The grass is green, the sun is out, and the lake is glistening. Summer 2023 has officially begun in The 12123! Campers arrived to a crowd of open arms and excited faces on Wednesday morning. With each arrival came more spirit. The tunnel and tube (new tunnel) rang with the booming voices of campers excited to get to their next activity. With reunions happening all around, and new campers making fast friends with others, it’s easy to say that there is nothing better than a summer spent at Camp Schodack!
My name is Amir Alexander and I am the Communications Coordinator here at camp. This will be my 2nd year here and I am thrilled to present weekly newsletters all summer long. Each Friday, you can expect a new post detailing everything that has happened during the week. Each blog will feature photos and videos captured by our Communications Team, Ashlyn (photo) and Fiona (video)
First 24 Hours Video!
Division Photos & Write-Ups
(Click below to jump to your campers division)
Junior Camp
Super Junior Camp
Middle Camp
Super Seniors
LTs
Here are some other things you can expect each week…
- Overviews, recaps, and details about one-of-a-kind Schodack events, activities, tournaments, and more!
- Mini-blog posts from each Division Head, featuring a glimpse of what their division did that week!
- Excerpts from the Schodack Scoop, Camp’s own daily newspaper written by the Communications Coordinator (me!) Our campers and staff love beginning their day with the only daily, breakfast-table newspaper in all of Nassau, New York!
Each of our weekly newsletters will also feature a video round-up of all the fun here at camp. Be sure to check your inbox every Friday afternoon for the next newsletter!
First Full Day!
Our first day here at camp went off without a hitch! Every corner of camp was filled with action as campers buzzed from one activity to the next. In the afternoon, first-year campers got to meet with their camp ‘bigs’ (photos above). After a day packed with excitement, the entire camp came together for a night full of relay races at the 13th annual Night at The Races! With the first full day down, we are now in full swing and are anticipating the week ahead!
Counselor Show!
There is no other way to end the first day of camp than with our Counselor Show.
This year, our staff brought their all into each performance. From the return of classic skits like the Bean Skit and Staff Classmates to the debut of a new band– The Hundred Acre Wood Band! As always, the show was opened with a performance from Matt, Paul, and Linda Krouner.
Another highlight of the show was the lake staff’s presentation which featured a boat constructed from cardboard and bubble-blowing machines! After that, campers returned to their bunk for a good night’s rest ahead of their first full day at camp!
Division Write-Ups
Junior Girls
Summer is officially here and the junior girls have been having a blast so far. Here are some of the highlights:
The Junior girls have had a blast in the last 48 hours. The days have been filled with shared pool sessions and lessons in Arts and Crafts.
The first two days have been full of excitement and trying new activities!
-Hollie DH
Junior Boys
Junior camp has had an AMAZING first 48 hours! Here are some highlights:
The Counselor Show on our first night had us laughing out of our seats, and smiling watching our counselors on stage.
We went to the water slide and had a night at the races.
The Birch Boys in B4 were kicking it at kick ball The Apple Boys in B3 made Rice Krispie Treats The Ash Boys in B3A were hitting the target in Archery.
We can’t wait to make more memories this summer!!
-Grant DH
Super Junior Girls
The first 2 days back at Schodack have been full of fun and laughter for the Super Junior Girls. The Cherrywood, Fir, Hazel and Hemlock Girls have been settling into their bunks and meeting their old and new friends.
The Fir Girls had a great spa night full of face masks, skincare routines and beautiful hairstyles, while the Cherrywood girls got straight into Jibbit trading as soon as they arrived. The Hemlock Girls had so much fun making Rice Krispie treats in the Camper Kitchen and the Hazel Girls headed to Schokarts and had a blast trying out for the licenses.
All of the Super Junior Girls have already taken a trip to the lake. They had a great time there, where they could choose from waterskiing, knee boarding, banana boating, kayaking or just swimming around with their friends.
The girls also spent their first camper choice running all over camp playing Camp Bingo. They had to earn their squares by going to pet a horse at corral hill, giving the zipline a go, shooting an arrow at archery, walking across the balance beam at gymnastics and a whole lot more!
Our first night activity was ‘Night at the Races.’ The Super Juniors teamed up with their bunkmates and participated in a series of fun relays. They had to roll tennis balls into hoops, move tennis balls down a course of cones, and they even tried out a brand new race where two people, working together, had to balance a golf ball between their two fingers and then bounce or throw that golf ball into a bucket for points.
Overall, the first few days have been amazing and we’re all excited to continue making memories and make 2023 the best summer yet!
Hannah DH 🙂
Super Junior Boys
The Super Junior boys have had an absolute blast at camp so far!
Camp started off with a classic grilled cheese! Yum! Our boys then got to see, in Owen Pennant Jones’s words: “The best counselor show this camp has seen in awhile.”
The Hemlock boys competed in soccer to steal the bacon in a 1v1 match up. The Hazel boys got to face off in the diamond at baseball, then visited the camper kitchen to get cookin’! The two bunks then met to play a match in camp’s newest game: GRASSKETBALL!!- Carter’s new game that mixes team handball and basketball (a genius combination). There was a suggestion to add style points for dunking- it’s still under review.
