Summer #6 -- August 2, 2013

Newsletter for the Campers, Families, Staff & Friends of Campus Kids-New Jersey
Business Office (returning here 8/20):
Campus Kids-NJ
973-845-9260
P.O. Box 8
[email protected]
Madison, NJ 07940
Summer Camp at Blair Academy (6/9-8/19) :
Campus Kids-NJ
973-845-9260
P.O. Box 369
[email protected]
Blairstown, NJ 07825
web site: www.campuskids.com * Facebook: Campus Kids New Jersey * Twitter: CampusKidsNJ
Tom Riddleberger, Director
Stu Lisbe, Associate Director
Jeremy Berse, Assistant Director
Katie McNally, Assistant
Hello there, readers of the Sundial!
Dear Campus Kids,
The logistics of running a
summer camp are pretty complicated, especially
when it rains. Thursday was one of those allday soakers and we had planned a lot of
outdoor activities, including our second annual
all-camp Apache Relay.
Wondering how we’d rearrange our day,
I arrived at our pre-breakfast Leadership
Team meeting where Jeremy handed us a
revised schedule that answered all our
questions. He had found ways to relocate
activities, change others, reassign staff, switch
our Thursday-scheduled Apache Relay with our
Friday-scheduled basketball tournament and,
amazingly, everything worked out. It was
another activity-filled camp day and we had our
Apache Relay this morning in the sunshine.
Jeremy’s program planning and logistical
skills are amazing, but they only work because
of the support he gets from our leadership
team, the adaptability and high spirits of the
counseling staff, and the never-ending support
of the staff assistants. With a team like this,
everything seems possible at camp.
It’s been a great week, the only thing
wrong being that today we must bid adieu to
many of our campers. We will miss you very
much. However, we are very excited about
these upcoming two weeks, featuring lots of
awesome activities and special events.
Have a wonderful weekend. Be happy,
be safe, be kind, and rest up for Week 7!
[email protected]
My name is Sydney Gottesman, and I am one of the fifteen staff assistants you see
around camp every day. I'm
on Team B, so during the day
you can find me in places like
the office in Annie Hall, the
art building, and the health
center. It's crazy to think that
it's Week 6 already; it still
feels like June to me!
Outside of camp, I attend the Performing Arts
Academy (a high school specializing in the performing arts), where I will be a junior in September.
I am primarily an actor, but I love to dance and sing
too! Since I am so passionate about theatre, I decided to share a few facts about theatre with you
all. Enjoy!
1) The longest running Broadway shows include
Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, and
Chicago!
2) Some famous Broadway composers are
Stephen Sondheim, John Kander and Fred Ebb,
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Cole
Porter, and Andrew Lloyd Webber!
3) The cast of the hit musical Newsies climbs more
than 50 stairs per show! (And I can barely climb up
the stairs to the 3rd floor of Locke...)
On a final note, to everyone leaving, I hope you
have had an amazing time at camp. We will miss
you all so much! And to those whose first day of
camp is on Monday, we're so excited to see you!
Signing off,
Sydney Gottesman
Team B Staff Assistant
Hey everyone!
Week 6 has flown by! What a great week it has been
with the basketball tournament with George and Mitch. The tournament has demonstrated that a team that
works together has the ability to reach a common goal. Some of the skills on display were hugely impressive
and the amount of effort put in by everyone was truly phenomenal.
This week there was also the archery tournament with Abi and Kieran. It was great to see so many of you
participating and having fun. This tournament allowed all participants to have the chance to work on their
own individual skills.
A big thank you to George, Mitch, Abi and Kieran for all their hard work to run two successful tournaments.
I hope you all had a great week. I know that for many of you, this is your last week at camp, but I hope it has
been an enjoyable summer. I will miss you all and will hopefully see you next year. For those of you who will
be here next session, I hope you are all getting ready and looking forward to Campstock
and two action-packed weeks of sports.
Have a great weekend!
