JANUARY 27, 2017
CAMP GUIDE
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Read more camp news at cjn.org/camp
2017 CAMP GUIDE
A Cleveland Jewish News Special Section
Chagrin Valley Athletic Club Sports
36 | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | CJN.ORG
CAMP GUIDE
JANUARY 27, 2017
SUMMER DAY CAMPS
-2 3-6 2-8 4-8 6-8
Specialty Camps • Before and After Camp Care Camps Begin June 12 • 216.292.1970 WWW.BEACHWOODOHIO.COM
A camper canoes at the Mandel JCC’s Camp Wise in Claridon Township. | Submitted Photo
Parents can ease fear for first-time campers BECKY RASPE
T JUNE 12 - AUG. 4 9:00 am - 3:50 pm
Kindergarten - 6th Grade Before & After ffter Care Available
2, 4, 6, 8 week sessions
Positive, nurturing environment Low camper/counselor ratio (5:1) Individual attention, fun field trips Private Olympic Pool Daily swimming lessons and free swim with certified lifeguards Jewish Camp Traditions The special joy of Shabbat, Theme Weeks, Sing-Alongs, Blue & White Games and Family Shabbat Service Convenient & Affordable Curbside drop-off and pick-up Daily hot lunches & snacks included Jewish Day School students receive Park member rates
Park Day Camp 27500 Shaker Blvd., Pepper Pike (440) 543-8802 parksynagogue.org
hough it may not seem like it now, summer is on the horizon. The kids will be home from school, so now is the time to start planning how they will spend their vacation – be it amusement parks, days at the beach or even summer camp. For some children, summer camp would mean a child’s first time away from their parents for an extended period of time, which could be alarming. But, as the same for many firsts, apprehension can be reduced with preparation. Rachel Felber, director of the overnight camp at Camp Wise in Claridon Township, said that there are many ways parents can begin to prepare a child for his or her first camp experience, starting with giving them the opportunity to practice being away from home. “Let them practice at their grandparents’ house or friends’,” Felber said. “When you’re not at home, the routine will be different. You need to make sure that your child is prepared for that.” Felber said it is important to have discussions with your child about being away from home for the first time because many times the experience can be a little scary, especially when it’s a new place and new experience. If your child is concerned about missing you and being homesick, let him or her know it’s a valid feeling, she said. “It’s good to let them know how exciting the experience is. You often take risks without knowing what the outcome is, but if you don’t, you’ll never know,” Felber said. “It’s good to have families come to open houses because then campers will come to recognize buildings, faces and it won’t be as
Felber
Fortuna
Guzy
Tevlowitz
much as a shock when they arrive in the summer.” Felber said that a good step for children who are excited to try camp but are hesitant to be away from home is a day camp to introduce them into the camp environment. Aaron Tevlowitz, director of J-Day Camps and Children’s Services at Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood, said getting your child ready for a day camp is a bit of a different experience, but conversation is still key. “Tell your child about what they will be doing at camp, whether it’s a day or an overnight camp,” he said. “Tell them it’s all about making friends and having fun. The difference with day camp is, you never know what kind of mood your child will be in. “When they are at overnight camp,
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CAMP GUIDE
JANUARY 27, 2017
CJN.ORG | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | 37
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL www.us.edu/summer
SUMMER OF ADVENTURE JUNE 12 - JULY 28
BOYS & COED PROGRAMS PRE-K – GRADE 12 DAY CAMPS • SPORTS CAMPS • ENGINEERING & DESIGN ENTREPRENEUR CAMP • DEBATE • THEATRE • ART STUDIO SPACE CAMP • MUSIC COMPOSITION & SONGWRITING
38 | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | CJN.ORG
January 27, 2017
Summer Ruffing It! Summer Camp for ages 18 months - Grade 9
June 19 - July 28, 2017 For more information or to register go to: ruffingmontessori.net
Working on an obstacle course is part of the fun at Hiram House Camp in Moreland Hills. | Submitted Photo
PARENTS | 36
3380 Fairmount Boulevard : Cleveland Heights, OH 44118
someone else is responsible for getting them ready. Getting them up and ready and out the door is a big task, but keeping them informed about plans and activities keeps them ready for the day.” Courtney Guzy, executive director of Hiram House Camp in Moreland Hills, said it’s very important for parents to get their child involved in the before processes of camp, like packing or practicing the steps for good personal hygiene.
URJ Goldman Union Camp institUte Reform Jewish Values Lifelong Friendship Summertime Fun
GUCi.oRG
CAMP GUIDE
“Get your child involved in the packing process. Parents can go over a list of what (their child) will need. This way, their child can wake up in the morning at camp knowing that they have what they need to get through their day,” Guzy said. “This can help settle a lot of anxiety children face about forgetting something important. You can also go through a mock schedule of activities or even have a get together with their friends and do a camp test run at home.” Ken Fortuna, camp director of Hiram Day Camp in Moreland Hills, said that telling your child about your personal camp and outdoor experiences are important. “Tell them about when you went camping, and how it is just like the one they are going to. Talk about your experiences, which can ease their fear and anxiety about being away from home because they can imagine you in their shoes,” Fortuna said. “You can also teach your child about nature, like animal sounds they may be unfamiliar with but will hear. Even taking them hiking in the park is a good nature exposure exercise.” It’s important to let children know there is a first time for everything. “You can’t have a second summer of camp without the first,” Felber said. “The first camp experience is an important one to have. Make sure they have fun and want to come back.”
Becky Raspe is a freelance writer from Cleveland.
CAMP COUPLES Courtney and Rob Fishman NAOMI GRANT
Courtney Linden from Beachwood and Rob Fishman from Toronto met at Camp Ramah in Canada in 1998. She was 15 and a camper in the secondoldest age group of which Rob was a counselor. Despite the age difference, their friend groups overlapped both in and outside of camp. After camp, the two lost touch for a few years, but reconnected in New York in 2006. Courtney was pursuing a graduate degree, while Rob was working. “When we reconnected in New York, even though we didn’t really know each other as adults, we knew we came from similar places from having the shared experience of being at camp together,” Courtney Fishman said. “We can recount a lot of the similar activities we both did, values that we took away from camp.” The two began dating in 2007 and married in 2009. To this day, the Moreland Hills residents remain in touch with camp friends and informally help with camp recruitment efforts by reaching out to local families. “Camp Ramah in Canada for us is still a big part of our lives,” Rob Fishman said. “Our kids are too young to go now, (but) we know that we’re going to go there in the future, so we definitely stay connected to the camp. We like to go back and visit and just stay active in the Camp Ramah community.”
Naomi Grant is the Violet Spevack Editorial Intern.
