10 minute read
W e’re Talking to…Camp Shira
THIS WEEK, WE’RE TALKING TO… Camp Shira
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 Zoom tablets and desks? In this series, we are speaking with camp directors and head counselors to learn more about our community’s amazing, spectacular, incredible, marvelous, unbelievable (you get the point!) camps.
ALTHOUGH CAMP SHIRA OPENED ITS DOORS JUST A FEW SUMMERS AGO, CAMP SHIRA HAS BECOME ONE OF THE HOTTEST CAMPS IN TOWN. AT CAMP SHIRA, CAMPERS HAVE SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT. WITH A BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS, ENERGETIC STAFF, OUTSTANDING ACTIVITIES, AND NONSTOP FUN, A SUMMER IN CAMP SHIRA BUILDS MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME. WE SPOKE WITH CAMP DIRECTOR MRS. YAFFA SCHREIER IN MIDDLE OF HER BUSY SCHEDULE TO LEARN A BIT MORE ABOUT THE NON-STOP FUN.
Mrs. Schreier, this is Camp Shira’s third summer! Tell us about Camp Shira.
We are a premier girls camp in the Five Towns! We have girls from all over, and we try to give them a really enjoyable summer – especially this year! We have a great location and an amazing campus. We offer everything from Go-Karts to a Water Park to a Shimi Adar concert –every summer seems to top the previous one!
That sounds like a blast! Tell us
about your different divisions.
We have three awesome divisions. Shira Juniors, led by Mrs. Rochel Lapidus and her assistant Mrs. Chanie Pearlman, is for entering nursery - 1 st grade. Shira Seniors, led by Mrs. Tehilla Ben-Ari and her assistant Mrs. Yocheved Rozwaski
together with our head counselor Elisheva Homnick, is for girls entering 2 nd - 5 th grade. Shira Extreme, led by Mrs. Chavsie Friedman and her head counselor Zoe Poznanski, is for entering 6 th - 7 th grade.
Each division has its own directors and head staff so that each division and its program is uniquely suited to that age group. Juniors enjoy adorable specialties and shows; Seniors have main activities, shows and specialties geared for their age; and Extreme does some crazy awesome stuff! Our goal is for every camper to feel like the camp was specially designed for them!
Sounds awesome! How many campers enjoy Camp Shira?
We have 450-500 girls a summer at Camp Shira. We have so much music and ruach and achdus pouring out every day that every camper feels like they are in a small camp! Every bunk gets a schedule daily that is jam-packed with fun activities, specialties and shows.
Shira Extreme sounds like so much fun! Tell us a bit about it. Our Extreme Division is for girls entering 6 th and 7 th grade. With their own incredible director and head counselor, the program is dedicated to create a dynamic and enjoyable summer for our campers. Their days are busy with special activities geared towards their age. The daily schedules are created around teamwork and responsibility, all done in a unique and special way. One of the main goals
the director has, aside from each girl having a great summer, is for each camper to grow and mature in their self-confidence. This summer’s theme is “Shira’s Got Talent” and the Extreme division is putting on a talent show which will showcase each camper’s special talents and abilities.
You have a great campus.
We are located on the Shulamith campus. We have a huge auditorium for shows, a spacious backyard, and a lot of summer-only exclusives! Each summer we add a gymnasium room, a water park, a water play and sprinkler area, and a go-kart track!
Wow – like Disneyland in Cedarhurst! How is the day structured?
Every day starts with davening and breakfast. Then we have a schedule of the day for each bunk. Each day is filled with different games, activities, and fun!
What are the campers’ favorite activities?
Every camper has a different favorite activity. We have a great assortment of specialties led by fantastic morahs. Water park is definitely a favorite of many campers. Campers really enjoy the variety of art activities and food art activities. Some campers report that sports or water sports are a favorite and some choose ballet or another dance as their favorite. Baruch Hashem, there are so many activities to choose from!
Did you do anything different for the Three Weeks/Nine Days?
We have beautiful chessed campaigns for the Nine Days every year. This year, each division did something different. Each division raised a lot of money for Chai Lifeline. The Juniors had a trike-a-thon and also created mitzvah bricks and built a Kotel on the camp walls. They made refuah shelaima cards for Chai Lifeline patients. The Seniors held a swim-a-thon and had a brachos campaign which culminated in a brachos party. They also made cards for nursing home residents and the staff who care for them. The Extreme Division made special individual packages for our dedicated police officers in the neighborhood. They had a Chai-Lifeline Swim-a-Thon as well as focusing on their brachos and middos.
Those are some very thoughtful activities. As you walk around camp, what are three things
that you hear the most throughout the day?
