This Week We’re Talking to…Simcha Day Camp

BY SUSAN SCHWAMM

1, 2, 3…8 weeks of amazing summer fun! For the last few weeks, our children have been basking in the sun, swimming, singing, and soaking up the fun every day. How are they spending their time away from their desks? In this series, we speak with camp directors and head counselors to learn more about our community’s amazing, spectacular, incredible, marvelous, unbelievable (you get the point!) camps.

NESTLED IN THE HEART OF FAR ROCKAWAY, SIMCHA DAY CAMP IS WHERE HUNDREDS OF CAMPERS ENJOY THEIR SUMMER SPLASHING IN THE POOL, SWINGING THEIR BATS, SMILING, AND SINGING THE WHOLE SEASON THROUGH. WITH NINE ACRES OF FUN – COMPLETE WITH BALLFIELDS, A HUGE IN-GROUND POOL, AND AN AIR-CONDITIONED GYM – THE BOYS ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE GO. THIS WEEK WE SPOKE WITH RABBI TAUB AND RABBI SUDWERTS TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE NONSTOP FUN AND RUACH THAT PERMEATES THE CAMPUS EACH DAY.

Rabbi Taub and Rabbi Sudwerts, thank you for chatting with us in the midst of your busy day. Simcha Day Camp has been around for a long time. Tell us how it all began.

Rabbi Sudwerts (RS): As one of the longest standing day camps in the neighborhood, SDC has been around since 1978.

How many campers spend their summers at SDC?

Rabbi Taub (RT): We have around 900 campers from the Five Towns, Brooklyn, Queens and West Hempstead. We even have some boys from as far as Texas, Florida, Ohio, Brazil and Canada.

That’s huge but you manage to be so organized. Tell us about

your different divisions.

RS: There are seven divisions in SDC. Our Juniors division is led by Morah Etty Slansky, who has over 25 years of preschool experience to draw from. SDC Juniors has their very own Sports Director, Rabbi Shmuel Rada, who focuses on teaching the boys the fundamental skills of all the major sports. These precious 4- and 5-yearolds learn to swim in deep water with WSI certified swim instructors in our Olympic-sized in-ground pool.

The MIDs division goes on various trips throughout the summer as well as en-

joying late nights here in camp. The MIDs division is led by Rabbi Rosenblatt as Head Counselor, and four Division Heads: Rabbi Yoni Sokol, Rabbi Menachem Hildeshaim, Rabbi Shaya Samet and Donny Rudansky.

The 4th grade and up make up our Senior Leagues division. They add an in-camp overnight trip for the 40’s and two 2-day overnight trips for the 50’s and up. They are led by Rabbi Shragi Polter, our Head Counselor. He is assisted by Yaakov Shapiro, Dovid Zedner and Noam Wine, his trusted division heads.

Our CIT division, led by Rabbi Avromi Meyer, trains our future staff members and gives them hands-on experience in working with campers in their respective bunks. They have their own trips, play ball, and join the Seniors on their overnights. of that, Yidel Wiener and Rafi Guberman are constantly replenishing our freezing cold ice water throughout the campus to ensure the boys are well hydrated.

That sounds spectacular! What would you say sets SDC apart from other camps?

RT: in SDC we live by the mantra “Safety first.” We pride ourselves in having an on-site nurse. We are an allergy aware camp, with our very own Rabbi Moshen who runs the kitchen, Menachem Ross and their amazing kitchen staff, who cater to the campers’ needs and wants. Above all, our professionalism and attention to detail ensure that every camper has the best and safest summer experience available.

The rest is the ruach! How could you not walk around with a smile when everyone around you is having such a blast?! SDC rocks! transitions to a day jam-packed with bunk games, organized leagues, instructional and free swim, catered lunches, pumping dining room ruach, and surround sound fun!

What are the boys’ favorite ac-

tivities?

RT: Besides for all the daily fun, the kids look forward to the entertainment that is brought to camp each year. We have been amazed by shows such as our concerts by the likes of Yoni Z, Simcha Leiner and Benny Friedman, to name a few. We have also seen magical magi-

Your campus is huge. Tell us about it.

RS: Our campers spend their whole day on our 9-acre shady campus. We have a massive, Olympic-sized in-ground pool, 4 baseball fields, 8 basketball courts, a hockey court, an air conditioned gym, a volleyball court, a soccer field, and a turf gaga pit! There is no need to be bused around all day. On top With all that ruach, what’s a “regular” day like at SDC?