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JANUARY 27, 2017
Technology finding a home at some camps BECKY RASPE
W
hen spending summer at a camp, children’s first thoughts typically center around the great outdoors, swimming, crafts, campfires and cabins. There are no city lights, no bustling sounds – only nature. But, that experience has been changing with the increase in technology. The Lillian and Betty Ratner Camp in Pepper Pike and Falcon Camp in Carrollton have started using technology in their camp programs to not only involve it as something that children would be familiar with, but as a learning tool Devey in traditional camp activities. Pat Carey-Bell, camp director of The Lillian and Betty Ratner 3-6 Camp, said that the camp uses technology in many ways as a learning tool for toddlers, mostly to begin studying nature and animals. “In our programming, technology provides a glimpse of different locations, the students are able to watch animals in their native biome doing what they do naturally,” Carey-Bell said. “Since our camp is based on different biomes and the creatures that live in them, we use technology to view those biomes and look at how the creatures move and live within the biome.” She said children and instructors have access to smartphone technology to answer questions that may arise during observation of animals or plants. The school where the camp is held, The Lillian and Betty Ratner School, has a curriculum that includes botany and zoology, so the camp plays upon this to include in the camper’s studies. “Gardening is a part of the camp and the students search the grounds on a daily basis to capture and release,” Carey-Bell said. Allowing smartphone use to identify creatures attaches any new language immediately.” Dave Devey, director and owner of Falcon Camp, said that the camp tries to make sure campers are without technology while at camp – meaning no access to cell phones or social media – because it’s important for personal growth. However, he said technology has a place in camp, but only as a teaching tool for certain activities within a camper’s schedule. “For example, in creative arts activities, children can choose to learn about digital photography while at camp,” Devey said. “They learn how to use a computer to retouch photos, make videos and come up with scripts for films and plays they can record. “The making of the videos is a really cool aspect of (Falcon Camp). Our campers stay longer at camp than other camps, so they can work longer on the activity and have more of an opportunity to learn about the tools they are interested in.” As for general camp use, Devey said the technological age makes it easier for the camp to predict the weather by checking conditions online for daily and weekly forecasts, which helps with planning for
TECHNOLOGY | 40
Imagine summer, think Hawken! Summer programs for boys and girls ages 4-14.
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Far-out adventures close to home.
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Get in the game and have fun.
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Visit exciting locations and make lasting memories.
Register now for summer programs: www.hawken.edu/summer • 440 . 423 . 2940 summerprograms@hawken.edu
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January 27, 2017
CAMP GUIDE
New camps carve out niche NAOMI GRANT
I
Boys’ and Girls’ Day Camps Overnight Camps Teen Leadership Programs
saac Mamaysky knew he wanted to make camp his career after spending several summers as a camper and counselor at a Jewish camp. But then it came time for him to graduate college. “No, no, you should go get a real job,” he was told. “You can’t make camp your career.” Not knowing camp was a whole industry with yearround staff, Mamaysky went to law school and took a job on Wall Street practicing financial litigation. But in 2010, he and his now-wife decided to try to start a camp. “At first I thought he was joking,” Lisa Mamaysky said. “But I realized he was very serious. Obviously, it’s always been a big passion of his.” Camp had made such a big impact on Isaac Mamaysky’s life, she said that at their wedding, most of his groomsmen were camp friends. When looking at the camp landscape they realized that a lot of the traditional camps offer similar programs and have similar approaches to Jewish life. He wanted to start something unique. “We really wanted the sort of camp that reflected the way we live our own lives,” Isaac Mamaysky said. “We cook healthy foods together, we work out together, we’re really into joyful Jewish community, so we wanted to start a camp that reflected all of those values.” And so Camp Zeke was born in 2014 in Lakewood, Pa. near the New York state line, following a yearlong application process with an incubator program called the Foundation for Jewish Camps, which awarded the couple $1.2 million to start the camp and helped them find staff. Despite being a new camp, Lisa Mamaysky said it wasn’t difficult convincing parents to send their children to a camp without a proven track record. “While we hadn’t existed before, people were like,
TECHNOLOGY | 39 Swimming Horseback Riding Nature & Science Fishing Canoeing & Kayaking Archery Riflery Rock Climbing & Ropes Course Woodshop Arts & Crafts Hiking Sports Camp Fires & Overnights
Summer Sessions
June 12 through August 18
RED OAK CAMP 9057 Kirtland-Chardon Road Kirtland, OH 44094 www.redoakcamp.org
Serving Northeast Ohio campers since 1947 – Red Barn • Chincapin • Red Oak
outdoor activities. Parents also can send their children emails instead of letters, which get printed and handed to their child – much like a fax. Devey said the idea of involving technology with geocaching is something he could get behind in the future. “Geocaching is another thing the camp could do to incorporate technology as a tool,” he said. “Geocaching is a fun activity and is something we are looking into for a camp activity. If there are forms of tech that help the life changing experience that camp is, I’m all for it.” Both Devey and Carey-Bell said the emphasis of camp is to have fun, move around and play within nature, so technology is not used very much, other than to supplement new things they learn within nature or structured activities. “But all in all, the importance of camp is to get away from technology. It shouldn’t be center stage of the experience, but can be helpful,” Devey said. “It’s just an add-on if you use it wisely. Use it as a tool and only as a tool. Camp is there for children to learn differently and not rely on technology as the main attraction.”
Becky Raspe is a freelance writer from Cleveland.
‘Oh, your camp is focused on serving wholesome foods,’ ‘Your camp is focused on things that my family is interested in, we’re interested in healthy, active living,’” she said. In 2016, Camp Zeke was home to 330 campers in the summer and the camp expects to see 450 in 2017. “We had a blank campus, we got to sort of create the camp from scratch and create the culture from scratch and that was really an amazing experience,” said Isaac. Rachel Slaton, associate director of URJ 6 Points Sports Academy in California also had a successful experience in 2016, the first summer her camp was open. “It’s exciting and it’s terrifying but when you put a group of Jewish athletes in the same space together,” she said, “the connection and just the pure joy that is created just because you’re around people not only that are Jewish, which is really the magic of Jewish summer camp…but then you add that second level of identity which – being an athlete is almost a whole identity in and of itself. 6 Points, like Camp Zeke, filled a need in the Jewish community. Executive Director Alan Friedman estimates 65 percent of his campers would never have gone to a Jewish camp if not for 6 Points, because they would have chosen sports over Judaism. But they no longer have to choose. Friedman says there is a Jewish education component; the camp “is heaped in Jewish values, and we (and the North Carolina location) both do high-end great sports training.” And Slaton said incorporating even more Israel education is a goal for this summer. “We have Israelis at camp that really help make Israel relevant and sort of bring it to life,” she said. “We want to do even more to make Israel a central part of our educational program.”
Naomi Grant is the Violet Spevack Editorial Intern.
Hathaway Brown Summerfest camp open house Jan. 28
Hathaway Brown presents Summerfest Camp Open House from 10-11:30 a.m. Jan. 28. This interactive event in the school atrium features summer-themed music and food, and gives children an opportunity to explore crafts, sports, theater, games and more.
CAMP GUIDE
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January 27, 2017
Camp fair promotes Jewish camping NAOMI GRANT
N
oah Greff stood near the Camp Nageelah table during a Jan. 22 camp fair. But the 13-year-old Shaker Heights resident wasn’t looking for information about the upstate New York camp. He already had been there for two summers after having met a division head and some counselors at a Jewish Family Experience shabbaton. “It’s good for every kind of Jew, it’s not just for Orthodox,” Greff said. “Nobody’s left out and if there’s a kid or a camper who’s kind of sitting to the side, they will go out of their way to make sure that kid is included in the activity or whatever’s going on.” About 125 people and representatives from 19 camps turned out for the camp fair at Solon Freeway Lanes in Solon. The fair was sponsored by The Michael and Anita Siegal One Happy Camper Program, the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland and the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. “Having all of those camps in one place is really a help to families who are making decisions, learning about camps, figuring out their options,” said Hannah Mendelsohn, One Happy Camper marketing consultant. “It plays a large role in exposing families to all of the camp opportunities, and an opportunity to meet the directors and have those one-on-one conversations because we know that that is the difference from, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll send my kid’ to ‘OK, I’m comfortable, we’re gonna sign ’em up.’” While summer camp is traditionally American, there’s something special about Jewish camps in particular, according to camp staff. “I think it’s a connection to a larger community in the sense that Jewish camp can create a connection to that community in a way that Hebrew school or other ways can’t because you’re immersed in it,” said Joel Bennett, director of operations at Beber Camp in Mukwonago, Wis. Mendelsohn noted how big a role camp plays in a child’s development as a Jew. “Jewish camp is an incredible asset to forming a Jewish identity and to creating Jewish memories and incorporating Judaism into your life,” she said.
