The Hi-Hills Herald July 12, 2013
Issue #3
Top News at Hi-Hills Day Camp!
Upper Bunk Campouts at Hi-Hills Campers Celebrate Planet Earth Week
Hi-Hills celebrated the great outdoors this past week as part of our planet earth theme. Campers explored the Peapack Brook in search of salamanders, fish and other creatures during their nature sessions. In music, they sang songs from classic planet earth themed films such as The Lion King and Pocahontas. We even hosted a Pony Camp enrichment program where campers learned all about horse grooming and riding techniques. But most importantly, the Upper Bunk girls and boys had their annual campouts this week. The kids enjoyed some afternoon time
Celebrating our 46th Summer!
Table of Contents:
in the pool, a hearty BBQ and even got to play some games beneath the stars. The ground was too wet for tents this year, but the campers had a blast spending the night in Evans Hall.
Note from Camp Director
On Friday, we continued our planet earth theme with a winter wonderland dress-up day. As always, our campers met the occasion in style.
Program News
With week three officially at a close, HiHills Day Camp is looking forward to next week’s theme: the arts! We have some great activities planned for campers to express their creative sides.
Athletics 11
Bunk Updates
2 3-6
Birthdays This Week
7
Dates to Remember
8
8-10
Upcoming Dress Days 11 Featured Recipe 11 Kinder Camp 11 Trivia Winners 12 Counselors in Training 12 Teen Travel 12 Special Events 12
Gill St. Bernard’s School, 25 St. Bernard’s Road, Gladstone, NJ Phone: 908-234-0067 • Fax: 908-234-1611 • Email: info@hihills.com hihills.com • www.facebook.com/hihills
te o N A ur o m fro Camp rs to c e r i D
Hello Hi-Hills!
Dear Hi-Hills,
There is nothing much better than the experience of campout at Hi-Hills. The whole camp rallies together to prepare for this event. Supervisors take charge of logistics, counselors take care of games and activities, and the directors take care of ensuring the parents that their campers will be fine. For many this is their first sleepover experience and it is completely understandable that both campers and parents have many questions and a slight case of nervousness. Hi-Hills campouts for 2013 created many wonderful memories, bonded many friendships and tired out campers and staff alike. By week three the camp is in its groove. Watching new friendships grow and listening to the giggles and laughter amongst counselors and campers is one of the many joys of camp. Friday was a day of performance, from our IMTE theatre production in the morning to our CITs competing for the best presentation to the owners of Well Bred, to the hilarious skit by the boys in Bunk 9 and the well-choreographed moves by the girls in Bunk 18. Enjoy the articles below to learn more of these events from week 3. Have a great weekend!
Jack, Cindy and Beth
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 1: Miss Kathleen’s and Miss Monica’s F ishies We were so excited to meet new friends in Bunk 1 this week. Brendon loved adventuring with Mr. Nature into the stream. Brooke has started to become more comfortable in tennis, and she is really hitting the ball. Fiona has been following Mr. Ben’s instructions during martial arts and she has now formed a perfect punch. Peyton has turned into a fish in the swimming pool — when she first arrived she would not put her head under water. Quinn has all the dance routines down with Ms. Diana. Logan has connected with Mr. Marc the yoga instructor, and is learning some breathing techniques. Taylor made a coil pot in pottery and she can’t wait to take it home and show it off. Penny Rose’s favorite thing to do at camp is to run through the Splash Pad over and over again.
Bunk 2: Miss Stefanie’s and Miss Erin’s Leopards This week the pack of leopards grew to 14! We had so much fun with our new and familiar friends. Brendan and Zachary had perfect aim in tennis. Annabelle and Daniel C. showed their sporty side playing “clean up your room” in athletics. Neil and Zach practiced their singing voices for the upcoming Garden Party in music. Finnley and Barrett transformed into awesome robots in dance. Ariana and Angela rolled perfect snakes for their coil pots in pottery. Daniel A. and Anthony worked on their breathing techniques in yoga. Jasper and Alex loved catching fish in the stream with Mr. Nature. We’ve enjoyed spending time with our leopards and can’t wait for next week!
