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Weekly Video Round-Up
Enjoy this incredible video highlighting all of the amazing activities from this past week!
Well, that video was spectacular. Thanks, Mimi! So, we’ve had our first full week of summer 2019 and it has been a blast. So many great things to tell you about from the 12123….let’s jump right in!
We had the first of our Theme Dinners of the summer: Beach Barbecue! Schodack theme meals center on our fantastic Leadership Trainees as they take on the task of decorating the Dining Hall while our chefs cook up a delicious special meal. This week’s menu was pulled beef brisket and chicken kebabs served with corn on the cob, cornbread and apple pie for dessert. YUM!
Later that same evening, after shower time, everybody got dressed and waited patiently outside of their bunks for ‘The Walk’ to start. This is a favorite tradition at Schodack. Led by Matt, Paul and Linda, the whole camp walked silently together out to the Amphitheater where the Super Senior Girls lead our first Fire Circle of the summer (they got the honor of leading Fire Circle by winning the first of our Super Senior Survivor Series). Their theme was ‘Patience’ and they chose John Mayer’s ‘Waiting on the World to Change’ as the song the whole camp sang together. As always during Fire Circle, we were all treated to one of Paul’s many fantastic stories and campers came forward to dedicate a Fire Stick acknowledging something kind that was done for them throughout the week.
Tuesday was our first Trip Day of the summer…and it was a popular one! Junior and Middle Camp packed their swim stuff and headed out Zoom Flume, a family water park with awesome rides and water games. Super Seniors and LTs headed over to Saratoga to enjoy some sights for the day and take in the town. See below for some great pictures from Zoom Flume!
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Sport and Activity Highlights of the Week
*The Camper/Counselor Tennis Tournament started on Wednesday. This tournament pairs a camper with a staff member to play until a pair is crowned the champions of Camp.
*Our 8th-grade boys went to the first inter-camp tournament of the summer at Camp Winadu. They won a game and lost a few and had an awesome time competing.
* The 5th and 6th-grade boys basketball team have been practicing daily during campers choice to prepare for their upcoming basketball tournament at Camp Winadu. Also, the 5th & 6th-grade girls have been practicing for their soccer tournament at Scatico.
*Our first Night Clinics of the summer were held by Alyssa and many of our Activity Specialists. Clinics are optional night activities for campers who want more specialized instruction and skill-development in their favorites sports. This week’s clinics were:
Division highlights from this past week
Super Junior Boys
What a week for the Super Junior boys! The boys have had a great week of activities and fun in the Schodack sun! This past week gave the boys numerous amounts of highlights which will be a major part of their summer.
Over the course of the week, the Nyack Boys have been all over activities lately, with incredible periods at soccer with their CAIL Joe “Soccer Dad” “Soccer” Pygall, playing games like “Toilet Tag”, a game similar to freeze tag but once your frozen you extend your hand like a lever and once you are “flushed” you’re unfrozen! The Nyack Boys have also been tearing up the climbing tower, climbing with enthusiasm and drive!
The Erie Boys have been ballin’ all week, with the bunk basically taking over ultra-leagues, our in-camp competitive soccer and basketball league, with their spirit and excitement! These guys have been rockin’ it.
The Fox Boys are giving it their best shot to win the cleanliness cup, the reward for being the cleanest bunk on camp. While the winner has yet to be determined, Group Leader Luke Berry had an ingenious idea to create a prize bin for the Fox Boys, so for a reward for their 95 on cleanup the other day the bunk will get to go stargazing during night snack this week! Also, the boys were getting in tip-top shape at gymnastics yesterday, showing off how many crunches they can do and seeing how many pullups they can do in a minute!
The Mohawk Boys have been having a blast with the outdoors, surf and turf style. In the water, the boys have been having an unbelievable time at lake, trying new activities such as water skiing, wakeboarding, and kneeboarding! On land, the boys are always at Scho-karts, as many of them have become official licensed Scho-Kart drivers!
As a division, many of the boys went out for an overnight in Siberia (the big field past Golf) for an overnight, sleeping in tents and sleeping bags, and Monday night we had a bonfire, telling stories over some delicious smores! For trip day, the boys took to Zoom Floom, a local water park, and spent the day on water slides, rides, and in wave pools (Don’t worry, we had sunscreen!!). It’s been a wild and fun week for the Super Junior Boys, and should be the best week of the summer until next week is even better!
Roll SJB – Weiner
Super Junior Girls
The Super Junior Girls had a super fun first full week in the 12123, jam packed with activities and time with their friends. All the girls have been learning new skills at all the different activities and really enjoying themselves. The Mohawk girls had their first Tennis period of the summer and played a thrilling game of Jail; putting their new skills into action. That evening the Super Juniors had a fun game of bombardment on the Hockey Court, with different teams for different rounds. We all had so much fun with the final game being Camper v Counsellor!
Aside from activities, the quest for the cleanliness cup began and all the girls were vying for the title. But it was the Fox Girls with a very impressive score that won the cup for the first week of the summer.
