Home Visits in Bucks County, PA!

Posted on March 17, 2014June 23, 2014 by Pam Levi

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!

Next, I went to Furlong, PA to meet Makenzie, a current 4^th 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!

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 March 14, 2014June 23, 2014 by Pam Levi

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!

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!?!

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!

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!

Meet the Stoloffs!

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Pam Levi

Most of the Stoloff family is coming to Canadensis this summer!! Big brother Quentin started at Canadensis a few years ago, but twin sisters Jessie & Jilly are coming for the first time this year…and so is mom! Vanessa will be our camp doctor for the week after Visiting Day (she’s a former jacks champion, and can’t wait to go kayaking!), and they are all very excited for the summer to arrive!

Jillian and Jessica are currently in 2nd grade, and will be Lower Junior Girls at camp this summer! They both did the Tour & More Weekend last summer, and they are super active! After school they play in a basketball league, they take dance classes and play soccer! They are lucky to have family members who live at the beach, so both girls already know how to water ski – which is super impressive! They also like snow skiing, archery (they are part of an Indian Princesses group, and have good enough aim to win a dollar bill put up on the target!) and will probably be signing up for horseback riding lessons.

They share a room with two big beds, and showed me how easy it is to jump from one to the other! We played with their “Beanie Boo” collection (cute stuffed animals they introduced me to) and we talked about how much they love dogs…they’ve offered to help paint Annie the Dog’s nails this summer! They have a pet fish named Bubbles who swims on their wall, and they’ve got tons of arts and crafts supplies stashed away in their basement when they want to get creative! It’s very easy to tell these twins apart, and a good trick to help you remember is that Jessie has curly hair and a double “S” in her name…and Jilly has straight hair and a double “L” in her name! Here’s more differences:

Jessie started writing a story the day before my visit, and already had a bunch of pages! She will be really good at writing letters home!
Her favorite color is purple.
She loves going on rides, including Tower of Terror!
She’s good at hiding in small places – she showed me how she can fit in a small storage chair in her basement.
She is the older twin, by 13 minutes.
She tried to get me to tell her what the Color War teams names are for the upcoming summer!
She’s been reading Judy Blume books lately.

Jilly is always called “Bean” by her sister.
Her favorite number is 8, and her favorite color is pink.
She’s a really great swimmer.
She’s also a very good singer!
Even though she’s the younger sister, she’s taller!
Asked me lots of great questions, and wanted to know what Bunko was how we celebrate the Fourth of July.
She’s recently been reading Shell Silverstein poems.

This will be Quentin’s 3rd year and he will be a Freshman Boy this summer! We talked about the many new changes that happen for Freshmen…double electives, overnight trip to Cooperstown, no swim instruction, and so much more! Right after my visit, he went on a Ski trip with his dad to Colorado, and he’s been busy with basketball, Hebrew school and tennis!

Can’t wait to have them all at camp…the girls have tons of camp spirit already, and hope to be on the gold team! They were on the Gold Minions at day camp last year!

March Means Double Digits for our Summer Countdown!

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Brian Krug

Hello Canadensis…

March is here! For some, March is defined by the weather outside as it will come in like a lion and out like a lamb and Spring will be in the air. For others, it means they are excited for the upcoming college basketball tournament, also known as March Madness. March could also mean Spring Break for college students. And, March is also the time when we think about our taxes (although e’d prefer not to…ha ha). Whereas all of these are true, if you’re coming to Camp Canadensis this summer, it means that in this month, we will hit the 99 days to camp mark and no longer have to use three digits in our Countdown to Summer 2014!

For us here in the Winter office, the past month has been incredibly busy. This time of the year is the “heart” of our new staff recruitment season. We hit the road to a number of different colleges this year in search of the best staff around. For me, I went to upstate New Y0rk to four colleges we hadn’t been to in quite some time. They were Alfred University, Ithaca College, SUNY-Cortland and Binghamton University. In addition to meeting many new interested staff, I was able to catch up with some very familiar faces…

At Ithaca College, I met up and had dinner with counselors and former campers Mike Levien and Jake Asman, both who will be back in Summer 2014!

At Binghamton University, I had lunch with former campers and counselors Paige Gindi and Amanda Mirsky. Both Paige and Amanda say hi to everyone at camp! Paige is excited to return this summer while Amanda will certainly be up to visit.