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 9: T igersharks It has been a very exciting week for Bunk 9. The campers tried their best at everything and had fun while doing it. This week the Tigersharks participated in Leagues, the fun and competitive sports program here at camp. The campers learned more about nature during a trip to the stream, where several campers even caught some fish! Above all, the kids enjoyed yoga and tennis. Week three was a fun one for the fierce Tigersharks of bunk nine. -Matt and Pat
Bunk 10: T he Rockin’ Chatterboxes We’re proud to announce that this has been the best week of camp so far! Marie and Cassidy worked hard to memorize their lines for our camp production of The Wizard of Oz! Sophia, Allie, Campbell, Lea and Bella spent time at Nature Club exploring in the stream and walking the camp goats. Rebecca and Schuyler, cooked up some delicious creations in Cooking Club while Ellie and Salina showed their crafty side in arts and crafts! Isabel challenged the boys in “gaga” and showed everyone what it really means to play like a girl! -Bridget and Emily
Bunk 11: T he Grumpy Giants The Grumpy Giants had a great time during planet earth week. Phil performed some outstanding and impressive positions and stretches during yoga class with Marc. We’re proud that Tyler tried out a lot of new foods at lunch — he even liked many of them! Meanwhile, Nick has been having a blast at theatre camp. We’re all looking forward to next week! -Taylor and Paul
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 12: Beautiful Brave Butterflies We are super proud of our girls. Our bunk won the Spirit Stick at the first annual Camp Cheer-Off! We are hoping to keep the streak going at this week’s Council Ring. Amanda and Sophia are having a blast in Nature Club. They loved walking the goats and discovering what critters live in the stream. “Chef” Anna created some fantastic dishes in Cooking Club. She even brought some back to share with her bunk. The Beautiful Brave Butterflies are continuing to make lasting camp memories! -Jen and Jamie
Bunk 13: T he Fantastic Fury Week three brought the campers in Bunk 13 closer together than ever! On Tuesday, we went on a fishing trip to the lake with Em and we tied the camp record by catching five fish! Afterward, most of the group stayed around for the Upper Bunk campout, where we had a blast grilling burgers and hot dogs by the pool, watching a movie inside with ice cream sundaes and playing some thrilling manhunt in the moonlight. -Ben and Cory
Bunk 14: T he Sugar Rush We sent a lot of permission slips home this week. First we had our fishing trip, where the girls tried to beat out the camp record. That same night was the girl’s Upper Bunk campout. There were 24 of us! We danced, played field games, took a dip in the pool and watched a movie. Once we hit the sleeping bags the girls were worn out. Our campers really showed their competitive sides in Leagues. The four girls’ teams have been competing three times each week in soccer, tennis-baseball and basketball. They should be bringing home their team T-shirts next week. -Nancy, Megan and Jen
Bunk Upda tes Bunk 17: T he Chicken F ingers The Chicken Fingers had a fantastic week of camp. We had a great time at campout despite the ominous skies. Throughout the week, our bunk enjoyed participating in “gaga,” ultimate frisbee, drama and art. Some of our favorite activities from the week included yoga and tennis led by instructor Marc. We look forward to another great week next week and hope parents will be able to attend the parent luncheon on Wednesday, July 17. -RJ and Mike
Bunk 18: Powerpuff Girls The Powerpuff Girls enjoyed their overnight campout adventure this week! We played in the pool, enjoyed a tasty cookout and topped off the night with some ice cream sundaes. We played games outside and even watched a movie together in Evans Hall. The girls’ next adventure was our fishing trip with Em! Welcome to our newcomers this week: Erin, Meg, Ava, Daria, Roxy and Elizabeth. Until next time, spread the sugar and spice! -Dylan, Katie and Maria
Bunk Photos are now online and available to download!
Birthdays T his Month July 3rd: Christine Rosato
July 11th: Robert Bellina
July 4th: Joshua Monto
July 13th: Connor Udoff
July 5th: Lindsay Frucci
July 15th: Alexander Cohen
Benjamin Sturman July 21st: Kira Bringemeier July 7th: Emma Cullen Mary Young
July 26th: Eleanor Lee
July 8th: Julia Spinelli
July 27th: Rebecca Fernandez July 29th: Carter Klein July 30th: Emma Torkelson
Tuesday, July 16: Picture Day
Mark Your Calendar Dates to r! e b m e m e R
- be sure to wear your camp shirt! Wednesday, July 17 at 11:45 a.m: Parent Luncheon T hursday, July 18 at 2:00 p.m: Kinder Camp Garden Party
Program News Dance
This week in dance we continued to review the dances and techniques we’ve learned in previous weeks. In Drama Club we also worked on the choreography for several of the dance numbers invovled in the camp play, The Wizard of Oz. We’ve had so much fun dancing our hearts out together! -Diana
Yoga and Tennis
Earth week and our winter wonderland dress-up day have helped to temper the heat on GSB’s beautiful grounds. There was abundant action in tennis with “king of the court,” “survivor island,” and the staff favorite: “thunderballs!” We worked on proper scoring of games and stressed the importance of footwork. Meanwhile, campers proudly explored the practice of yoga in a gentle, safe environment. Whether it’s the Super Hero, The Surfer, The Dancer or The Cricket pose, we always try to have fun. -Marc
Program News Fishing
The weather this week was cloudy and overcast with drops of rain — great fishing weather! Bunk 14 rose to the occasion at Sunrise Lake. Before lunch, they had used up all their worms and made 15 catches. I rushed into the woods for more worms, and by the end of the day the bunk had caught 36 fish! Next week, Bunks 17 and 18 will finish out this round of the fishing derby. The campers, counselors and CITs have been great to work with, and fishing has been fun for everyone. -Em
Archery and Ultimate
“Safety first” is the motto over at archery. After reviewing range safety rules, campers practiced their accuracy and played games to see who could score the most points with five arrows. I also led the campers in a few fast paced rounds of ultimate, where we went over disc-handling skills.