Dana
Athletics Coordinator
Hello you brilliant campers and camp-related individuals,
My name is Mike, but to save confusion, I go by MJ at
camp, and I am one of the counsellors for the Fenrir Greyback Junior Wolfpack. I am currently over here for my
second summer from the U.K., and I’m having an incredibly
different, but equally amazing time.
This summer has seen the return of the fencing tournament, as well as advanced fencing turning up on the schedule. As you could probably tell, I am an eager fencer and
am still in the process of making CKNJ a fencing specialty
camp (Tom’s approval pending).
When I’m not fencing you can usually see me running around
camp being overexcited and trying to get a smile on everyone’s face. That said I can’t wait to meet all the new campers for session four, as I know that they’ll be as brilliant as
all the ones I have met so far.
Bye for now,
Mike Jacob (MJ)
Counselor for the Fenrir Greyback Junior
Wolfpack
Weekend Adventure
August 9-12
Mountain Creek
Water Park
Space Still Available!
We have had such an amazing time on our Weekend Adventures
this summer! The highlights have been cooking our “hobo” pies
over the fire, making fried Oreos and s’mores. We’ve been loving
the new stand up paddleboards on the lake, too! We are so excited for the Final Weekend Adventure of 2013! We’ve got a bunch
of people signed up but there is still room for a few more. Weekend Adventures take place on the connector weekends in the middle of a session. Campers juniors (7th grade) and older can participate in Weekend Adventures. We camp out at Fairview Lake
YMCA, build campfires, go swimming, canoeing, kayaking and
paddleboarding! We also go on a special day trip! During this final
WA, we are going to Mountain Creek Water Park for a day of water
slides and wave pools. Good times! For more information check
the website or write to [email protected].
Hello CK!
I feel like the time is flying constantly, and before I know it we are already three
quarters of the way through the summer. I am so sad to see so many of the girls
leave this week, but you will never be forgotten and will always have a place in my
heart. This week, as so many of our campers are leaving, I was asked to start a
game called the "pebble game," where each camper in Pandora's Princesses is given a pebble to look after and a “target”. The aim of the game is to keep hold of the pebble and not let it out of your sight; otherwise, if you are someone's target and she catches you without the pebble, then you are out of the game!
It is a tricky game, as you have to be a little devious and make sure you carry your pebble around with
you wherever you go. Besides being fun and crafty, I feel that it teaches us a little more responsibility,
as we are constantly thinking about this object in the back of our minds.
For those who love to perform, we also had the Week 6 musical: the Muppets! It was so good to see that
two Pandora's Princesses were the lead roles of Miss Piggy and Kermit the frog! I love the amount of
talent in the division and the fact that even though some of the girls don't usually like to perform in
front of crowds through the school year, camp is a place where everyone can feel able to be a part of such
an amazing performance. Everyone who took part should be very proud of themselves for doing the
show and for being brave in front of hundreds of people.
I hope your weekend is restful and fun. Mel, the older girls' head counselor, and I will be running the
Warrior Dash for St. Jude Children's Hospital charity on Saturday in Morristown. I am so excited to do
it as it is for a great cause. Take a moment to think about something you can do for others this weekend.
All the best,
Gabby :)
Younger Girls Head Counselor
Princess Diaries
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Hey Camp!
Week 6 has come and left us as
quickly as the wind on a hot summer day. Heading in to the final
fortnight of Campus Kids 2013, it won’t be long
before we reminisce about the legendary week that
was Week 6. Week 6 saw the Muppets show, the
Apache Relay, the conclusion of the basketball
tournament, and a plethora of other fun things all
around camp. I like to think that these are the
things I’ll remember about Week 6, not my getting sick briefly or my subsequent allergic reaction
to penicillin. I know it’s been a great week when
my physical ailments come simply as an afterthought.
One of my favorite moments this week came during the super/duper lip-sync on Tuesday night. I
loved watching groups perform, and for the first
time, the Asgardians of East made me genuinely
laugh at their humor. Well done boys.