“It is one of the biggest indicators in whether or not children will continue to include Judaism as they grow into adults and to raise Jewish families.” And for children who want to spend their summer focusing on a particular area, there are Jewish specialty camps, like the URJ’s 6 Points Sports Academy with locations in both Greensboro, N.C., and Los Angeles and 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy in Byfield, Mass., so they don’t have to choose between a specialty and Judaism. “We’ve found that 60 percent of kids at our specialty camps would have never, ever gone to Jewish camp if it weren’t for the sports or the science, and so that’s pretty remarkable,” 6 Points Sci-Tech director Greg Kellner said. Attending a Jewish camp increases participation in the Jewish community, a study from the Foundation for Jewish Camp shows. One out of every three Jewish professionals has been a counselor at a Jewish camp and one out of every five Jewish educators mentioned camp as a key experience that caused them to enter their field. As adults, alumni of Jewish camps are 10 percent more likely to marry a Jew and 25 percent more likely to report that all or most of their close friends are Jewish. “Camp is important for all Jewish children whether they go to day school or not, it’s the final piece of the puzzle in their Jewish education, and an amazing lifelong experience,” said Randi Mashmoor, registrar and office manager at Camp Stone in Sugar Grove, Pa.
Our 36th Year
Out of Town Trips Overnights • Ruach Swimming
Naomi Grant is the Violet Spevack Editorial Intern.
CLEVELAND CITY DANCE Home of the City Ballet of Cleveland, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Camp Gan Izzy - Solon • Day Camp (K-4) • Explorers (grades 5-7)
Includes: 2 trips per week and professional cooking instruction.
Nuture Your Passion and Talent while building Balance, Poise and Strength! • Open House April 22 • Spring Show Performances May 13 & 20 • Camps Begin June 12 • Summer Grove Performance August 15
Receive $20 Discount for Summer
With this ad through April 22. Cannot be combined with other offers. Visit our website or call for program and enrollment dates. For a complete class schedule call 216-295-2222 or visit Clevelandcitydance.com
Camp Dates June 5 – July 28 8 Weeks of Camp 9am-3:30pm
Extended Care Hours 8am-6pm
• Inground heated swimming pool • Shaded Playing Fields • Hot Lunches • Field Trips • Drama, Sports & Art specialties
440.498.9533
Call Mushkie Galperin www.ganizzysolon.com • ganizzy@solonchabad.com
42 | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | CJN.ORG
January 27, 2017 Beachwood Recreation
FREE T O BE ME !
YABI NURSERY & CHILD CARE
84666
Ages 6 weeks to 4 years
216-932-7664
Linda Bensoussan, Director Quality Care with a Jewish Flair
SPORTS BROADCASTING CAMP BACK IN CLEVELAND JUNE 2630, 2017
Boys and Girls 10-18 will have an opportunity to learn from the pros in the industry Meet sports celebrities Make sports anchor tapes in a TV studio Make reporting tapes from professional stadiums Make play-by-play tapes of the NBA Finals and Super Bowl Participate in sports talk radio and PTI style shows, trivia contests, and much more Day/Overnight sessions available
Nation’s #1 Sports Broadcasting Camp For more information call 800.319.0884 www.playbyplaycamps.com
facebook.com/sportsbroadcastingcamps · youtube.com/sportsbroadcastcamp
The Michael & Anita Siegal One Happy Camper Program
Want to earn up to $1,000 for Jewish Overnight Summer Camp? Go to www.onehappycamper.org Choose a Jewish overnight summer camp and we’ll give you up to $1,000 for a first-time experience. Incentive grants are not need-based. Qualifying campers are a first-time camper and currently in third grade or above. Other restrictions may apply. Visit the www.onehappycamper.org for more information, or contact Helen Wolf at hwolf@jecc.org or call 216-371-0449.
25325 Fairmount Blvd. Beachwood, OH 44122 216-292-1970 • Fax: 216-292-1976 recreation@beachwoodohio.com beachwoodohio.com Want a summer filled with art, sports, games, music, swimming, field trips and crafts? We offer up to seven weeks of great summer camp. Beachwood Recreation offers camp experiences for children ranging from kindergarten through grade eight. Choose from: KIDZ, Bison, Sports, Youth Theatre or Teen Adventure Travel Camp. Plus, we have more than 40 great specialty one-week camps running throughout the summer.
Beber Camp Winter: 8833 Gross Point Road Suite 312 Skokie, IL 60077 847-677-7130 • Fax: 847-677-7132 Summer: W1741 County Road J Mukwonago, WI 53149 262-363-6800 • Fax: 262-363-6804 info@bebercamp.com bebercamp.com Director: Becky Altman Beber Camp has created life-changing summers for Jewish children from around the country for more than 40 years. Campers can explore and experience a summer where wonderful memories and lifelong friendships are created on a daily basis. Campers can choose from more than 90 different activities, including waterskiing, sailing, ceramics, canoeing, climbing, horseback riding and swimming, just to name a few.
Beck Center for the Arts Summer Camp 17801 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH 44107 216-521-2540 beckcenter.org We offer half-day and full-day camps for ages 5 to 19 in dance, music, theater and visual arts. Students learn new skills and build self-esteem as they create unique works of art, develop new friendships, discover hidden talents, stimulate their imagination and have fun. Classes fill up quickly – register today.
Camp Chabad 2437 S. Green Road Beachwood, Ohio 44122 216-382-9992 / (216) 402-4877 Fax: 216-382-0008 Jiris770@aol.com www.ChabadofCleveland.com Director: Jill Weiszner Announcing an exciting summer program: swimming, hiking, overnight, day trips, Shabbos party, challah and cookie baking, aerobics, art, dance, sports, finance for kids, singing, chesed projects. Free lunch program. Join to see what happy campers are all about. Enrollment accepted weekly or for full summer (8 weeks).
Camp Incentive Grants 2030 S. Taylor Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 216-371-0446 • Fax: 216-371-2523 wolfhf@jecc.org onehappycamper.org Director: Helen Wolf The Michael and Anita Siegal One Happy Camper Program. Incentive grants (not needs based) up to $1,000 are available to first time campers (currently in grades three and above) attending qualifying Jewish overnight camps for a minimum of 19 days. Visit onehappycamper.org or jecc.org/youthopportunities/campfunding.htm (day-school students). For questions, contact the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland at 216-371-0446, ext. 246.
CAMP GUIDE
Camp Gan Israel of Beachwood 25400 Fairmount Blvd. Beachwood, Ohio 44122 216-282-CAMP (2267) camp@cgibeachwood.com cgibeachwood.com Director: Rivky Friedman CGI is offering 10 weeks of Jewish summer fun. You can register by the week. Our Pre-Camp Trip Week, 6-week Day Camp, Kids in the Kosher Kitchen and August Horseback Riding Camps are all infused with the Jewish overnight camp energy camp spirit. Low staff/camper ratio allows each camper to feel welcome and included. CGI has curbside dropoff and pick-up and offers hot lunches as well. Sib discounts. Early-bird pricing ends March 1. Schedule a tour to learn more. Call 216-282-2267 or email camp@CGIbeachwood.com
Camp Gan Izzy Solon 5570 Harper Road Solon, OH 44139 440-498-9533 ganizzy@solonchabad.com ganizzysolon.com Director: Mushkie Galperin Camp Gan Izzy in Solon offers Day Camp for grades kindergarten through fourth grade and Explorers Program for grades five to seven. Our camp has three specialty options: campers can choose to join theater, sports or art. All specialties enjoy swimming in our heated pool, field trips and a wide array of activities. Our beautiful campus includes a swimming pool, shaded playing fields and air-conditioned facility. We offer four sessions from June 5 to July 28, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Hot buffet lunch is available as well as extended care from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call us for a tour.
