Final Summer Newsletter!!

08.10.2018

Welcome back families for, sadly, our last newsletter this summer. With only a few days of the summer left, campers are spending every waking moment making the best of the summer and making everlasting memories. The campers are in for an exciting next couple of days because Tribals has officially begun. However before we discuss Tribals, we had some exciting events leading up to these 5 days of fun.

The whole camp gathered around the pit to watch an incredible battle between the Hulk and Thanos.

On Saturday we had the final leg of Triple Crown, which was Bunk Plaque Night (known as BPN). Every bunk went up on stage to sing a song that described all their memories from the summer accompanied by their beautiful plaques made in the art shack. A huge shout out to the Algonquin Girls for winning Triple Crown for Junior Camp. After BPN, we had a beautiful day of activities on Sunday and then on Monday we were off to Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park.  This year for the first time campers had the opportunity to go to the water park at Six Flags, which was very refreshing because it was definitely a hot day. Upper Campers had the option of strolling through Saratoga, followed by a “cool” afternoon at the Ice Skating rink.

The Algonquin Girls celebrating their Triple Crown win.

The sun was once again shining bright on Tuesday for an afternoon of Counselor Switch Day! Counselors from all the bunks switched with each other for afternoon activities, which is always a highly anticipated event, enjoyed by staff and campers alike. Later that night we had the annual LT Show where all 93 LTs performed with 14 acts for the whole camp. Some fan favorites were dances from Danya Taub, Talia Kunin, and Campbell Weise, LT Classmates, Maya Waldman on the flute, Lanie Kotler and Lindsay Shachnow’s singing performance, and the Waiter Backward Video.  Also a notable mention to Emma Levy and David Zimiles for being amazing hosts of the show. Straight out of the LT show is when the Tribals festivities began, so let’s get to it.

The Second Years singing their “2nd Year Song” as a farewell to the LT Program. We can’t wait to see you guys on staff.
Some of the LTS performing the “Broken Record” Dance.

Throughout this whole week we have had numerous visits from some of the good and evil Marvel characters to ring in the Tribals spirit. We knew Tribals was in the air when Thanos (Baz ACS) started to steal all the Schodack Infinity Stones, which caused a lot of mayhem around camp. One very exciting part of the series of Tribals Fakes was when Black Panther (Pharoah, Senior Boys DH)  came to give the campers special cake, but Thanos spoiled his plans. Instead of cake, the kids got to have a food fight! Right after the LT show, we thought Tribals was about to break at the Old Basketball court where all the superheroes tried to fight Thanos. However, Thanos came out victorious and campers were sent to bed with no night snack because Thanos had crushed all the cookiesl. Just when we thought Thanos stole all the infinity stones and the 5 Day Spirit, campers were woken up by surprise at 1 am to see Spiderman (Hipster Mike) and the Scarlet Witch (Halle, Middle Girls DH) who took us on a journey all throughout camp that lead us to the Amphitheatre to see Thor (SPEC Josh Baker) take down Thanos. Finally with the arrow in hand, Josh broke Tribals and the spirit prevailed.

The Hulk and Thanos battle it out in the pit.
Color war is finally here. Josh Baker finally broke the arrow!

Straight after the arrow broke in two, campers finally received their night snack, and then the much anticipated readings of Generals, Captains, and Head Lieutenants were announced. For the next 5 Days, Carly Ashner (Senior 2 Girls GL) and Jonah Malter (Senior 3 Boys GL) will be the Generals for Iroquois Evolution (the Green Team) and Annie Rotman (Senior 3 Girls GL) and Jake Mechanic (Waiter Staff) will be the Generals for A Seminole Moment (the White Team). Joining the Green Team from the LT Program are Captains Kelsey McGuire and Campbell Weise and the Head Lieutenants are Darah Greenbaum and Emilio Garcia. For the White Team, the Captains are Will Polen and Macy Katz and the  Head Lieutenants are  Kate Petosa and Adam Kliegerman.

Campers react to the unbelievable Tribals Break:

“Even though they woke us up at 1 am, the plot of the fakes were very intriguing. It was dope. – Ben Perle, Senior 3 Boys

“It was very weird because it was in the middle of the night. But I loved it.” – Sadie Appelbaum, Mic Mac Girls

“It was super cool that we got woken up in the middle of the night. I was really happy.” – Eli Grubin, Menominee Boys

“It was super surprising… I wasn’t expecting it to be in the middle of the night.” – Leo Green, Algonquin Boys

“I was just so excited the entire time.” – Gordy Munk, Algonquin Girls

“All I have to say is, Wow.” – July Goldstein, Naskopi Girls

After campers were awarded with late sleep on Wednesday, and Day 1 of Tribals came in full swing with a morning of activity periods such as Euro Handball, Basketball, Water Volleyball, Gaga, and so much more. In the afternoon we had Hatchet Hunt where Generals, Captains, and Head Lieutenants battled it out in the pit for the hatchet. Ultimately, Jonah Malter grabbed the hatchet out of the pit after an intense brawl with Jake Mechanic. Straight out of Hatchet Hunt we had some rain showers, but that didn’t stop activities as we had numerous indoor activities such as Basket Dodgeball in the Garden and a Spelling Bee in the Playhouse. Later that night we had part one of Surf & Turf with the 32nd Annual Marathons, which is a race in the softball, basketball, soccer area that gets longer as each division progresses. Huge kudos to everyone who participated in this event.

What a squad! Generals, Captains, and Head Lieutenants pose up after an intense Hatchet Hunt.

Day 2 of Tribals obviously began with another Tribals Wake Up from the Generals, Captains, and Head Lieutenants. In the morning we had activity periods, and then in the afternoon we had Part 2 of Surf and Turf: the Individual Medleys. Later in the afternoon, we had the dashes, which is a race across the soccer field, sing practice, and Track Meet for night activity.

Here are some of the upcoming Tribals Events:

-Carter’s Challenge

-Apache Relay

-Sing

-Bucket Brigade

-Family Feud

Division Spotlights of the Week:

Mic Macs: The Mic Macs have had another amazing week here at Schodack! This past week has had so many fun events which started off with Bunk Plaque Night! The boys and girls both did an amazing job and had the whole Playhouse bopping along to the tune of their songs. Then a few days later the boys and girls joined in on the dance recital. The boys went up as a bunk to show off their moves in front of all of Junior and Middle, while the girls had a number of routines that showed off their spirit and amazing ability! Also we had a rainy day which didn’t put a damper on the girls’ time here as they played in the rain and in a huge puddle that formed near the dining hall. Also this week we had another amazing few tribals fakes which saw Thor and the rest of the Avengers battling Thanos for the spirit of camp and tribals! In the end Thanos was defeated by Thor and tribals was broke!!! Their reactions were pure amazement and joy when seeing the breaking of the arrow knowing we were in for five days of big events and activities! They haven’t stopped cheering since! – Allison

Junior Girls: Happy Tribals to us, happy Tribals to us, happy Tribals dear Camp Schoodackkk, happy Tribals to us! One of my all time favorite camp memories is two nights ago waking up the Junior girls to break Tribals! Picture this, head staff do a fake to the entire camp on Tuesday night where we send them to bed with no night snack, little did the Junior Girls know they’d be woken up at 1am with a night snack waiting for them at the end!! Muhahaha! I was dressed as the Marvel Comic character Gamora and at 1am being woken up by a green woman saying “wake up it’s Tribals time” must have been so confusing! Their face was a picture and their spirit was magical. They got ready really quick with excitment so infectious I couldn’t help but smile the whole time! I can hear the Junior girls playing now and having fun; we don’t want this summer to end!! I wonder what they’ll think one day when they look back at that magical night. I hope you all had a brilliant week, know that we love and care for your girls so much- thank you for sending them to Schodack! – Maria

Junior Boys:  The Junior Boys have been the stars of camp, rocking it out on stage and at activities. Last week started out with our Chinook Boys performing Wavey in the dance recital on Thursday night, after working on their act throughout the summer. The whole bunk stepped on stage to a crowd of adoring fans and did a really great job. For Bunk Plaque Night, Arapaho Hyperdrive, Algonquin Rebirth, Chippewa Men Making History, and Chinooks & Crannies sang their own songs for the whole camp—they and their staff had written the lyrics about their summer experiences, and each bunk learned and practiced it together, preparing for this final Triple Crown performance. I’m really proud of how much effort they put into their work, how each of their songs was both poignant and entertaining, and how much fun they had on stage. Congratulations to the Algonquin Boys, who earned 2ndplace that night! For our penultimate week of camp, we became a united front, having plenty of playdates together: at the pool, where we took over for an entire period all to ourselves, creating Junior Boy whirlpools and jumping in; at baseball, hockey, and euro handball, we joined forces to form larger teams and have more competitive play. During our Junior Boys bonfire, campers roasted marshmallows and made s’mores while their counselors and I told funny stories to them around the campfire. After much anticipation, we loved the Tribals Break, when the Avengers saved the spirit of camp from the evil clutches of Thanos. Such an incredible week—now it’s time to take advantage of Tribals and these final days together; we’re going to miss each other so much! – Berg

Middle Boys: This may have been the most exciting week for the Middle Boys yet! It all started Saturday night with Bunk Plaque Night. The Naskopi Boys placed third with their BPN Naskopi Forgiveness, and the Menominee Boys took home the gold with Menominee Moonlight! Then on Sunday, the boys took a trip to the fjords up north for Viking Day! Activities for the day included raft racing, water balloon battles, archery relays, and team banner making. The fun kept coming the next day as we traveled out to Six Flags for a day of roller coasters and games (and, of course, the annual haul of oversized sized stuffed animals). Then on Tuesday night, after enjoying a stellar show put on by the LTs, we were awoken to the sounds of The Immigrant Song, and after a suspenseful battle between Thor and Thanos, Tribals finally broke! Day one of Tribals was full of excitement and friendly competition, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of Tribals and the rest of Camp will bring. – Kaish

Middle Girls: There’s always so much energy on camp the week leading up to Tribals. Though the kids don’t know exactly when the five days will begin, there is a palpable excitement that carries through to the end of the summer. BPN was an amazing way to end off the summer’s Triple Crown events; watching the girls smile on stage and sing their summer stories was truly a touching moment. Another week highlight was our Middle Girls Ninja Day, where we cancelled normal activities and had the girls enjoy a special afternoon. Some highlights of the day included a ninja-themed dance party in the Playhouse, an exciting game of Assassin (essentially an elevated game of tag), and an ice cream party! It was so much fun to take a break from the daily routine of camp and bond with our division. Finally, Tribals! After a surprising break in the middle of night, the festivities have begun and the girls could not be happier. This time of camp is always a bittersweet one, with the end of the summer looming right around the corner. For the next week, though, the girls will enjoy a packed few days, spend time with their best friends, and end the summer on a high. – Halle

Upper Boys: Hello once again, Schodack Family! It’s a bittersweet moment as I write this, knowing it’s my last time doing so. I have felt so privileged to get to spend another summer at this magical place and honored to work with these boys again. I have worked closely and watched these kids grow over the past 5 years. That is, and will forever be, a highlight of my life. Last week we had our special Waiters-In-Training day and I marveled at how this division has come together as a whole. On that day there were no Senior 1, 2, and 3 bunks…just Seniors. They competed, played and worked together as one unit and it warmed my heart to witness. From the 3 on 3 basketball tournament to playing 4-Square in the rain to the Mega Clean-Up, the staff and the kids expressed how memorable of a day it was. This week Tribals has begun in a spectacular way, reinvigorating everyone. Thank you all for sending your children to Camp Schodack, it has been my pleasure… – Uncle Ro

Upper Girls: Summer may be drawing to a close, but Senior Girls are still powering through special activities and keeping spirits high! Bunk Plaque Night Saturday was outstanding – all four bunks sang clever, thoughtful songs about their bunk staffs and summers, and their dance moves were incredibly well-coordinated. On Sunday, we spent the afternoon in The Well with the Messiest Day Ever, featuring an egg toss (where every cracked egg resulted in an egg to the head), a syrupy-cereal-sorting relay, Toss Your Own Caesar Salad, and a race up the hill on an oily, soapy tarp. Needless to say, the girls lather-rinsed-repeated ad nauseum in the shower. Monday we split between Six Flags and Saratoga, enjoying food and entertainment before returning Tuesday to Counselor Switch Day in the afternoon, during which the girls enjoyed giving make-overs to their male counselors. Tuesday night the girls experienced a gentle and loving wake-up call from myself at 1:03 am, leading to the break of Tribals! With only six days left of camp, I’m thrilled to spend this last week enjoying the summer sun and rolling green hills with a group of girls who have made every second of the season so fulfilling! – Shira

Here is a copy of today’s Schodack Scoop and other funs pictures from the week:

You could say “Messiest Day Ever” was a success!

 

The Mic Mac Boys steal the show with their swag dance moves at the Dance Recital.
Some of the Senior Girls and CITs during their Basketball Intercamp against Crane Lake.

 

 

 

 

We had a blast at the Food Fight!
The Green Team cheers as General Jonah Malter grabs the hatchet.
A moment of excitement after crossing the finish line during the dashes.
What an exciting Track Meet we had.
Campers participating in the Individual Medleys. Also a great way to cool off on a hot Tribals day.
Some of the Chippewa Boys getting ready to compete in Tribals.