Looking forward, Weeks 7 and 8
promise to be a bittersweet ending to our incredible summer. I
bid a very fond farewell to all
those in Poseidon’s Fury who are
leaving us for good. Keep in
touch!
If you are coming back, get
ready for the epic ending to our legendary summer. Kevin Lakritz, Older Boys Head Counselor
Notes from the CK Office
Final Weekend Adventure
We’ve got only a couple of spots left for our final
Weekend Adventure, August 9-12. As always, our base
camp will be at Fairview Lake. Our day trip will be to
Mountain Creek Water Park. Let us know right away if
you are interested (campers entering 7th grade and older).
First come, first served. Complete info is at our website
Forms Library.
Melissa Maitland
Counselor for Athena’s Warriors
Feedback We love getting feedback about camp from
parents and campers and hope you will call or write at any
time with either positive or negative feedback. More formally, we’re going to be sending you a survey later in August that we hope you will send back. It will be a big help
as we begin to make our plans for next summer.
2014 We have two amazing weeks of the 2013 camp season left, but for those of you wanting to look ahead, camp
dates next summer will be June 23 to August 15. Special
“Priority Enrollment” materials will be sent soon to current
camp families. This is your chance to pay the lowest possible camp tuition and to secure your desired weeks before
we start accepting enrollments from new families.
Forms Library Don’t ever hesitate to call/write us with
questions, but also don’t forget that the “Forms Library” of
our website has lots of helpful information, including the
Reunion is December 8 Save the date.
comprehensive Parent Handbook.
It’s time to stop the music,
It’s time to turn off the lights,
Because we met all The Muppets in the incredible stage
version last night!
The Muppets was my favourite
movie of 2011 and yet, somehow, last night’s stage version of
it was even better! We were all
completely blown away with how
great everyone was. There was
singing, dancing, and of course,
acting. It was great to see The
Muppets played by humans; it was very surreal! A big
thank you to everyone who played their part in it, either on
stage or behind the scenes; it all came together perfectly
and made for a very enjoyable night.
The Eye Twins
In upstate New York, there was a normal couple,
Jay and Courtney. They had twins, Duke and Folsom. The twins were not what you call normal.
Duke had one eye and Folsom had three. Duke
was also abnormally large and Folsom was tiny.
Together they were made fun of every day and all
day long, but they didn’t let that stop them. Together they became known as the invincible force,
E.T. (Eye Twins):
Speaking of singing, there was a great rendition of "Build
Me Up Buttercup" performed by "The Fenrir Grayback
Junior Wolfpack" during dinner on Wednesday. This was
the result of their tense game of Deal or No Deal on Monday night. I know Kieran wanted to make a deal for the
double ice cream!
Besides The Muppets there were a lot of other non-felt
events this week. They Might Be Giants had a division
game of dodgeball during Wednesday's lunch bunk. The
camper vs. counsellor game was especially fun!
Camp was awash with a sea of colour this morning during
the camp wide Apache Relay. Four huge teams all competed across the entire campus to be crowned this year’s
winners! It was great seeing the teams, composed of
campers of all ages, come together to compete as one unified team. The half-court shot was the perfect way to end
it.
It's hard to believe that we are coming to the end of yet
another session, and even harder to believe we only have
one more left. For everyone that may be leaving us this
session, I would like to thank you for an incredible summer and for making our little home at Blair the greatest
place on earth!
Ste
Younger Boys Head Counsellor
TJ Martynowicz, Camper in the Men of Mars
Heyyyy Campus Kids!!!
My name is Sadie Jezierski and I am a second year staff
assistant on Team A. I cannot tell you how fast this summer is going and I wish it would just slow down!!! Next
week, the last session of the summer starts but it also
means that my favorite night of camp is coming up:
CAMPSTOCK!!!! Campstock is basically a camp-wide concert filled with various activities while campers and/or
counselors show off their talent on stage. Another event
that the last session of camp indicates is my trip to Minnesota. I play on various ultimate Frisbee teams throughout
the year and my club team during the summer goes to
Minnesota for Youth Club Nationals! This is where all the
best teams from all around the country come to see who
can be national champions. This will be my third time
going to this tournament and it keeps getting better and
better each year. I hope to receive a
gold medal at the end of it to top it
all off. Anyway, I hope everyone has
had an amazing time here at camp
and here's to the last session!