-Eliott
Nature
Nature continues to be exciting. The campers searched the Peapack Brook for salamanders, fish and insect life. They even managed to catch a few specimens! We explored the concept of echolocation by playing a game called “bats and moths.” Next week we will explore the Gill garden to pick vegetables. In the Upper and Lower Bunks we fed and walked our two camp goats, Mocha and Caramel. We also took a nature hike! After parent luncheon on Wednesday, please feel free to stop by the nature cabin to visit the animals! -Mr. Nature
Program News Arts and Crafts
This week, I helped the campers design their own T-shirts for their Leagues teams. The kids were so enthusiastic and creative as they worked on their projects. We also made tie-dye T-shirts, another camp favorite. I had such a great time helping the campers express their creativity, and I can’t wait until next week! -Johnny
Music
This week in music I taught the campers about time signatures and the names and values of different notes. We listened to “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas, and “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King. While listening to the songs, the campers wrote down key words having to do with nature and Mother Earth. We all wrote our own nature songs using those words. At the end of class, each camper and counselor read or sang his or her song for others! -Stefanie
Martial Arts
This week in martial arts we practiced our horse riding stance punches, our front snap kicks, and our roundhouse kicks. Campers then enjoyed practicing their forward rolls and cartwheels, each ending up in a strong fighting stance and an even stronger kick. At the request of many campers, we also learned how to do a kick-up, a creative way to flip up from the ground into a standing position. -Ben
g n i m o c Up ays D s s e r D
July 19th Smurfs
Weekly Featured Recipe:
s c i t e l h t A Corner
From Dan
Cup of Dirt 1 box chocolate Jello pudding 1 sleeve Oreo cookies 1 bag of gummy worms 1 container of Cool Whip 1. Mix together equal parts Cool Whip and chocolate pudding 2. Add gummy worms to “mud” 3. Crush up Oreo cookies and sprinkle on top to make the “dirt”
Greetings from Kinder Camp Next Thursday July 18 at two o’clock, we will host our annual Kinder Camp Garden Party! The children have been working so hard on their songs, and they’re very excited to sing them for you. If your child is enrolled in the half day program, he or she is welcome to stay for the afternoon. If your child does not usually attend camp on that day, you can still celebrate with us and enjoy some cake and ice cream. Everyone is invited!
The Upper and Lower Bunk campers enjoyed another camp favorite this week, “bounce-and-score,” with several of the three-game series going down to the wire. Kinder Camp took part in more fitness Skillastics along with various relay races early in the week. The “camp rookies” later played a massive game of “clean up your room.” Over the next few weeks, campers will continue to explore the brand new “allvolley tennis,” while getting reacquainted with an old favorite in the alwayschallenging “Alaskan baseball.” We’ll also address several skills and drills associated with the all-important Leagues program. -Marc and John
ia v i r T y l k Wee Winners
Monday - Elizabeth Traver, Gavin Leung Tuesday - Dylan Beers, Emma Torkelson Wednesday - Ryan Bullet, Andrew F illipelli T hursday - Madison Gesualdo, Julia Spinelli Friday - Cassidy Gesualdo, Christian Tenoriello
rs in Counselo Training
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Teen Travel
Teen Travel really pulled out all the stops with our trips this week. We started off by venturing to Times Square to check out the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Odditorium. We also had a blast at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom. Keeping to the amusement parks theme, we took a drive out to Six Flags Great Adventure and enjoyed exploring all the great rides. Just a reminder: the campers are leaving next Monday for Club Getaway in Kent, Connecticut, a week-long trip. -Jim
Special Events!
This week at camp we hosted our annual Upper Bunk campouts. The boys’ campout took place on Tuesday night, and the girls’ campout took place on Thursday night. Campers enjoyed a hot dog and hamburger BBQ (followed by ice cream), and took part in some special campout activities before rolling out their sleeping bags in Evans Hall.