The Hi-Hills Herald Issue #1
June 26, 2015
Top News at Hi-Hills Day Camp!
Celebrating our 49th Summer!
The Summer Has Officially Begun! Welcome to the Best Summer Ever, 2015 edition! We just wrapped up our first week at Hi-Hills on a fabulous note! This week, old friends reunited while new friendships were made. There is so much excitement in the air, and campgrounds are beaming with radiant smiles from our campers, counselors and staff! With the new addition of the great outdoors here at Hi-Hills, the campers have been able to enjoy the beautiful weather in the new paddleboats, go fishing around the lake and shoot some arrows at the state-of-the-art archery range.
In keeping with this week’s theme of Camp Pride, everyone at Hi-Hills has been contributing towards the Happy Camper Bug Mural, which was showcased during Friday’s Council Ring. In addition, campers wore their favorite Hi-Hills T-shirt on Friday to show their camp pride! This week campers immersed themselves in all camp activities. They showed their artistic sides in performing arts and pottery, and brought their athletic game to leagues! We are all ecstatic to bring you a fantastic week two with even more fun, games and surprises. We wish you a restful and wonderful weekend!
Table of Contents: Note from Camp Director Bunk Updates
2 3-5
Bunk Photos
6
Birthdays This Month
7
Dates to Remember
9
Program News
8-10
Upcoming Dress Days 11 Counselor of the Week 11 Athletics 11 Trivia Winners 12 Counselors in Training 12
Gill St. Bernard’s School, 25 St. Bernard’s Road, Gladstone, NJ Phone: 908-234-0067 • Fax: 908-234-1611 • Email: info@hihills.com hihills.com • www.facebook.com/hihills
te o N A ur o m fro Camp rs to c e r i D
Hello Hi-Hills!
Dear Hi-Hills, Welcome to the 2015 season of Hi-Hills Day Camp! The summer kicked off with a week of fun, fun and fun displayed here in the first edition of the Hi-Hills Herald this year. The aim of the Hi-Hills Herald is to share the “magic” we create each day on the GSB campus with our entire camp community. Summer is off to an incredible start. We are happy to introduce the newly acquired Home Winds campus for the 2015 season. The new campus has allowed for some amazing additions to camp such as paddleboats, fishing and a state-of-the-art archery range. The beautiful weather has allowed for great times by the pool and fun games of gaga. Our amazing staff has taken creativity to a new level and demonstrated their skills in various activities. We have been having so much fun that it is hard to believe the first week is already coming to a close. The activities, new events and traditions that have been introduced are getting campers even more excited for the weeks to come. Highlights from the week have been revisited throughout this publication. Campers have participated in everything from leagues, swim, pottery, and tennis to the arts, archery, fishing and nature (just to name a few)! We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter as much as we enjoyed writing it. Have a great weekend and we’ll see you on Monday for another action packed week here at Hi-Hills! To all our campers – rest up! Week #2 is going to be AMAZING!
Thank you for a memorable week with your campers! Cindy Wyatt – Director of Summer & Auxiliary Programs Nicole Spiotta – Assistant Director of Summer & Auxiliary Programs
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 1 & 2: Kinder Camp Kinder Camp had a great first week. We started out the week by testing our swimming abilities…and we are all little fish! Brooke, Ryan and Ryden love showing us all how well they can swim under water! Sydney and Salmoe had a blast chasing bubbles in the playground. While on the playground, Ainsley, Makayla and Sienna showed their artistic side by creating art with water. Bunks 1 and 2 had the pleasure of meeting some of Mr. Nature’s animals; Maddie and Lauren were the adventurous ones and touched his snakes and beetles. Thomasina, Langston and Otto have found the sandbox and are making the most interesting castles. While this may be the end of week one, we know that the summer is just starting and Kinder Camp can’t wait to see what’s in store for us! -Beth
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 9: T he F irejets The Firejets accomplished a lot in our first week. All campers passed the swimming test with flying colors! We earned our captains bars for paddleboats during the great outdoors. The Firejets also learned how to shoot a bow & arrow at the archery range and caught a bass in fishing. While visiting with Mr. Nature, we saw different kinds of snakes, hamsters, gerbils, chinchillas and a wood turtle! On a funny note, one of the goats ran out of his pen this week and we assisted with a goat rescue! Till our next adventure... -Joanne and Ben
Bunk 10: T he Lovely Ladybugs Bunk 10, also known as the Lovely Ladybugs, had a super awesome first week here at camp! In addition to making new friends, all of our campers excelled at multiple activities. At the great outdoors, we all challenged ourselves at fishing and archery. After floating around the pond in paddleboats, we met the new goats and donkeys that joined camp for the summer. Swimming seems to be the favorite activity of the bunk, and many of the girls passed their deep end tests! At arts and crafts this week, the girls had a great time contributing to the giant camp mural. During pottery, the girls began a super cool project making ladybug pinch pots. Overall, our girls had an incredible first week here at camp! I look forward to seven more amazing weeks of fun with The Lovely Ladybugs this summer! -Betsy
