The Hi-Hills Herald August 5, 2016
Issue#6
Top News at Hi-Hills Day Camp!
Olympics Week There was no shortage of spirit during week six here at Hi-Hills!
Celebrating our 50th Summer!
Table of Contents: Note from Camp Directors Bunk Updates
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Everyone was so inspiring on Friday dressed up as their favorite Olympians and celebrating their favorite sports. This was fitting as tonight is the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics!
Dates to Remember
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Camp Candids
6
This week also brought a much-loved color war event: the purple pasta hunt. Campers looked all over to find the different color pastas and earn points for the blue and green teams.
Birthdays This Month
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We hope to see you next week at our second Parent Luncheon and we encourage you to stay through the afternoon to see the drama club’s production of Grease.
Color Wars
11
Counselor of the Week
11
Trivia Winners
12
Leaders of Tomorrow
12
Teen Travel
12
Don’t forget to visit hihills.com to see pictures from this week!
Program News Upcoming Dress Days
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
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te o N A r u o from p Cam rs o t c e r Di
Hello Hi-Hills!
Dear Hi-Hills, There’s only one word to describe week six at Hi-Hills: amazing! Monday morning started off with energy and excitement as campers began their fun-filled week. Some campers came for writing or Book Worms enrichments while others were interested in Dance and Fashion, Cooking Around the World, or our traditional camp activities. Whether campers stayed for the full or half-day schedule, everyone had a blast. Hi-Hills celebrated sportsmanship during Olympics week, and integrated our Color Wars challenge during Mini-Olympics along with the legendary purple pasta hunt. Congratulations to the blue team for finding the purple pasta for the second year in a row! Campers gave everything their best effort while also showing respect to the opposing team. On Thursday, our Kinder Camp and lower bunks celebrated with a “Late Night” stay at camp. It was a great night for a BBQ and ice cream sandwiches! The campers were able to show their families some of the fun activities they participate in at camp such as the pool and playground. We truly enjoyed watching the campers and their families interact on a beautiful summer night at Hi-Hills. Next week is packed with more exciting activities for both you and your campers. Join us on Wednesday, August 10 at 3:00 p.m. in the garden for a celebration of the summer harvest. Thursday, August 6 will be our parent luncheon in Founders Hall followed by the drama production of Grease. The performance begins at 2:00 p.m. Have a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week! Best, 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 & Bunk 2: T he Beavers This week in Kinder Camp, we had the opportunity to participate in our own mini version of the purple pasta hunt tradition in the playground area. The pasta was scored with regular pasta worth one point, the red worth five points, green worth 10 points, silver worth 50 points, gold worth 100 points, and purple pasta was worth 200 points. There were only two purple pasta to be found in the sea of pasta. Congrats to Ava and Parker for finding the lucky purples ones! We visited the great outdoors this week to see the donkeys, ducks, chickens, rabbits and quails. After seeing the animals, Thomas helped navigate the paddleboats for us to take a trip around the pond. What fun the Foxes and Beavers had out on the water! Next week we look forward to taking a Halloween-themed hay ride over at the great outdoors. Have a great weekend and see you all back from more summer adventures! -Kelly, Sarah, Zoe, Missie and Jess
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 9: T he Chippewas Week six brings us into Olympic Pride week here at Hi-Hills. The campers have been competing in all sorts of events, such as capture the flag, swimming races, the purple pasta scavenger hunt and a mini version of the Olympics. The tribe had tennis lessons during the week which all the campers really enjoyed and we are looking forward to the upcoming camp-wide tournament. The Chippewas were quick to score plenty of points for their respective green and blue teams. There was much fun, laughter and good memories to have with our bunk this week. Thanks for sharing your campers with us this summer. They are awesome! -Joanne, Alex and Mark Bunk 10: Lenni Lenapes Olympic Pride week has been a blast for bunk 10. The girls have really challenged themselves and worked together for their blue and green teams! Between the penny toss challenge at the pool and the puple pasta hunt, it has really been quite the race for points this week! We enjoyed the first performance of Grease and were really excited to cheer on one of our bunkmates, Ariella. Additionally, the girls also participated in Olympic games this week which was a huge excitement to the start of the real Olympics! We look forward to the final production of Grease next week and everything to follow with the theme of drama! -Betsy, Kiara and Emily