The fun didn’t stop there. We then had an indoor caving trip that so many of the girls went on, followed later that evening by an overnight in Siberia. The rain stayed away long enough for them to have a great night in the Siberia with the Adventure staff.
Our first fire circle of the summer was great for all, with the Erie girls leading the walk across camp behind Matt, Paul and Linda.
Finally, the first trip day of the summer arrived which saw the entire Junior and Middle camp head to Zoom Flume! The weather was wonderful for a fun day in the water! After having lunch the girls ran as fast as they could to get on as many rides as possible and a lot of fun was had all round! We headed back to camp for a great night activity of Canteen Drop, bringing all the Super Juniors together in one place.
This week all the Super Junior Girls had so much fun and we can’t wait to see what fun we get up to next week! – Jess
Middle Boys
It was a fantastic first full week of Camp for the Middle Boys! On Sunday, after a relaxing lazy wake-up, the whole camp participated in our first special event afternoon, All For One, from which our very own Ottowa Boys emerged victorious!
Then on Monday, many of our middle boys traveled to Camp Winadu for a soccer intercamp. On Tuesday, we were all able to cool off on our first trip day to Zoom Flume Water Park. Wednesday it was back to regular activities around camp, with the Pawnee Boys showing off their skills down at the lake, the Ottowa Boys killing it out at volleyball, and the Wichita Boys serving it up at tennis.
Finally, on Thursday evening, we all gathered in Siberia with the rest of Camp for fireworks in celebration of the Fourth of July! It’s hard to believe we’re already a week into Camp and I’m excited to see what comes next!
Before I leave every bunk at night I always say, “Goodnight boys…see you in the morning.”
Goodnight parents, talk to you next week. – Kaish
Middle Girls
Watch out Camp Schodack! The Middle Girls are here and taking over camp! We’ve had such an exciting and enthusiastic week since Arrival Day. Last Friday, we met as a division for a Bonfire accompanied by S’mores and storytelling around the fire. Our division also took part in the all camp event of All For One, which promotes the active participation of all campers around camp. There was singing, dancing, cookie decorating, joke telling, soccer juggling and relay races. One middle camp girl also completed over 50 push-ups helping her bunk rack up major points! A few girls also participated in the basketball night activity clinic on Sunday night while the others participated in the Schodack version of Shark Tank. Finally, yesterday the Middle Girls braved the rainy morning for the Zoom Flume water park, which turned into a lovely day as soon as they arrived at the park.
The Wichita Girls and their counselors have traveled as a pack to and from activities of Swim, Arts and Crafts, and Scho-Karts to name a few. During gymnastics we worked on getting stronger with different stations set up around the gym including partner ab workouts and front support shapes on the trampoline. We finished the period with some interesting and fun balancing duo poses. The girls also went down to the lake with the Pawnee girls where we all swam to the dock, paddle boarded, and took turns on the boats. Without surprise, knee-boarding was super popular along with water skiing and a few wake-boarders!
The Pawnee girls enjoyed an active period of tennis on Wednesday where they worked on their forehand hits and finished up with a dynamic game of “jail” until there was only one person standing. They’re also enjoying their time in The Well during their ultimate frisbee rec period with their GL who plays at school. The girls found their inner Katniss Everdeen in archery this week also. Some of the girls also plan on going on the overnight to Vermont later in the week.
The Ottowa girls crafted masterpieces in Arts and Crafts this week. They designed and created bookmarks using vibrant watercolors. On Thursday they went for a refreshing swim lesson where they worked on everything from free-style breaking and strokes to diving in the old pool. The Ottowa Girls also worked on their fancy foot work in Dance this week as they mastered the Samba with enthusiastic “Arribas!” that could be heard all across camp.
All-in-all we had a fantastic first full week of camp but there is so much more to come! Check back next week for more bunk news, Triple Crown updates and an exciting surprise Middle Camp Division Day!
Peace Out – Grace
Super Seniors
The Super Seniors had a fantastic first full week at camp! At Fire Circle on Saturday, the SS Girls spoke on the theme “patience,” with highlights including, “Patience is waiting seven years to be a Super Senior,” “Patience is trying to understand Shira’s jokes,” and “Patience is 30 girls, all living together.”
Tuesday, we headed to Saratoga for our first Trip Day. It was a gloriously sunny day, and all of the Super Seniors loved exploring the town all together. We all got our fill of “real-world food” and got to visit Schodack-favorite Putnam Market. Tuesday night, both the boys and girls bunks devised their communal rules for their food bins – I’m proud to say that they all took this responsibility seriously and composed a very mature, thoughtful set of rules and were excited when the food bins were presented on Wednesday.
We also started ticking items off of our Super Senior Bucket List: Wednesday night, we watched the second game of the Subway Series between the Yankees and the Mets in the Rec Hall, which was a massive “hit”, so to speak. The enthusiasm in the Rec Hall matched the enthusiasm the SSBoys have been displaying at Baseball, where they’ve played full games nearly every day this week and have raved about their counselors’ encouragement on the field.
That’s all for this week, catch you next time – Shira
LTs
- Second Year LTs have helped out in bunks five times, while the First Years just completed their second time, and all have received fantastic feedback from the staff they assisted! This type of training is a huge part of being an LT and we love seeing them take it so seriously.