Camp Ramah in Canada 3845 Bathurst St. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3H 3N2 416-789-2193 • Fax: 416-789-3970 info@campramah.com www.campramah.com Director: Dr. Ron Polster Camp Ramah in Canada features programs on the waterfront, in sports and outdoor adventure, and in the arts – all within the context of a vibrant Jewish community. Camp operates under the guidance of the National Ramah Commission and the Jewish Theological Seminary and is governed by the Ramah Canada Committee.
Camp S.T.E.P. A Division of Hebrew Academy of Cleveland 1860 S. Taylor Road Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 216-321-5838, ext.176 • Fax: 216-321-0588 hac1.org Director: Rabbi Hillel Drazin The S.T.E.P. Summer Torah Enrichment Program is a recreational experience that enhances the educational goals of The Hebrew Academy in a fun environment. The highly successful camp provides children of all backgrounds an opportunity to learn and grow. From preschool through eighth grade, campers are availed an opportunity for spiritual and emotional development. Trips to various places of recreational and educational interest follow daily shiurim. Camp S.T.E.P. has become a Cleveland tradition in reaching out to the entire spectrum of the Jewish community.
CAMP GUIDE
January 27, 2017
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Camp Chabad
Camp Walden 5607 S. River Road Cheboygan, MI 4971 248-225-1256 • Fax: 844-272-6354 summer@campwaldenmi.com campwaldenmi.com Directors: Liz Stevens and Scott Ruthart Camp Walden is a coed overnight camp founded in 1959. Vast activity program includes land/water sports, performing/visual arts, horseback, media, outdoor life and more. Accredited and dedicated to the best practices; mature staff; directors who give special attention to individual camper needs.
Camp Wise 26001 South Woodland Road Beachwood, OH 44122 216-593-6250 • Fax: 216-831-7796 wisekids@mandeljcc.org campwise.org Located in Chardon, Ohio, on 350 beautifully wooded acres, awardwining Camp Wise offers exciting overnight camp options for girls and boys entering grades two to 10. New high ropes course expansion, archery, water skiing, horseback riding, lake activities, sports, arts, drama and zip line are just some of the amazing activities campers experience while making lasting friendships and memories of a lifetime.
Chagrin Valley Athletic Club Sports and Junior Camps Bainbridge Township, OH 44023 440-543-5141 info@cvaclub.com cvaclub.com Weekly day camps are fun – something the kids will beg to come back to. Fitness activities, water awareness lessons, tennis and daily lunch. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Group rates and multiple-week discounts available.
Cuyahoga Community College Summer Camps 216-987-3075 tri-c.edu/summercamps Director: Fran Tomba Tri-C Summer Camps Offer Real-World Adventure and Learning in Your Neighborhood. Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) summer camps for children and teenagers are the perfect fit for talented, smart and enthusiastic youth who are eager to learn about a wide variety of topics. Offerings are available around Cuyahoga County for ages 4 and up and include science, film, photography, sports, performing arts and much more.
Fairmount Early Childhood Center Camp 24601 Fairmount Blvd. Beachwood, OH 44122 216-292-2344 • Fax: 216-292-4174 kml@beachwoodschools.org beachwoodschools.org/fairmount.aspx Director: Karen Leeds Fairmount Early Childhood Center Summer Camp accommodates children entering preschool to entering second grade (ages 3 to 7). Weekly themes, outdoor activities, guest performers, field trips, art and the use of the Beachwood Family Aquatic Center are some of the highlights. For more information visit the website at beachwoodschools.org/fairmount.aspx
Falcon Camp 4251 Delta Road SW Carrollton, OH 44615 216-991-2489 • 800-837-CAMP info@FalconCamp.com falconcamp.com Director: Dave Devey Celebrating 59 years as one of Ohio’s premier summer camps. We offer a wide variety of activities, outstanding staff, excellent food and a great time. Daily program separate for boys and girls with planned coed events. “Fun for now, skills for life” is more than a motto. It embodies what a unique experience Falcon Camp really can be.
Fairmount Early Childhood Center
SUMMER CAMP Summer camp is for children entering preschool (Age 3) through entering second grade (Age 7). Camp highlights include: guest performers, field trips and the use of the Beachwood Family Aquatic Center.
Registration is currently open for residents and non-residents. CAMP RUNS JUNE 12 - JULY 28 Call Karen Leeds today for more information
216.292.2344
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JANUARY 27, 2017
CAMP GUIDE
Join Camp Director, Ron Polster, and Program Director, Aily Leibtag on February 12th from 3:00pm4:30pm at WhirlyBall Cleveland (5055 Richmond Rd, Bedford Heights):
• Free bowling and pizza! • Come to our Canadian camp and get 25% more for your US Dollar! For more information or to RSVP (by February 6), please contact Aily Leibtag at aily@campramah.com or call at 4167892193 x2511. Enduring Friendships, Values and Community www.campramah.com 4167892193
Cleveland City Dance
GILMOUR DAY CAMPS
HIRAM HOUSE CAMP
34001 Cedar Road Gates Mills, OH 44040 gilmour.org/summercamp (440) 684-4580 summercamp@gilmour.org Discover summer fun at Camp Gilmour. With new specialty camps including gaming, 3D printing, fencing, baking, “Sciensational” workshops and more, Camp Gilmour has something for everyone. Camp Gilmour also offers Preschool Camp, Day Camp, sports camps and academic enrichment courses. June 5 to August 5. Register at gilmour.org/ summercamp. Questions? Contact Camp Gilmour at summercamp@gilmour.org or (440) 684-4580.
“Ohio’s Oldest Camp – Enriching the Lives of Children Since 1896” 33775 Hiram Trail Chagrin Falls, OH 44022 216-831-5045 info@hiramhousecamp.org hiramhousecamp.org For more than 100 years, Hiram House has provided a memorable camping experience to thousands of children. Hiram House offers a traditional outdoor camping experience with exciting hands-on outdoor activities, including horseback riding, hiking, farm animals, archery, arts and crafts, nature studies, swimming and canoeing. Our newest edition, a high-ropes obstacle-climbing course, is a favorite among campers who come back year after year. Visit us at 33775 Hiram Trail in Moreland Hills – or go to hiramhouse.org for more information.
HATHAWAY BROWN SCHOOL 19600 North Park Blvd. Shaker Heights, OH 44122 216-320-8085 216-371-1501 jhabig@hb.edu hb.edu/summer Jason Habig, Director At Hathaway Brown School in Shaker Heights, campers from preschool age through college have an array of options, many of which are coed, to create their own summer adventures filled with fun, learning and memories to last a lifetime. Flexible schedules available. Register today at hb.edu/ summer or call 216.320.8085 to learn more.
