Hello Canadensis!
I hope this blog entry finds everyone celebrating with some Spring cheer! Finally, it seems like the bad weather we’ve experienced in the Northeast all Winter long is behind us. For us in the Winter office, plans for the Summer are in high gear! It’s time for some April Excitement!
Excitement for us really hit a great note a few weeks ago when we attended the Annual American Camp Association Tri-State Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. This is the largest gathering of camp professionals each year. This year, there were more than 3500 people in attendance. The multi-day convention is a great opportunity to attend a number of different workshops hosted by trainers and camping professionals in which topics range from child development to facility improvements to new practices and procedures for camps to staff training. We always find our trek to South Jersey really great and it inspired a lot of new ideas for the upcoming summer. The convention also gives us an opportunity to cruise through the vendor hall which features all different kinds of companies that want to bring their products or services to camp. Here was a picture I took of Cara and Eric experimenting with a camp program that teaches campers how to broadcast the weather…
Canadensis Today Show hosts Cara and Eric meet with weatherman John Marshall in front of the green screen.
The image was then on the screen as if they were doing the weather as seen on your local TV newscast.
On Sunday, April 6, we celebrated our New Camper Bounce Event at Rebounderz in Edison, NJ. First off, we wanted to thank all of the families that took time out of their busy schedules and made it out to Central New Jersey. Our Juniors and Lower Inters of Summer 2014 enjoyed their time and spent a few hours filled with bouncing on trampolines, playing arcade games, eating pizza and playing some New Camper Bingo. For those families that couldn’t make it, no worries. We hope that you’ll be at our Open House Event on Sunday, June 1 at camp. Here are a few pictures from the New Camper Bounce…
Many of our 2014 Junior Girls.
Some of our new 2014 Lower Inter Girls and Boys.
Last week, we opened up our tour scheduling book and it has been great speaking to so many families that are interested in seeing Canadensis this summer for their children that would be coming to camp in 2015. We have also had a lot of interest in our Tour and More Weekend and Play Day. For more information about that opportunity (including how to enroll), you can click here.
For our existing families, hopefully you have begun to start working on your camp forms, many which are due a month from now on May 9. If not, you might want to start doing that very, very soon.
We would also like to congratulate the winners of our Annual Camp Canadensis March Madness bracket challenge winners. On the camper side of things, we had a three way tie between Andrew Wagner, Max Wittenberg and Ashton Wittenberg. For the staff, our winner was Samm “Twin Pop” Falk. Congratulations guys! This summer, we will have your prizes waiting for you at a morning line-up. This was the first year that no one in the entire bracket picked the overall winner, UConn.
Congrats to Andrew, Max, Ashton and Samm for winning this year’s bracket.
What would a blog be without reporting on the home visits I was at this month. Here are all of the great visits from the past few weeks…
In Port Washington, NY, I spent some time with Jack McMillan, who will be coming to camp for his first summer. Jack is currently in the 3rd grade and will be in our Upper Junior Boys division in 2014. Jack loves to go skiing and is already skiing double black diamonds while on ski trips to Lake Tahoe, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and Massachusetts. He recently played in the PYA Basketball League. Jack enjoys biking, building model rockets and model cars as well as racing remote controlled Traxxas cars. He showed me one of his cars and they are really cool! This summer, Jack is looking forward to activities like water skiing, the quads and cooking. Here is a picture…
Me with Upper Junior Boy Jack McMillan.
In North Caldwell, NJ, I saw Daniel Gold, who is a 4th generation Canadensis camper. Wow! Currently in 4th grade, this will be Daniel’s first summer at camp as part of our Lower Inter Boys division. Daniel just recently finished up his hockey season, where he played forward on his team, the Blackhawks, who made it to the championship game. In the Fall and Spring, he plays forward, midfield and goalie on a soccer team. In the Winter, he trains for soccer as well. When at home, he enjoys playing Madden 25 and fantasy football. Daniel let me know that he won his fantasy football league’s championship in his first year of playing. His favorite sports teams are the Flyers, Phillies and Red Bulls. He also enjoys reading Sports Illustrated and Roald Dahl books. At camp, he is excited for Color War and the trip to Dorney Park. Here is a pic…
Me with Lower Inter Boy Daniel Gold.