Sadie Jezierski
Team A Staff Assistant
Hi Everyone,
Six weeks have passed at camp, leading us into August and ending another spectacular session. The campus
was bustling with busy campers this week as performers learned their lines, athletes developed their skills,
and artists constructed masterpieces to decorate the theater. In addition to the fantastic disc golf, basketball, and archery tournaments taking place this week, all campers participated in an Apache Relay Event and
viewed or acted in the Muppets Musical. Both of these events asked campers of all ages to come together in
order to complete a challenge. Everyone did an amazing job of overcoming the various obstacles presented!
Learning how to handle challenges is a skill that takes both time and practice . While at camp
this session, I have seen campers confront problems and develop ways of addressing their
needs. This is a life skill that will last long after the summer is over, and I have been happy to
see these personal changes occurring during campers’ experiences here. I hope that as everyone completes their summer, both at and away from camp, they are able to continue to
build on the lessons they have learned while here.
Have an amazing weekend and I look forward to greeting faces both old and new on Monday!
Kimmie
Camper Support Coordinator
THE MAGIC YARN
Once there was a
young girl that was named
Lindsay. She just moved to
Alabama, and she was
nervous. Once she finally
got settled in, she had to
go to school. At her first
day, no one talked and some kids were
mean to her! She was so upset. When
she got home, she almost cried.
There is such a thing as “The
Magic Yarn Co.” It’s where they find kids
in need, and they send them a yarn. This
yarn is magical. It finds a solution to the
problem, and gives the kid advice.
One day late at night, Lindsay
woke up because she thought she heard
something. She saw a piece of yarn on
her stomach. “Shh, I am a magic yarn. I
am here to help you,” said the yarn.
Lindsay was stunned. They had a long
conversation ‘til Lindsay fell asleep.
In the morning, the yarn gave
Lindsay some advice, and she made
friends! She wasn’t very popular, but she
was happy. But no one took the best
friend spot that the yarn had to Lindsay.
The End
Jordyn
Camper
C was feeling lonely, and decided to hold a party. He called all his friends, but only A, M, P, U, S, K, I, and D were home. They
all came to C’s party, along with S’s twin.
C, A, M, P, U, and S were playing around with glue and got stuck together. K, I, D, and S’s twin got stuck also, but with tape.
Just then, Thomas Riddleberger came in and said, “That’s a million dollar idea.” Today, we marvel at how our beloved camp
came to be, all because of one party.
Jake Schapiro
Camper in the Men of Mars
Hey CK,
My name is Ryan Belline and I coordinate the
specialty programs here at CK. What a session it has been in the Ultimate Specialty program. We started out with skill building during
the first week and played a 4-on-4 mini tournament challenge. We then transitioned into the second week by working on more advanced skills and we had many special guests come
in from outside of Campus Kids. First, we had two players from the
Ultimate Frisbee NJ pro team, the Hammerheads. Eric and Joe
taught our campers a whole lot about throwing the disc. Then, we
had Anthony and Michelle, who are two coaches on the NY pro team,
the Rumble, come out and teach our campers how to get open and
timing. Our campers used these skills in a 4-on-4 challenge tournament and our full big game! It was great to see the skills of so many
of our campers, including our most improved award winning players
Matt and Ezra, our MVPs Eli and Jake, and our spirit award winners
Lloyd and Zach. Also, a big congrats to Connor for winning the second annual PDGA Blairstown Invitational Disc Golf Tournament. Also, a belated congrats to our previous Specialty Program
tournament winners, including Jane in Squash and Dan in Tennis. Ultimate is the last of the Specialty programs this year; I hope
we will see you at the Specialty programs next year!