HAWKEN SUMMER PROGRAMS
Meet new friends and make memories to last a lifetime. Hiram House Camp offers Summer Day Camp for boys and girls ages 6 through 12 (and a Junior camp for children entering kindergarten) and Summer Overnight Camps for boys and girls ages 6 though 14. Camp activities include high ropes course, climbing tower, archery, boating, arts n’ crafts, hiking, horseback riding, cookouts and camp outs, swimming, and nature studies. Register for Summer 2017 now at hiramhousecamp.org or (216) 831-5045 HIRAM HOUSE CAMP • 33775 HIRAM TRAIL, MORELAND HILLS, OHIO
5000 Clubside Drive Lyndhurst, OH 44124 440.423.2940 summerprograms@hawken.edu hawken.edu/summer Hawken Summer Programs offer a variety of activities led by experienced professionals for boys and girls ages 4 to 14. Camp offerings include Hawklings, Boys or Girls Day Camps, Boys Sports Camp and Girls Lifetime Adventure Camp. Camps run between June 5 and Aug.11. For more information, contact summerprograms@hawken. edu, 440-423-2940, or visit hawken.edu/summer.
LAWRENCE SCHOOL SUMMER PROGRAMS Broadview Heights (Lower School) Sagamore Hills (Upper School) 440-526-0717 Fax: 440-526-0595 admissions@lawrenceschool.org summeratlawrence.org Come learn, explore and play at Lawrence School this summer. Our carefully constructed programs are designed for students of all grade levels and offer children the opportunity to have fun, catch up academically, make new friends and dive deeper into their interests. Visit SummerAtLawrence.org to learn more.
CAMP GUIDE MANDEL JCC DAY CAMPS 26001 S. Woodland Road Beachwood, OH 44122 216-593-6249 daycamps@mandeljcc.org mandeljcc.org/daycamps Voted Best Day Camp- Mandel JCC J-Day Camps have something for all kids ages 2 to grade nine. With daily instructional and free swim to go along with boating to archery to sports, theater and arts, led by staff that serve as positive role models for your children, The J has a camp for every kid and interest.
THE MUSIC SETTLEMENT 11125 Magnolia Drive Cleveland, OH 44106 (216) 421-5806, ext. 100 TheMusicSettlement.org/camp In addition to its popular Music Builders (two, two-week sessions) and Music Safari camps for young children and ’tweens, The Music Settlement also offers two new preschool camps this summer. TMS summer music camps will enrich ’tweens and teens in the genres of their choice, including jazz, piano, chamber, orchestra, rock and blues, voice, Suzuki and more. Register online before April 1 for a 10-percent discount. Inclusion options available for campers with special needs.
ORANGE COMMUNITY EDUCATION & RECREATION SUMMER OF FUN 32000 Chagrin Blvd. Pepper Pike, OH 44124 216-831-8601 orangerec.org 216-831-8601, ext. 5101 Contact: Sarah Gnoddie Excitement is in the air this summer as Orange Community Education & Recreation presents a summer of fun featuring a wide variety of day camps, enrichment camps, art camps and sports camps for campers from toddlers to teens. All camps are close to home on the Orange schools campus, which features a kid-friendly outdoor leisure pool with a slide and waterfalls, groomed sports fields, playgrounds and hiking trails. Registration for summer camps for Orange School district residents begins from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 4 at the Spring/Summer & Camp Registration Fair at the Pepper Pike Learning Center. A payment plan for all is available for camps priced $99 or more if registering on March 4 or March 6. Online registration is also available at orangerec.com. A complete listing of summer camps and spring and summer classes will be available in February at orangerec.com. The Spring/ Summer & Camp brochure also will be available at the Pepper Pike Learning Center, local libraries and at orangerec.com or call 216-831-8601.
PARK DAY CAMP 27500 Shaker Boulevard Pepper Pike, OH 44124 440-543-8802 • Fax: 216-321-0639 parksynagogue.org Director: Michael Rubin Park Day Camp offers convenient and affordable, two-, four-, six-, and eight-week sessions from June 12 to Aug. 4 for children entering kindergarten to sixth grade. Enjoy daily swimming in our private
CJN.ORG | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | 45
JANUARY 27, 2017 pool, Judaics, sports, arts and crafts, music and nature activities. Daily kosher hot lunch and afternoon snack included. Extended day option available.
Orange Community Education & Recreation presents
Northeast Ohio’s Most Exciting
SUMMER OF FUN!
PRINCESS/PRINCE CAMP, NUTCRACKER WORKSHOP AND INTENSIVE PROGRAMS AT CLEVELAND CITY DANCE 13108 SHAKER SQUARE Cleveland, OH 44120 216-295-2222 info@clevelandcitydance.com clevelandcitydance.com Director: Courtney Laves-Mearini Nurture your passion and talent with inspiring classes for children and adults. Small class sizes offer individual attention encouraging each student’s maximum growth. Students experience the joy of dance while mastering technical skills, balance and coordination while developing confidence, poise, self-esteem, and friendships. Performance opportunity at the Grove on Aug. 25. Camps include Princess/Prince camps, Nutcracker workshop and intensive programs for the serious dancer.
RED OAK CAMP 9057 Kirtland-Chardon Road Kirtland, OH 44094 440-256-0726 director@redoakcamp.org Director: David Faulstich At Red Oak Camp, our mission is simple: to develop childrens’ inner strengths through outdoor adventure. Our trained counselors provide campers with structured activities, including archery, riding, canoeing, swim instruction, sports, fire building, science and nature study, and many more designed to build their confidence and independent thinking skills.
SKY ZONE INDOOR TRAMPOLINE PARK: FIT AND FUN SKY CAMP East Side Location 750 Alpha Drive Highland Heights, OH 44145 skyzone.com/highlandheights West Side Location 31500 Viking Parkway Westlake, OH 44145 skyzone.com/Westlake 844-CLE-JUMP Sky Zone’s Fit & Fun Sky Camp is awesome, healthy and fun. Our four-day camp focuses on fun, health and wellness. Participants will engage in active play and learn basic athletic skills on an endless sea of trampolines. Campers will improve their social skills through team building activities, 3D dodge ball; play that includes skill instruction, open jump time and crafts. Youth fitness classes and nutrition discussion will encourage healthy lifestyle choices. A snack and Sky Zone giveaways will be provided.
New and Exciting Camps FOR TODDLERS TO TEENS
DAY CAMPS
Payment Plan Available For Most Camps If Registered By March 6!
Lions, Cubs, & Safari Stagecrafters Theatre Early Childhood Orange Youth Sports Orange Art Center
ENRICHMENT CAMPS
The Magic Touch Drone Camp Brickapalooza Legos Etiquette & Manners Pinterest Camp Eager Engineers Adventure Week Stop Motion Animation
Programming: Creative Coders TM Video Game Design Ticket to Magic Mix it Up Cooking: Breakfast Edition Minecraft Mod Mania Pee Wee Soccer Basketball Camp Orange Youth Football Camp Golden Spikes Baseball Weyn Soccer Camp British Soccer Golf Camp Tennis Camps Lullaby of Broadway Lullaby of Leadership
AND MORE!
RESIDENT REGISTRATION BEGINS MARCH 4 9am - Noon Pepper Pike Learning Center on the Orange Schools Campus 32000 Chagrin Blvd., Pepper Pike
216.831.8601 www.orangerec.com C H A G R I N VA L L E Y AT H L E T I C C L U B S U M M E R C A M P S
Great Fun and a Lifetime of Memories!
SPORTS CAMP CO-ED AGES 6-12
beach-lined lake swimming tennis
fun games gaga ball lunch daily
BEFORE & AFTER CARE AVAILABLE
JUNIOR CAMP CO-ED AGES 4-6 CHOOSE ONE OR BOTH:
FUN & GAMES 10am to noon
SWIM CAMP 12:30 to 2:30
GROUP RATES AND MULTIPLE WEEK DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE
440.543.5141 ext.108 or visit cvaclub.com .com/cvaclub
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CAMP GUIDE
SPORTS BROADCASTING CAMP
SUMMER RUFFING IT
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL
800-319-0884 info@playbyplaycamps.com playbyplaycamps.com Camp Directors: Steven Goldstein and Jeremy Treatman Boys and girls ages 10 to 18 years old will learn from the pros. Meet sports celebrities. Make play-by-play, sports anchor and reporting tapes. Host a sports talk radio show and much more. Day and overnight options.