Bunks 11 & 13: T he Navajos The Navajo tribe enjoyed all the activities of Olympics/Sportsmanship Week! The boys joined into their blue and green teams and competed in intense matches of capture the flag, the purple pasta hunt, and pool penny games. All of the campers were competitive but stayed together as a bunk after the games. The tribe had a blast this week and we are excited for upcoming fun! -Patrick, Julian and Armeen
Bunk Upda tes Bunks 12 & 14: T he Lakotas The Lakotas had a blast competing in different activities throughout Olympic week. The girls were divided into green and blue teams to participate in various activities from kickball to a penny dive in the pool. Our tribe really racked up a lot of points for our respective teams during the purple pasta hunt. We had a very special furry outing when we got to visit in the barn and meet the rabbits, ducks, chicken, quail and Lucky the goat! The Lakotas had many good suggestions for the baby bunny names. We can’t wait until they pick one for the family. We’re looking forward to finishing the summer with a BANG over the next two weeks! -Megan, Erica and Sophie
Bunks 15 & 17: T he Comanches This week our bunk had the opportunity to customize our activities and get to know our campers even better. We’re very proud of the commitment of Comanches Dylan, Tyler and Chase, who have been spending the bulk of their camp time with the drama club as they prepare for the first performance of Grease this week. Meanwhile Ian, Leon, and Cortland have been taking advantage of free choice sesions to renew their passion for go-karts. One highlight this week was when Matt from the great outdoors took our tribe on a private guided tour, showing us the area where the night vision cameras are secured to capture the wildlife that roams after camp hours. -Tom and Pat
Bunks 16 & 18: T he Cherokees Hello everyone! The Cherokee girls were on the move during week six. We are so busy with the camp play, Grease, and various sportsmanship activities. The play is going to be a hit and the Cherokees along with other campers have been hard at work remembering all their lines, singing and rehearsing their choreography. The cast and crew eagerly awaited the first performance this week and look forward to the second show next Thursday. Olympic week activities to date have included “Bounce and Score” and the infamous purple pasta hunt. Have great weekend and everyone be safe. - Maria, Amanda and Kerry
r u o Y k r a M Calendar Dates to r! Remembe
August 11:
Parent Luncheon
August 11:
Grease Performance #2
August 10:
Garden Party
Camp Cand ids
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Bunk photos are now online and available to download on our website!
Birthdays T his Month August 6th: Emily August 6th: William August 8th: Jayson August 8th: Caitlin August 9th: Andrew August 10th: Brandon
August 11th: Anna August 11th: Eli August 13th: Robbie August 15th: Cameron August 16th: Erik August 16th: Bradley August 19th: Dylan
m a r g o r P News Tennis Week six has produced some excellent results with games such as Queen of the Court, King of the Court, and Jail! There has been continued development with all of the tennis strokes: forehand, backhand, serve, and volley. The campers have increased their skill levels and, most importantly, have had lots of fun in the process! The second annual Camper vs. Camper and Counselor vs. Counselor Tournaments are in the planning stages. There will be a sign-up sheet available next week. So, get on your toes, get in the “ready” position, and get psyched! -Chris
Performing Arts This week in performing arts, we taught the campers about time signatures and different note values. After learning how many beats each note has, we played a rhythm game. I played different rhythm patterns and the campers spelled it out using popsicle sticks. The drama club has been very excited for this week’s first performance of Grease! ~Stefanie and Giulia
Swimming This week in swimming we were transformed into the Olympic zone by organizing fun individual and group activities for campers. At each skill level, campers participated in relay races and swam laps across the pool lanes. Additionally, there was a penny dive and in the pool where coins were scattered at various areas and campers were encouraged to gather them to earn points for their color war teams. For the more seasoned swimmers, diving rings were thrown into pool to be collected as well. Campers also learned about water polo and enjoyed several days of playing in the pool to perfect their newfound skills. -Augie
Program News Great Outdoors The great outdoors added the crossbows to the archery range this week. Campers used a Horton trainer series crossbow to help combat the zombie troll invasion and rack up points for their color war teams. The young archers are learning about the history and origin of the crossbow dating back to medieval times. The modern versions are much more accurate and powerful than what was used in this era. This week’s “Survivor” challenge tested the campers’ ability to stack items and keep a moving teeter totter balanced and flat while other members of the team stacked small items until they reached a winning high mark. The campers had to race out on the pond with a paddleboat, shoot a baseball from one boat to the next, retrieve their bag of stackables, and proceed to the challenge. This past week, the great outdoors club has been hiking in different areas on the Home Winds Campus looking for a good spots to set up a geo-caching site.