Last weekend, the camp juices really started to flow with our annual Leadership Weekend Retreat, which was held near our Winter Office in Plymouth Meeting, PA. This time together really allowed our administrative staff to hammer out some of the key topics as we plan an amazing summer. Our head staff discussed many topics from summer planning and scheduling to staffing and personnel to many campers’ favorite topic…Color War! As you may know, this meeting is also the starting point each year to determining the Color War names for Summer 2014. This year, we came up with a number of very good possibilities. If you would like to hear some of the names, you can e-mail us at (Wait! Did you really think that I was going to give you the names…Ha Ha!) Here is a picture from the weekend…

Our Leadership Team came together last weekend for a full weekend of camp talk!

Planning Summer 2014.

In my next blog, I’ll be sure to share some pictures from the 2014 Annual Tri-State Camping Conference in Atlantic City, NJ, where we always seem to get some good ideas for the summer.

Over the past month, I got a few cool pictures from camp families and staff that I wanted to share with everyone as well…

Ava and Marlee Krasin are keeping warm and are in camp spirit wearing their new Candensis hats.

The Snyders and Kilmans met up for ice cream while on their vacations in Boca Raton, FL. From left to right: Sage Snyder, Samantha Kilman, Sabrina Snyder and Emily Kilman.

2014 Lower Inter Boys Drew Spielberger (front) and Ben Keim (back) met up in Mt. Snow, VT for a weekend of skiing and tubing.

Basketball Counselor Vince Tranquillo, who goes to the University of Pittsburgh, sent in this picture of him and legendary Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim. Later that night, Vince saw Syracuse beat his Pitt Panthers on a dramatic buzzer beating shot.

Since my last blog, there are a lot of great home visits to tell you about…

In Merrick, NY, I got to meet Adam and Bradley Lieberman, both who will be coming to Canadensis for their first summers. Adam is in the 5th grade and will be in our Upper Inter Boys division while Bradley is in 4th grade and will be in the Lower Inter Boys division. Both are very busy guys throughout the year. Adam plays defense and midfield on his travel soccer team, the Gunners. He plays rec and travel basketball on his team, the Cougars. In the Spring, it will be rec and travel baseball on his team, the Cyclones. He plays football, too. When at home, he plays X-Box, with his favorite game these days being NBA 2K14, as well as rooting for favorite sports teams the Giants, Yankees and Knicks. This summer at camp, Adam is looking forward to signing up for Super Leagues like the CBL and IBL as well as participating in activities like the hondas/quads, lake, water slides and canteen. For Bradley, his activties include playing on a travel basketball team. Over the winter months, he is training for his upcoming baseball seasons, where he plays in both rec and travel leagues. He also plays football. When at home, Bradley can be found playing X-Box. His favorite game is Madden 25. He is a fan of the NFL, the Knicks and Yankees. Bradley also told me he is a pretty good cook and has been known to cook his family breakfast. Finally, he plays the trumpet. At camp in 2014, he is looking forward to water skiing, all the activities at the lake and intercamp games. Here is a picture…

Me with Upper Inter Boy Adam Lieberman (left) and Lower Inter Boy Bradley Lieberman (right).

Also in Merrick, NY, I hung out with Aidan “Kope” Kopelman, who is in the 4th grade and will be in our Lower Inter Boys division this year in his first summer. Aidan plays forward on his travel soccer team, the Merrick Arsenal, which competes in the Fall, Winter and Spring. He takes tennis lessons. Aidan let me know that he is an avid reader and basically likes to read everything. He is a big sports fan of the Yankees and Giants. In fact, Aidan shared with me a cool story involving each team. First, Aidan had the opportunity to run the bases at Yankee Stadium. Second, a few years ago, he attended the Giants Super Bowl victory in Indianapolis. Some pretty cool stories! Aidan likes to snow ski. One day, he says he wants to be a cook. Recently, he visited the Food Network’s “Chopped” kitchen. At camp this summer, Aidan is ready to try the Canadensis Today Show elective, quads/hondas, water skiing and the zipline. He is also looking forward to the special Thursdays we have planned at camp. Here is a pic…

Me with Lower Inter Boy Aidan Kopelman.

