The Hi-Hills Herald Issue #3
July 15, 2016
Top News at Hi-Hills Day Camp!
Activities Pride Week It was another great week here at Hi-Hills, this time celebrating our favorite activitites! Upper bunks enjoyed great camp outs on Tuesday and Thursday. Lower bunks had lots of fun throughout the day and are looking forward to a late night of their own in two weeks! We loved seeing what your favorite activities were on Friday and can’t wait for more camp fun next week! Don’t forget to visit our website hihills.com for bunk photos and more!
Celebrating our 50th Summer!
Table of Contents: Note from Camp Directors Bunk Updates
2 3-5
Dates to Remember
6
Camp Candids
6
Birthdays This Month
7
Program News
8-10
Upcoming Dress Days 11 Color Wars 11 Counselor of the Week 11 Trivia Winners 12 Leaders of Tomorrow 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 r u o from p Cam rs o t c e r Di
Hello Hi-Hills!
Dear Hi-Hills, Week three has come to a close, but not without many new memories and lots of excitement moving forward into the weeks ahead! This week, the girls’ upper bunks had the fantastic opportunity to participate in a campout. This was an exciting opportunity for our campers who stayed overnight to join in the fun after the camp day has ended. There was extra swim time, followed by a pizza party, capture the flag and the infamous manhunt, s’mores galore and so much more! Our amazing counselors took care of the games and activities, while our directors got to take part in fun and festive atmosphere. For many of our campers, this was their first sleepover experience. Hi-Hills campouts for 2016 created many wonderful memories, bonded many friendships and certainly tired out campers. We look forward to week five, where late night opportunities are provided to our boys’ and girls’ lower bunks as well.
At this point, camp is 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. This Friday we continued to embrace our #BeBetter Movement to get into the spirit of color wars. Furthermore, the chase for the spirit stick has continued on with great “hoo-ra” from last week, while our campers continue to excel in specialty activities and are awarded badges for their efforts. From our many enrichment programs, such as Minecraft and Math Crunchers, to our hilarious skit, the camp week finished out with resounding success. Enjoy the articles in this issue to learn more about the events from this past week. 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 Bunk 1: T he Foxes This week in Kinder Camp we enjoyed friendly competition in the form of relay races. We split the campers into two teams: the purple team and the blue team. During the first round, a camper had to run to the first station, do 20 jumping jacks, bear crawl to a scooter and scooter back. During the second round, a camper had to crab crawl to the first station, do 15 jumping jacks, bear crawl to the scooter and scooter back. Michael, Joseph, Mason, Tessa and Alex had a blast cheering on their teammates. They Foxes were looking forward all week to building a bike, as well! Be sure to check our Facebook page for pictures and videos of our summer fun. Have a great weekend. -Beth, Zoe and Sarah
Bunk 2: T he Beavers Kinder Camp has been working very hard in preparation for next week’s Garden Party. All of the campers are looking forward to performing and singing their hearts out for parents and guests. We are very proud of the unified efforts of all the campers. Details surrounding this annual Kinder Camp event will be sent in an email to the respective families, so stay tuned! In addition, Kinder Campers have participated in multi-sensory relay races this week. The counselors enjoyed observing the campers engaging in this activity. We demonstrated our Beaver Pride by making dream catchers in arts and crafts. Kelly, Jess and Sarah are looking forward to seeing all their friends return next week and to the rest of the summer for lots more Kinder Camp fun. -Kelly and Jess
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 9: T he Chippewas Week three brought new faces to bunk 9: camper William and counselor Alex. We love starting our mornings with swim lessons, then it’s off to various camp activities such as arts and crafts, where we worked hard this week making animal hides with tribal symbols. Everyone in our bunk participates in the great outdoors club which is busy making birdhouses for our feathered friends. Many thanks to the performing arts specialists who have been helping us with our bunk cheer for the spirit event. The Chippewas are looking forward to Friday and the color wars game competition. It should definitely be a BLAST! - Joanne, Mark and Alex
Bunk 10: Lenni Lenapes We had a super exciting week three here at camp! Together as a bunk we came up with some awesome and delicious recipe ideas for cooking club and started making hash browns with potatoes from the garden. The girls are really looking forward to a survivor challenge out at the great outdoors and tie-dying next week during arts and crafts! The Lenni Lenapes came up with a new cheer and are excited to compete for the spirit stick on Friday! Archery was a new activity for us this week and we got acclimated with the bows and arrows! The counselors were super impressed with how well the campers shot their arrows! We look forward to a fantastic time next week at Hi-Hills! -Betsy, Kiara and Emily
Bunks 11 & 13: T he Navajos The Navajos had another very exciting week here at Hi-Hills. From the beginning of day to the end of day, we are having blast walking around campus and doing all the activities. Our campers love fishing, archery, swim color war, and most importantly, gaga! Everyone is having a terrific time so far this summer and we are excited to see what the rest of the weeks will bring! -Patrick, Ben and Armeen
