room has a life-size Monopoly board! Activities of the day included baking, candle making, karate, wood working, boating and more. During
“jail break” our campers had to find highly wanted prisoners, also known as our staff in prison suits. Hey, they can have fun too!  The campers received money throughout the day. An auction was held with their money and bunks won prizes such as t-shirt making, a pajama party, and much more.  Looking forward to a great night activity!

Place your piece on start because our gamers have finally arrived! Welcoming them was our camp’s very own performers and live band. Singing and dancing could be heard for miles. Songs were sung to each camper individually, making them feel like the princesses that they are. Girls were thrown up in the air on chairs and put on counselor’s shoulders as they danced the day away.  After the cotton candy was eaten, and the faces were painted, the girls headed down to a mind-blowing magic show. The show was a hit but the volunteers from the audience made it all the better. Chavi was called up for a card trick.  Sari, Malka, and Troni all had their minds read. The magician ended his act with an incredible illusion that left us all with dropped jaws.  It was a magical day to say the least.

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.

The night was filled with emotion, presentations, excitement
and…food. The grand banquet was magnificent, as the kitchen staff
went all out to accommodate everyone’s favorite dishes and then some.
From spare ribs to carving stations, and dozens of assorted hot dishes
in between, the event could only be described as epic.

Following the banquet, we all went to the social hall to watch the
camp video. Before it got started, head counselor Ari Dembi went up on
stage and personally thanked every member of the staff. Many
counselors told me the next part of the ceremony was one of the most
meaningful parts of their year. We all took a moment of silence, and
every camper gave their counselor a sixty second long hug. Despite
this being the boys’ session, I must admit that there were a lot of
guys with tears in their eyes.

The camp video reminded us all just how fast the time flew by and yet
how much we accomplished during these twelve days. The night activity
shows, dancing with all our hearts by the meals, awesome daily themed
activities, creative workshops, quality time together, camaraderie,
and the overall rocking spirit in Camp Simcha Special 2012 played out
in front all of our eyes.

At the conclusion of the video presentation, there was still more to
come. We all made our way to the bunkhouse area. Each camper was given
a giant glow stick as we waited for the fireworks to start. Suddenly
the dark night was filled with light as we all beheld a fifteen minute
long, extraordinary, magical display of “fourth of July” style
fireworks. It was awesome!!

I will cherish my summer in Camp Simcha Special forever.

At the climax of the Camp Simcha Special musical, a camper in a wheelchair read the following poem, which he spent the entire previous night writing, to the entire camp. When he finished, there wasn’t a single dry eye in the entire room. The following is the text.

“These wheels are turning through what feels like a never-ending journey.
The cracks in the road bring back the painful memories of that kid who couldn’t keep from falling down to tears.
He remembers the time he could walk, back breaking, legs trembling, slowly getting worse…uncontrollable.
His limbs began to crumble, bending, twisting, and becoming those turning wheels.
The cracks in the road opened, and the wheels were put to a halt.
He fell to his knees, those weak knees that for so long couldn’t support the poor little kid when he needed it the most.
He found himself screaming and he was awake. 
Creeping in his dreams was that evil fear, absorbing his very happiness and turning it into dust.
Only it wasn’t a dream.
He lay there sinking into the cracks, he couldn’t get out.
“How would he get through it all?” he thought.
He was tired but he couldn’t sleep without thinking about those turning wheels, why couldn’t they just keep turning? The cracks kept appearing and opening, and every single time he found himself falling to the ground, and back through the earth he used to walk on.
He was helpless in the darkness of the pit, a world of nothingness.
No one to look to, nothing he could do.
Even that little ounce of hope was buried deep down in the ground, far below him, out of his reach.

There was a reason HE was chosen, to overcome what he thought he never could, and to inspire those who hit bottom.  You see, that same kid who was scared that he would die before he made a difference, is sitting right in front of you telling YOU that there is hope no matter the situation.
Enjoy what you have. 
The good outweighs the bad, so live life to the fullest, even if you feel like the good will never come. I’m a living witness.

From Genesis 1:1 on, I learnt that life was a journey to greatness, but not without the struggles and the pain.
The purpose of life isn’t only to suffer, NO I had it all wrong, the purpose of life is to face the horrors of reality, beating them to the ground, and walking through the tunnels of greatness.
God got me through, making me part of a holy nation.
From the brink of death, on the road to survival, I made it.
With the power of God I knew I’d never fail, only rising higher than the rest. 
I even got out of the cracks in the road that took me prisoner during the darkest days of my life.

Camp Simcha Special…(pause)…It is tough to describe in words what goes on here, what kids feel when they come here, but for me it is the place above the cracks, filling in the gaps, in my life showing me that love and happiness really does exist.
I was not the only one suffering, not even the one suffering the most.
Many others shared my misfortune, but here, misfortune is conquered by children laughing and smiling like they never thought they would.
Doing what they never thought they could.
Forgetting what they could never forget…knowing that they are in the happiest place in the world.”

Certain words come to mind as I try to describe the Camp Simcha
Special musical I just witnessed. Flawlessly choreographed, rocking
music, dynamic story line, gripping, professional…and just plain old
fun! My favorite part was the glow in the dark dance , which was truly
epic.
Seriously, this was Broadway/America’s got talent material!
Personally, my highlight of the production was when one camper was on
stage and had to convince the villain not to destroy planet earth, and
just how much Camp Simcha Special means to him (complicated story
line, I know). The camper read a speech he spent all night writing. He
told us his story, and what lesson we can all learn from it.
To read it , please please make sure to read the blog titled “The Cracks in The Road: A Camper’s Perspective”.
At it’s conclusion, there literally was not a single dry
eye in the entire room.

This musical  made us proud to be a part of Camp Simcha Special. The
super-talented staff here put on a play unlike any other being
performed in myriad camps across the Catskills. The uniqueness of
assistant head counselor Duvi Becker’s vision puts his productions in a league of their own.
It is Duvi’s tenacity and unflagging enthusiasm that makes the musical happen.
Not just makes it happen, but happen in such a way as to garner four standing ovations and
three calls for encores from an audience that is not easily impressed. But the true
litmus test was the ear-to-ear smiles sported by every single person
seated in the Social Hall.

A play is just…well…a play. A musical, however, is a way to reach the audience’s emotions through song and dance,
a medium that has proven itself to be among the most effective in shaping moods.
Spirits lift, dark clouds clear, and the world is simply a better place after
watching a musical performed by a passionate, dedicated crew like the one we witnessed.
And what makes it all the more anomalous is the setting of this presentation.
A natural by-product of Camp Simcha Special’s one-of-a-kind program is the togetherness
and camaraderie that it engenders. That is something that we saw mirrored in the
cast’s attitude. Rather than as a task, they viewed this work as a
fun-filled challenge to be taken on with friends, among friends. Even
more than the subject content, the manner in which this musical  was
executed makes us feel privileged to be a part of the world that is Camp Simcha Special.