Camp Blog

Getting a satellite view of Camp Simcha from Google Earth is very cool. You get to klutz in your chair, stare at a screen, and press the zoom button to see our gorgeous camp grounds (see here).

This morning, however, our amazing campers got to do something a bit more exciting. A helicopter came in from NYC to Camp Simcha, landed in middle of camp, and every camper got to board and get a ride. It was a really cool experience to get a birds eye view of the Happiest Place on Earth. To go along with the occasion, every camper got a special Camp Simcha Helicopter t-shirt. The squeals of delight were able to be heard even over the roaring whirl of the helicopters propellers!

Today is one of those SUPER JAM PACKED, yet very typical Camp Simcha Special day. We have amazing things going on all day, so make sure to stay glued to your computer.

I 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 accept our apologies for not addressing these issues sooner. It seems that there was a bug in the messaging system that alerts us when a parent asks to be approved for an account. We have looked into the issue, and we believe it is now resolved. If you have signed up for an account, it should now be verified. So go ahead, sign in and see the awesomeness. If you haven’t applied for an account, please go ahead and apply for an account. You should be verified withen 24 hours. We once again apologize for the hassle we have caused.

If you are still having problems with your account please contact us at webmaster@campsimcha.org

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 E (for Epic) and the number 11.

La la la la
La la la la
Dembi’s World (da da da)
La la la la
La la la la
Dembi’s World
He loves his megaphone
His frog hat too
That’s Dembi’s World!

Today Camp Simcha Special had a blast escaping to Sesame Place. Experiencing Sesame Street live is A LOT more exciting than experiencing it from the couch! As the campers walked into the dining room for lunch, they were greeted by life sized Sesame Street characters. Campers got their portraits taken with the characters, and some even got an autograph! By lunch, our campers squealed with delight as they watched the division heads compete in a cookie-eating contest. Surprisingly, cookie monster did not win. And of course, lunch was capped by another Epic Eleven uproar where the campers rocked to the songs of Stomp on the Ground, I Gotta Feelin, and Friday (how apropos?).

After lunch, Moshe F. decided to do some baking. Of course, he topped his challah with SESAME seeds not poppy! The room smelled so awesome that I couldn’t resist sneaking a chocolate cookie from the oven, and another, and another, and another!

Cookie Monster would love the Camp Simcha Canteen. The canteen is stocked with everything from hot pretzels, to gushers, to ice cream: ALL ON THE HOUSE! That’s exactly where I found Baruch S enjoying some chocolate chip cookies. He seemed to be enjoying his snack, devouring it cookie monster style.

Towards the middle of the day, the rest of Glen Spey had some rain. In Camp Simcha though, we only have Sunny Days. That, of course, is the reason why so many people ask us how to get here. During the rain (in the rest of Glen Spey), our campers had an awesome Sesame activity in the social hall. When I walked in, I found campers immersed in puppet making; and tables scattered with tube socks, paper bags, glue, markers, and fabrics. Naftali G. was hard at work creating a Peter Pan puppet from a paper bag. He topped it off with a hat cut from green felt and a sword made from Popsicle sticks. He even added a nice big feather to Peter’s hat. After creating their gorgeous puppets, the campers performed a super creative and entertaining puppet show for their peers.

Epic Camp Simcha weekend here we come!

Balls, pins, knives, battle axes…you name it, Two can juggle it. Jason and Matt, brothers and natives of Maine, also known as Two, dazzled us with their three-part performance consisting of juggling, contortionism, and a light show. Matt’s wicked contortions culminated in him passing his ENTIRE BODY through an unstrung tennis racket, earning him shouts of delight from the standing-room-only audience. And when Jason said the show would be epic, the crowd went wild. Then the lights were put out, and the brothers used glowing ropes to create an otherworldly wave effect (think sine and cosine), followed by a fire-juggling act.

What a way to end our awesome day.

Earlier this morning, Dembi had a feelin’ that today was gonna be EPIC.

Oh boy was he right!

