The Art Shack program this summer was a great success. We truly accomplished all goals set forth. Every camper that we touched seemed to have been incredibly receptive to all our projects and creativity. From crayon art becoming a camp wide phenomenon to prom success and color war madness the excitement continued in art all summer long.
Teaching decoupage at all ages, sculpting wire figures that were spectacular, decorating beautiful mirrors and involving the entire camp in candy art brought great joy to our entire department. Hundreds of beaded bracelets were made, campers were jeweled out and we loved seeing happy parents on visiting day blown away by a truly awesome art program!
Our electives were very popular, and great projects were made in the boys and girls bunk activity periods. From junior boys airplanes and bunk name plates up to supers spectacular frames and iCan nights learning cool new techniques with batiking, great creativity was had and happiness experienced by all.
I’m personally so happy to have brought the art outside by adding a waiting wall chalk board which was fun, and will be used for years to come. It feels good looking back at this summer and seeing the impact and memories of creative fun being had! It is a great accomplishment of our team and could not have been done so without each and every member.
It’s only up from here…
XO, Hallie & The 2014 Art Staff
There are some soccer players who can take the ball from one end of the field to the other and score by themselves. There are some basketball players who can make full court shots without the need to pass even once. There are countless athletes, artists, and musicians who can be successful by themselves, regardless of how many times they get called a “ball hog”. Not with Rock Band. They say there’s no ‘I’ in team, well there’s no ‘I’ in Rock Band either. Rock Band could not have been successful if not for the teamwork that was exhibited by all members involved. It was truly a great lesson for the kids to learn this year.
We had two bands this year. One was an experimental band that mixed lower seniors and upper juniors. We spent our rehearsals increasing our level of musical ability. Bringing together kids with such a difference in age was a great experience not only for the kids, but also for me. I got to see how even the most experienced musicians can learn something from the most unexpected places.
The second band was named “Plexiglas”. As a “pull out” program, campers have the chance to get away from their normal, everyday activities and spend some time with good music and good company as they rehearsed for their performances throughout camp. You may remember them from such performances as “The Best Day of My Life” on Visiting Day, “Radioactive” for Camparet, and “Color War” on the last day of camp (an original song written at camp). Teamwork, yet again, was key. Without the effort and participation of every single member of the band, the performances would not have been possible. Not only that, but they wouldn’t have rocked out as hard as they did without working together as well as they did.
It was a great summer for music, and the boys look forward to rocking on in the future.
Yours Truly,
Rock Band Mark
Mah Jongg was a big hit of summer 2014! The table located outside of the HQ made it a hot spot to see the game being played and to get involved. Although it was only offered as an elective to the older kids, many younger ones saw us playing and were eager to learn as well. By the end of the summer, there was a great range of ages, boys and girls that played.
It just takes one period to learn, as the campers quickly pick up the lingo and learn about the tiles. Some were able to play on their own, without any help, just the first day! During summer 2014, we created a Mah Jongg tournament, where campers who were not in the elective could sign up. At this morning-long tournament, campers played multiple games, keeping track of the number of points each hand was worth. It was very intense, as we had a winner just 5 points ahead of the rest!
I learned how to play Mah Jongg in camp too and it was great to see how enthusiastic the campers were to come to the elective!! It’s a fun game to play and hang out and chat with your friends as well. I hope it grows even more next summer!
Crack, Bam, Dot, Flower…
Caila
The basketball program at Camp Canadensis in 2014 was a great success and a joy to lead. Our clinic times consisted of instruction that was then backed up by playing games to reinforce those newly acquired skills. League periods saw the campers competing against each other in scrimmages, and in our elective periods we were able to play some fun basketball games and running drills that focused more on specialized and individual skill building.
At Canadensis, we were able to host and attend many inter-camp basketball tournaments this year. We also had our super leagues (Inter basketball league, NCAA, NBA, and WNBA) which were all a huge success and a lot of fun for everyone involved.
My staff and I would like to thank the Canadensis staff for all of their support, and the campers for their involvement! You truly made this summer an incredible experience!
-Shawn Cramer
Recipe for success: Add one seasoned veteran with one sweet New Jerseyite, sprinkle into the mix a talented A-cappellist with a flair for cooking, add the joy and enthusiasm from hundreds of campers and let the ingredients bake for aprox. 7 weeks. The results are the most delicious cooking program Camp Canadensis has tasted to date!
Yes, this summer Jojo, Jenna, and Suzanna made ordinary ingredients into extraordinary culinary delights. Among the dozens of tasty dishes, our campers learned how to cut and fry a simple potato into the best fries they ever ate. We made mixed berry crème brulee with an essential tool of all top French chefs; the kitchen torch. Along with proper instruction and adult supervision our future chefs learned to properly brulee “to burn” the turbinado sugar to a golden brown (not black because it tastes too bitter). As program directors we are asked to have a “Big Idea” for the summer. It could be something we ask our camper to achieve over the summer or an accomplishment of some kind. This year our “Big Idea” for cooking was a little less tangible but so important to me. Our “big idea” was to instill the idea into all of our campers how important family recipes are. So often we eat grandma’s cookies or Uncle Jo’s rib roast or Aunt Sally’s special salad but we never think to ask for the recipe or more importantly if it’s possible, make the recipe with them.
Last week I ran into a friend who so fondly remembers her mother’s chicken soup. As we were talking she said she had asked all her friends and family if they knew what her mother put in her soup. No one knew. When I told her “I have your mom’s recipe” her eyes lit up and she jumped into my arms.
We wish all of you a great school year and we thank you for a wonderful summer.
Love,
Jojo, Suzanna and Jenna