Ruffing Montessori School 3380 Fairmount Blvd. Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 216-932-7866 Fax: 216-321-7568 julias@ruffingmontessori.net ruffingmontessori.net/camps Children work with professional artists, musicians and trained educators who provide a joyful, quality experience in small, studentcentered groups. S.T.E.A.M. classes in academics, art, athletics, drama, media, music and science are fun, engaging and productive. Six weeks: June 19-July 28. Ages 18 months up to grade nine. Register online and call or email with questions.
Hunting Valley Campus 2785 SOM Center Road Shaker Heights Campus 20701 Brantley Road 216-831-2200, ext. 7366 summer@us.edu us.edu/summer University School offers boys’ day camps and coed sports and enrichment camps. Programs are led by experienced University School faculty and coaches. The boys’ day camp and sports camps teach skills, foster sportsmanship, build confidence and create lasting friendships. Enrichment camps include space camp, art studio, robotics, rocketry, coding, debate, theater, songwriting, entrepreneurship and more. Visit us.edu/summer.
URJ GOLDMAN UNION CAMP INSTITUTE
SUMMER
9349 Moore Road Zionsville, IN 46077 317-873-3361 Fax: 317-873-3742 guci@urj.org guci.org Director: Jeremy Klotz GUCI is more than just a summer camp! GUCI is a community. Through activities designed to help build friendships within cabin groups and units, campers become part of a greater Jewish community. From sports, to the arts; from nature activities, to outdoor, adventure programs, GUCI has something for everyone.
CAMPS 2017
YABI NURSERY & CHILD CARE 2308 Warrensville Center Road University Heights, OH 44118 216-932-7664 lindaben@ameritech.net Director: Linda Bensoussan YABI Nursery & Child Care specializes in infant, toddler and preschool care from 6 weeks to 4 years of age and is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. We will accommodate your part-time and full-time schedule needs. Summer session includes creative crafts, outdoor water play in our adjacent fully equipped playground combined with developmentally appropriate programming. Fully licensed by the state of Ohio Department of Human Services. YABI has been under the directorship of Linda Bensoussan since its establishment in 1986, offering quality care with a Jewish flair.
Camp guide listings provided by advertisers
Classes includes, but not limited to: Basketball • Engineering • Film • Fitness • Leadership • Performing Arts • Music • Technology
tri-c.edu/summercamps | 216-987-3075, option 1
16-1209
Summer Camps for Grades Preschool and Up
CAMP GUIDE
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JANUARY 27, 2017
First-time campers can look for indicators NAOMI GRANT
T
here’s no one-size-fits-all factor in determining whether a child is ready to go away to summer camp for the first time. However, camp directors and psychologists suggest parents look for indicators when deciding to send their child to camp. “There are some kids who are mature but have no interest in going away to camp,” said Rabbi Isaac Saposnik of Camp JRF in South Sterling, Pa. “There’s also kids on the flip side who are begging to go to camp and parents look and say, ‘You’re just not quite ready.’” Saposnik offered some benchmarks for first-time campers, such as being able to wash your hair, get dressed in the morning and make your bed. Success at sleepovers is also a good indicator of readiness, said Edie Ungar-Shafron, a school psychologist at Orange High School in Pepper Pike and former member of the Mandel JCC’s Camp Wise committee. “It depends on the age of the child as well as their socialization. Have they had overnights? How they do at overnights?” she said. “Kids who are used to sleepovers might be better adjusted.” Overnights away from their parents can be with either grandparents or friends, said Amit Weitzer, executive director at HaBonim Dror Camp Tavor in Three Rivers, Mich. “If those experiences are challenging, that might be an indication that it’s not quite time yet,” she said. A certain degree of independence from parents in overcoming challenges also should be considered “There are some kids who when they have a really hard time with something, their first response is to go straight to their parents,” Saposnik said. “When a parent knows that when their kid is in a position that’s challenging and knows how to ask for help and knows how to begin to work it through themselves,” their kid child be ready for camp. “If he or she gets upset, can he say, ‘I’m homesick’ or ‘I’m worried, I’m afraid, I miss my mom’?” said Ungar-Shafron, a Shaker Heights resident and a member of Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike. Fear of homesickness isn’t a reason to avoid camp, Weitzer said. “Homesickness is often just a part of the camp experience, not something to be afraid of, not something that’s a reason not to engage with camp,” she said. “The big thing is homesickness is to be communicative again, to make sure your camp trains its counselors in thinking about and preparing for homesickness.” Preparation is also crucial for some children when experiencing a change in schedule. “Often, camps will have a specific schedule most days and then they’ll have special days where the activities take a different form,” Weitzer said. “Those
days can be hard on some campers if not prepped appropriately, but all of these things are absolutely possible as long as parents are really communicative with camp staff about the things they know to be true for their child to thrive.” Once parents determine that their child is ready to have a successful summer away from home, children can reap the benefits from going to an overnight camp, Ungar-Shafron said. “They learn independence, they learn flexibility, they learn how to get along with people, they learn how to share. Unfortunately, we’re in a society where a lot of kids have never shared a bedroom, let alone shared a bathroom,” she said. “The ruach, the spirit,
the camaraderie, the community that is built in a camp environment is just – it’s immeasurable.” Not only can campers benefit from a summer at camp, but counselors also can grow. “They learn management skills, they learn leadership skills, they learn how to be creative,” use time management, empathy and sympathy, Ungar-Shafron said. “You have to have a work ethic, even if you don’t feel like getting up at 6 a.m., 6:30 … you learn fortitude, you can’t quit.”
Naomi Grant is the Violet Spevack Editorial Intern.
