The Hi-Hills Herald Issue #3
July 10, 2015
Top News at Hi-Hills Day Camp!
Celebrating our 49th Summer!
Activities Invasion at Hi-Hills What a week! As we wrap up our third week here at Hi-Hills, the energy and camp spirit are stronger than ever. This week’s theme invited campers to immerse themselves in all of Hi-Hills’ incredible activities. From zombie targets and water balloon catapults in the great outdoors to alien projects in arts & crafts, the fun never stopped! This week campers were in for a treat at the garden, where they picked juicy raspberries and got to bring some home. Everyone brought their smiles to Tuesday’s picture day, and the boys’ and girls’ upper bunk campouts were a huge success! Campers enjoyed a finger-licking BBQ, and spent the night swimming, playing capture the flag, gaga and manhunt, and we closed the night with ice cream and a movie.
Color wars is now in full swing. The blue and green teams have been going head to head all week in endless academic, physical and artistic challenges. Campers showcased some very creative costumes on Friday’s dress up day, and everyone brought their enthusiasm to council ring! We have a lot of fantastic activities lined up for visual arts week. We look forward to our annual “Bring your Friend to Camp Day” on Tuesday, next Wednesday’s Kinder Camp garden party, and Thursday’s parent luncheon. Have a fantastic and restful weekend! We look forward to seeing you in week four!
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, Week three has come to a close, but not without new memories and lots of excitement moving into the weeks ahead! Both the boys’ and girls’ upper bunks had a fantastic opportunity to participate in the traditional Hi-Hills campout. Campers stayed overnight and participated in fun camp activities after camp hours, including extra swim time, followed by a BBQ, capture the flag, the infamous manhunt, s’mores galore and so much more! Our amazing counselors took care of games and activities, while our directors got to join in on the fun. For some campers, this was their first sleepover experience, which created lots of wonderful memories and bonded many friendships. This week, camp was fully in its groove. Watching new friendships grow and listening to the giggles and laughter amongst counselors and campers is one of the many joys of camp. On Friday we continued our #BeBetter movement and color wars. Furthermore, the competition for the spirit stick has continued with a lot of momentum from last week. Meanwhile, our campers continued to excel in specialty activities and were awarded badges for their efforts. From our many enrichment programs, such as Minecraft, to our hilarious skit, the camp week finished out with a great success. Enjoy the articles in this issue to learn more about the events from week three. We look forward to seeing you all next week!
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 greeted week three with excitement, eager to try new things, meet new friends and challenge themselves to the max! The whole group continued to show great strides at the pool. Maliah and Ainsley succeeded in putting their face in the water and using the barbells to practice their kicking. Maddy, Brooke and Ryan showed off their skills by jumping in the pool and swimming to the shallow end…way to go! JJ, who just joined us this week, was “King of the Court” at tennis…what a swing! Ariel and Salome were very brave at nature, where they held a gecko and even pet a snake! We also gave a big Kinder Camp welcome to Ellie, Sydeney and Wyatt this week, who all had a blast playing with shaving cream with Makayla and Sienna. Even though week three has come to an end, we know the summer is just getting started. Next week is our garden party, so keep an eye out for details! -Beth, Zoe, Viviana and Jamie
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 9: T he F irejets This week we had two new campers join us. Welcome David and Neil! We also split up into leagues teams and played soccer, basketball and tennis baseball. We visited Lego Land, where the boys had fun building all kinds of different things (they loved it so much it was hard for us to get them to leave!). At the great outdoors, we had a blast trying out a new skill in water balloon launching! Archery, fishing and paddleboats always remain a favorite. We’ll keep you posted on our next adventure! -Joanne, Ben and Jason
Bunk 10: T he Lovely Ladybugs Bunk 10 had an AMAZING week here at camp! During pottery we participated in a color wars contest to see who could make the tallest coil pot in fifteen minutes. The blue team took the lead by a quarter of an inch! At the pool Bianca passed her deep end test and everyone continued to work on their swimming ability! Ariella continued to work hard and practice at drama club for her role in The Little Mermaid. Mia and Katharine worked together to create awesome aliens in arts & crafts. Isabella joined us for another week of fun and dominated the court at leagues. At nature club, Barrett and Quinn enjoyed discovering new critters in the stream! Overall, we had a great week filled with many different activities. I look forward to all the fun we will continue to have next week! -Betsy, Kerry and Kiara
Bunks 11 & 13: T he Speedy Cheetahs In week three, The Speedy Cheetahs were excited to have our largest number of campers all summer! We welcomed some new friends like Kevin, Ethan, Lorenzo and Tommy, while our returning campers joined in on the fun. One highlight of the week was picking raspberries at the garden! We had so much fun picking (and snacking on) the tasty berries that we did not want to go home that day! We look forward to future adventures at the garden. -Patrick, Julian and Ben
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 16 & 18: T he Sensational Showstoppers The Sensational Showstoppers were at it again this week. The girls definitely challenged themselves in many of our activities despite the humid temperatures. Lauren claimed the catch of the day in fishing, while Madison scored 120 points in archery for the blue team! Everyone was super excited for this week’s campout as well, which included overnight games like manhunt. Bunk 18’s Showstoppers have been practicing a new cheer with hopes of reclaiming the spirit this week. On another note, girls’ leagues really took off with Kerry’s Kangaroos and Blue Lightning squaring off in a tie during tennis baseball. Their next challenge was soccer on Friday. Everyone have a safe and glorious weekend! -Maria, Cara and Jessica
Bunks 12 & 14: T he Hi-Hills Heroes Bunk 12 & 14 had another awesome week at Hi-Hills! Cassidy and Bella both dominated in leagues basketball, leading their teams to victory. Andrea enjoyed her first trip to low ropes, where we all learned the importance of teamwork and good communication. Ellie and Annie both made great strides in the pool during instructional swim, and improved a lot. Campbell did a fantastic job at the note race game during performing arts. We can’t wait to have even more fun during visual arts week! -Megan, Dylan, Erica and Amanda
Bunk 15 & 17: T he Bronanas Our adventures continued this week with the Bronanas discovering more activities to enjoy. Leagues officially started, and the boys were able to compete with other campers in different bunks and against their fellow Bronanas. In arts & crafts, the boys enjoyed going head to head in a color wars competition by creating something amazing for their color wars teams. We all had a fantastic time at the great outdoors. Campers Will and Michael started a water balloon war between the boys on the paddleboats and those at archery; they had an absolute blast! Adding to the water balloon fun, Robbie and a few other campers discovered that they could sling shot water balloons off paddleboats during archery club, which turned into a fun little battle at the pond. To end another great week, our boys showcased their acting skills to the whole camp with our skit during Friday’s council ring. Every day is an adventure here at Hi-Hills and the Bronanas are always ready for what the day has to offer. -Graydon, Bridget, Andrew and Matt
Bunk Photo s
Birthdays T his Month July 4 : Isaac Li, Joshua Monto, Anna Torgovnik July 5: Benjamin Sturman July 7: Mary Young July 8: Joshua Narsu, Isabella Orosz, Ellie Procaccino, Julia Spinelli July 9: Dashiell Malone
July 11: Robert Bellina July 12: Liam Kaplan July 13: Marky Rusas July 14: Logan Weimer July 15: Otto Larsen July 20: Zoe O’Connor July 23: Cian McGuire, 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 As we progress to the next phase of the low ropes course, the campers have done an excellent job in all aspects. They have been very helpful with spotting and demonstrated outstanding teamwork. The trust that they are gaining in their fellow bunkmates is very evident. This week, the balance beam activities involved working with a partner. In addition, their cable walking with ropes has significantly improved, and has reached another level. I am very impressed with all their great work. -Chris
Performing Arts This week in music, the campers learned the names of the musical notes in treble clef and bass clef. Afterwards, we played a fun game called the note race. We also played “Name that Tune� with songs from Broadway musicals. The campers were then challenged to a fun round of Broadway trivia! Rehearsals in drama have been going very well, and our cast members are already memorizing lines! -Stefanie and Taylor
Swimming This week our campers worked on their gliding strokes. They practiced the sidestroke and the breaststroke. This Friday we continued with color wars, water polo, diving games during instructional swim along with some extra fun by playing music during free swim and playing with noodles. -Augie
Bring your Friend to Camp Day on Tuesday!
Program News
Kinder Camp Garden Party on Wednesday! Parent luncheon on Thursday!
Tennis I have been very impressed with how well the tennis activity is advancing each week. All of the campers have been very excited and their listening skills continue to improve every day. The counselors have been very supportive, and I really appreciate all of their efforts. We are moving along to serving and hitting volleys (net shots), and are on the way to game-play. I will be explaining the scoring system to the campers very soon. Get excited for week four! -Chris
The Great Outdoors Here at the great outdoors, the smiles never end. This week was campers versus zombies on the archery range, which campers participated in for color wars points. Although the blue team made a valiant effort, the green team outscored them by a landslide. John of Bunk 17 in particular racked up several hundred points for the green team. The young archers are improving with every passing day. The shooting line has been moved back to ten meters, and our main emphasis is still to correct shooting form. The addition of the giant three person water balloon slingshots has been a raging success with the campers. Several activities and games were introduced and all campers are practicing for the upcoming survivor challenge day of color wars. Campers are enjoying the paddleboats with a new twist this week: they have reenacted several naval battles on the lake with water balloons. Boaters had a blast and the smiles were endless. Emily of Bunk 18 really enjoyed herself during outdoors club, as she practiced her throw while soaking her friends. This week in fishing, campers picked up some large mouth bass, and the daily catch of giant sunfish continues, as well as some new turtle catches. The lake is teaming with baby painted turtles this week, and Bunk 17 in particular loves to look for them. Em continues to help the campers become proficient with casting the poles and pinpointing placement of bait and bobber into the water. Next week, the campers will have new targets to shoot on the archery range, and they will receive lessons in range and trajectory on the field with a set of water balloon catapults! There is a lot to look forward to as the fun only continues to grow every week! Until next time. -Matt, Sarah, Thomas and Em
Mark You r Calendar
Dates to Rememb er!
Program News Pottery This week in pottery, we kicked off color wars! Blue and green battled head to head in the coil pot competition. The teams were instructed on how to properly build a coil pot and then were given fifteen minutes to see who could build the tallest one. Bunks 15 & 17 made an impressive nineteen-inch coil pot! Overall, the blue team took the points, but green was awarded for their hard work and sportsmanship. Both teams did a great job and had lots of fun at the same time! -Savannah
Nature This week in nature we have been working on projects and testing our knowledge on butterflies and dinosaurs. The upper bunk boys had the opportunity to meet and feed Lucky the goat and our five resident donkeys. Nature club continues to be well attended and the campers are always excited to make a new discovery. -Mr. Nature
Arts & Crafts This week bunks were separated into their blue and green teams to complete a team color war project. Bunks 9, 10, 11 & 13 and 12 & 14 created alien puppets using brown shopping bags. Bunks 15 & 17 and 16 & 18 created alien spaceships. Points were awarded to the teams that worked together and contributed the most towards the galaxy creation. Bunks 1 & 2 got to roll dice to create their aliens; their numbers determined which alien body and antennas they get. This week’s camp-wide project allowed campers to spatter paint stars, counselors to sponge paint asteroids, and specialists to roll dice to create their aliens, which were decorated according to their specialty. -Lindsay
g n i m o c Up ays D s s e r D
Next week’s theme is Visual Arts! Wear your art!
Leagues Counselor of the Week #COTW
Betsy Swartz We are happy to announce this week’s Counselor of the Week is the one and only Betsy Swartz. According to campers, “Betsy rocks her bunk! She is very responsible and has a ton of Hi-Hills spirit!” In addition “Betsy is both nice and helpful.” Congratulations Betsy!
CURRENT LEAGUE STANDINGS Boys Team W L T Pts. Bengal Tigers 3 0 0 6 Maroon Macaroons 2 1 0 4 Lil’ Cutie Clementines
1
2
0
2
Bat-Men 5 3 0 0 Great job to all counselors for their hard work! Stay tuned for next week’s winner!
Girls Team W L T Pts. Blue Lightning 2 0 1 7 Blazing Comets 2 1 0 4 Dark Magic 1 2 0 2 Kerry’s Kangaroos 0 2 0 2
Monday: Caitlyn Murgatroyd, Matt Rivas Tuesday: Billy Cooper, Will Stamato, Cassidy Gesualdo, Dylan Rowell, Matt Rivas
ia v i r T y l k Wee Winners
Wednesday: Eddie Rencarge, Lauren Rossiter Thursday: Billy Cooper, Madison Gesualdo, Joanne Hibbett, Chuck Hogan, and Taylor Patullo Friday: Too many to list! Thanks for playing this week!
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Get ready for an exciting week four! Have a wonderful weekend!
Teen Travel During our week at Club Getaway, we climbed rock walls, went on nature hikes and swam in the lake. We also had fun at the dances each night, and participated in all the group activities with other camps, like lip-sync contests and trivia nights. The Hi-Hills campers had a great time, and we can’t wait to return next summer! -Kaitlyn and Craig