Archery The crossbows were a huge hit with the kids lining up every session to get an opportunity to shoot them. Points are being awarded for zombie troll shots and both teams have been scoring significant points for their color war teams.
Paddleboats The boat races continue with points generated for the color war teams. This activity has been incorporated into our “Survivor” challenges as well.
Fishing The pond has been yielding abundant fish in the last week many of which are measuring over the 20 inch mark. There has been a new hatch of small minnows and the larger fish cruising the shallow areas of the pond. This has presented our campers with an opportunity to sight cast for the larger fish. Bait presentation techniques has been our focus for the campers throughout the summer.
Program News Athletics Plenty of color war points were at stake this week as the blue and green teams squared off against one another in three very important athletics contests during Olympics Week at Hi-Hills. On Tuesday, bunks 9 & 11 staged a capture the flag game, while bunks 10 & 12 competed in kickball, and bunks 17 & 18 did battle in Bouncen-Score. The blue team amassed 1,500 points toward their total, while green added 1,000. Wednesday saw the traditional purple pasta hunt, with green edging out blue by less than 100 points despite blue’s Abby finding the purple pasta for the second straight year! On Friday, the teams rounded out the week by taking part in Olympic mini-stations, ranging from relay races to basketball to tennis to World Cup soccer. The enthusiasm was at an all-time high, and the 2016 color war title will be decided in the final two weeks of camp. For now, enjoy the start of the real summer Olympics, and we can’t wait to see everyone in week seven! -John and Marc
Arts & Crafts This week Kinder Camp had Pajama Day where I created a pajama sewing card. Campers enjoyed decorating their own card with special stamps to create their own unique design. After lacing up their project, it was sent home to share with families as a keepsake. Additionally, I inspired the lower bunks with an Olympic-themed craft. Together, we created paper torches as a symbol of Olympic history and the official start of the opening ceremony. This craft was a special way to energize and educate campers about this week’s theme. -Mindy
ing m o c p U ys a D s s e Dr
August 12: #DRAMA
Color Wars 2016 The start of the Olympics made our week six challenge extra special. The challenge was based on the TV show Survivor. In fact, many of our challenges are based on this adventure and thrill-seeking reality show. This week’s competition involved campers collecting items from the paddleboats and then solving a puzzle. The final task was to stack the collected items on a homemade teeter totter. The campers had to stack and balance these items using only a rope. The green team was in the lead heading into the challenge and secured the win! However, there are still plenty of points up for grabs in the next two weeks, so the blue team still has a chance to win. Will the green team continue to dominate or will the blue team rise to the challenge and overcome? Only time will tell. Stay tuned for another update next week!
r o l e s n u Co of the Week
Giulia Santoro Week six accolades for Counselor of Week are presented to Giulia Santoro! Summer 2016 marks Giulia’s first year at Hi-Hills. She joins us as a performing arts specialist working alongside her sister, Stefanie. Giulia has proved this summer through her dedication to creative and performing arts that talent runs in the family. We’re so thankful to have them both for this memorable 50th anniversary summer! Giulia’s talents have shined since the beginning of camp, but most recently, her involvement with the drama club’s summer show, Grease, took the spotlight. The musical had its first performance this week to a standing room only crowd of family members, Hi-Hills counselors and campers. Giulia directed the choreography of the show and was responsible for teaching campers and counselors their dances moves. She truly transported the audience to Rydell High while maintaining a calming presence on and off stage. Bravo to you, Giulia, from the cast and crew of Grease as well as everyone else here at Hi-Hills!
ia v i r T y l k Wee Winners
Monday – Zachary Tuesday – Eddie, Sophie Wednesday – Robbie, Madison, Eric, Dylan T hursday – Cassidy, Ryan, Cortland Friday – Eric, Chef Anthony, Andrew
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Teen Travel: Apache Teen Travel campers had a great start to the week with an intense game of gaga and Bounce-n-Score! There were three trips on the week’s agenda. On Tuesday, we bounced over to Rebounderz, where the campers enjoyed the twists and turns of a whole gym full of trampolines! Wednesday’s teen adventure took us to New York City where we saw Matilda on Broadway. Then on Thursday we traveled to a miniature golf course and had rounds of fun. On Friday, our Apache tribe participated in the Olympic-style games as part of this themed week here at Hi-Hills. -Chrissy