- On Friday afternoon, the First Year LTs found out which Challenge Day teams they would be on for the following two summers…this is a big deal!
- The following night, the LTs were afforded a trip off-camp to grab some team-colored clothing they might want for Challenge Day!
- On Saturday, the First Years planned out their respective events for the camp-wide “All for One” event on Sunday afternoon. They worked together as a group and came up with some very clever ideas for how to make the event a success.
- On Sunday, the First Years braved some rain and put on a fantastic special event afternoon for the whole camp! We were very proud of their hard work and dedication…they got to shine in front of the entire camp!
- The following day was the first Challenge Day of the summer: School Day! The LTs graduated from kindergarten to college through a wide range of events including puzzle making, gym class, creating a team flag and song, cooking class, and finally a senior thesis. It was a blast.
This is just some of the week’s highlights and much more to come in the following weeks! – Jake and Abigail
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Division Spotlight – Juniors
The Junior Boys had a fun-filled first week, packed with tons of awesome activities. After the long bus ride to camp, we could not wait to get the boys more excited for summer, so the counselors had been planning and rehearsing for the first night activity of Counsellor Show! We all headed back to the bunk afterward for highs of the day, and all of the kids said how excited they were to be at camp and how much they all loved the show. Waking up on Thursday morning, the boys were ready to head to activities. To kick off the summer, the Abenaki and Aztec boys headed to the pool. During their first-ever swim period, both bunks played a really fun game of water basketball.
As the days have gone on, the boys have continued to play so many camp activities and to learn some new skills too! We held a gaga clinic, teaching the boys all of the proper Gaga techniques. Once they all got the hang of things, we decided to really “get after it”, and divided all of the boys into teams to play a huge team Gaga tourney. We had the Abenaki and Aztec boys all mixed up and playing together, allowing them to make tons of new friends and play an activity they all love. The boys had the best time and have gone back day after day to the Junior Camp Playground (the best spot on camp if you ask me), to practice everything they learned. We held a “Night at the Races” for a night activity as well, which led to an Abenaki Boys victory over the whole Junior Camp Division.
After being on camp for a few days, the boys got the chance to go off camp to Zoom Flume, a water park about an hour away from here. After sitting down for lunch, eating our trip day sandwiches, we all ran inside to go on as many rides as we could! After heading home to camp we watched Toy Story as a whole division, cuddled up in our pajamas, sat in the Playhouse with crazy creeks, blankets, and pillows, and ate Pop-corners as we watched the movie.
We played our first Junior Camp ultra-leagues basketball game, mixing up all the boys to play against each other in a more competitive way. The boys were having the best time EVER, getting to play against all of their friends in the Junior Division. After the best week, packed with crazy Abenaki dance parties, and bunk football games outside the Aztec boys’ bunk, we all can’t wait to see what next week will bring for the Junior Boys! -Simone
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The Abenaki and Aztec Girls have had a jam-packed week of fun here at camp!!
We were all so excited about our first Fire Circle of the summer! We stayed as quiet as we possibly could on the walkout to the amphitheater where we listened to Paul’s story, heard the Super Senior Girls talk about Patience and enjoyed a whole camp rendition of Friends. After Fire Circle, 4 eager adventurers enjoyed an overnight in Siberia, feasting on S’mores and sleeping in tents while the rest of the bunks enjoyed their first canteen of the summer!
Sunday afternoon was the special event “All for One” run by the 1st year Leadership Trainees. Once the rain cleared we had a great time participating in as many activities as we could such as cookie decorating, dance party, push up contest, corn hole and more!
Our days have been full of fun and energy during our activity periods. Highlights so far have been learning the Tango in dance, improving our gymnastics skills, working on our dribbling and passes in basketball, making water-color bookmarks in arts and crafts, trying new things down at the lake; small boats and kneeboarding are proving to be very popular and cooling off in the pool. The girls have also loved the freedom of Campers Choice! Favorites include zip line, climbing tower, arts and crafts, gymnastics, play rehearsal, chilling in the game room and jumping in the pool!
Our first trip day was a huge success. The Abenaki and Aztec Girls had a ball at Zoom Flume! The girls got their adrenaline pumping on the water slides and the weather was perfect! Back at camp, we got to wind down with Toy Story for movie night. Other night activities we have been enjoying are Make Me Laugh, Gaga A/C session and Storytime which are always followed by night snack and “highs of the day” in the bunk!
Our whole division is so bonded that we’ve been calling ourselves the “Aztanaki Girls” and we’ve been having endless amounts of fun in the sun. Everyone is excited to take the stage for Talent Show on Sunday! Here’s to another wonderful and wacky week at camp!! -Ella
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Definitely one of the most exciting things to happen this week was our annual tradition of enjoying fireworks for the 4th of July right here at Camp! We will let these photos from Milton Photo show you how spectacular they were…WOW!!!
That’s it for now, folks. Keep your eyes peeled next week for our next Summer Newsletter and enjoy your first phone calls this weekend!