The Cherrywood boys got to break in the water slide and be the first ones to slide in Summer 2023! The Fir boys sharpened up their skills at archery, then met in the rec hall to get groovin ‘at dance!
Super Junior boys ruled the Junior Camp Playground (JCP), playing on the new pickleball courts, basketball, and Camp Schodack favorite, Gaga! At one point, there were 20 junior campers in one court! For our first night activity, Night at the Races, the boys were competing hard against the girls, focusing hard on rolling their tennis balls at the right speed to land it in the hula hoop!
-Max DH
Middle Girls
With a long ten-month wait finally behind them, the Middle Girls had the best time catching up with friends and making new ones. All four bunks have settled into camp beautifully!
All four Middle Girls bunks (Juniper, Laurel, Mulberry, and Palm) took part in icebreakers to get to know each other better.
On our first full day at camp, we had the first letter-writing day of the summer… look forward to getting those letters soon!
All four bunks had a day full of activities, with sunscreen on and water bottles in hand.
The Juniper Girls had fun in the pool playing a swim version of ‘Guess that Song’ followed by a great tennis period! The Laurel Girls showed off some of their best and most creative artwork in the art shack and made some tasty rice crispy treats during their cooking period! The Mulberry Girls played a great game of GaGa and then showed off their birthday card-making skills. The Palm Girls had a fun time in the pool and had fun on the Climbing tower and at golf! All the girls had their swim tests and enjoyed some free swim after.
To end their first full day at camp, the Middle Girls had an awesome night activity called ‘Night at the Races’. Each bunk participated in relay races, including the bunk staff, and the Mulberry Girls won the night!
We’ve had such a great opening and first day of camp, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for the Middle Girls. Summer 2023 will be the best one yet!
Anna Lieb, Middle Girls DH
Middle Boys
Middle boys had an AMAZING first 48 hours at camp! Here are some highlights:
The Counselor Show on our first night had us laughing out of our seats, and smiling watching our counselors on stage. The middle camp staff even put on a groovy Zumba performance!
We hit the Scho-Karts track for some fun on the course and to take our Scho-Kart license tests!
The Laurel boys had an intense battle on the Hockey court. The Mulberry Boys had some time to practice their aim over at Archery. The Juniper boys have already made their way up to the top of the climbing tower!
We have had an amazing start and are looking forward to many more amazing days at the 12123!
Ryan
Super Seniors
After waiting so long to be back at camp, the Super Seniors had the best time catching up with friends and making new ones. Both bunks have settled back into their summer home. Both bunks took part in ice breakers to get to know each other a bit better, as well as making
their new bunk rules.
The SS Girls put together their ‘camp walls’ and lights to make the bunk look even cosier. While the boys got their hammock set up to get their porch just how they like it. Both bunks had their first full day of activities, with their new Super Senior schedule and a
choice of activities.
Both bunks took their swim tests and are looking forward to their lake period this weekend. The Super Senior boys had their first flag football period of the summer and absolutely loved it. While the Super Senior Girls all played a great game of softball.
To end their first full day at camp we had the first leg of the Super Senior Survivor Series. We split into three teams: red, white and blue. Each team competed in a relay race, ending the intense challenge with a tough puzzle. In the end the blue team completed the puzzle, taking home the win. All three teams really got into and had so much fun.
We’ve had such a great opening and first day of camp, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for the Super Seniors
– Jess
LTs
The LTs have had a wonderful beginning to the season. The first bus arrived just before 11:00AM and yet before the clock had chimed half past twelve, the magnificently renewed
Dining Hall and the Patio had been transformed by the second year LTs.
As the big clock (okay – it doesn’t really chime) clicked over to 1:00 we flung open the doors and the eager campers filed in for the Opening Day Tradition of grilled cheese, oozing flavor thanks to Chefs Gary and Michal – with an amazing tomato soup! The LTs absolutely crushed the service providing a much-improved dining experience with all the upgraded salad and pasta bars.
You could have walked into the dining hall three minutes into the meal and thought that we were midsummer already! Credit to LTCs Sophia and Braden and a fabulous LT staff – Sammy, Lilly, Lindsay, Natalie, Anuj, Noah, Jacob and Josh – but really it was the second years who delivered. Yesterday, the first years stepped up to the plate and performed brilliantly on debut with the hardest lunch service – tacos.
Quite a start! The second years will be heading over to the camper bunks this afternoon while the first years will have their first go at LTing tomorrow.
You’ll hear about many big-all camp activities in the near future – the first of which – on America’s birthday, will be the LT-driven All For One! Talent Show scripts are already starting to take shape and, all in all, there is huge excitement for the summer ahead.
More photos from the week!
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And with that, you are all caught up on the start of camp. The Communications team and I are thrilled to continue providing weekly updates about all things happening here at Camp Schodack.