In Short Hills, NJ, I saw Austin and Mitch Braunstein. Mitch returns for his 4th summer in our Freshman Boys division and he is happy to be joined by his brother Austin, who will be in our Upper Junior boys division in his first summer. Mitch plays in the Millburn Basketball League on his team, the Trailblazers. In the Spring, he will be playing baseball. Mitch wanted to give a shout out to the boys of Bunk 10 from Summer 2013. This summer, he is really excited for his division’s trip to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. Austin also plays in the Millburn Basketball League on his team, the Bobcats. In the Spring, it will be baseball time for Austin as well. When hanging out at home, Austin likes to play his favorite video game, Subway Surfers. And, when the weather warms up, he likes to fish. Here is a photo…

Me with Upper Junior boy Austin Brauntein (left) and Freshman boy Mitch Braunstein (right).

In Livingston, NJ, I met up with Mason Levine, who is in the 3rd grade and will be in our Upper Junior boys division in his first summer at Canadensis. In the Fall, Mason plays on a soccer team. In the Spring, he plays baseball. When Mason is hanging out at home with his friends, he is a big fan of the game Minecraft, likes to build Legos and watch his favorite TV show, Spongebob Squarepants. Mason is also involved with his Cub Scout pack and recently earned the award for Best Paintjob in the scout’s annual Pinewood Derby. Mason is also a big New York Giants fan. This summer, he told me that he is ready to meet new friends, swimming, the water slides and fishing. Here is a picture…

Me and Upper Junior boy Mason Levine.

In Lafayette Hill, PA, I saw Jordyn and Jared Rutman. Jordyn is back at Canadensis for her 3rd summer as part of our Upper Inter Girls division and Jared joins us for Summer #1 as a Lower Junior boy. Now in 5th grade, Jordyn rehearses in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip hop dance classes in preparation for her recital in the Spring. She also plays on her travel soccer team, the Wildcats. This year, she can be found at the weekly Friday Night Skate at her local ice rink. Of course, Jordyn told me she loves chatting with her bunkmates all year long. She wanted to remind her camp sisters from last summer, that they are still the “Bunk 6 Chicks!” When I asked her what she is looking forward to the most next summer, Jordyn simply replied, “Everything!” As for Jared, now in the 2nd grade, he is busy with all kinds of sports. Currently, he is playing in the Whitemarsh Basketball League, where his team was in the playoffs. In the Spring, he will move onto baseball season. In the Fall, he plays in a travel soccer league as well. On top of all that, he plays football and hockey, too. He is a big fan of the Flyers, Eagles Phillies and Union teams. In his first summer at camp, he excited for activities such as hockey, the lake, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, gaga, baseball and the quads. Here is a photo…

Me with Lower Junior Boy Jared Rutman and Upper Inter Girl Jordyn Rutman.

In Villanova, PA, I spent some time with Skye and Griffin Kades. Skye will be at camp for her 3rd summer in our Upper Inter Girls division while Griffin will be spending his first summer as a Lower Junior boy. Skye, who is in 5th grade, has been busy with her dance team at the Liberty Me Company, where she has been in rehearsals for hip hip, lyrical, jazz and contemporary routines. Skye is also involved with her gymnastics. Skye filled me in that she can certainly be found messaging and texting her bunkmates from last year’s Girls Bunk 8. Her message to all of them was “taco!” She is looking forward to absolutely everything in Summer 2014. Griffin, currently in 2nd grade, loves to play soccer. He plays forward on teams that compete in the Fall, Winter and Spring. He also takes tennis lessons. When at home, he plays Minecraft, X-Box and on his i-Pad. He is also a chess player. At camp this summer, he is ready to play gaga, soccer, the banana boat and fishing. Here is a pic…

Me with Upper Inter Girl Skye Kades and Lower Junior Boy Griffin Kades.

Well, that’s all of the blogging for now.

Have a great day!

