CITs 2014 – ALEXA HERSKOWITZ

Posted on by Cara
Cassidy and Alexa will be camp friends forever!

Cassidy and Alexa will be camp friends forever!

Alexa Herskowitz will be back in the 18325 for her 8th summer at Camp Canadensis! Although she’s a Cherry Hill native, she actually attends high school in a different state than her own! When she’s at home, Alexa enjoys playing soccer, running track, hanging out with her friends, and watching every TV series on Netflix. Her favorite activity at Canadensis is cooking and her dream job is to one day be the host of Good Morning America – perhaps she can get her start on an episode of Canadensis Today! Alexa never leaves for camp without her DS because you never know when an intense game of Mario Kart is going to break out; her secret camp talent is hiding that DS, along with all her other belongings, under her bed before inspection. One of Alexa’s favorite camp memories is always the annual overnight – it’s by far the craziest and most fun night with her friends every summer. Being a camper at Canadensis has taught Alexa that camp friends are you best friends, and they will be there for you no matter what. She wants all of our first time campers to know that, although you’re going to hear it 100000 times over the summer, always make the most of every situation and take advantage of all the fun opportunities that come your way, because the summer always flies by. Although she plans on never leaving Canadensis, one thing on Alexa’s to-do list before the summer ends is to get hypnotized by Brad Henderson.

Home Visits in Bucks County, PA!

Posted on by Pam Levi

Misha

Last week I headed up to Bucks County, PA and met with two new campers that are getting excited for their first summer at Canadensis!!  Misha is a current 2nd grader, and will be a Junior Girl this summer.  She toured camp last summer, and liked it so much that she came back for our Tour & More Play Day (her favorite part was getting to do the banana boat in the lake!).  She’s from Newtown, PA, but spends her summers at the beach, and attended Camp By The Sea in Margate, NJ for the past few summers, where the best activities were surfing and gaga.  She has a younger brother and sister (Lila will be doing the Tour & More Weekend this summer!) and we had an awesome time talking all about camp!  Here’s what you should know about Misha:

  • She missed one of her piano lessons for my visit, and right after I left she was heading to a Purim carnival – she has a busy schedule!  She also takes Mad Science clasess and will start to play softball this Spring!
  • She has a pet snake in her room that is orange, and is named Pumpkin.  She also really likes puppies!
  • This summer she’s going to take horseback riding lessons and she might want to be in the camp play (she recently did a show at school!).
  • For Halloween she dressed up as a zombie cheerleader, so creative!
  • Her family goes on camping outside in their backyard.  Usually Misha and her dad are the ones who make it through the night the longest!  She’s excited for her COALS overnight this summer!
  • She really likes basketball, and thinks she’ll pick it for one of her electives.  She’s in a basketball league right now and their nickname is the “Pickles”! She also thinks gaga is very cool.
  • She’s not sure she’s going to love cooking at camp, but I told her is one the most popular activities!
  • She will definitely be in an extreme group for Dorney.  Her family went to Disney recently and she did all the rides, including Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Hollywood Tower Terrors.
  • Her favorite color is like a blue-ish/turquoise, and she loves Taylor Swift, one of her favorite songs is “We Are Never Getting Back Together“.
  • She has tons of art in her room, including ceramics she’s made at school (and in after school classes) and also has paintings on her wall…some made by her, and some awesome ones made by her grandma!
  • I came over on a super warm March day, and she wore shorts to school…Misha is totally ready for camp!
Mackenze
Next, I went to Furlong, PA to meet Makenzie, a current 4th grader who will be a Lower Inter Girl at camp this summer!  She has lots of cousins who go to different sleepaway camps, and she has seen a bunch of them by going up on Visiting Day.  Her older sister was never interested in camp, but it was Makenzie’s idea to come to Canadensis independently, and make tons of new camp friends!  Here’s what you should know about Makenzie:
  • She’s a cheerleader on the Rock Starz All Star cheerleading squad.  She is a back spotter for stunts and is working on all kinds of tumbling passes.
  • It’s a huge commitment, she has practices three or four days a week and lots of competitions on the weekends.  When she used to have more after school free time, she took tennis and dance lessons.  She still makes time for Hebrew School, though!
  • Her cheer friends are going to be on her pillow case at camp this summer!  At a recent competition in Washington DC, she got a pink and purple pillow case with their photo on it.  It’s super soft, and she’s going to decorate her bunk around it!
  • Her favorite color is purple, and she has a 1Direction poster she thinks she’ll hang up on her walls.
  • She’s been going to day camp for 6 summers, and she has a perfect losing record for Color War.  6 straight losses…but maybe she’ll start a perfect winning streak at Canadensis!?
  • Right before coming to her house, I stopped for ice cream at OWowCow, so we talked about our favorite ice cream flavors – she really likes cookie dough and cookies and cream, so that’s probably what she’ll choose at Casino Theatre this summer!
  • She has a really good fourth-grade teacher, and was doing her homework in the office when I came over.
  • Makenzie can be quiet at first, but she is a really good friend and her bunk will be lucky to have her!
  • Luckily no campers every sleep on top bunks at Canadensis…she rolls around a lot and doesn’t want to fall off!  (Most bunks at camp don’t have any bunk beds!)
  • She likes doing art and said she would pick ceramics for one of her electives.
  • She’s really excited about The Summit and all of the lake activities she’ll have on her schedule – her mom says she’s a fish!
  • Her family has a fireplace in the living room and makes s’mores regularly!  Her dad said she’s very patient and has good marshmallow roasting technique!  Can’t wait to see it this summer at the campfires!
Carli
One last home visit to tell you about…in the photo above is Carli Forti, a current 22 month old, who will be at camp for the 3rd time this summer!  I’m sure you’ve seen lots of photos of Carli on our Canadensis media, her parents are Eric Forti (camp director) & Robin Forti (tour coordinator), who met at camp and both continue to spend summers there…so Carli is our younger Canadensis camper!  I got to hang out with this super cutie recently, and here’s what she’s been up to:
  • She’s been cooking up a storm in her play kitchen!  She made me some tuna and potato chips!
  • She recently dressed up as a Hamantaschen for Purim, and had a great time at the Beth Or Purim Carnival.
  • She’s been on the birthday party circuit almost every weekend!  Lots of her friends and cousins have been celebrating big milestones.
  • She loves puppies, Elmo and baby dolls.
  • She also loves books, especially if someone else is doing the reading!
  • She’s fantastic at cleaning up when play time is over.
  • She’s been learning everything so quickly lately, including a lot of different songs!
  • She loves chapstick and getting her hair dried right before bedtime!  (I agree…I never like going to bed with wet hair or chapped lips!)