Ryan Belline
Specialty Programs Coordinator
P.S. Tom, please note the proper use of the semicolon in the last
sentence! (Note from Tom: pretty good for a math teacher!)
Sometimes during the summer, as I observe our campers and
staff in action, I think back to my
first summers as a counselor and the
training I received. One teaching I
have never forgotten is the phrase
“love is time spent”. It was part of a
very old (even back then) 16mm film (remember those?) we were
shown during orientation.
The point was that kids most need the time of the important adults in their lives, in this case the counselor. “Quality
time” (a term not yet in use when that film was made) is not
enough to make up for “quantity time”. Our priorities are defined by the amount of time we spend with our children, and by
how much it appears that we want to be with them. The message is instantly clear to our kids.
A few special events on the calendar are not nearly as
effective as longer stretches of time together, even just
“hanging out”, where there are no other priorities (phones ringing, web pages being checked, texts, etc.).
Many years after that film was made, extensive re-
Courtney Barry, G5
search in youth development has shown us that the children who
grow up to be the happiest and most productive members of our
communities are those who had more than one adult in their lives
who prioritized them by spending time. Love — the message
that I care for YOU — is time spent.
Camp counselors actually have a job description based
on this concept. They have one priority: to spend time with
their campers. This is why counselors are such powerful role
models and why you’ll often hear your camper talk endlessly
about their favorite counselors.
Last week I described how camp counselors are learning skills that will make them good parents. This week I’d ask
you to think about learning from the powerful job description of
the camp counselor. Life is complicated and full, it’s true, but
maybe you can adjust your parental “job description” to spend
be more like a camp counselor’s. Find those blocks of time during which being together is the only thing that matters. Time is
so fleeting and precious. Let’s dedicate it to our children.
[email protected]
Almost everybody knows the story of Little
Red Riding Hood. But nobody knows that
Little Red had sisters. A whole lot of them!
They live in New Jersey and they heard of a
great summer camp right near their home.
The eight sisters decided to try this sleepaway camp. Two of Red’s sisters are older
and they decided to apply as counselors!
During orientation week the two sisters
named their sophomore group after their
sister. The bunk’s name will be called the
Little Red Riding Sisterhood. There are
eight happy little Reds at the best summer
camp in the world – Campus Kids! Little
Reds forever and always!
Mandi Lichtenstein
Camper in the Little Red Riding Sisterhood
Hey Everyone,
What a week! It was jammed packed full of excitement. It’s flown by because of all the tournaments, performances
and extra special games. Speaking of extra special games the older girls division had not one, but two, this week. First,
we started off with the spoon game starting on Monday and ending Friday just before announcements. It was one of
the most intense spoon games I’ve ever seen. I’d like to congratulate a few special ladies on their victories. The winner of the spoon game is Jill Lissner (she knocked out a record seven people!). The camper who was tough enough,
strong enough and persistent enough to catch me “Mel Hayes the best and most amazing person to ever play the
spoon game”: Emily Krouk. Well done my friend, well done. The other very exciting game the older girls got to play
this week was the Oracles Powderpuff Football Game. It was a very competitive game, where the winning team only
won by one touchdown in the final moment of the game. In the end, the purple team was victorious and edged out
the pink team by a score of 14 – 7. Hope you all had a great time this week! For those of you finishing your summer
away from camp, have an awesome rest of the summer and those of you coming back for weeks 7/8, cya Monday!
Prediction of the week: Gabby and Mel are going to be super warriors this weekend while they run their 5K Warrior
Dash!
Mel
Older Girls Head Counselor
PREDICTIONS FROM THE ORACLES
Hey guys! Hannah Emery here, reporting from a
rainy day in Insley! I’d like to report that the girls
of Insley made it through yet another early morning
wake up “call” today! The Oracles of Summer have
also made it through the annual Powderpuff football
game! This was my first time participating in the
game and I had a blast! Even though my team (GO
PINK!) lost, we still had a blast!
It’s sad to say that I’ll be losing half of my bunk
group this week, but I know we all had a blast and I
can’t wait to see what weeks 7 and 8 have in store
for us here at CKNJ! Well, that’s
all I’ve got for you guys this time!
-Hanney
Counselor for the Pixie Chix
THOUGHTS FROM JAMES
What a whirlwind week this had been. So many things have happened. I am sure you have read about the incredible things we have
done at camp this week. I want to touch on the magnificent performance of The Muppets the campers put on Thursday night. My heart
filled with joy watching the campers on stage dancing, singing,
and acting. The best part was seeing campers perform whom I
thought would not be interested in theatre or who would probably
never do theatre in their home communities. They tried just because
they were at camp. That’s one of the many powers of this place. You
can take those types of risks knowing that you have 100% support
from your community. I am happy to be a part of that type of community, even if it’s only for three months. We have so many things
coming up next session. Another play and Campstock!!!!! I hope you
all had a great week and a wonderful weekend.
James, Program Operations Director
Hi everyone ,
First a big thank you to everyone who helped make the set and decorations for the show this session. The
theater looked beautiful and set was perfect. This week in fine arts, we made sets, prints, and piggy banks,
tie dyed, painted landscapes, and illustrated songs. Advanced painting was amazing; the still lifes you created are astounding. Thank you to Kaitlyn and Claire for starting this club! It's been a very full week and a
perfect end to the session. Next session will be filled with new projects and even more shows. I hope you're
excited. To those of you who are leaving camp I hope you have a wonderful rest of
your summer.
Rose
Fine Arts Coordinator
P.S. Did you know that their is a play about the painter Rothko? It is called ”Red”. Rothko did abstract
paintings using color blocking. We will do a similar project next week!
P.P.S. How to wash your tie-dye
1. Rinse tie-dye in cold water until the water runs clear.
2. Dry your tie-dye in the drier. (This sets the dye so that it is less likely to fade)
3. Wash in cold water with nothing but other tie-dye, just in case there is any dye left to rinse out.
4. Dry again, and you are ready to go.
5. Now you can wash and wear your shirt like normal.
Bleach tie-dye should be rinsed and then washed separately so that you do not accidently
bleach any of your clothes!
P.P.P.S. Ceramics
If your ceramic piece was not fired but you brought it home with you, you should:
1. Put it in the sun and let it dry out completely. If it feels cold that means there is still water in it.
2. Paint your project or decorate it however you want. It will be a little fragile, but it will be a beautiful piece
of art.
If your ceramic creation was not glazed and fired, it is NOT safe to eat or drink out of, or to hold
any type of liquid. If you put water in it, it will crumble.
[_______] Shorts
By: Zach Blaifeder
"Ah!" screamed Roberto as he was eating delicious
chicken gyro, "It's a giant!" As soon as Roberto said
these horrifying words, the giant ate an eagle as it was
majestically flying through the sky. As it ate, the giant's red skin became redder because it was having an
allergic reaction to his food. All of a sudden, a cowboy suddenly appeared and rescued Roberto from the
wrath of the ferocious creature!
-----------------------------------------------------------------Bill the buffalo herdsman loves America. In fact, you
can even call him a patriot. Bill likes it when he goes
to baseball games and jets fly over the field after the
national anthem is sung. From the ice cold mountains
of Alaska, to crystal clear blue waters in Florida that
are teeming with dolphins, Bill is the biggest fan of
America there is.
HOW TO MAKE A CANDY STRIPE
FRIENDSHIP BRACELET
Step 1: Get three or more strings. I recommend four.
Step 2: Tie a knot and sort them into the
order you like.
Step 3: Take your first string, the one on
your far left. Make a four and go under
and pull it up. Do it twice on each string.
Step 4: Keep doing that all the way to the
end of the first row with the same color
string. Then pick the next
color and copy that.
Then you’re done!
Eva Yakushev
Camper
Read the “Sundial” sooner. This issue was published first online:
www.campuskids.com/readthesundial.htm
P.O. Box 369, Blairstown, NJ 07825