-Brian

Meet the Picker Brothers!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Pam Levi

Earlier this week, I went to Gladwyne, PA and got to meet this new family joining us at camp this summer! It was yet another school snow day, but upon walking in, I got to meet their dog Cactus, and we immediately started talking about how much we love the warmth in Arizona! Their dad went to Arizona State University, and the family loves taking yearly vacations there. These guys are really active, so their favorite thing to do is go hiking on Camelback Mountain and play on the water slides at the hotel pool. They have spent the last few summers at day camp, and both of them really enjoyed archery and fishing in the lake, but you couldn’t swim in that lake…so they can’t wait to spend their summer on the water trampoline in Lake Lenape! They were so excited to ask questions about camp, and loved the new camp shirts I brought them…they both put them on right away! Here’s what you need to know about them:

Hayden is a current 2nd grader, and will be a Lower Junior Boy at camp this summer. He’ll be turning 8 at camp, so I told him about the bonus 4th phone call home he’ll get to make, and the way camp will sing to him at Morning Line Up! He likes a lot of different activities…too many to list! He will probably choose basketball, tennis, photography and glass fusion for his electives. At day camp he liked the pioneering activity, so I think he’ll love our ropes course, climbing wall and zip line!

His favorite color is red, so hopefully he’ll be on the Red Team for revolutionary war day on the 4th of July! He loves taking photos, and he showed me a penguin he had made in ceramics at school, it was cute! He’s about to start baseball season, and even though it’s not his favorite sport, he likes being part of a team. For Halloween this fall, he dressed up in a black skin suit, and was “invisible” – he plans to pack the suit for camp, and I bet he’ll find a lot of different ways to wear it! He had some great questions, and one of the things we talked about were movies at camp. The whole camp gets to watch several “Drive In Movies” each summer…the campers vote on what they want, and then we bring our sleeping bags to a field or to the rec hall and watch a movie with all our friends. Hayden hope we’ll show the Lego Movie this year!

Evan is a current 3rd grader, and will be an Upper Junior Boy at camp this summer. The first thing you should know about him is that he loves basketball!! Remember, I came to visit on a chilly snow day, and right before that he was outside playing basketball with friends! Although basketball is far and away his favorite sport, he also plays baseball and takes boxing lessons. He showed me how he can work the speed bag in his basement and I was so impressed, it’s very hard to do! He has been boxing since he was 6 years old, and for Halloween he dressed up as boxer. You can see video of him sparring if you search on YouTube!

He’s also a very talented artist, he showed me a sketch he made of the cartoon “Stitch”, and it was really good! Evan had prepared a lot of questions for me about the timing of the camp day, the hike to the waterfall, and the kind of food we serve in camp. His favorite restaurant is Chima Brazilian Steakhouse – he’s a meat eater and will love when steak is on the camp menu! He knows his basketball trivia (Hayden too!), and he has a big binder of basketball trading cards that he might bring to camp. When it comes time to pick his electives, it’s a 3-way tie between basketball, basketball and more basketball! He also thinks he’ll enjoy tennis and wrestling electives, so he can’t go wrong! He’s got a great attitude, and can’t wait to participate in everything at camp this summer!

Right before I left, the boys both told me that they hope to be on the Gold Team for color war! As a former Gold Team captain, nothing could make me happier…but then, Evan offered me a reese’s peanut butter bar they had made from scratch, and it was excellent! I know they’ll love the cooking program at camp, and so much more! Can’t wait to have these brothers at Camp Canadensis!

CITs 2014 – MATTY WIENER

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Cara

Matty and his bunk during their legendary MTV night performance.

Matty Wiener lives in Syosset, New York, and will be returning to Canadensis for his 8th summer at camp! When he’s at home, Matty enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing sports, and winning camp fantasy football leagues… sorry Austin! His skills will come in handy someday when he lands his dream job as a sports agent, although he’d be equally happy with a job like Aunt Terri’s, complete with a pink golf cart! When he’s at camp, Matty loves to spend time playing NBA and coaching/catching Junior CBL. He also likes to spend time at camp choreographing dances – specifically MTV night routines – and this year the boys are ready to prove to Canadensis that while they may be the largest group of CIT boys we’ve ever had, they will make the greatest MTV night dance this camp has ever seen – he just hopes we’re all ready for that! One of Matty’s favorite camp memories was at the end of last summer, when his bunk was cheered back on stage for an encore of their MTV night performance – although they didn’t win the Krugie, they got the satisfaction of being remembered as one of the most entertaining MTV Night dances. Another favorite memory was hearing his sister, Rachel Wiener, have her name announced as Color War Captain in 2012; Rachel is the oldest of his 3 sisters! Matty could never leave for camp without his monkey PJs and his monkey pillow – it’s his trademark and he wouldn’t be able to sleep a night without it. Being a camper at Canadensis has taught Matty that no friend will ever be as close as your camp friends; he wouldn’t be who he is today without them. He would like all of our new campers to enjoy every second of camp, because it goes by way to fast; “just be yourself and don’t be embarrassed to do anything because we’re really just one big family”. Matty is so excited to be a CIT and make a lasting impression on his bunk, just as his former CITs did for him. In August, Matty doesn’t plan on ever leaving Canadensis, and will spend the rest of his days taking long strolls by the shore of Lake Lenape, as the sun disappears behind the trees…