Can’t wait to have all these awesome young ladies on Girls Side at Canadensis this summer!!

Home Visits with new New Yorkers!

Posted on by Pam Levi

Maya

I recently spent two days in New York bouncing around from one Canadensis family to the next!  I wanted to introduce you to some awesome new girls that will be packing their bags to head to Canadensis in just a few months!  Maya is a current 3rd grader, who will be an Upper Junior Girl at camp this summer.  She did our Tour & More Weekend sleepover last summer, and spent two days and one night doing all sorts of Canadensis activities!  Maya and I ate some delicious fruit salad, played some games, she introduced me to “Yummies” (adorable dessert keychains you trade with friends!) and we talked a bunch!  Here’s what I think you need to know about Maya:
  • Her family has a dog named Hailey who is super sweet!
  • She has loved to cook ever since she was 3 years old!  She just learned how to make an omelet for her and her mom.
  • She likes to dance, and is currently taking tap and lyrical.
  • She also takes piano lessons. Maya gave me a mini-concert and played Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are“. (She was really good!)  She’s also learning to play recorder and played me “Hot Cross Buns“.
  • At camp she is probably going to take tennis lessons and audition for the camp show.  And she’ll choose dance and art for her electives
  • There are lots of her art projects up around the house including ceramics projects that she made at her day camp last year…including ceramic hamburgers and monsters!
  • She’s currently reading the “Stella Batt” book series, the character’s family owns a candy store!
  • She’s also reading Peter Pan for school right now, and when they act it out she’s going to probably be in the role of Tinkerbell.
  • She collects stickers, and will be bringing them to camp…it’s an awesome way to decorate letters to family and friends!
  • She has met up with some of the other new campers, and was taught some Rak Don dance moves (a great evening activity at camp)!
  • Her favorite food is mac & cheese – can’t wait to see her smile when it’s on the menu at camp!
  • Her favorite 1Direction member is Niall, and her favorite color is pink.
  • When she comes home from an awesome summer at camp, her bedroom will have moved next door!
I got to see her older brother Ryan for only a few moments before he went to Hebrew School.  Ryan is a current 5th grader who will be an Upper Inter Boy, and will be returning to camp for his 3rd summer. He’s been super busy this year playing every sport you can imagine, and on a recent family vacation he tried ice hockey, so now he might want to be in the CHL (Canadensis (Roller) Hockey League) this summer!
Jordyn
My next stop was in Bellmore, NY where I got to spend time getting to know Jordyn, a current 5th grader who will be an Upper Inter Girl for her first time at camp this summer!  She is a big sister to Carly, and her whole family and I had a cozy evening in the living room talking about all things camp!  They came to tour Canadensis during Color War last year, and they got to see the Rec Hall sets coming together, and see the teams in song practice – they loved the camp spirit!  They did one of our lunch tours, and got to eat with 2014 CIT’s Cassidy Siegel and Alexa Herskowitz, and their warm and welcoming spirit made Jordyn want to be a part of our Canadensis community!  Jordyn’s bunk is going to be very lucky to have her in it this summer!  Here’s what I think you should know about her:
  • Her favorite color is turquoise, it’s all over her room at home!
  • She used to spend a lot of time during the summer at the Sands Atlantic Beach club (the first place I ever worked as a camp counselor!) and she’s got good taste because she loves the Mexican food from Ponchos (also one of my favorite places on Long Island!).
  • For her electives, she would like to do the Canadensis Today Show, Glass Fusion, Dance,  Soccer…and the list keeps going!
  • She’ll be a well rounded camper, she even likes the basketball lessons they are getting in gym class right now!
  • She has never been in a show before, but likes all kinds of popular music and would maybe audition for the camp play.
  • She had a bunch of good questions, and asked about what “Bunko” is on her schedule (it’s usually called when it’s raining, but it’s also a period once a week when the bunk gets to “chill”!)
  • But, she also knew almost everything else about camp…including what reveille is and how many phone calls she would make home during the summer (the answer is 3!).
  • Before camp starts, she’s probably going to start doing CrossFit Kids with her dad.
  • She’s always wanted to try a zip line and go waterskiing…so this is the summer to do both of those things!