The Camp Shira song from this year and the Camp Shira songs from previous years are definitely heard the most! The “Hug-a- Turtle” song and laughter come in as a close second place.
Girls are really having an amazing summer and that is a credit to our fantastic staff, campers and families! It has taken real teamwork to pull off a fun, safe summer in this unprecedented time!
I agree. Tell us about some of their other “favorites,” like their favorite lunches or sports.
The girls love the macaroni and cheese and the baked ziti! One bunk named the baked ziti “pizza mac and cheese”! They also really enjoy the pancakes! We try to have kid-friendly main dishes with a healthy serving of fruit and veggies on the side.
As for sports, we have really great specialty sports morahs that include water sports. The girls play additional sports with their counselors. There
are a lot of unique and creative sports at Camp Shira, and the girls love it. One day they might be playing water limbo, and the next day they might be having fun relay races. They are also having a blast at the regular sports games especially machanayim and BBK.
Your slogan is “Camp Shira: Something to Sing About.” Are you doing anything special
in relation to that? Concerts? Choirs?
We have featured music significantly since we launched three years ago. Every summer we have a professionally recorded camp song, and the girls LOVE singing it and dancing with the motions. We also have a lot of concerts each summer including our annual highlight: a Shimi Adar concert!
Tell us more about this summer’s theme.
This summer, the theme is “Shira’s Got Talent.” Aside from fun talent shows and awesome entertainers, each week also worked off of that theme in creative ways. We had a week called The Greatest Show, and
we had activities and shows that all related to the circus. We ended the week with Circus Dress Up Day where we had campers and counselors
dressed up as a variety of circus-related costumes. There were popcorn vendors, cotton candy vendors, some adorable animals and, of course, clowns!
Are there
special ac
tivities or
perfor - mances that
you’ve been
showcas -
ing since
trips are more comp l i c a t e d this sum mer?
We have had a TON of shows to make up for the fact that many trip options are closed or not private enough to go to. We have had everything from magic shows to concerts to game shows – and the girls have loved it. We have a huge auditorium so we have the entertainer up on a stage and, instead of doing one show for the entire camp, they do several shows so we can seat each group separately for the show. The campers have really had a blast with all of the cool shows that have come in this summer. And, of course, the girls absolutely cannot wait for the grand finale: Shimi Adar is coming on the last day of camp to help us conclude another “Summer to Sing About!”
By the Numbers...
30 Go Karts
6 Water Park Inflatables 21 Junior bunks
23
Senior bunks 125 Thank you letters written to first responders 60 Packages made for police officers 1 Amazing Summer to Sing About!
Boys Dedicated Staff:
Meir Fogel - HEAD COUNSELOR • Shimon Koepolowitz Avi Broome • Mordechai Kahn • Gavriel Schuster Tzvi Hass • Abraham Meltzer • Shlomy Berger • Avi Ferziger Shua Klein • Yitzchok Klein • Shlomo Blinder • Chani Meyer Dovid Gordon • Michael Aizenfratz • Nathan Samuels Avi Steinberg • Nachum Prager • Tuli Rosenberg
THANK YOU! FOR MAKING
Esteemed Administration:
Joel Kaplan • Rabbi Avi Taub • Rabbi Naftuli Sudwitz • Rabbi Polter • Rabbi Shlomo Krasnow • Rabbi Aron Rosenberg • Shaima Goldberg • Yidel Weiner • Morah Eti cook Mrs. Levy and aSSiStant cook Koby Levy • Security guarDS Everet Fortune Yossi Weissman • Moe Sheekow
On behalf of the special children and families of Camp HASC, thank you for your support and challenges your chesed and warm welcome created a beautiful and uplifting Kidush Hashem, a bright ray of light for our campers and their families.
HASc in The City A Huge SUccess!
Girls Dedicated Staff:
Leah Nataneli - HEAD COUNSELOR • Lily Sassoon Elisheva Gitelis • Michelle Kirschner Alyssa Ebrani • Sara Masha Altman Hadar Aroosi-Levy • Rivka Fishfeld • Miri Vogel Sharona Fiskus • Sara Gdanski HASC Specialties: Elana Fertig - Story telling
Danielle Jacobs - Zumba, yoga & Drumfit Adina Druxman and Rachel Zabarsky - art
Karen Daitschman - muSic • Maddie Hamada - Dance
Oorah Camper Helpers: Emmy Rosenberg Sari Neuhoff • Ada Lisker • Meira Hikind Ariella Goldstein • Adina Bryks • Naava Laundau
Esteemed Administration:
