Weekly Video Round-Up
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Hi Everyone, we are back once again with another amazing update on all the great things that have taken place here in the beautiful foothills of the Berkshires aka Camp Schodack aka the 12123 aka our second home! We hope you enjoyed our weekly video showing a Day In The Life of a 2019 Schodack camper!
As always, Camp has been running come rain or shine and we are always amazed by just how much happens in a single week here at Schodack. We have had theme dinners, fire circle nights, trips to Canada, Boston, roller skating and the movies. There have been activities galore as well as night activity clinics and Inter-camps, not to mention Tribals fakes, a Carnival and much, much more! So for now, sit back and enjoy reading about everything that we’ve been doing.
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What Happened This Week…
For starters, straight after last week’s newsletter, the whole Camp walked out to the amphitheater led by the Ottowa Girls for Fire Circle. Waiting quietly for them when they arrived were the Ottowa Boys who led this week’s Fire Circle Ceremony. The theme of the week was Responsibility and the boys each took turns saying what “responsibility” meant to them.. After this, the boys took the lead in singing along with the whole Camp to Zac Effron’s ‘Breaking Free’ from High School Musical. One of the most popular traditions at Camp is hearing Paul tell one of his amazing stories and this week was probably the most famous of them all…the ‘Uncle Lou Hates Rocks’ story much to the delight of campers and staff of all ages.
Night activity finished with a surprising twist when during a Dance Recital put on by some of our younger campers, fire-crackers pierced the air and a group of “Hyenas” (Super Seniors) closed in around the group and Scar appeared high up in the trees with his brother Mufasa…a Lion King theme emerged and who knows how things will unfold over the coming days but one thing is for certain…Tribals is in the air!
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On Saturday our LTs threw another one of our amazing all-Camp events…the CARNIVAL! The first Carnival was such a success that the LTs certainly raised the bar for themselves AND it is fair to say they smashed it once again. There were racing games, beverage stations, a Jack-o-Lantern bouncy house, the Camp waterslide was running all afternoon as well as sock wrestling, cotton candy, snow cones, horse racing and much more!
After the weekend came our weekly Trip Days and there were a lot of trips going on. The Super Seniors packed their bags, boarded the busses and made their way off to Boston where they explored the city, took a tour of the State House, enjoyed the underwater wonders of the Boston Aquarium and managed to eat some of the city’s wonderful food on their travels.
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Also this week the LTs jetted off to Montreal, Canada! A rite of passage for those in the LT program, Canada is one of the highlights of the summer for our Leadership Trainees. Visiting La Ronde, exploring downtown Montreal, jet boating and of course, coming home with much-coveted Roots gear.
Finally, our Junior and Middle Campers boarded their own buses for much shorter, but no less exciting trip to go Roller Skating and then enjoy a movie in East Greenbush! Watching The Lion King helped build even more excitement and anticipation for Simba and the gang to return to the rooftops of Schodack for another Tribals Fake.
This week Camp had a wonderful special guest in the form of Paul Rosenberg and his Band, who played live music and led Western Style line dances with the campers!
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Sport and Activity Highlights of the Week
In addition to the normal bunk schedules, we had a lot of off-camp trips, inter-camps, and other amazing activities.
This week included:
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Division Highlights
Junior Boys
What an exciting week it has been for the Junior Boys with some wonderful camp activities happening every day. Both bunks enjoyed their time at the lake this week, the gorgeous weather warming up the lake to perfect temperature. The Abenaki and Aztec Boys both had a Bonfire night activity this week with plenty of s’mores, dancing and singing. The warm evening weather was perfect as they hung out, told stories and discussed the day’s events. Both bunks scored an amazing 100/100 for clean up and were very excited to be challengers for the cleanliness cup title this week. The first Tribals fake was amazing with the Lion King theme revealed, this was perfect timing with our trip to see the Lion King movie giving us a taster of what could be in store. Some of the boys attended the Junior Camp overnight this week, while others stayed in their bunks for cookies as the evening snack. A very popular choice. We have been working hard to prepare for BPN, practicing at rest hour and in our Triple Crown periods. The energy at Camp is the highest ever and our excitement as we move from activity to activity is growing every day. We can’t wait for another great week of activities and hopefully, some more exciting Tribals fakes from Simba and the crew.
Junior Girls
We’ve had another spectacular week here at Schodack! Saturday saw a jam-packed day of activities. The Abenakis loved their time at gymnastics choreographing floor routines and the Aztecs loved playing Newcomb with Grace Volleyball. The Abenakis also took home the Cleanliness Cup for the fourth time this summer! The Aztenakis cooled off in the afternoon with a swim and then a waterslide period! Sunday was a huge day of special events for the Junior Girls. We loved showing the Rookies around on Sunday and spending rest hour playing cards, showing our bunk pets and hanging out. The Abenakis had the best time on the inflatable slide at LT Carnival and got right into the staff horse races while the Aztecs loved the cotton candy and marriage booth! The evening kicked off with a huge fake tribals break with the junior girls finding out Dance Recital pt 1 was a setup! The girls loved having their faces painted into Lion King characters and reading off arrows in front of the whole camp! After an amazing fake the excitement didn’t stop there, 8 girls headed out to Siberia for an overnight complete with a campfire and s’mores. Early morning lake on Monday was the perfect start to the day. We enjoyed a small boat tour from Nick Lake and kept perfecting our waterskiing, wakeboarding and kneeboarding skills with the rest of the lake staff! Lion King and Rollerskating was a great trip day! The movie was enjoyed by all and the Rollerskating (and the arcade) was so much fun! The girls in the Dance Recital on Wednesday night continued to work hard on their dances and loved being on the Playhouse stage to perform. The Aztenakis continue to practice their BPN as much as possible and can’t wait to perform the final leg of Triple Crown on Saturday. Another week in paradise for the Junior Girls!
Middle Boys
This week started off strong for the Middle Boys. On Saturday afternoon, we joined up with the Middle Girls for a game of Assassin on the Flagpole side of camp. Then in the evening, our very own Ottowa Boys led Fire Circle with the theme of responsibility. This was immediately followed by a Camp Schodack favorite – the annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament! Many of the Middle Boys made their way to the Garden for this time-honored tradition.
Middle Girls
Greetings yet again from the Middle Camp Girls! This week was a blur of crazy events and thrilling adventures. This week the girls played a giant game of Middle Camp Assassin. Assassin is basically a giant game of tag where each person has a specific target. Once they tag their target, they get that person’s assigned target. It works down the chain until there is only one winner. All of middle camp got involved and had a blast running around the Dining Hall side of camp. The girls also got their “Hush buddies” where they left notes, clues and handmade gifts for their new friend, and on Sunday night they revealed themselves.
On another exciting note, the Middle Girls hosted Scatico this past week for a Basketball and Soccer Inter-camp! A lot of the girls signed up to play in the morning and the Schodack team dominated the field and the court winning both games! Basketball was a knock out with a final score of 44-12, and soccer a complete shut out of 10-0. But what was even better was that while the girls were playing, they were cheered-on by others from the whole division, boys and girls. Our Schodack Spirit was fully represented.
Some of the highlights from night activities this past week were a Pool Party with all of Middle Camp and a Yoga Night in Gymnastics after a thrilling trip day. The pool party was a splash hit with fun floats and noodles galore in the new pool. The campers also created a small whirl pool in the shallow end resulting in smiles and wild laughter. The Yoga Night for the girls was relaxing after their busy day roller-skating and going to the movies.
Some high points for each of the middle girl bunks from this week included the Ottowa Girls leading the walk to Fire Circle as a reward for their stellar work on clean up for tours. They also are really excited for their BPN! The Wichita girls were spotted practicing the Schodack value of kindness on trip day when they pooled together their trip day money get ice cream treats! The Wichita girls also scored an impressive score of 95 on their clean up this week! The Pawnee girls enjoyed a quick ride on the camp van on the way to trip day this week where they jammed out to classic Camp Rock and Jonas Brothers. They also have been housing a small family of pet rocks headed by the father, Bob Rock.
That’s all for now, folks! See you next week! Grace
Super Seniors
We had a chock-full week at Camp Schodack for the Super Seniors. Friday afternoon, the boys took an off-camp trip to the local Nassau Baseball field for their double-play baseball period. They played 7 innings, a wonderful continuation of their ongoing baseball series. Doug surprised us all with hot dogs and popcorn, and we had ice pops to cool off after a fantastic game!
Sunday morning, the girls treated ourselves to a Spa Day, replete with yoga led by myself and Grace, our Middle Girls Division Head. After yoga, we did face masks, painted nails, and enjoyed a relaxing time in the shade before the fantastic LT Carnival in the afternoon.