  • She really loves to swim, and enjoys arts and crafts…like I said, she likes just about everything!
  • One more activity she loves is GAGA!  It was one of her favorites to play at her day camp.
  • She hope she’s on the blue team during Color War.  I gave her a few shirts to choose between, and she picked the 2013 Nautical Blue shirt!
  • She’s already picked out her camp bedding, and she likes Justin Bieber, so she’ll have to find a poster to hang on her wall!
  • When she gets home from camp there may be a dog waiting for her…won’t that be super exciting!?!
Courtney
Above is a photo of Courtney, a current 3rd grader who will be an Upper Junior Girl this summer.  She lives in Dix Hills, NY and her older sister Kailey will be back at camp for her 2nd summer as an Upper Inter Girl.  I meet a lot of new campers, and they usually are pretty knowledgeable about camp…but Courtney is totally prepared and blew me away with how much she already knows!  Her sister (and cousins Zach and Zoe) have taught her all the cheers, told her about all the best activities, and Kailey has even put together a “mock schedule” for her when they play “summer camp” at home (so adorable!!!).  She is a really sweet and fun girl, and since Courtney knows almost everything about Canadensis, here’s what I think you should know about her:
  • She’s a well rounded girl that likes everything from softball to art to climbing wall!
  • She’s very excited for the lake activities, and can’t wait to try the Banana Boat!
  • She goes on bike rides with her dad on a path near their home, and has done yoga with her mom before!
  • For electives, she might want to do dance, gaga, zumba…and glass fusion (especially since her sister didn’t make her anything in glass last summer!)
  • She also really likes soccer, and will have a good time playing basketball (even though one time someone used her face instead of the floor for a bounce pass!).
  • Courtney’s family eats very healthy usually (salmon and spinach), but her favorite food is chocolate and she’s excited for the hot chocolate at breakfast!
  • On Visiting Day she got to ride both of our huge waterslides, and try the water trampoline in the lake!
  • She enjoys doing a lot of different rides, and wants to be in the “medium” group for Dorney Park this summer.
  • She loves CORNMAN and is excited to have it three times this summer…on Open House, Carnival and Visiting Day!
  • She was the narrator for a production of “Where the Wild Things Are”, so maybe she’ll audition for our camp show!
  • She’s got a lot of spirit, we had fun signing some of the camp songs and cheers!  She’s ready for the dining hall!
Chloe
One last New Yorker to introduce you to…and she lives in New York City!  Chloe is a current 4th grader who will be a Lower Inter Girl this summer.   Her mom went to sleepaway camps for many summers growing up…and she gets her desire for camp life from her!  Her dad is a good musician, and she gets her musical talent from him!  She does many varied activities during the year (everything from horseback riding to biking) but she hasn’t had the opportunity to play many team sports, so we’ll be sure to teach her all about soccer, softball, basketball and newcomb this summer, and make it really fun!  Here’s what you should know about Chloe:
  • She loves the “Chloe” song by Emblem3 – it was a big hit at Morning Line Up dance parties last summer, so I have no doubt she’ll get to hear it a bunch of times next summer!
  • She also really likes Taylor Swift , Katy Perry and musical show tunes!
  • Her favorite color is purple, and she and her younger sister (Maya) share bunk beds.
  • She definitely plans to try water skiing, and maybe do the camp show!  She asked me what shows we’ve picked for 2014…but we haven’t announced it yet…check back in a couple more weeks!
  • She has been in more than 9 shows with the same theater company near her home, she likes signing and being part of the chorus.
  • I told you she was musical, she takes both piano and clarinet lessons (but she’s kind of excited to take a break during the summer!)
  • At her day camp last summer, they did a 3-day, 2-night overnight, and she told me that her and her friends pulled an all-nighter by staying up and playing Uno!  I love the game Uno just as much as anyone else, but I told her sleep is really important at camp!!
  • We talked about the projects we do in cooking, and she thought everything sounded delicious!
  • She had some really well thought out questions for me, she asked about footwear for the pool and activities and what happens when you lose a tooth at camp (the answer is, we have a camp tooth fairy who brings you canteen!)
  • She’s an avid reader and will be bringing some books to camp!
  • She loves puppies (a golden yorkie mix is her favorite) and I hope she’ll help me take Annie on walks this summer!