The Hi-Hills Herald Issue #2
July 2, 2015
Top News at Hi-Hills Day Camp!
Celebrating our 49th Summer!
Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue! Heritage Week at Hi-Hills
This week at Hi-Hills, we have all been celebrating the Fourth of July! From making bald eagle projects in arts & crafts, to learning about American jazz and rock music in performing arts, our campers have been engaging themselves with this week’s heritage theme. On Thursday, campers, counselors and staff got in the Fourth of July spirit by dressing up in red, white and blue. During council ring we unveiled this week’s community mural of the American flag, and announced the start of color wars! Down in the fields, campers played scrimmages in preparation for next week’s leagues competitions.
Meanwhile, many of our campers auditioned for this year’s musical, The Little Mermaid, and rehearsals are in full swing. On the other side of camp, the great outdoors team kept the fun going with paddleboat races, new fishing records, archery challenges and the new corn toss game. Our Counselors in Training have been doing a fantastic job working with bunks, and Kinder Camp had a wonderful time learning how to build a bike. As we close an incredible second week here at Hi-Hills, we are all getting excited for even more fun to come next week. We wish everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend. See you in week three!
Table of Contents: Note from Camp Directors 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 Leagues 11 Trivia Winners 12 Counselors in Training 12 Teen Travel 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, Our second week was amazing! This week’s theme was heritage, which allowed us to celebrate the Fourth of July and learn about the various cultures our campers come from. Despite camp only having four days this week, we were able to fill the schedule with fun and new activities that brought an abundance of spirit and excitement. We’re ready to keep the fun rolling into week three! Keeping with Hi-Hills tradition, leagues teams formed, team names were created and t-shirts were designed. Meanwhile, the great outdoors’ activities continued to thrive in week two. Clubs also added some fun in the sun with gaga, nature, archery and drama, encouraging campers to try new and exciting activities. As always, the pool was filled with campers, who learned new strokes and happily went swimming to cool down from the heat. To finish the week, our campers came dressed to impress in red, white and blue. We end with a three-day weekend for the campers and their families to celebrate the holiday. Next week, we will see our #BeBetter movement and color wars in full swing, as well as more league challenges, new clubs and of course fun, fun and fun! Have a great Fourth of July and we look forward to seeing everyone in week three of Hi-Hills!
Cindy Wyatt – Director of Summer and Auxiliary Programs Nicole Spiotta – Assistant Director of Summer and Auxiliary Programs
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 1 &2: Kinder Camp Kinder Camp had a blast this week with a variety of activities. Jadesola excelled in tennis and Ariel had a lot of fun making a ladybug in pottery. Solome and Maliah challenged themselves on the low ropes course with the guidance of Miss Missie and Mr. Walsh. The pool turned out to be the favorite place for our Kinder Campers. Sam swam like little fish, staying in the pool for a record time of five minutes, Mark put his game face on and jumped into the deep end for the first time, Otto didn’t want to get out of the pool, and Ainsley and Ryden had a ball together every afternoon in the splash pad. Sydney enjoyed making cherry lemonade and Brooke had fun planting corn and learning about the different plants in the garden. Maddy, Makayla and Sienna had an amazing time with the rest of Kinder Camp making a bike from scratch. It was a very productive week in Kinder Camp and we look forward to more fun next week. -Beth, Zoe, Viviana and Jamie
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 9: T he F irejets This week our adventures started off by picking our league teams and names. We all enjoyed riding the go-carts and making bald eagles out of construction paper in arts & crafts. At the great outdoors we ventured into the stream to find all kinds of little critters. Our fisherman, John Ferro, amazed us by catching four sunnies in one day! We then took part in paddle boat races, and moved on to target shooting at the archery range. Although it was a short week, we packed in a whole lot of fun! Happy Fourth of July! -Joanne, Ben and Jason
Bunk 10: T he Lovely Ladybugs Bunk 10 had an awesome second week here at camp! The girls challenged themselves to find as many fish as they could during nature and learned how to make coil pots in pottery. Some of them even stepped out of their comfort zones to audition for the camp musical, The Little Mermaid. Overall, swimming still seems to be the favorite activity among the girls. Although it was a short week, there was still plenty of fun to be had! I look forward to the rest of the summer and all the adventures we will experience together! -Betsy, Kerry and Kiara
Bunks 11 & 13: T he Speedy Cheetahs The Speedy Cheetahs had a great week two full of new friends and new adventures! One highlight of the week was walking the balance beams at low ropes with Miss Missie. All the campers showed off their skills by completing the last beam with their eyes closed and we practiced teamwork by “spotting� each other so nobody could fall or get hurt; it was so much fun and brought us closer together as a bunk. The Cheetahs wish all campers, staff and families a happy Fourth of July weekend! -Patrick, Julian and Ben