New Mainline Campers!

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Pam Levi

Meet Brooke from Gladwyne, PA! She was a Tour & More weekend camper last summer, and Brooke is currently in 2nd grade, counting down the days until she becomes a Junior Girl at camp this summer! As you can tell from the photo above, she’s full of fun and jazz hands! It will be so awesome to have her at camp all summer, and here’s what you should know about her:

She loves to dance, and is on the Mini-Pop competition dance team at Liberty Me. She is currently working on a dance to “Upside Down“. She goes to the Shipley school, and her favorite subject is Physical Education (PE). She gets to do gymnastics, swing on the climbing wall and play pillow polo in class! She also is good at Social Studies because she’s amazing at remembering names! Brooke remembers the campers and counselors names that she met at the Tour & More weekend, and she can even remember small nicknames from a family road trip years ago (her parents were jackknife and little jackknife!). Speaking of nicknames, she goes by Brooke or Brookie…but at camp she might end up being called “Little Verne” because big sister Alexa is almost always called “Verne”!

Believe it or not, Brooke really likes working with her Hebrew School teacher – I was over during a Purim lesson and it sounded like a lot of fun! She also really likes to eat salad…but trust me, she’s also looking forward to visiting the canteen three nights a week for snacks! She’s excited for a ton of camp activities, and for her electives she plans to to do dance and climbing wall. She hasn’t decided if she’ll audition for the Camp Show, but it sounds like we’d be lucky to have her…she’s been in shows before as the lead! Brooke will definitely be trying out for our competition dance teams, and she’s already looking forward to the Dorney Park trip because she loves roller coasters! She pretty much loves everything, except for basketball…mostly because the basketballs always hit her in the head! But, she will definitely still participate and make it as fun as possible…she focuses on the positive, and really likes the dribbling part of the game!

Brooke is the kind of girl who helps anyone who has a problem, and she always ends the conversations with a hug. She knows some funny jokes, (some from popsicle sticks, like: Q-what did one math book say to the other math book? A-I’ve got lots of problems…haha!) and wants a bunk full of some really silly campers and crazy counselors to spend the summer with!

One of the great questions Brooke asked is about how often she’ll get to see her sister. Alexa (on the right above) will be back at camp for her second summer, and she will be a Lower Inter Girl. They will see each other at meals, morning line up, during free play and some evening activities – plus, they can visit each others bunks during rest hour and shower hour!

It was great to catch up with Alexa and hear about how she’s been keeping busy! She’s doing a ton of dancing (including 4 hours on the weekend!) and is really looking forward to an upcoming Demi Lovato concert with school friends. She was in Bunk 3 in 2013, and is guessing they’ll be in bunk 6 next year! They’ve had a lot of sleepovers…including one right before the camp reunion in January, but Alexa thinks it is time for another one!

Can’t wait to have both of these girls at camp, and they can’t wait to pack their brightly colored sock collections this year…unlike what the packing list says, all socks do NOT have to be white!

My next stop that night was up the road in Wayne, PA. I got to spend some time with Sydney, a current 4th grader who will be a Lower Inter Girl for her first summer at camp! She has a really fun “upside down” house where you walk in on the top floor, and the kids rooms are downstairs. She goes to Roberts Elementary school, and can be shy at first, but underneath she’s really goofy (seriously, her grandpa can’t tell if she’s 2 or 10!)! Here’s what you need to know about Sydney:

She started dancing when she was two years old, and loves it! She’s also on the Liberty Me competition dance team, so I’m expecting to see some coordinated dance moves during our Morning Line Up dance parties every morning! She will be starting to play lacrosse soon, and already picked out her first stick! She had just celebrated her 10th birthday the week before I came over, and there were still fun decorations in her bedroom and kitchen, including a tie-dyed kitkat/m&m cake that looked a little bit like this! She also went to Busy Bees for a painting class party, and showed me the glass fusion frame she made there before…very cool! She really likes making crafts, so she’ll definitely have to take the glass fusion elective at camp this summer!

