News from Pinemere Camp

ePinemerit Newsletter

May 2011

From the Executive Director

Dear Pinemere Families,

I can't believe that in a few short weeks, we will be closing our Philadelphia office and heading up to our summer home! We are looking forward to an awesome summer. Wait until you see some of the surprises we have in store for you.

It has been a very exciting spring. I just got back from Israel where I was training our Israeli mishlachat. We have another amazing group of Israeli shlichim. We have six new shlichim, two new Tzofim (Scouts) and our own Halel Moran is returning for his second summer. This summer, Halel will be the Line Unit Leader, but he promises to continue to play his saxophone for us. In addition to Halel, let me introduce you to our wonderful new shlichim (see the picture below):

Adi Bar HaLevi (waterfront), Shahar Brukner (waterfront), Ofir Chananovits (dance), Amit Goldstein (Israel culture - a new position in camp), Aya Inbar (arts and crafts), Nitzan Klein (Scout - not pictured), Maayan Levy (Scout - not pictured) and Rotem Shpigler (Outdoors). This group is very talented and has lots of great ideas for camp this summer. Please join me in giving them a big Pinemere welcome.

We are so excited about our new sports program this summer. The upgrades to our sports fields will all be ready to go by the time you arrive in June. And, we are offering incredible new clinics this summer led by talented coaches and teachers. Don't forget to send your registration in for them as soon as possible.

We are still accepting applications for the summer season. Special first time camper incentives are still available through onehappycamper.org. Our SPARK and Pioneer programs are filling up, so please urge your friends and family members to sign up soon for these short-term programs that are a great introduction to overnight camp.

As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Start the countdown! Only 37 more days until camp starts!!
See you very soon!

Think Camp!

Toby Ayash

Executive Director

In This Issue

Meet our Unit Leaders

Welcome Israeli Staff

Clinic Signup Underway

Pinemere Welcomes...

Rick Recht & New Pinmere Website

Israel Day this Sunday

Camp Trunk/Duffle Delivery

Quick Links

Pinemere Website

Pinemere on Facebook
Email Toby Ayash

Email Ezra Androphy
Email Ann Selkow

Meet our 2011 Unit Leaders

We are thrilled to introduce our Unit Leaders for this summer!

Row (girls entering grades 3-6) - Mandy Krader

Hi everyone! My name is Mandy, and I am going to be spending my 7th year at Pinemere this summer. I am currently a senior at NYU, and I cannot wait to get out of the city and back to Stroudsburg, PA. I have been everything from a babysitter to an RA at school, so being the Row Unit Leader this summer will be a natural step for me. A few things about me: I love camp, and my favorite place has always been by the pool. I love cheese toasties, reading, and playing capture the flag. My favorite band is Vampire Weekend, and my favorite movie is Waitress. I took a little break from Pinemere the past few summers, but I am back and excited for summer 2011!

Line (boys entering grades 3-6) - Halel Moran

Hi Pinemere, my name is Halel Moran. I live in Tel Aviv and I teach both Music and Math. I am 24 years old and have a degree in Music. I have been teaching and tutoring for many years and am very interested in and attracted to this field. I play saxophone and piano and work as a musician. I was a music instructor last year at Pinemere and I am looking forward to my new position this year. A funny fact about me is that I don't eat purple onions because I have a problem with their color. I'm looking forward to this summer and very excited to come back!

Hilltop (girls entering grades 7-9) - Elana Friedman

I am looking forward to returning to camp this summer, since I spent 17 wonderful summers growing up as a camper and staff member at other Jewish camps. I am currently a first-year rabbincal student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and I also teach at a couple of synagogues in Philadelphia. I have an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and afterwards I worked in the environmental campaign arena, working to bring about social and environmental change. When not studying, I am a lover of all games and sports (I am currently working on my knock-out skills to prepare for the summer), playing guitar, Israeli dancing, cooking, making short films, and biking. Most importantly, I am very excited to have a ton of fun this summer with everyone at Pinemere!

Village (boys entering grades 7-9) - Aaron Singer

2011 will be my 12th summer spent at Pinemere Camp. From a young camper in Bunk 7 to being Village Unit Leader for a 3rd straight year, I have enjoyed every summer since 2000 at Pinemere. This past year I graduated from the University of South Carolina and in the fall I will be attending graduate school at the University of Central Missouri, where I'll be a graduate assistant for Intramural Sports. I'm excited for the summer of 2011 for all the new programs, work projects, and especially Village Day 2011!

Welcome to our Israeli Staff

2011 Israeli Shlichim

Lying on the ground: Rotem Shpigler

First row (L-R): Ofir Chananovits, Amit Goldstein, Shahar Brukner

Standing (L-R): Toby Ayash, Aya Inbar, Halel Moran, Adi Bar Halevy

Forms, Forms, Forms...

As a reminder, to access all camper forms you must log in on our website.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to all deadlines.

CLICK HERE to log in to your account.

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Signup for 2011 Clinics is Underway!

Clinic Information has now been sent out via mail and email to all camp families enrolled in one or both sessions. We are excited to be offering many new clinics this summer, in addition to returning favorites like Tennis, Basketball, and Lacrosse.

New clinics for 2011 include:

Horseback Riding

Golf

Wilderness Survival

CircusYoga (read the flyer to find out what this means!)

Woodworking

Soccer

Softball

Football

Don't get shut out - sign up now! (You can print another copy of the sign up sheet at any time by logging into your online account)

Welcome to the Pinemere Family!

The following NEW campers registered in the past month for the Summer of 2011!

We are so excited to welcome them to the Pinemere Family, and are looking forward to the enthusiasm all our new campers will bring to Pinemere this summer!

Danielle Berkowitz

Justin Greene

Sydney Harris

Josh Jaffe

Elijah Kutz

Sammy Lehrich

Eliana Mandelker

Ethan Randazzo

Ethan Rappaport

Rowan Short

Gabe Tamarkin

Dahlia Ufberg

Yael Velvel

Danny Wax

Sam Webber

Rick Recht and a new Pinemere Website?!?

Two very exciting announcements--

We are thrilled to share with you that Rick Recht, the top-touring Jewish rock musician around, will be returning to Pinemere on July 30 to perform for our campers and staff. It has been a few years since Rick was last with us, and we are thrilled to feature his concert this summer!

What does this have to do with a new Pinemere website? Well, we have been a hard at work on a new, modern, Pinemere website that will be both appealing and easy to navigate. One of the features on our new website will be the Jewish Rock Radio Portable Player, an internet radio station which will give you 24/7 free access to the best of Jewish rock music today. This station will feature the music of Rick Recht, Sheldon Low (who performed at Pinemere in 2009 and 2010), and many others.

Look for an announcement in the near future when our new website goes live!

SPARK/PIONEERS Short-term Programs

Please share with any friends who may be interested in our exciting short-term programs for first-time campers.

In addition, we have tours of camp at 2 PM on Sundays, July 3, 10, and 31.

Visit Us/Volunteer at Philly's Israel Day Celebration

Any campers or staff interested in volunteering at the Pinemere booth, please contact Ezra at ezra@pinemere.com ASAP. To everyone else, please stop by our booth and say hi!