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 16 & 18: T he Sensational Showstoppers Hi everyone! We are the Sensational Showstoppers and we had a sensational week with our activities and new league teams. The girls are excited to start competing in basketball, soccer and tennis baseball. Let the games begin! Congrats to our girls Madison, Abigail, Amanda and Anna for getting cast in this summer’s musical, The Little Mermaid. We are so proud of all of them. The Showstoppers have been practicing new cheers and a skit for Council Ring. We are hoping to win the Spirit Stick once again! This week, we welcomed Caitlin and Dinah, and applaud them on doing so well in fishing. Until next week, we wish everyone a sensational, happy and safe Fourth of July weekend! -Maria, Cara and Jessica
Bunks 12 & 14: T he Hi-Hills Heroes We have had a busy week two here at Hi-Hills! The Hi-Hills Heroes (HHH) started off their week with leagues where they were assigned their teams for the rest of camp. Both Cassidy and Lucy caught their first fish of the summer, and both scored two fish in one day! Continuing the fishy week, Cassidy landed the role of Flounder in our camp play of The Little Mermaid. Ellie L. and Ellie R. both had fun in the stream during nature club; they both caught some critters. Ava had a good time in pottery, painting her pinch-pot fish that she made the week before. What a week! Have a happy and safe Fourth of July weekend! -Megan, Dylan, Erica and Amanda
Bunk 15 & 17: T he Bronanas The second week of camp started off very well. Leagues was a huge hit with our bunk. Tyler made a fantastic double play in tennis baseball to start the leagues season off right. In tennis, Alex won king of the court several times. Andrew thoroughly enjoyed the stream during nature; he was one fish away from his personal record of five. The bunk continued to enjoy the great outdoors, especially with the new addition of corn toss. Dylan V. caught two clams during his paddleboat experience. John T. hit a playing card during archery as well as the whiffle golf ball! Dylan P. created a great design for his leagues team jersey; it consists of a Batman logo for his team, the Blue Batmen. Overall, it was a great week and the boys are eagerly anticipating week three! -Graydon, Bridget, Andrew and Matt
Bunk Photo s
Birthdays T his Month July 4 : Isaac Li, Joshua Monto, Anna Torgovnik July 7: Mary Young July 8: Isabella Orosz, Julia Spinelli July 9: Dashiell Malone July 11: Robert Bellina July 12: Liam Kaplan July 14: Logan Weimer
July 15: Otto Larsen July 23: Abigail Saitta July 25: Will Strong July 26: Eleanor Lee July 27: Rebecca Fernandez, Ryden Maeda July 30: Emma Tokelson July 31: Haoyuan Sun
m a r g o r P News Low Ropes During week two of the low ropes course, Miss Missie and I reviewed the extremely important safety measures. The campers continued to practice and execute the proper method of spotting. They have also demonstrated strong teamwork this week, and I am very impressed! The campers have continued to improve their skills walking on the beams. We have now implemented a trust situation for the upper bunks. All bunks have continued to develop their skills with the four-rope walk and the double rope walk on a cable. Let’s bring on week three! -Chris
Performing Arts This week in performing arts we explained how jazz music influenced rock. In addition, we introduced the campers to Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, The Allman Brothers Band and Credence Clearwater Revival. The campers played a special rendition of “Four Corners” based on the songs they heard by the various jazz and rock artists. In drama, we cast The Little Mermaid and have been working on different scenes from the show. Practice, Practice, Practice! -Stefanie and Taylor
Swimming This week our campers worked on their backstroke, where they learned the elementary backstroke and crawl backstroke. Thursday was “Fun Fourth,” where campers played water polo and diving games during instructional swim. In free swim we played music and kept red, white and blue noodles out for campers to use. -Augie
-Boys Campout is scheduled for Tuesday
Program News
and Girls’ campout for T hursday -Picture Day is on Tuesday
Tennis As we moved through the second week of camp, we emphasized listening, learning and understanding different tennis terms and fundamentals. The campers worked on developing hand-eye coordination and proper footwork, which has been evident in their increasingly successful performance. Next week, we will continue working on improving the the forehand and the backhand groundstrokes. In addition, we will introduce the net game with practicing volleys. We can’t wait for week three! -Chris
The Great Outdoors Week two of the great outdoors was an eventful one. Several sets of corn toss boards have been added to the archery area and the campers are going head to head in some fierce competitions. Alex and Zach of Bunk 17 are quickly becoming corn toss experts! Fishing definitely improved, with most campers posting multiple catches, including some impressive large mouth bass. Lucy of Bunk 10 caught two bass in one session! Mr. Em has been working with the campers to improve their casting and line delivery to the water. Many campers have become comfortable with baiting their own hooks and reeling in the fish themselves. The archers are now shooting at playing cards and a wiffle golf ball. The archers are earning points for their team in color wars by hitting the cards and balls. John of Bunk 17 earned over 100 points for the green team at archery club. In paddleboating, campers practiced for the future paddleboat races. The boys of Bunks 11 & 13 had a blast exploring the pond on our boats, and new buoys have been added for the campers to race around. In addition to all activities, the campers have been seeing some of the local wildlife in the area, including an osprey, great heron and a corn snake. We have several fun activities and additions planned for the upcoming weeks including a series of survivor style challenges for color wars. See you next week!
