Hello from Maple Lake!
We have had an action- packed week full of amazing programming. After a meaningful pride Shabbat last weekend, our community seemed even closer as we began another new and exciting week at camp.
This week, we had a fantastic time participating in a Toy Story-themed Maccabiah. Campers showed excellent teamwork during the George Team Relay and lots of ruach as they cheered the day away! It’s always amazing to see campers form new connections with their teammates across all the age groups at camp. Special congratulations to the Red Team on their victory! We also hosted an arts inter-camp program with Camp Shalom while some of our Barak campers travelled to Camp Northland for a sports inter-camp.
This weekend, we are looking forward to the many community events that we are hosting. Earlier this afternoon, we welcomed members of our Steering Committee to camp to celebrate Shabbat with us. Tomorrow, we are welcoming Jewish educators and leaders for our annual Community Shabbat including Rabbi Josh Weinberg, President of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. Our CIT’s have been working hard to plan Shabbat limmudim and we look forward to seeing their leadership and teaching skills in action.
On Sunday, we look forward to welcoming family and friends for Visitor’s Day! We are very excited to share the magic of camp with so many community members.
Here’s a sneak peek at what our units have been up to:
Nitzotzot has had a fantastic week! They started the week with a fun paint fight where they learned to celebrate diversity and differences. They also worked together to rescue cabin garden gnomes that were “kidnapped”. Additionally, they had a blast participating in a program run by our Cornerstone fellow, where they completed storybook challenges.
Lehavot had an awesome week! They had fun dunking their staff in kid’s court and doing fun cabin bonding programs on bunk night! Today was Superhero Day where they spent time dressing up as heroes and creating cool comics! They also enjoyed Maccabiah and had fun doing various competitive arts and sports activities throughout the day!
Kochavim had an amazing week at camp! The girls camped out on their overnight trip while the boys enjoyed water polo Bunk Night! The boys and girls played a unit-wide game of Clue, solving a murder mystery by helping each other solve the puzzle. Kochavim also had a great time at Maccabiah and gave it their all in a full day of activities! We are sad to say l’hitraot (farewell) to some of the campers on Sunday, and the rest of us look forward to the last week of camp!
Barak had a wonderful week full of fun programs and cabin bonding activities! Bunk night was a hit, with cabins building forts and decorating cookies! Barak also took part in the first ever inter-camp with Camp Northland! Everyone came back smiling having had a great day playing sports and making new friends! We also welcomed back B8 and B1 from their canoe trip!
The CITs have had another busy week! Several CITs worked very hard assisting staff with the Mini Mensch program and got really good insight into how much work it can be to work as a counsellor! Furthermore, the CITs all helped plan and run an outstanding Maccabiah, where the entire camp had a great time! Finally, the CITs have been busy planning for this weekend’s Community Shabbat! They are all starting to realize the important role staff play at camp in ensuring an amazing time is had by everybody!
Click here to view “This Week at George.”
Looking forward to the week ahead, on Monday August 13th, Camp George will be participating in our Second Session B’libenu move-a-thon! Campers have the option of running or walking a 1km, 2.5 km or 5km route throughout camp. The goal behind this event is to emphasize the importance of healthy active living. In honour of our move-a-thon, we are asking you to sponsor your child(ren) by making a donation to support health and wellness at camp. You can make a donation online by going to https://campgeorge.org/give/health-and-wellness/. Your tax-deductible charitable donation will be directed towards our new Health and Wellness Centre. Connecting to health and wellness within our global community, a portion of the proceeds will also be donated to Save A Child’s Heart, an Israeli based organization that provides free lifesaving surgeries to children in developing countries. We were thrilled to raise over $2500 last session as a result of this event.
You can also support your camper by Tweeting messages of support by using the hashtag – #CGblibenu2018. Please Tweet on Monday August 13th by 1PM, so that we can share your Tweets on our screen in the dining hall at lunchtime! Thank you in advance for your support!
This last last week of camp, we are excited about:
- The camper play – “Into the Woods”
- Kochavim boys overnight
- Camper banquet
- The last Barak canoe trip
- Our final Shabbat of Summer 2018!
- And more!
Wishing you a wonderful Shabbat.
Jeff Rose
Director