Shabbat Message

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12th 2022

It was another wonderful week at camp!

After sending last week’s Shabbat Message, we all gathered together at the Sara Stern Amphitheatre for Friday night prayers. This is always a wonderful time for our kids who love mixing with all of the age groups for the special service led by our SITS.

On Saturday morning the campers enjoyed a much needed sleep in before heading into the chadar for a cinnamon bun breakfast (yum). They then broke off into groups for “Yom Pride” programming. While each unit did a different age-appropriate activity, the purpose was the same; to remind each and every one of our campers that they are unique and that they should feel pride in all of the things that make them the special person that they are.

Later that evening the campers enjoyed our traditional Saturday night BBQ followed by Carnival night. As always, the campers loved bouncing around on the many amazing toys we brought in for the evening. It was a especially nice for us to see so many of our older and younger campers connecting through play!

We started our second round of chugs on Monday with the Hatikvah campers getting to choose from the following: Archery, Basketball, Beading, California Kickball, Gaga, Pickleball, Ping Pong, Running, Science, Soccer, Tennis and Volleyball. The campers in the science chug were especially excited to be given the opportunity to build robots. This is a new program that was made possible through the generous support of our 2022 Annual Campaign donors and we wanted to take the opportunity to thank those who contributed. We very much appreciate you sharing in our commitment to find new and inspiring activities for our kids.

On Tuesday we said goodbye to our Kochavim campers and we sure were sad to see them go. They were little bundles of energy and joy and they are very missed.

On Wednesday the SIT campers when on a special hike up Oyama Mountain with Liza. They really enjoyed this challenge and felt a great deal of accomplishment upon their return. Our Kochot campers also headed out on an adventure of their own as they paddled to Marshall point on a little off-camp day trip. We were so proud of their efforts!

On Thursday we welcomed our Giborim campers. All of these kids are first-time campers but you sure wouldn’t know it! While they have been here for just over a day, they look like old pros! They jumped right into the fun – heading down to the docks and fully embracing everything our camp has to offer. In fact, they were so eager to start their second day of their experience that they woke their counsellors up at 5:45 am this morning roaring to go. Thank goodness they are soooo cute!

Today was a lovely day at camp. The kids are hard at play and laughter can be heard all around. It’s hard to believe that this is our last shabbat of our regular program. We are looking forward to enjoying every second of it along with every treasured moment of the final few days of camp.

Shabbat Shalom!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5th 2022

What a week!

While most of our First Session campers left camp Friday morning, two groups stayed behind. The first group were our Kochot Plus campers who are staying for an extra week. After a little rest Friday morning, they packed up and headed to Silver Star Mountain for two days of adventure. During this time they hiked, rode the gondola, watched a biking competition and were even treated to a movie in a private 24 person theatre. They all really enjoyed the opportunity to bond off camp (at a safe distance from others) but the highlight was most certainty the fact that their lodge rooms came equipped with HOT TUBS. Lucky kids!

While our Kochot Plus campers were getting pampered, our S.I.T campers were roughing it in nature on their four night canoe trip on the Shushwap. They paddled, built their own tents and cooked their own food. What is most special, however, is the relationship building that happens on a trip like this. There is just something about being in the great outdoors that promotes bonding and memory making and these campers soaked up every minute of it. We were so proud of them for stepping out of their comfort zones and really embracing the opportunities given to them on this trip.