While at Daniel’s home, his dad (Michael), who also attended Camp Canadensis brought out a piece of great camp memorabilia. Here is Michael’s Color War T-Shirt from 1990!
In Pine Brook, NJ, I hung out with Camryn Wax, who will be in our Lower Inter Girls division this summer for her first summer at Canadensis. In the 4th grade, Camryn just finished up her basketball season in the Montville Rec Basketball League where she played on her team called the Super Shooters. She is also involved in a Girls Scout Troop, where she told me of a cool experience where she got to camp out and sleep at the Museum of Natural History. Camryn also enjoys gymnastics and takes art classes. At home, she has been known to break out her pogo stick and once set a personal record of more than 1000 jumps. She could have done more if her father (who was counting) didn’t tell her to stop. Ha Ha! When she comes to camp, Camryn told me she is excited for all of the activities at the lake, swimming and the Art Center. Here is a photo…
Me with Lower Inter Girl Camryn Wax.
In Livingston, NJ, I got to know the Friedman twins, Ryan and Zach, who are in the 2nd grade and will be in our Lower Junior Boys division in 2014. Both boys play hockey in floor hockey leagues, but Zach roots for the Rangers while Ryan is a fan of the Devils. Ryan also plays ice hockey. Both brothers also play basketball and tennis. Zach added golf to his list of activities, too. When it comes to video games, they enjoy Minecraft. Zach also plays a game called Head Soccer while Ryan plays a game called Big Win Fantasy. When they get to camp for their first summer this year, both are looking forward to playing in the CHL (Canadensis Hockey League) and all of the sports activities. Here is a picture…
Me with Lower Junior Boys Zach and Ryan Friedman.
In New York, NY, I met up with Jake Herzberg, who is in the 4th Grade and will be in our Lower Inter Boys division this summer. Jake likes to play basketball. Now that the weather is warming up, he just started playing in a baseball league, too. When at home, he is a big fan of Minecraft, watching his favorite TV Show “Family Guy,” playing the piano and rooting for his favorite basketball team, the Chicago Bulls. Jake also told me that he loves to eat a lot of junk food. When he comes to Canadensis for his first summer this year, he is really ready for Color War, fishing, archery, waterskiing, the quads and free play. Here is a picture…
Me with Lower Inter Boy Jake Herzberg.
It’s always nice to hear when our campers have a chance to see each other throughout the year. Here were some pictures of get-togethers and bunk reunions that we received over the past month…
Summer 2013’s Bunk 11 got together over Martin Luther King Weekend for a ski trip in the Poconos. From Left to Right: Max Wittenberg, younger brother Ashton Wittenberg, Reid Wollock, Eli Levi, Spencer Rothfleisch, younger brother Jack Rothfleisch, Max Edelman and Zach Richman.
Some of Lower Junior Girls for Summer 2014 saw each other in New York City. From Left to Right: Rayla Kratchman, Julianna Edelman, Jenna Feig, Ava Krasin, Ruby Spielberger and Alexa Lagnado.
Most of Girls Bunk 16 had a sleepover weekend, which also included some shopping in New York City. From Left to Right: Mallory Kanterman, Amanda Seligman, Rachel Green, Carly Koutcher, Jordyn Marburg, Sabrina Snyder, Alexa Dersovitz and Ally Levitt.
Counselor Jake Asman had some really cool news to share with us. Jake, who attends Ithaca College as a Media Production major, has really kick started his broadcast career. Over the past few weeks, he has had interviews with several big names in the world of sports including ESPN analyst and former football player Damien Woody, former New York Giants punter Sean Landeta and WFAN radio broadcaster Steve Somers (who just so happens to be a favorite of both mine and Jake’s). Jake and partner Dan Budick have their own podcast that you can check out by clicking here. Nice job, Jake!
Canadensis counselor and Ithaca Media Production Major Jake Asman has had some great interviews on his recent podcast. Check out the link at http://ictv.org/asmanandbudick/.
Well, that’s all of the blogging for now. Have a great day!
-Brian