Sunday evening, I revealed that the Super Seniors were actually going to be in the first Tribals fake of the summer. The theme is Lion King, and the Super Seniors got decked out in all black to play the wild pack of hyenas backing Shenzi and her mischievous crew. While the fake began in the Playhouse, we hung out behind the Garden, waiting for our curtain call. Once all of Camp entered the Garden, the cue was sounded, and the Super Seniors rushed in through the garage door, crawling over one another and fully selling their part before stampeding after Simba to the amphitheater. There, we surrounded Simba and trampled over Mufasa before exiting our scene, a battle well fought and won.
Tuesday and Wednesday we spent in Boston, enjoying visits to the New England Aquarium, Quincy Market, Massachusetts State House, and Newbury Street. Despite the heat and a splash of rain Wednesday afternoon, the trip was a total success. We walked along the Harborwalk, through Boston Commons, and all the while found plenty of shops and restaurants to enjoy leisurely days. Wednesday night we returned to camp late doors, ready for our final few days of activities before the end of season events kick in. And perhaps another Tribals fake along the way. Who’s to say? Shira
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Division Spotlight: Super Junior Camp
Super Junior Boys
The boys had an awesome time this week, putting the “Super” in “Super Junior Boys”! The boys had a very sporty week playing tons of activities! The Erie Boys and their CAIL Ari “Lacrosse” Weiner took a classic soccer game, World Cup, and turned it into a lacrosse game! The boys would team up into twos and all play against each other, representing countries from around the world! Also, Josh from the Erie Boys won the annual Rock, Paper, Snerson (named after 5-time champ and Alumni Evan Snerson) tournament!
The Mohawk Boys had a waterslide period earlier in the week, what a great way to stay cool in the gorgeous Schodack sun! All the boys were going down the massive slide, playing in the water and with hoses! On a hot day, there’s nothing better!
The Nyack Boys had an awesome day at low ropes, where they played a game where they would start on one platform, hang on to a rope, not let their feet touch the ground, and then make it onto the other platform while keeping as many people on the platform as they can! It’s fun and builds great teamwork and personal confidence!
The Fox Boys have been hard at work getting ready for Bunk Plaque Night, with the kids learning the words and hand motions to the song, with the counselors putting on their art skills to the test to commemorate the summer!
The SJB is still full steam ahead.
Until next week – Weiner
Super Junior Girls
We had another great week here at Camp Schodack, with the Super Junior Girls having the best time. Saturday was a day full of activities, as the Fox, Mohawk and Erie girls had a fabulous swim period, cooling off on a sunny day; where they learned some new skills in the pool. We showed off some sports skills too.
Sunday came around and all of camp came together for rookie day and LT carnival. The Fox girls enjoyed their cotton candy, the Mohawk chose a theme of college shirts and the Erie girls ran around in their fanny packs. All the girls had a great time, eating cookies, snow cones and joining in at different stations. The highlight was the horse racing, they all chose a winner and watched the new event unfold. We followed the Carnival with a super fun campers choice, where the girls ran around to their favorite activities.
Monday was another day of activities, a full day for us to really be active. All three bunks had a lake period, where they showed their best water skiing, wake and knee boarding. As the weeks go on all the girls keep getting better and better. The Erie girls had a thrilling game of jail at tennis in the warm Schodack sun, the Fox girls put their Mountain Biking skills to the test with a fun activity period, and the Mohawk girls showed off their moves in dance.
Later that night we had the most amazing Tribals fake! The Super Junior girls ran all around camp, with the stampede led us to the amphitheater where we saw Mufasa fall from high ropes. All the girls loved seeing the start of Tribals, getting excited for the real thing.
Trip day was soon upon us, and this week we went to a movie and roller skating. All of the girls watched Lion King, while they munching away on their popcorn. Then we went to the roller rink and booted up to show off our moves. The Erie girls danced the day away, while the Mohawks showed off their moves. Finally, the Fox girls were the best at cheering on their friends and loved the afternoon so much.
After a super fun trip day, we came back to camp for a relaxing evening with some bunk time with our friends. The girls played cards, they practiced BPN and just had a really fun night.
Our final day of the week was Wednesday, with another day of activities. But today we were preparing for the dance recital as our night activity. The day went by super-fast, with all the girls playing different team sports today. Then the dance recital made for a perfect end to the day. We had stunning performances from many of the girls; Pretzel, Sydney, Bebe, Summer and Lila. All the girls did themselves proud and it was amazing to see.
Catch us next week to see what we got up to at Camp Schodack! Jess
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