Bunks 11 & 13: T he Speedy Cheetahs Week 1 has been a very fun and exciting week for Bunks 11 & 13, or as we call ourselves, the Speedy Cheetahs. Billy showed his skills at archery by hitting a bullseye. Ian scored thee goals in soccer with his speed. Daniel had fun in nature while exploring the stream. Joey stepped up his game in basketball for leagues. Myles had a blast in the paddleboats with his excellent steering. The Speedy Cheetahs are ready for a fantastic week two and Summer 2015! -Patrick and Julian
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 16 & 18: T he Sensational Showstoppers Welcome back all staff members, returning campers and new campers! We are off to a great summer at Hi-Hills with our newly added activities. The girls Amanda, Anna, Abigail, Madison, Jordan, Liliana, Emily, and Faith are having a wonderful time. During the great outdoors, we experienced fishing, paddle boating, and archery in a double session! The girls are ready to take on many challenges. In nature they had so much fun holding wood beetles, petting snakes, and cradling chinchillas. Our next challenge‌leagues! We are the Sensational Showstoppers, and we are ready to show our talents and athletic abilities. Yahoo Showstoppers! Everyone have a sensational weekend! -Maria & Clara
Bunks 12 & 14: T he Hi-Hills Heroes We had a great first week with the lovely ladies of the Hi-Hills Heroes. Even though we did not catch anything yet, we had a great time fishing this week. Mr. Em said that Ellie made huge improvements in her fishing technique. Cassidy and Campbell went toe-to-toe on the basketball court during leagues, impressing everybody with their skills. Lucy and Ava had a fantastic time exploring the campus and meeting the animals in nature. Sam enjoyed swimming in the pool, and Annie worked hard this week and passed the deep end test! We are looking forward to an incredible summer! -Megan and Dylan
Bunk 15 & 17: T he Bronanas The first week of Hi-Hills was a lot of fun for our campers. We had some familiar faces return this summer, and some new faces join us as well, but they all came together to become‌THE BRONANAS! This week we have experienced some very exciting activities. The great outdoors was an exciting addition that our campers really enjoyed. They had a blast at archery and fishing. In addition, the Bronanas went for a ride in the paddleboats on the lake. When we are not running around, the campers get to express their creative side in arts and crafts, pottery and performing arts. In addition, they put their athletic skills to play in activities like leagues and tennis. Overall, the Bronanas had a very exciting first week of camp, and we have enjoyed every moment of it with them! -Bridget, Matt, Graydon, & Andrew
Bunk Photo s
Bunk Photos are now online and available to download!
Birthdays T his Month
June 3: Quinn Abbott June 4: Charlotte Touhy June 11: Isabella Propper June 16: Max Orosz June 19: Charlie Holdsworth June 28: Michael Hlavaty
m a r g o r P News Low Ropes Low Ropes has had an exciting first week! Campers did a great job listening to and understanding the safety measures that must be followed. Campers have learned the importance of safety, spotting, trust and teamwork. Some of the activities that we have performed so far include walking on balance beams as well as a four rope and a double rope on a cable. This year, I am very fortunate to be working with “Miss Missie” on the low ropes course. Missie has done a fantastic job getting involved in all areas of the course. She is extremely energetic and is always ready to help. Looking forward to week two! -Chris
Performing Arts What a great first week at Hi-Hills! This week in performing arts we taught the campers the Hi-Hills camp song and the National Anthem. The recorded voices of the campers singing the National Anthem will be played every afternoon at assembly. The drama club is proud to announce “The Little Mermaid” as this summer’s production! This is the first summer that teen travel will be involved in the full show, and we couldn’t be more excited! This week, our performers learned all of “Under The Sea” with choreography. See you Monday at auditions! -Stefanie and Taylor
Swimming The first week went by very quickly. The campers took their swim test for the deep end on Monday. If they passed, they received a blue wristband. On Tuesday we tested the campers on their swimming abilities. We put them in swimming levels based on the American Red Cross “Learn to Swim” program. For the rest of the week we will be working on freestyle. Friday is “Fun Friday” where we play water polo, ring dives and tag games. It is a pleasure teaching your camper how to swim. If you have any questions please let me know. -Augie
Reminder: Next week is July 4th.
Program News
T here is no camp on Friday, July 3rd!