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 12 & 14: T he Lakotas We had another great week here with the Lakota Tribe. Annabelle was a tennis star this week playing with Coach Walsh. Almost the entire bunk is participating in cooking club where we made hash browns from vegetables we picked in the garden! We also gathered raspberries and green beans earlier this week. Katharine and Charlotte both really enjoyed go-karts by zooming around the track. Jianna and Valeri had a blast playing gaga this week where they competed against each other. The entire bunk is starting to resemble fish as their swim skills are vastly improving in the pool. Andrea has been busy capturing fantastic photos around camp for the yearbook club. We can’t believe that three weeks have already passed and we are looking forward to spending the remaining five here at Hi-Hills! - Megan and Erica
Bunks 15 & 17: T he Comanches Week three was a musical one for our bunk. From exploring the great outdoors, to arts and crafts, we’ve been enjoying musical accompaniment wherever we go. This came to a head Tuesday with an intense musical trivia contest - it turns out some of our bunk know a lot about musical theater! Drama club continues to work on their performance of Grease, while the great outdoors club have been building birdhouses. A great week, with plenty more to come! Have a terrific weekend! -Tom, Graydon, Patrick and Max
Bunks 16 & 18: T he Cherokees We did it! We are three weeks in (and counting!) and camp is still amazing. In spite of the high temperatures the Cherokees have endured and managed to work hard toward our cheer to win last week’s Spirit Stick. The girls excelled in fishing this week, as well. Cassidy caught the yellow perch and Madison caught the wide mouth bass to add 750 point for the blue team. Caitlin also captured three sunnies for the green team. Great job girls! They did such an awesome job that we decided to treat the girls to Italian Ice in Chester... and it was delicious! What a great way to cool off. Week three also featured an overnight stay for this bunch and they truly relished having the camp to themselves along with s’mores, pizza, hide and seek Hi-Hills style, and so much more. Everyone have a wonderful and safe weekend. See you back for week four! -Maria, Amanda and Kerry
Mark Your Calendar Dates to r! e b m e m e R
July 20: Kinder Camp Garden Party July 21: Parent Luncheon July 28: Lower Bunk Late Night
Camp Cand ids
!
Bunk Photos are now online and available to download!
Birthdays T his Month July 11th: Robert July 23rd: Abigail July 25th: Will July 27th: Rebecca July 28th: Ben July 30th: Emma
Program News Tennis The campers have continued to improve this week with their basic tennis fundamental skills. It is very important to keep your feet moving at all times during tennis. The results will become better and better due to the development of foot speed and coordination. The campers have excelled with jumping rope and agility work which increases foot/speed development. We have been playing a few favorite tennis activities such as “King/Queen of the Court” and “MiniTennis.” To capture the excitement happening in the sports world this week with the annual MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby, the campers participated in their own “Tennis Home Run Derby” which they really enjoyed! Hand/eye coordination was excellent! Looking forward to seeing everyone back at the courts next week! -Chris
Performing Arts This week in performing arts, campers learned the note names for the treble clef and bass clef. The notes were then divided and campers competed in a friendly game of “name that note” and earned points for their respective blue and green teams. On the drama club front, the cast has been assembled for our production of Grease. We are reading through the script and are staging different scenes. Way to go grease lightning! -Stefanie and Giulia
Swimming The campers continue to make progress on all fronts in the swimming pool. This week we introduced the backstroke during the instructional swim period in addition to reviewing and refining the strokes previously introduced. We continue to encourage the campers to bring water shoes to use in the water to get the most out of both the instructional and free period swim time. The campers truly enjoy being in the water and it is always a Hi-Hills favorite spot during the hot summer days. -Augie
Program News Great Outdoors Week three found the great outdoors expanding and active all of fronts with fishing, archery and paddle boats. To capture the great outdoors at nightfall, we recently placed night vision cameras at the wildlife stations to observe the area. We are excited to share with the campers what was captured! The upper and lower bunk campers participating in the great outdoors club started building their bird houses this week with much enjoyment. Additionally, there are a number of other habitat improvement houses for the resident population of critters in the works. On the horizon is a trip to the Pequest Hatchery where campers will be given a guided tour and learn about the life cycle of the trout and the ecosystem that supports them. This week the campers got to observe an extremely rare tree frog, the grey tree frog of New Jersey. Although it is indigenous to New Jersey, it is nocturnal and arboreal and is rarely seen; it is one of the only frogs that can actually be almost frozen and survive. It also secretes a toxic liquid to stop predators from eating it. Campers also got a chance to see up close a very large toad common toad. New this summer is a cold water misting station to keep campers cool while enjoying their time at the great outdoors. Week three wrapped up with a survivor challenge day with a ball maze. The campers had to navigate using a four-person team to control the pivoting maze board as part of the color war. The team first solved a puzzle to get the correct combination to open a box to access the balls for the table.