GET READY FOR SUMMER! J-Day Camps & CAMP WISE
Register Today! J-DAY CAMPS (AGES 2-GRADE 10) • NEW PRICING! The earlier you register the more you save!* • NEW! J-Sports offerings & Game On! Sports Camp 4 Girls • NEW! J-Adventure & J-Travel camp • NEW! Cartooning, Lego® Robotics, movie making, cooking & more specialty tracks! * Playland Day Camp not eligible for discounts
CAMP WISE OVERNIGHT CAMP (GRADES 2-11)
• NEW! High Ropes Course Expansion • Mini sessions for first-time campers • Jet skis, water sports & Lake inflatables • Ceramic studio with pottery wheel • Horseback riding • Exciting day & overnight trips
Mandel Jewish Community Center Playland, Ages 2-Pre K • Anisfield Day Camp, Grades K-5 • J-Sports Camp, Grades 1-7 • Anisfield B’Ivrit , Grades K-3 • J-Adventure, Grades 6- 7 J-Travel Grades 8-9 • Pilloff Family Performing Arts Camp, Grades K-9 • SIT, Grade 10 • Camp Wise Overnight Camp, Grades 2-11
26001 S. WOODLAND ROAD, BEACHWOOD
Fees & session dates: mandeljcc.org/camps • (216) 831-0700, ext. 0
48 | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | CJN.ORG
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JOIN US
g in ear t a br rd Y e l 3 Ce r 4 ou
IN A SUMMER FULL OF FUN AND JEWISH TRADITION AT
CAMP CHABAD DAY CAMP
• Experienced counselors from various countries including Israel, Holland, England, Australia & more! • Arts & Crafts • Swimming • Shabbos Program • Field Trips • Drama • Jewish Culture • Cooking & Baking • Athletics • Now serving lunch to all campers free of charge
8 week program June 26–Aug. 18
For Boys & Girls Ages 4-14 Separate Program for Boys Ages 7-14
CAMP GUIDE
Colorado camp builds bridges by welcoming Jewish-Mexicans MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN | JNS.org
Colorado’s Ramah in the Rockies Jewish summer camp is building a bridge between the camp and a Conservative Bet El Synagogue in Mexico City. Last year, after several years of planning and considering, more than 20 JewishMexican campers, three counselors and Bet El spiritual leader Rabbi Leonel Levy Jiris770@aol.com (216) 382-9992 Girls program (ages 4-14) & boys (age 4-6) at Green Rd. Syn. spent two weeks at the camp, joining bunks, taking part in traditional camp activi2437 S. Green Road, Beachwood, Ohio 44122 (216) 402-4877 ties and sharing some traditions of their own. “Hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests) is a big Jewish value, and I cannot think of a better way to express that value than to welcome any kid who would want to come to our camp,” said Eliav Bock, founding director of the camp. Bock’s relationship with Mexico’s Levy started several years ago when they met on Bock’s vacation to Mexico. They hit it off immediately and excitement grew about Ramah hosting Mexican campers. But funds and other challenges meant that only a handful of students have managed to come. This year, Levy got organized and raised money. “It’s expensive for Mexicans,” said Levy, who also arranged a group flight and other transportation to the camp. Mexico City is more than1,700 miles away from Ramah. During the two weeks of the Mexican campers’ attendance, Ramah hung a Mexican flag alongside Before and After Care available for the traditional Israeli and American flags. Levy led all 9 weeks Spanish-language prayer services and the camp integrated the Spanish language, and other opportunities 9 Weeks of Preschool Camp (Ages 3-5) for Mexican campers to share their culture with the camp. Specialty Camps (Ages 6-13) One night, the Mexican campers joined the kitchen staff to whip up traditional Mexican cuisine. CAM 9 Weeks of Day Camp “They made real Mexican food,” said Bock. “It was ER P M ME IML LYS ,S U OMH 2 M CE A SD awesome.” with NEW Half Day Opportunities M I T O E AA American counselor Mikaela Gerwin staffed a fourE S T. 1 9 6 3 day camping trip with a mix of Mexican, Israeli and New Partnerships for U.S. campers. The first night, the campers talked about Sports, Technology and Science their hometowns. Though language was a barrier, they Discovery Camps tried to compare and contrast their lives. “In the beginning, language made it difficult,” said Credit and Enrichment Courses T Gerwin. “But by the end of the trip, the boys were 2 0 1 6 H E S O (Grades 9-12) building a bridge together – without speaking. They M I L L S , played this game where someone would ask a student who spoke a different language a question he couldn’t understand. And the camper would have to answer yes or no – sometimes it was really funny, like ‘Do you like eating dessert for breakfast?’ They would all start DISCOUNT giggling.” thru For Mexican camper Dalia Stosennacher, 16, the FEB 29 experience was religiously eye-opening. While Ramah is a Conservative camp – and Stosennacher comes from a Conservative family – she says observance is strikingly different. “The Mexican Conservative synagogue is way more Orthodox,” Stosennacher contends. “I was surprised to see women wear teffilin or read from the Torah.” However, she says she took away new religious lessons too, such as a deeper spirituality and a concept of respect for the environment. 34001 Cedar Road | Gates Mills | Ohio | 44040 | 440-684-2733 Mexico City’s Jewish community of 40,000-50,000 Easy online registration at gilmour.org/summercamp people is much more concentrated and active than the FOR MORe InFORMATIOn CALL Jill Weiszner
DISCOVER SUMMER FUN AT GILMOUR
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CAMP COUPLES Ronna Ness Cohen and David Cohen NAOMI GRANT Ronna Ness-Cohen and David Cohen met on a school bus in 1974. Eight years later, they got married. After spending the summer at HaBonim Dror Camp Tavor in Three Rivers, Mich., the two were heading to a HaBonim seminar in the fall. Ronna was 14 and David was 15. One thing that was awesome was both the camp experience and in the city experience after camp, and especially when we’d get together quarterly for a seminar,” Ness-Cohen said, “whether that was at camp or some place else and just discussing all kinds of topics and learning and hanging around and having fun.” Two years after having met on the bus, in 1976, Ronna and David both participated in the high school HaBonim National program to Israel during the summer. They began dating the following spring and spent the next summer at Machaneh Bonim, a leadership training preceding their first years as counselors, at a camp in New York. After their first year as counselors, they took a gap year in Israel through the HaBonim Workshop, which “at the time, a lot of people thought it was pretty weird,” Ness-Cohen said, unlike taking a gap year today. “I went to school for one year and then I stopped,” Cohen said. “I decided I was going to hang around to be with Ronna instead of going on a year by myself.” All three of the Cohens’ children have attended Camp Tavor and Ness-Cohen is chair of its board. “Tavor has a very strong value on community,” Ness-Cohen said. “That value on community is a very strong openness to people and to ideas and to fairness and I think that comes across in the way that campers are really encouraged to relate to one another and each other.” Cohen emphasized the value placed on campers getting to know one another while at camp. “You have time to really just discuss everything and anything, who was the other person, what are their values, what do they like, how do they react in different situations because you just see them all through the day,” he said. The couple lives in Morton Grove, Ill.
Naomi Grant is the Violet Spevack Editorial Intern.
COLORADO | 48 Colorado Jewish community, which has 103,020 people spread across the entire state, according to the 2014 “American Jewish Yearbook.” It is also very strong and engaged, with multiple synagogues and schools. Ramah in the Rockies has a tradition of being open and inclusive, according to Bock, by reaching out to the LGBT community, and children from families whose parents are in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. It hosts students from Canada, Israel, China and the Netherlands – though mostly from the U.S. The Mexican group of students is the largest concentrated group of international campers Ramah in the Rockies has ever hosted. The Mexican campers’ presence helped accomplish one of Bock’s goals: debunking stereotypes. “From mainstream media, I thought of Mexicans as illegal immigrants. Mexican made me think of drug cartels – and all these other negative stereo-
types,’ said Gerwin. “But these Mexicans live normal lives – almost American, Western lives. It shook around the stereotypes in my head.” “It was also cool to see how strong the Mexican Jewish community is.” There were also simple discoveries, such as the day that Jordan Margolis, 12, from Mexico saw a waterfall and snow for the first time. “There was no way we could expect it,” said Margolis. “It was amazing!” There were also those campers from the U.S. that leveraged the opportunity to practice their Spanish. “My babysitter used to be a teacher and she taught me how to speak Spanish when I was two,” says Andrew Weissburg, 10. “It was pretty cool to get to use it. I have never been to another camp where there are kids who can speak Spanish.” And there was the bridge-building. “It was so neat to be with Jews from all over the world,” says Emanuel Levy, 8. “We are all one nation, one family.”
Create your own SUMMER adventure. HB offers a wide array of summer programming for boys and girls ages 3–21, with dozens of offerings to choose from. Visit hb.edu/summer to browse through academic, athletics, adventure, theatre, and specialty camp options to create your own one-of-a-kind experience. We offer flexible scheduling. Call 216.320.8085 for details.