We hung out in her room with her whole family. Sydney is a big sister to Skylar and Topher, her younger sister and brother. I also got to meet her awesome dogs – Fuzzy and Dakota (and yes, Fuzzy is very fuzzy!). She is a super spirited camper (just like her mom was!) so she’s excited for everything at camp…and she already thinks that morning line up will be her favorite part of the day! She loves to read and asked me if there is a library at camp, and unfortunately it’s one of a few things we don’t have! But, packages with reading materials are allowed at camp, and as you get to the older ages in camp, book club does become an elective option! Sydney had so many great questions written down, and was really prepared and thoughtful about summer! Some more quick facts about Sydney is that her favorite color is purple, she has a giant troll in her house (it belongs to her dad!) and she loves dancing so much that she plays a dance video game as much as possible after school!

I can’t wait to see Sydney at New Camper Bouncing on April 6th, and to bust some moves with her on the amphitheater this summer!

New Campers from New Jersey!

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Pam Levi

This week, I got to meet some great new girls coming to camp! I went to Livingston, NJ and met Ella, who is currently in 3rd grade and will be a new Upper Junior Girl. Her mom is a life-long sleepaway camper, and her grandparents also worked at camp for many years. Camp spirit is in her blood – she even had a blue and gold color war birthday party this past year! Here’s what you should know about Ella:

Her room has a big fuzzy chair for reading, and she has fishing awards from day camp last summer, you get one every time you catch a fish! She also happens to have a pet beta fish who swims around in her room all day, and her name is Maddy. She swims around next to Ella’s soccer trophies – she’s been playing for years and really likes it! Another one of her favorite activities is the Future Fashionistas classes where she learns to sew and make clothing – she showed me a whole wardrobe of things she’s made, including pajama shorts, a sweatshirt/poncho, skirt and tank top…it was awesome, and hopefully she’ll wear some of it at camp this summer! She has her own sewing machine now, and pretty soon she’ll get to create cool fashions whenever she wants!

She’s super excited to spend her summer in the Poconos! Her family (including her little sister!) likes to ski, and has recently gone on trips to Camelback and Blue Mountain, which are pretty close to Canadensis! She has no trouble skiing down the blue squares, and I’m sure she’ll be great on waterskis this summer! She’s really excited to try waterskiing, but she’s MOST excited for horseback riding. She’s never done it before, but she just knows she’s going to love it! Ella remembered a ton of stuff about camp, and had great questions for me about topics like Miss Canadensis, Waterfall and Prom. When I asked her how she’d decorate her bunk, she wasn’t sure yet…but she was considering hanging up a Pearl Jam poster, it’s a band she and her dad like to listen to…but it might not make the cut for camp!

My next stop was in Scotch Plains, NJ where I got to hang out with Alexa, a current 4th grader who will be a new Lower Inter Girl at camp this summer. She came up to visit camp this summer and her family took the Morning Line Up tour – they loved the dancing and spirit that they saw at Canadensis, and it helped make the camp decision easy! Her parents met at the University of Michigan, so they felt comfortable with the Canadensis Blue & Gold! Here’s what you should know about Alexa:

She likes tons of different music, including 1 Direction and Selena Gomez – she loves to sing along to songs! She also loves to dance and will be on stage every Morning Line Up! She is excited to compete with her bunk at MTV night, but I told her to expect some serious competition from the boys bunks…they come up with some really funny dances! Alexa is really comfortable being on stage because she participates in her schools Variety Show each year. I saw old photos of her in the show all the way back to Kindergarten! As the oldest grade in her school, she’ll get to do some extra numbers this year, and she’s pretty excited about getting to perform to the “cup song” – it will be a great one to sing in the dining hall at camp!

