It’s Monday! Monday! Gonna Get Down on Monday?!

Hello Canadensis!

How are we on this Monday?!  Things here at camp are getting busier by the day.  We are now officially under 100 days until we get to Summer 2013 on June 22.  I just wished that it started at least to feel like Spring as Mother Nature still continues to drop the white stuff from the sky here in the Northeast.  I mean, enough with the snow already!

Anyway, I wanted to get out a blog on this Monday afternoon as it has been a few weeks since my last post.  In the spirit of Jason “J.Cal” Calabretta playing Rebecca Black’s “Friday” each and every week at morning line-up, it doesn’t work to shout, “It’s Monday!  Monday!  Gonna Get Down on Monday!”  Although, it seems like many of our campers are off this week from school and just might be getting down on a Monday?!  Of course, when I think of Mondays, I always tend to think of a childhood favorite of mine by The Bangles…”Manic Monday.”  When I was a kid, I had a bit of a crush on lead singer Susanna Hoffs.  Ha Ha!  A good tune and definitely one of those songs that once it’s in your head, it will be there all day (music trivia fact:  the song was actually written by Prince)…

A few weeks ago, the Winter office made its annual trek down to Atlantic City for the Tri-State Camp Conference.  Over the course of 3-4 days, we have the wonderful opportunity to attend a number of speakers and workshops, covering a wide range of topics from better ways to work with campers, staff and families to programming to facility upgrades.  Each year, we always walk away with a few ideas that we incorporate in our Summer at Canadensis.  At the same time, it is great to network with camping professionals from all over the country, getting ideas on how other camps handle certain situations.   The conference is attended by more than 3000 people in the camping industry.  Finally, the conference provides an amazing exhibit hall, which gives us all the opportunity to “shop for camp.”  Our Winter team enjoys our travels through all of the different vendors.  Here are a few photos…

As I wrote in my last blog, I love the NCAA Basketball Tournament (a.k.a. March Madness)!  It was great to see so many campers and staff sign up for our annual bracket picks contest.  Of course, many of our brackets don’t look as good as they did on Thursday of last week.  Now that we are onto the Sweet 16, it looks like Lower Inter Girl Brooke Bednoff is in the lead with 480 points.  Way to, Brooke!  Keep it up!  As usual, my own personal bracket can now be used for recycling.  Ha Ha!  Although, my Syracuse Orange are still in the mix and will face a tough Indiana opponent on Thursday night!  Let’s Go Orange!

Speaking of college sports, Canadensis staff member Carli “CJ” Sukonik, who also plays on the Lehigh Women’s Lacrosse team had a big win this weekend over Bucknell University. In the game, CJ scored an amazing six goals.  To see CJ in action and her post game interview, click here.  CJ wanted to say hello to everyone at Canadensis and wanted to know just how excited she is for her 10th summer at camp!

Time to tell you about all of the camp families I have seen over the past few weeks…

In New York City, I got to see Max Dolgin, who is currently in 4th grade and will be joining us at camp for his second summer as a Lower Inter.  Max has been involved with a lot of music activities these days.  For starters, he plays the violin.  But, he also plays in a percussion troupe called the “Groove Cats.”  If that isn’t enough, he plays drums in a rock band called “Child’s Play,” and even told me about a recent gig they performed.  He event told me that I could share a tune of theirs right here on my blog.  Here is a performance of Child’s Play version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama…

Max is excited for his upcoming baseball season and playing little league once again, where he usually plays 1B and Catcher.  He also told me that he has been keeping in touch with his bunkmates this Winter and wanted to say hi to all of the boys from 2012’s Bunk 4.  Max is very excited to see them all again this Summer.  Here is a photo…

In Woodbury, NY, I met up with Marissa and Jeremy Levine.  Marissa is back for her 4th summer as an Upper Senior while Jeremy will be at Canadensis for his first summer as a Lower Inter.  Now in 8th grade, Marissa is playing shooting guard for the Thompson Middle School basketball team.  In the Fall, she played for the middle school’s tennis team and in the Spring, she will be trying out for the softball team.  Marissa told me that she has had opportunities to see her camp friends this year, including a get together in New York City and a sleepover after the Reunion.  She has plans to see them again very soon.  Of course, she wanted to give a shout out to the girls of Bunk 18 from 2012 and says she has memories of the song “Hit the Lights” by Jay Sean.  As for Jeremy, currently in 4th grade, he has been playing in the Syosset Basketball League.  In the Spring and Fall, he plays 2B, SS and Pitcher in a baseball league.  He also plays tennis all year round.  Jeremy is a big sports fan and he let me know that his favorite teams are the Giants, Knicks and Mets.  When he’s just chilling out at home, he enjoys playing the Wii and his favorite game in NBA 2K13.  This summer, he can’t wait to play all of the sports at camp and meeting new friends.  Here is a pic…

In Larchmont, NY, it was great to see Stella and Luca Giobbio.  Stella, who is in 5th grade, will be back for her second summer as an Upper Inter and Luca, now in 2nd grade, will be joining us for his first summer as a Lower Junior.  Stella filled me in about her recent sleepover with her camp friends, letting me know that they ended up going to bed at around 2 am!  Stella also told me that her basketball team just recently made the playoffs and that her soccer season is just about to get underway with two tournaments.  On top of all that, she has been rehearsing for her role as Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie” for her elementary school’s performance.  At camp this year, she cannot wait to be with all of her camp friends again, canteen, reveille, all of the activities at the lake, including the summit and triple dare.  Luca also plays a lot of sports as he just finished up his basketball season, but in a few weeks will move onto playing baseball.  In the Fall, he plays soccer.  Luca is also a Legoholic and he truly impressed me with all of the completed Lego projects he has created.  It was truly amazing!  When not busy with all of these things, Luca likes to play on the Wii and his favorite games are Lego Batman 2 and Lego Superheroes.  In Summer 2013, Luca is looking forward to the ropes course, the summit and the triple dare.  Here is a picture…