June 12 – July 20
March 20 – 31 July 24–August 11
Broad Horizons Beginner Co-ed, ages 3 & 4 Broad Horizons Girls, Kindergarten – Grade 5 Broader Horizons Girls, Grade 6 – 8
VACATION CAMPS Co-ed, Preschool – Grade 8
DAY CAMPS
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CAMP GUIDE
Here’s a grown-up taste of Jewish summer camp DEBORAH FINEBLUM | JNS.ORG
SUMMER CAMPS IN UNIVERSITY CIRCLE Fun & Enrichment for Ages 3 - 18 Inclusion options for campers with special needs
ENROLL ONLINE TODAY & SAVE 10%
www.TheMusicSettlement.org/camp
5-Star Accredited Preschool, Day School, & Kindergarten
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The Music Settlement is Generously Supported by:
11125 Magnolia Dr., Cleveland, Ohio 44016 // 216-421-5806 xt. 100
Scott Michaud is a hard-working lawyer 51 weeks out of the year. But for that final week, the 58-year-old is more at home on the trail than in a courtroom. “It was my daughter’s idea,” said Michaud, who splits his time between homes in Colorado and Florida. “She told me, ‘Dad, you need to go to overnight camp.’” Since his children had been Ramah campers, the adult camp at Ramah of the Rockies outside Denver seemed like a good choice. “There’s nothing like camping out in nature, to being physically a part of the environment, going to bed when the sun does and waking up when it wakes up,” he says, adding with a laugh, “I’m a lawyer, but these are billable hours for my life.” With some 10 million kids packed off to overnight camp each summer, lugging duffels crammed with bug repellant, sunscreen, granola bars, baseball caps and T-shirts, some anonymous genius must have taken one look at today’s tightly wound adults and prescribed a cure: that same brand of getaway filled with walks and whittling, singing, and s’mores. Like his parents before him, Mike Sokol runs Camp Shalom of central Florida. Only these days, the camp is branching out. Like many other Jewish camps, in addition to the kids and the teens who are their bread and butter, Camp Shalom is also welcoming grown-ups around the campfire, albeit off-season when the kids aren’t there. Offering two adult camps a year, one for
S umatm e r
Lawrence
COME LEARN, EXPLORE AND PLAY AT LAWRENCE SCHOOL THIS SUMMER ! Our carefully constructed programs offer children the opportunity to have fun, catch up academically, make friends and dive deeper into their interests. n
: include s p m a C
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Academic Review Kindergarten Readiness Music and Theater
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Science and Technology Cheerleading and Soccer
To learn more, visit us at:
www.SummerAtLawrence.org or call 440.526.0717
Florida’s Jewish men’s clubs and the other a woman’s group through Campowerment, Camp Shalom is a destination where adult campers tend to return year after year. “At the men’s camp, they go into digital detox, unplugging, and sitting by the campfire like when they were kids,” said Sokol. “And the women who’ve been taking care of other people for years, when they come here they can be a kid themselves and just enjoy.” In fact, giving women a break from what were often crushing responsibilities was the inspiration that Isabella Freedman brought to the founding of her Jewish retreat center at the turn of the 20th century. “She wanted to give factory workers a break from very difficult lives,” said Miki Raver, who runs the two-week senior camp at Hazon’s Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center in Falls Village, Conn., each summer. (Hazon is a nonprofit working within the Jewish community for a healthier and more sustainable world.) Attracting as many as 100 men and women between ages 55 and 99, the camp features hikes, workshops, excursions, arts and crafts, tai chi, and this year even “Torah yoga” and memoir-writing coaching. “Between the power of being in nature and the bond that forms between the women, the camp is a transforming and life-renewing experience,” said Raver. On the other end of the age spectrum are the 72 young adults who turn out each summer for the Marilyn and Sigi Ziering Brandeis Collegiate Institute in California. “After 26 days, they leave feeling like they have a home in the Jewish community and hopefully the tools to make Jewish choices and feel like they matter as tomorrow’s Jewish leaders,” said Navah Kelman Becker, who directs the program. For 75 years, BCI has been welcoming 18 to 26 year-olds from around the world each summer to the Brandeis-Bardin Campus’s 2,700 acres, the largest plot of Jewish-owned land outside of Israel. “We balance Jewish studies with the arts, the pool, hiking and overnight camping, all the things that make a camp a camp,” Becker said. Although participants hail from around the globe, Facebook, Skype, and texting keep them connected long after camp is over, adds Becker. Claire Perelman, a 24-year-old from San Diego who attended the camp last summer, has already visited BCI friends in New York and has BCI friends coming out to see her soon. “You get really close to what’s become your family for the month, the experience is so real,” she said. “With the balance of work and play and the hour of beit midrash (Jewish study hall) daily with rabbinic students who made it very accessible, it was altogether a life-changing experience.” ‘WIN-WIN-WIN’ As transformative as they are for the individual camper, adult camps are equally positive influences on the communities they serve. “We have seen that by hosting family camps or adult camps, Jewish camps can serve as an important and positive experience, and as a connection point to other Jewish engagement opportunities in the community,”
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CJN.ORG | CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS | 51
JANUARY 27, 2017
JEWISH | 50 said Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of the Foundation for Jewish Camp. Indeed, whatever the age group targeted, adult Jewish camps work as outreach to the unaffiliated. Of the roughly 100,000 Jews in Texas, at least 40 percent are unconnected to the Jewish community, said Frank Silberlicht, director of Camp Young Judaea of Texas, located an hour outside Austin. He said his two adult camps each year represent “an easy way to get involved” in Jewish life. Men’s Camp (“sports and beer and brotherhood”) in September and Women’s ReJEWvenation (“spirituality, massages, and yoga”) in May “bring not only the adults, but eventually their kids and grandkids into our camp community,” said Silberlicht. His newest idea: Bubbe and Zadie and Me Camp, debuting around Chanukah. “We know people love the adult camps by the way they keep coming back every year and their donations to the camp,” Silberlicht said. “It’s win-win-win for the campers and their families, the Jewish community, and the camp.” SPIRITUAL CAMPING “We are so far off the beaten trail that it takes a while to reach us,” said Rabbi Eliav Bock, executive director of Ramah in the Rockies. But that hasn’t stopped campers like Scott Michaud from trekking out there repeatedly – and, like Michaud, planning to return again. Indeed, the mostly 55-and-older campers who come out for the weeklong experience at what is considered a rustic “outdoor adventure camp” spend much of their time sampling the joys of the natural world, without the buffer of many civilized conveniences.
This physical encounter with nature affects the campers spiritually as well, the rabbi said. “Though they come with a wide range of Jewish backgrounds and though we’re so disassociated from the cycles of nature today, everyone is inspired by the fact that so many of our Jewish values emerge from our origins as an ancient people living in concert with the land,” said Bock. The camp is also deeply personal, he said. “Camp can be an intense and transformative Jewish experience. With everything they’ve lived through, these adults are open to Torah learning to help them look at their own life and rise up to a higher level of spirituality,” Bock said. Tammi Leader Fuller, who runs Campowerment for women at Florida’s Camp Shalom as well as camps near Los Angeles and in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, says that adult campers can “discover their purpose amid the joys, the fun and the games … life is so fast and busy today that we are glad there are almost no cell signals in our camps.” “We know we need to disconnect to reconnect,” said Fuller, a longtime producer for “The Today Show” on NBC. Although not all of her campers are Jewish, Fuller insisted that every camp that hosts her Campowerment programs needs to be Jewish. “To me, camp is Jewish,” she said. “It’s Jewish in that sense of community we need more and more of as we age, it’s Jewish in the mezuzahs on the cabin doors and singing ‘Hinei Matov’u Manayim’ around the fire, and it’s Jewish because a Jewish camp makes you feel cared for and safe and included in a community. It’s something grown-ups need as much or more than kids do.”
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