RS: Our day starts with a hearty breakfast followed by 2 geshmakeh hours of davening and learning with professional rab beim, then

cians, acrobats, puppet shows and live game shows.

The SDC carnival is a sight to see – with 40-foot slides, bouncy jousting, bungee jumping and more, it’s every child’s dream come true!

What’s SDC known for?

RS: I would say that the things that we are known for, what we focus on the most, would be our learning program, our sports program and our swim instruction.

Our learning program is led by Rabbi Aharon Rosenberg who guides our professional rabbeim to ensure that the hard work that the rabbeim and students put in all year is not lost, and is strengthened and solidified.

Our sports program starts with our Juniors sports coach and continues with every counselor. Our campers not only have fun playing ball but learn real life, fundamental sports skills. Daily leagues begin as early as

2nd grade. Our staff puts a huge emphasis on balancing competitiveness with the importance of sportsmanship and achdus. Cheering on the other team or giving compliments to others who strike out or miss a shot is a common occurrence in SDC.

Our focus on swimming starts in our Juniors program. Mr.s Leff and her WSI certified instructors teach and Seniors division, Mr. Eric Maslin and his amazing lifeguard staff train the boys, following the American Red Cross rubric, to hone their skills and advance from level to level.

“HOW COULD YOU NOT WALK AROUND

WITH A SMILE WHEN EVERYONE AROUND

YOU IS HAVING SUCH A BLAST?!”

the campers the fundamentals of water safety and basic swimming skills. It is truly an amazing sight to see so many of the boys comfortable swimming in deep water by the end of the summer.

In our MIDs Do the boys go on any trips during the summer?

RT: As we just mentioned, we are primarily a swim and sports camp. Our huge campus makes it almost a crime to take campers away from our 9-acre campus to sit on a bus to a trip. Still and all, a change of pace can be therapeutic as well. We do take our campers to fun-filled places like Adventureland, Luna Park, Kzam, Laserbounce, Active Kidz, Funstation USA, and Bounce U. we also go on bigger trips including Rye Playland, Dave & Buster’s and Launch Trampolines.

Senior overnights head to amazing places like the American Dream Water Park, Aquatopia and Six Flags New England.

What specialty activities do you have in camp?

RT: We have 2 art rooms, one for the Juniors with Ms. Ruchama Ryback as art head, and 1st grade and up with Mrs. Malky Ross. We have a playroom, dedicated just for Lego and toys. There is also a state-of-theart computer lab with Mrs. Sandy Bienenstock at the helm, complete with games and typing fun. We have a creative movement room, a funwith-food room, and a baking room.

Do you do anything special for the Three Weeks or the Nine Days?

RT: While we always have a strong focus on middos and sportsmanship, during the Nine Days the focus on bein adam l’chaveiro is heightened. Our boys collect money for Chai Lifeline and every camper participates in the annual Bowl-a-Thon. Our excited campers have raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Chai Lifeline continue doing its amazing work.

What brings you the biggest “nachas”?

RT: My biggest nachas is seeing my staff at the staff minyan and shiur. Here are a group of the most talented growing teenagers who could be doing so many other things with their time, and instead choose to spend their summer giving SDC campers the time of their lives. That chinuch begins with a strong foundation of davening and shiur. The staff is lucky to hear shiur from two amazing rabbeim, Rabbi Gold and Rabbi Brazil.

What’s this year’s camp slogan?

RT: “SDC’s ON FIRE!” from YoniZ’s latest album! Whoop whoop!

By the Numbers...

18,689 chicken nuggets served over the summer 892 campers enrolled in camp

36 camp days of geshmakeh-pumping ruach!!!!!

26 outdoor water stations to keep hydrated while playing sports

25 experienced rabbeim

23 buses bringing in kids from Brooklyn, Queens, and Long

Island

20 caring morahs nurturing their Junior division

9 acres of fabulous campus 8 basketball courts

7 dedicated division heads

5 full-time security guards

4.5 deep fryers (for those, mmm, favorite homemade fries)

4 baseball diamonds

3 fish tanks

3 pumping head counselors

2 indoor air-conditioned gyms

1 is Hashem, Who watches over all of our precious campers and staff and makes sure they have a fun and safe summer