In Plainsboro, NJ, I hung out with Jillian Wexler, who is currently in 4th grade and will in our Lower Inter division in 2013 for her first summer at Canadensis.  Jillian loves ice hockey and plays left wing on her team, the Vikings, that just recently played in the championship game.  Next year, she will be playing for a travel team.  In the Fall and Spring, Jillian plays goalie for the Cranbury Revolution soccer team.  In a few weeks, she will also be starting baseball season.  Jillian has a twin sister Hailey.  When she is at home and not busy with other things, she plays video games, with her favorite game being NHL Hockey.  When she gets to Canadensis in a few months, she is excited to play hockey, archery, gaga and waterskiing.  Here is a photo…

In Roslyn, NY, I spent some time with Jaymie and Avery Gilady.  Jaymie is back for her five-year honor jacket summer as a Lower Senior and Avery returns for his third summer as a Lower Inter.  Now in 7th grade, Jaymie has been to a lot of bat mitzvahs of camp friends this year and even celebrated her own big day back in November.  She is also getting set to sing in two different vocal performances.  First, she will be singing “Break Away” in a chorus concert.  Then, she will be singing the music of Les Miserables in Chorale.  This summer, she is really looking forward to the trip to Lake Placid.  As for Avery, now in 4th grade, he has been taking tennis lessons and a hip hop class throughout the year.  He will also be getting up on stage as a Wikasham monkey in a performance of “Seussical the Musical.”  When at home, Avery can be found rooting for his New Jersey Devils hockey team.  At camp, he is once again ready for all of the sports at camp and all of the lake activities.  Here is a picture…

In Woodbury, NY, I saw Alexandra Pollak, who joins the Canadensis Family for her first summer in 2013 as a Lower Inter.  Currently in 4th grade, Alexandra is rehearsing for her dance recital at the North Shore Performing Arts Center where she has been preparing for a jazz, tap and ballet routine.  Alexandra told me that her basketball team just recently won their league championship.  In the Spring, she will be playing on a softball team.  Some of Alexandra’s favorites include purple as her favorite color, “Dance Moms” as her favorite TV show and Justin Bieber as her favorite performer.  She is also a big Yankees fan.  When she comes to camp, she is going to be all about the lake activities, dance, rock wall and art shack.  Here is a pic…

In Syosset, NY, I had fun getting to know Jack Cohen, who is in the 3rd grade and will be in our Upper Junior division for his first summer.  Jack plays flag football in the Fall and Spring and plays in the Syosset Basketball League in the winter.  He also takes tennis lessons and karate, where he is a yellow belt and participates in grappling and kickboxing.  Jack also likes magic, has a dog named Brody, likes climbing and is a New York Giants fan.  At camp this Summer, he is excited to try the water slides, morning line-up, the summit, waterskiing, glass fusion and wrestling.  Here is a picture…

In Short Hills, NJ, I got to see Nick Lu, who is currently in 3rd grade and will be in our Upper Junior division for his first Summer at camp.  Nick told me that he likes playing on the computer, with his favorite game being Mindcraft.  When its nice outside, he likes to red board and go rollerblading and hanging out with friends.  He has a dog named Ginger.  Nick also told me that he will be going on a trip to Cancun, Mexico for his Spring break.  In looking at all of the activities at camp, Nick is excited for all of the lake activities on Lake Lenape and fishing.  Here is a photo…

In Chappaqua, NY, I saw Zoe Gellert, who is now in the 3rd grade and will be back for her second summer as part of our Upper Junior division.  Zoe had just had her birthday party the day before I came over, in which she planned the whole event with a fashion show theme.  All of her guests had the opportunity to dress up and walk down the runway, which was created in her basement.  Looking at the pictures from the day, it looked like all of the girls had an unbelievable time.  Zoe also let me know that she has been competing on a gymnastics team all year long.  On top of that, she has been involved with jiu jitsu classes.  Zoe let me know just how excited she is for another summer at camp and to see all of her camp friends once again.  Here is a picture…

It’s always great to get to work in the morning and find pictures of “camp reunions” and get-togethers waiting in my e-mail inbox.  This month, I have a few to share.  As they try to do every year, the Girls of Bunk 16 from Summer 2012 got together a few weeks ago and catch up with each other with everything that has been going on in their lives.  Check it out!

At the same event, some of our 2013 Freshman girls got a chance to see each other as well.  Here is a picture of that group…

For this mini reunion, I was also sent a great picture that I wanted to post because our camp families, and in this case, our camp moms are so awesome for making events like this happen!  Between all of the scheduling and transportation demands to pull something like this off, I wanted to thank this group for keeping the Canadensis spirit alive and being committed to doing things like this.  Here is a photo of our amazing moms!

While in Jamaica on a trip, we got this picture of Canadensis campers enjoying their time off from school…

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That’s all of the blogging for now.  Have a great day!

-Brian