First, our staff welcomed our amazing campers Camp Simcha Style. There were costumes, painted faces, and an inexorable amount of energy. One by one, every camper was greeted and given his own personal introduction. After that, the campers were taken for a check at the infirmary before coming back outside to meet new and old friends. They also picked up fresh popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones from the “concession” stand.

After the last bus disembarked, the campers had a few moments to catch their breaths before heading to the dining room for a scrumptious dinner. From supper, the camp rushed to the gym for our special night activity. We were greeted by acrobats who mesmerized us with their flips and tricks. There was limbo, a balancing act, jump roping, and aerial aerobics.

After a great start, however, it was time to get a good nights sleep before tomorrow’s amazing program.

The staff of Camp Simcha Special is eagerly awaiting the arrival of
the greatest campers on Earth! They have spent the last 24 hours
getting oriented (lots and lots of speeches), disoriented (“soap”
sliding down to the lake), and straight up psyched.

The Greatest Show on Earth is now ready to begin! The staff is all
dressed up in the wackiest costumes, and not a face has gone
unpainted. The place is in TOTAL uproar. As one staff member (R.
Black) says: “We, we, we so excited, we so excited, we’re gonna have a
ball today” – very well put.

ENTER EPIC ELEVEN

Earlier today, the outstanding staff of Camp Simcha Special Boys 2011 were oriented and informed about all the magic of the upcoming camp session!

The staff heard from the medical staff, head staff, and division heads about the excitement they have to look forward to. As new faces and old came together, the atmosphere pulsated with the eager anticipation of the arrival of the most spectacular campers in the world.

Camp Simcha Special Boys 2011… Are you ready?

The last night of camp is here and to honor the evening a special banquet has been prepared. There are different foods from sesame chicken to carving stations.  At every campers seat there is a cookie with her face on it. After everyone finishes eating their is a raffle. Amongst the many prizes is a rib-stick, ipod speakers and an ipod shuffle. Then, the division heads hand out awards to each camper; one for completing the summer and another for participating in setting a world record.

After everyone receives an award, it is time to head to the Social Hall. Everyone takes their seats as Rivky Schwartz comes on stage. It is time to thank all of the people who make Camp Simcha possible. To the lifeguards, waitresses, mothers helpers, specialty staff and medical staff every single one of them put their all into camp and we are eternally grreatful. Then, special shout outs were made to Aviva Honikman, Tzippy Chait, Rivkah Kravitz, Bency Brown, Rabbi K, Rabbi and Rebbatzin Feiner, Rabbi Scholar, and last but certainly not least Rivky Schwartz. Every single one of them has put their heart and soul into making sure Camp Simcha is the best it can be. Thank you to each and every one of them!

Then, Shaindy Lowenthal and Ronit sing a song all about camp and the division heads sing a song of their own. The projector screen rolls down and everyone cheers as the video begins. Campers and staff alike enjoy reliving their favorite camp memories. Everyone is excited to recieve a copy of the video!

As soon as the video ends everyone rushes to the field to get front row seats for the slide show and fireworks! There is a projector set up and pictures from all of camp are playing across the screen. As the slide show comes to an end fireworks shoot into the air. Sparks whiz, flash and crackle as they light up the sky. As the grand finale a series of fireworks are shot into the sky and the Camp Simcha Emblem is projected into the smoke. Everyone is given glow sticks and is singing and waving them around. Rivky bends her gold stick into the shape of the awareness ribbon and everyone joins in waving their “ribbons” to the music. Then as the music picked up the pace the last dance session of Camp Simcha 2011 took place. For the last time this summer everyone shouted in unison “We are golden!”

Five…four…three…two…one! Avraham Fried is on the Camp Simcha stage and preforming live! The music is pumping and the floor is shaking from all of the dancing.  Everyone is having fun jumping and singing along. Dana’s counselor is on someones shoulders so Dana goes up to join her. Girls start the fly while others make a large circle. Noam stands on stage and sings her favorite song with Avraham Fried as everyone is laughing and dancing along. Thank you Avraham Fried for an amazing concert!