Alexa likes arts – in her room I saw sand art and gods eyes that she has made, and she told me about a beeswax candle she once made in school. She is a Girl Scout, and with her troop she’s done overnights, tye-dying, and lots of crafts including a bead covered picture frame. She also really likes to play soccer, and take tennis lessons. For her electives this summer, she is considering signing up for gaga, the Today Show and tennis…but she doesn’t have to decide until mid-May! We talked about a ton of stuff, including the camp food – she’s excited that we have yogurt for breakfast, and her favorite salad bar items (she loves tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers and dressing!). Alexa (and her outgoing little sister!) asked me a lot of great questions, including how laundry at camp…not one that I typically get asked, but it’s super important!

I can’t wait to see Ella & Alexa at New Camper Bouncing in April! But right now, I’m pumped for the Winter Meeting…it’s starting tomorrow, and our leadership team is on it’s way to Philadelphia right now. Can’t wait to see everyone!

CITs 2014 – CARLY DANIEL

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Cara

Alexa and Carly can’t wait to be CITs!!!

Carly Daniel is from Holland, Pennsylvania and will be returning for her 8^th summer at Canadensis! When she’s at home, Carly enjoys hanging out with her friends and family, eating, and playing tennis. Carly isn’t certain what her ‘dream job’ may be, but she knows that it will involve helping others. Carly’s favorite camp memories include the Senior Canteen raves and the surprise visit from the Gozen Yogurt truck… her camp friends’ memories of Carly probably include her belting out a tune during shower hour – Carly is a magnificent shower singer! Being a Canadensis camper has taught Carly how to make life long friendships, and that no matter what happens, she will always have her camp friends. Carly wants all of our new campers to remember to always be open minded and try new activities – and just be yourself; you will learn quickly that camp friends are your best friends. The last time she went to Disney World, Carly was in 5th grade, so she is excited to return this summer on her CIT trip. She never leaves for camp without her bear, and is hoping to add “Being Hypnotized by Brad Henderson” to her list of camp memories she’ll take with her in August, after having the best summer of her life with her camp sisters!

It’s a small Canadensis world after all…

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Pam Levi

It’s been a busy time here in the Canadensis office and I’ll tell you about that a little bit later…but after I returned home from a week away, I got to see some of my favorite female cousins for a 40th birthday celebration in NYC! We all look SO young, I’m sure you can’t even tell who was celebrating the milestone, but it was great to spend some quality time together! My family can’t wait for the next Family Reunion at Camp Canadensis…it’s coming in August 2015, and I’m glad they are as excited as me!

During those few hours in NYC, I realized what a small Canadensis world it is after all!!! At the luncheon, I got to meet the aunt of our Arizona campers Dylan & Jaden! I hope she’ll be coming to to see her niece and nephew on Visiting Day this year!! I also met a very close friend of several of our Merrick families, and we took a “selfie” to send to the Sigals, Geffners and Michals families! And then, the strangest coincidence of all…as I was making my way back home to Philly, I was stuck in some serious traffic. I noticed some kids having fun on the back of the school bus in front of me, and then…

…when I looked a little bit closer, I spotted Josh, a Canadensis camper!! He’ll be at camp for his 4th summer this year, and he’s moving over to the Senior Boys side of camp! You can sorta make him out in the right window. But, here is is looking dapper on photo day last year:Eric had his own Canadensis run-in this week too!

Eric and Robin were heading to London to hire staff at the Camp America fair, and they bumped into a Canadensis family in the airport that was also traveling on the same plane! In the photo above, you can see Noah, he’ll be coming to camp for his 2nd summer and will be an Upper Junior Boy. What a coincidence!

Not only have we been traveling internationally, but we’ve been all over the map looking for fantastic new staff members to bring to camp in 2014! I just returned from a week in the Baltimore, Maryland area. I met staff applicants at Towson, Goucher, MICA, UMBC and Stevenson. I also got to catch up with Hannah Race – a Senior at Towson University and former camper and counselor, her parents are both Canadensis alumni and met at camp (I love stories like that)!! When she graduates this spring, she’ll be heading home to Cherry Hill and begin studying for the LSAT before applying to Law Schools – it’ll be great to have her back in the Philly area!

I met a lot of great staff applicants on the road! Cara is excited about the staff she met in Western PA, and Brian met tons of students in the Upstate NY area! Now I’m getting ready for a few weeks of home visits, so keep coming back to the blog to meet some of our awesome new campers!

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