Personal Message
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Shalom Y'all Welcome to Week 5!
Our second session and 5th week of Camp welcomed many new campers into our JCC Camps at Medford family, just in time for Israel Week! All of our camps, led by our 2 shlichot (Israel emissaries), had awesome Israel Day celebrations, and visits by rocker Sheldon Low and the Israeli Scouts were great treats too! Besides Israel Week, our campers were busy with their various activities and are having a great time. With Ruach (Spirit) Week coming next week, as well as lots more to come, the rest of the summer will be a great one! Click here to download the Ruach Week Flyer!
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to complete our mid-season questionnaires - they have come back very positive, with some great ideas on how to get even better! If you have not yet completed it and sent it in, you may still do so.
It is not too late to extend your camper's stay with us by adding weeks. Please contact Pam Parker, Camp Registrar at pparker@jfedsnj.org, or at the Camp office, 609 654-5192, to arrange this.
Have a great weekend - Shabbat Shalom!
Aaron Greenberg Deena Sherman
Director Associate Director
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 Meet the Shlee-khot (feminine word for Shleekheem, or emissaries, from Israel)
Once again the JCC Camps at Medford is hosting wonderful young people from Israel, who bring a sense of pride and enthusiasm in sharing their love of Israel with our campers, staff and camp families. They worked tirelessly this week to bring that love of Israel to our campers for our Israel Week! Here is a little bit about each of them:
Rony Nava (Camp Shalom): Rony, almost 21, is from Hod Hasharon, near Tel Aviv. She completed her military service last December and the next day embarked on a journey through Asia. Rony has two older siblings and a German Shepherd, works as a waitress, and volunteers at an organization for children with Down Syndrome. An aspiring singer-songwriter, Rony brings her guitar to camp. She loves to travel and spend time at the beach with friends. Rony has visited the U.S. a few times but always for a short period, so she is very excited to be spending the entire summer at camp. Hadar Daniel (Camp Aaron): Hadar will celebrate her 22nd birthday at camp and has spent her whole life in Ramat Gan, next to Tel Aviv, except for a year in Toronto during high school. Hadar served three years in the Intelligence Corps, earning the rank of Lieutenant. She has an older brother and loves to travel, building connections with new friends along the way. Hadar will study Law and Accounting at Tel Aviv University beginning in October. She worked at the JCC Camp in Albuquerque last summer and wanted to experience the East Coast this time around, so she is thrilled to come to Medford. |
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 Hilltop Happenings: Israel Week!
Israel Week was sababa (awesome)! Early in the week we enjoyed the performance of the Israeli Scouts, and that night some campers joined the Scouts on stage gave us and sneak preview of our show "You've Got a Friend in Me" at the JCC Music Fest. The big show will be performed at the Katz JCC on Thursday, August 11th.
Our Shlichot Rony and Hadar created an amazing Israel Day Experience. We danced the hora, learned Israeli Hip Hop, ate an edible map of Israel, made Israeli flags to decorate the pavilions, and got a good work out while participating in an Israeli Army boot camp including running through an obstacle course and practiced calisthenics. We had a "taste of Israel" in Kosher Cooking with an Israeli sampler consisting of Israeli salad, hummus, pita bread and couscous, how delicious! Our Little Scientists discovered that the water in the Dead Sea is different from regular drinking water and even the ocean, and experimented with salt and water to get their eggs to float. So cool! In Gan Yeladim we learned about Israeli artist Yaakov and we replicated a Star of David by making a "sand mosaic."
Wednesday, Anaf/Bayit families enjoyed our last visiting day - thank you for joining us and sharing the fun! Also on Wednesday, our Geza/Elon skate party at ISC was a blast. On Tuesday, August 2nd the Anaf/Bayit skate party will take place at ISC in Cherry Hill - bring your child and the whole family for a night of fun! To end the rockin' week, Sheldon Low joined us for Shabbat, what a treat!
Shabbat Shalom! See you next week! |
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 Sizzlin' in Shalom
The excitement continued during Week 5 as the entire camp celebrated Israel Week. Campers enjoyed a variety of activities throughout the week designed to give them a taste of the customs and history of Israel. The highlight of Israel Week was Camp Shalom's designated "Israel Day" on Wednesday. The campers created mezuzahs in Arts and Crafts, Israeli flags with frosting and graham crackers and a friendship banner between our campers and our Israeli ambassadors, Rony and Hadar.
In Cooking, we squeezed oranges and made fresh orange juice and homemade pita. The campers also learned many new Israeli dances. On our sports field we held our very own Israeli Defense Force obstacle course.
Haifa and Eilat had a super late stay on Tuesday! Our last (but not least) late stay is this coming Wednesday for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. We finished off the week with a fabulous concert performed by Sheldon Low. We look forward to next week's Ruach Spirit Week !
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 Amazing in Camp Aaron
Week 5 was another exciting week here at Camp Aaron! Israel Week got off to a great start with campers exiting their buses to the sounds of Israeli dance music blaring in the bus yard. We were treated to a wonderful performance from the Israeli Scouts on Tuesday that kept us humming their catchy tunes throughout the day. A falafel lunch on Wednesday got us eating like the Israelis, as many of us discovered a newfound liking of falafel and hummus. Friday was an Israeli themed day with special events all day coordinated by our very own Shlichot.
Arad campers were psyched to have their overnight on Thursday night with tons of fun and plenty of socializing. The directors of Chai Lifeline visited us on Thursday morning and invited campers to participate in a ChaiLifeline Swimathon next Friday to benefit Camp Simcha, an overnight camp for children with cancer. Next week as part of Ruach Week, campers will be swimming laps and seeking pledges to support Camp Simcha. Check out the flyer your camper is receiving for further details.
As another week flies by, we look forward to Ruach Week. Also, our Sleep-a-Weekers are anxiously packing their duffels for next week away at NJ Y Camps. We'll miss them, but look forward to hearing all their exciting stories upon their return.
Have a great Camp Aaron weekend!
Shabbat Shalom!
Dina Greenblatt
Camp Aaron Director
Campaaron@jfedsnj.org
609 654-5192 x112
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 Chaverim
Here we go again!
We welcomed new campers to Chaverim, and our Week 5 included trips to Atsion Lake, Funplex, Roller Skating, Hurricane Harbor and the Philadelphia Zoo. We recharged our batteries in advance of next week's trips to Blackbeard's Cave, Baltimore Harbor, Splashzone Wildwood, Dorney Park and the Flyers Skate Zone! Lots more to come, as we look ahead to our week 8 and our trip south to Virginia! ! |
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 Gesher Gab
This week included an exciting trip, fun days to celebrate the great state of Israel, and a cool concert. At Sahara Sams, we relaxed on the lazy river, got the rush of speeding down the water slides, and enjoyed riding the waves on the challenging experience that is Flow Rider. In the days following the trip, we enjoyed Israeli dancing, food, and some of Israel's challenging and exciting outdoor activities. To cap off this awesome week, we saw the amazing performance of Sheldon Low. Our CITs got their groove on at this electric concert.
Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
609-654-5192 x109
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Jewish Heritage Night at the Phillies!
Join Camp, the Katz JCC and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey at Jewish Heritage Night at the Phillies - Thursday, August 18.
The game is sold out but we have a limited number of tickets available at our cost of $30 each. To purchase tickets:
1) Email: hherron@jfedsnj.org to confirm they are available
2) Once confirmed, send or drop off a check in an envelope to the JCC, attention Holly Herron
3) Tickets will be sent to you by mail or by Camp bus.
Click here to view the flyer |
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