Camp is starting in just over a month, but before heading up to the Poconos I have a few more amazing first time campers to introduce you to! Kylie is a current 2nd grader, and she will be a Lower Junior at camp this summer! She is from Villanova, PA and goes to the Baldwin School. I first met her when she slept over at camp for the Tour & More Weekend last year, and it was great to get to know her better! Here’s what you should know about Kylie:
- She loves dogs!! I met her dogs Harley and Hannah (she named her after “Hannah Montana”) and she has 5 chihuahuas I didn’t get to meet!
- Her favorite color is blue, and her second favorite color is purple.
- She likes to go skiing, and before coming to camp she’ll be summer skiing in Mt. Hood, Oregon. She’s done big slopes in Colorado before, and since she’s good on ski’s she should have no trouble learning to waterski!
- Kylie really likes to play soccer, and on the night I visited she had just made a soccer travel team for the fall!
- She loves to dance! She goes to dance classes several times a week and her recital is coming up soon!
- She’s a good eater, and likes all of the basic vegetables (like cucumbers and carrots), but tomatoes are a “no go”!
- There are SO many reasons she is excited for camp, but she can’t wait to have such a late bedtime! Campers her age usually turn in around 9PM – which is much later than a typical school night at home!
- Gymnastics will be her number one elective choice, and dance will probably be second! She also likes basketball and is a good swimmer.
- She has cousin that are also coming to camp with her. Her older cousin Skye has been a camper for a few years, and told her all about the fun activities…including cooking and the summit!
- We went through her schedule and she was excited for just about everything the Lower Juniors get to do!
- She’s all ready for Color War and dressing up – she has tons of spirit and can’t wait to show it off for whatever team she’s on!
I also recently spent some time in Ventnor, NJ getting to know another new camper. JT is a current 4th grader, and he will be a Lower Inter at camp this year. He’s been attending JCC Camp By The Sea (day camp) for the past few years and he’s very excited to try overnight camp and the tons of new activities we have in store for him! Here’s what you should know about him:
- He’s really likes archery, and is excited to get to do it frequently at camp this summer!
- He also likes riding his bike and electric scooter, so he’s excited to quads and Hondas!
- He likes horses, and might decide to take horseback riding lessons this summer at camp.
- Although he’s never tried it, he thinks he’ll really like the rocketry elective, woodworking with the bunk and all the boating activities at the lake.
- He also plays sports, like baseball and basketball. He’s looking forward to trying new sports at camp, like tennis and lacrosse!
- On the day I came to visit, he had just gone on a field trip and gotten a copy of the American Constitution – he joked about hanging it up on his wall at camp!
- There’s a lot of action is his house, so he’ll be very comfortable with a lot of people in his bunk! He has an older sister (she does travel camp every summer), and on the night I came to visit I met him and 4 other people who were around.
- He’s a stylish guy – likes his button down collar shirts, and he’ll look great on dance nights! He’s also very excited to grow his hair long at camp because it’s against school policy during the year.
- He’s a self described “class clown” and likes to make people laugh.
- He tends to wake up really early in the morning…like 6AM! We talked about the many things he can do with that bonus time, including writing letters to everyone at home!
- His favorite food is chicken fingers, and he loves corn! Can’t wait for him to try “Cornman” on Open House!
And…I also wanted to welcome one more “new comer” to Canadensis. Dave Malter is the Director of the Touro University Masters in Camp Administration and Leadership program, and while this is technically his 5th year coming to camp, it will be his first year on staff! Dave and I have been dating for years, and in his former career as a day camp director, he was only available to come to Camp Canadensis for weekend visits. Maybe you’ve seen him around camp, helping in the canteen or walking Annie?
Well, this year he’ll have a more formal role at camp and it’s time to officially introduce him! Dave will be going on trips with our amazing (and HUGE group) of 50 CITS! He’ll also be helping Robin Forti with tours and the Tour & More programs. He has a very impressive camp resume, and over the years he’s learned a lot about resident camp. I’m so excited for the Canadensis family to get to know him better!
This will be my last blog from the winter office – on Monday I’ll be moving up to camp! I can’t wait to see so many of you at Open House on June 1st! I can’t wait to have all our Canadensis campers arrive for the summer…seeing you get off the bus is the BEST feeling!
Can’t wait for us all to be reunited! Like Upper Inter Girls Bailey, Jordan and Ilana above on a recent trip to NYC!