Tennis The campers began the 2015 Camp Season by performing warm-up cardiovascular running and agility ladder drills. These warm-ups provide excellent foot-eye coordination for their development, and they have done an amazing job thus far! We have begun some basic forehand, backhand and volley skills and look forward to serves, scoring, and game-play! We are all excited for the next step! -Chris
The Great Outdoors New to Hi-Hills, the great outdoors sports program integrates fishing, paddle boating and archery, all jam-packed into a 70-minute block! It is very exciting to see all three activities in motion at the same time! In the paddleboats, campers have enjoyed their experience on the pond racing around our buoys and seeing all of the pond wildlife, including a few baby geese! Dylan and Zach of Bunk 17 have especially taken advantage of the boats to find some freshwater clams for bait in the shallow waters. At fishing, Em has taught the campers how to bait their hooks and cast so that they can successfully catch sunnies, largemouth bass, and trout. Early in the week, campers in all bunks caught numerous fish. At the new archery range, we have a ballistic Kevlar nylon blend net designed to catch and absorb the kinetic energy of the arrows that are being shot from our new stateof-the-art Genesis bows, which are practical for use by all of our campers, even in the lower bunks. This week, Arianna of Bunk 10 has really shown her skills, hitting the target every time, and even hitting a bullseye or two. We are all very excited for what the rest of the summer has in store for us at the great outdoors!
-Matt, Sarah, Thomas, and Em
Mark You r Calendar
Dates to Rememb er!
Program News Pottery This week in pottery we focused on pinch pots. Each project we made started with this simple technique. Kinder Camp and Bunk 10 decorated their pots as ladybugs, while Bunk 9 made mushrooms. Bunks 11 through 17 all decorated their projects as fish. Campers got super creative with their pieces and the results are adorable! In teen travel and pottery club, we went for a more advanced project: each camper made a pinch pot whistle. Week one of Hi-Hills has started off as the best summer ever! I can’t wait to see all the talent and hard work of each camper in the upcoming weeks! -Savannah
Nature Nature is off to a great start this summer. The campers learned about the habitat, diet and special features of a variety of different animals. In addition, they had a chance to hold snakes, legless lizards, a chinchilla and beetles. During our lower bunk nature sessions, the campers fed apples to the donkey and goats. Next week, we will take our first walk in the Peapack Brook to search for salamanders, fish and macroinvertebrates. -Mr. Nature
Arts & Crafts In arts and crafts, campers decorated their happy camper tents and had their pictures taken. The tents will be hung around Founders Hall. In other exciting news, campers and staff helped create the Happy Camper Bug Mural. Each bunk represents a different bug or decoration. Counselors are leaves, CITs are lightening bugs (because they help brighten up camp), specialists are deer, stick bugs, butterflies and dragonflies, while our office staff is the bugs on the tent. What a fantastic first week! -Lindsey
g n i m o c Up ays D s s e r D
Next week is Heritage Week! Wear the colors of the country that you are from!
Leagues Counselor of the Week #COTW
Mr. Nature The winner of Week #1’s Counselor of the Week is none other than... Mr. Nature, Chuck Hogan! Campers describe Mr. Nature as: “very nice, cheerful, helpful and fantabulous.” He helps them with frozen yogurt at lunch and takes them in the stream. And, of course, he allows everyone to play with all the animals! Congratulations Mr. Nature! Stay tuned for Week 2’s #COTW!
The 2015 leagues season at Hi-Hills is just getting started, as the campers in Bunks 9-18 have been participating in scrimmages all week. By Monday of the second week, the teams for the season will be formed, and campers will begin working on their official leagues’ t-shirts during art sessions. There will be four teams on the boys’ side and four teams on the girls’ side, and the competitive season will take place beginning week three. Teams will receive two points for each victory, one point for each tie, and one point for each contest in which all team members are properly equipped with league shirts and sneakers. Sports included in leagues are soccer, basketball, tennis and baseball. Each team will play a three-game series every week against one of the opposing teams, and all four sports are played once during that span. Leagues contests take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We will be back next week with an official look at the team names and rosters! -Marc and John
ia v i r T y l k Wee Winners
Monday: Cassidy Gesualdo, Dylan Rowell Tuesday: John Ferro, Megan DeMichele Wednesday: Abby Saitta, Matt Rivas Thursday: Madison Gesualdo, Bridget Toolan Friday: Matt Rivas, Dylan Rowell
Teen Travel ing
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On our first day of camp, teen travel stayed on campus and experienced much of what Hi-Hills has to offer. We made whistles in pottery, played gaga, learned choreography to “Under the Sea” and tried out the ropes course. On our second day we went to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in New York City, where we saw our favorite musicians, movie stars and historical figures in wax form. On our third day we went to Point Pleasant and Jenkinson’s Boardwalk. We rode on rides and played in the ocean. It was a beautiful day for the beach! On our fourth day we went to Dorney Park, where a few were content to watch the action from the sidelines and from the wave pool. The most adventurous among us rode rollercoasters for the better part of five hours! We have been brainstorming our camp cheer and bunk name and will introduce it at assembly on Friday. All in all, teen travel had a successful first week of camp at Hi-Hills and we can’t wait for week two and beyond! -Kaitlyn & Craig
Get ready for an exciting Week Two! Have a great weekend!