Archery Several young archers have hit a golf ball sized plastic ball puncturing it dead center and, in turn, earned 50 points for their team. The range will be invaded by zombie rats and other creatures in the future as the campers will have to use their skills to score points and stop the invasion.
Paddle Boats Paddle boats remain a favorite activity as competition continues between the blue and green teams on the water. A tennis ball launcher will soon be added to the dock for the campers to retrieve the balls from the water.
Fishing Fishing exploded this week with several very large perch and bass being caught in the 25 to 30 inch range. Photos appeared on Facebook to mark these exciting milestones. The camp’s management of the pond has been beneficial for the campers fishing outings.
Program News Athletics This week’s activities focused on “playing the outfield,” as campers participated in yet another Hi-Hills classic game known as “Moneyball.” Using the camp’s brand new playground balls, the blue and green teams faced off in a challenging contest that called for catching the kicked ball as quickly as possible. Balls caught in the air counted for 100 points, while balls on a bounce were worth 50 points, and balls caught on two bounces were worth 25 points. When the occasional “Moneyball” (a green ball) was kicked, campers had the opportunity to score 200 points for their team. It was truly another week packed with fun and excitement, as this year at Hi-Hills continues to be THE BEST EVER! -John and Marc
Arts & Crafts What did Native Americans write on? Campers learned that when Native Americans hunted for food, they would use animal hides for leaving messages utilizing special symbols to communicate with their tribes. The students were given mock animal hides made of brown paper bags to write unique symbols upon. Every camper also learned and explored a variety of local Native American symbols and then selected the ones that they liked to draw. Each camper examined a real animal fur/hide to understand what it looked and felt like. It was an interactive learning experience for all this past week in arts and crafts. Next week we are scheduled to do the dying for all the campers, a camp favorite activity! Please send in a white t-shirt for your camper to use for this project. -Mindy
ing m o c p U ys a D s s e Dr
July 22: Tie Dye
Color Wars 2016
lor e s n u o C of the Week Megan DeMichele
Color wars continued with another great signature Hi-Hills event: this week all campers headed to the great outdoors for a “Blue & Green Survivor Challenge.” The competition started with the campers solving a puzzle to receive a combination. They used the combination to retrieve balls to solve a wooden maze. Both teams utilized their mental and physical strength to secure a win. In addition, camp pride was in full force and lots of spirit points were awarded. All of the campers participated to make it an exhilarating competition. Heading into the event, the blue team was in the lead with a slight point difference. When the competition heats up at HiHills, the campers step up their energy and produce an outstanding event!
Week 3’s Counselor of the Week is awarded to Megan DeMichele! She is being recognized for her bravery and strength after returning from an injury without missing a single camp day. Campers and counselors alike admire Megan for her positive attitude and outgoing personality. She is always happy to be at camp and ready to take on whatever activites await her bunk each day. Megan is a long-time member of the Hi-Hills family and has been here for thirteen summers. She has grown up at HiHills, from her many summers as a camper and now as the head counselor of the Lakotas bunk. She has made amazing memories during here time here and we are so lucky to have her! Hi-Hills is Megan’s home away from home and this is truly a well-deserved honor for her. Congratulations Megan on being recognized by the Hi-Hills community as Counselor of the Week and best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Monday – Caitlyn, Stefanie
ia v i r T y l k Wee Winners
Tuesday – Ben, Tom
Wednesday – Madison, Tom T hursday – Will, Giulia
Friday – Amanda, Daniel
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Teen Travel: Apache Teen travel was on the road this week at Club Getaway! We had such a great time and have gone on so many new and exciting adventures in just four days! The teens enjoyed kayaking and tubing on the lake and hiking in the woods. One of the highlights was definitely the zipline and climbing walls and rocks! On our last evening, there was a campfire to mark the end of our stay. We are all sad to leave but it truly has been a blast! Looking forward to returning to camp on Monday as we have missed our Hi-Hills family! -Chrissy