-Matt, Sarah, Thomas and Em
Mark You r Calendar
Dates to Rememb er!
Program News Pottery Week two in pottery was very exciting, and the kiln was blazing away! Bunks 1 and 2 finished up their ladybugs, while Bunks 12 and 14 painted their fish. Many campers starting working on our next project: coil pots. We have a lot of fun projects planned for the coming weeks! Have a safe and happy Fourth of July everybody! I will see you in week three! -Savannah
Nature It was another busy week in nature, as the campers searched the Peapack Brook for fish, salamanders and macro-invertebrates. There were many successful finds and catches. In nature club, we took a walk through the GSB Garden to see what types of fruits, vegetables and spices are growing there. We also played a fun game of “Bug Bingo.” -Mr. Nature
Arts & Crafts This week in arts and crafts bunk projects included fireworks painting using straws, handprint eagles as well as red, white and blue rockets. This week’s camp-wide group project was to create the American flag using campers’ handprints for the stripes and stars with each staff member’s name written beneath it. However, the highlight of this week was the league shirts. Campers were assigned to teams and given their team color shirt to decorate with their name, team, logo and favorite number. -Lindsay
g n i m o c Up ays D s s e r D
Next week’s theme is Activities Invasion. Dress up as your favorite activities specialist.
Leagues Counselor of the Week #COTW
Craig Brown
Week #2’s Counselor of the Week winner is... Teen Travels’ Craig Brown! Among many reasons, campers nominated Craig because “he lets us have fun while making sure everyone gets along.” In addition, Craig “puts his campers needs in front of his own and is simply awesome.” Congratulations Craig! There were so many outstanding counselors nominated this week. Keep up the great work, and stay tuned for next week’s winner.
The 2015 Leagues season at Hi-Hills is just days away from kick-off, as all campers have now been assigned to a team. The first official contests will take place on Monday, with both the boys’ and girls’ teams participating in soccer and basketball. Wednesday will see basketball and tennis baseball take center stage, while Friday will feature tennis baseball and soccer. Counselors and campers have been working on their team t-shirts all week during arts & crafts, which will be ready to go for the initial contests. The boys’ teams for 2015 are Batmen (blue shirts), ‘Lil Cutie Clementines (orange shirts), Bengal Tigers (green shirts) and Maroon Macaroons (burgundy shirts). This year’s girls’ teams feature Blue Lightning (blue shirts), Blazing Comets (orange shirts), Kerry’s Kangaroos (green shirts), and Dark Magic (burgundy shirts). Good luck to all players and coaches, and we’ll be back next Friday with the first week recap! -Marc and John
ia v i r T y l k Wee Winners
rs in Counselo
Monday: Ryan Fish, Cassidy Gesualdo, Sarah Hogoboom Tuesday: John Toolan, Dylan Rowell, Matt Rivas, Joanne Hibbert Wednesday: Billy Cooper, Em Foster Thursday: Will Strong, Amanda Bullett, Erin Flaherty, Eddie McCarthy, Brendan McKee, Tatiana Milner
Training
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Mindy
Get ready for an exciting Week Three! Happy Fourth of July!
Teen Travel Even though we had a shortened week, Teen Travel still had an eventful week of trips! On Monday, we travelled to rural Pennsylvania to play some paintball. We did our best, all while dodging paintballs whizzing past our heads! On Tuesday, our group took a more relaxing trip to the dinein theater at the Bridgewater Mall to watch the new movie, Inside Out. On our last trip of the week, we again enjoyed a meal and a show, but this time at the olde-fashioned show, Medieval Times. Knights and horses performed and battled as we chowed down on chicken and corn (with only our hands). Lastly, we closed out the week by dressing up in the colors of our respective countries. Happy Fourth of July! -Kaitlyn and Craig