Ropes Course and Fun in the Rain

Bogrim and a counselor during Bogrim day

After a peaceful and refreshing Shabbat, it's time to resume the normal camp schedule. Today was another exciting day with the Bonim (post-8th graders) on the high ropes course and the Bogrim (post-9th graders) having Bogrim Day. Bogrim Day is a special day for the eldest group of campers (chanichim) where they bond and learn about leadership. We are very proud of them! At the high ropes course, the Bonim jumped off the zip line, climbed the giant's ladder with a partner, and more. Before getting on the course itself, Dave, our ropes and hiking specialist taught safety calls and procedures and played fun team-building games with the chanichim.

Bonim mud fight

Each morning, we teach a useful Hebrew word of the day after a funny skit performed by a few counselors (madrichim). Today's word was omanut (אמנות), meaning art. We use this word nearly every single day-- our arts and crafts building is called the Beit Omanut (בית אמנות).

After lunch, it began to rain, but that didn't stop the fun! For the afternoon age group activity (peulat shichva bet), the Bonim played games and had a mud fight, while the Amelim (post-third and fourth graders) made tasty chocolate chip cookies. The Tzophim (post 7th graders) had an activity in which they traced their cultural origins using yarn on a large map of the world and practiced their Israeli dance (rikud) for Kabbalat Shabbat this Friday.

Tzophim with their world map

Shabbat at Galil

Today is our first Shabbat as a whole camp (machaneh), and the spirit of Shabbat is almost palpable. This morning we had extended work time (avoda) and bunk cleaning time (nikayon tsrif) to make machaneh spotless for Shabbat. Afterwards the junior counselors (madatzim) ran some great activities (peula) covering subjects like understanding and valuing one another, trust, and gender equality.

Before lunch on Fridays, we have a special singing time (shira), where age groups (shchavot) compete with each other to go to lunch first; some even dress up to try to impress the judges. The kitchen staff prepares a large and varied pizza buffet, which campers (chanichim) on dining duty (toranut) serve. After lunch chanichim gathered at the basketball court to play or spectate the game of the week (mischak hashavua), basketball.

As Shabbat approaches, everyone washes up and puts on their nicest clothing and splits into groups to reflect about the week (mishpachot). This week, the Bonim (post-8th graders) ran kabbalat Shabbat, a performance including a Hebrew song and an Israeli dance. They sang "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield, Shabbat BaBoker (Shabbat Morning) and danced Yakalelo. Finally, after some singing, Shabbat dinner begins, and everyone digs into a classic meal of chicken and matzo ball soup.

Amelim dressing up for shira

Bonim getting picked first to go to lunch

Take a Tour of Galil This Summer!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging for a quick reminder that our first day of summer tours will be this Sunday, June 30th at 11am.

Galil has never looked better...and a big part of that is thanks to the 200 smiling campers running around camp!  Summer is the best time to see Galil in action for any of your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, or fellow synagogue members that may be considering camp for 2nd session or future summers.

Please help us spread the word about our upcoming tours!  If there is someone who you think would love Galil as much as you do, let us know!

RSVP to Ilana Goldfus, Assistant Director at (609) 558-1395 or ilana@campgalil.org.

We will also be hosting tours on Sunday, August 4th at 11am.  If neither date works, please contact Ilana to set up an alternate time to visit Galil this summer.

Kupa Trip

Today, everyone woke up early to get ready for Kupa Trip! Kupa Trip is the day when we leave camp (machaneh) for a fun adventure like a movie, water park, or bowling. This year, after bagel breakfast, we embarked on our trip to The Funplex, a water park and arcade. Campers got to play lasertag, go bowling, and play minigolf, and of course go on rides together; the older chanichim could go on bumper cars or go karts. Luckily, there was great weather, so there was a variety of activities to do, including the rollercoaster and classic arcade games.

We set up camp and ate lunch in a tented pavilion before applying sunscreen and heading out into the water park. Everyone enjoyed the water ride section, which included a variety of both wet and dry rides. Every few hours, we reconvened to drink water and reapply sunscreen from their fun in the sun. Another favorite was the XD Theater in the arcade, where chanichim interacted with a virtual reality video game. We returned in the afternoon for dinner and an age-group night time activity (tochnit erev lefi shichva).

Keep checking back with the blog, remember if you have any mail, send it to:
Name - Shichva (age group)
146 Red Hill Road
Ottsville, PA 18942

Hogwarts Sports comes to Galil

Today was another beautiful day, and everyone rushed out to the flagpole (toren) to greet the morning sun. The Bogrim (post-9th graders) came back from their camping trip (tiyul) in the Poconos, where they had a lot of fun. They cooked their own food, hiked around a lake and bonded.

The flagpole around which we congregate and sing every morning and evening

This year, the sports program at Galil has been revamped. The sports specialists split the campers (chanichim) into “Hogwarts houses,” which compete in many different sports, including ultimate frisbee, basketball, soccer, and dancing.

Basketball

Running

Dance

The Amelim (post 3rd and 4th graders) learned about Israel and the Bedouins as they baked their own pita.The Chotrim (post 5th graders) had an activity (peula) about kibbutzim in Israel and the history of the

An amela with her madatz (junior counselor) making pita.

founders of Israel (chalutzim).The Sayarim (post 6th graders) participated in the Sayalympics, the Sayarim olympics; they participated in physical challenges.The Tzofim (post 7th graders) questioned the values of hierarchies and learned about human equality.The Bonim (post-8th graders) learned Hebrew and English songs and an Israeli dance.The Bogrim (post-9th graders) discussed issues of marriage equality and human rights.The Madatzim (junior counselors) began their Madatz project, building new tree-benches. They also planned activities (peulot) for chanichim they work with.

The madatzim with their treebench project

Funducation in Galil Peulot

Today was beautiful, so we took advantage of the perfect weather for our first day of sports. After washing up, our kitchen staff (tzevet mitbach) treated us to a tasty outdoor barbecue lunch, with some incredible french fries.

At Galil, one of the keystones of our day is the age-group activity (peulat shichva). Our counselors run a wide array of peulot for campers (chanichim), ranging from team-building to teaching about Jewish holidays. During any normal day, there is one peula after breakfast and one after lunch. In the morning, the younger age groups (schavot) go to the pool for instructional swim. For the rest of the allotted
time (and for older schavot), the counselors (madrichim) run a variety of programming.

The Amelim (post 3rd and 4th graders) played sharks and minnows in the pool today and finished their deep-end test.

The Sayarim (post 6th graders) learned how to identify vegetables during peulat shichva aleph today and how symbiotic relationships in the garden (gan) are analogous to their own friendships and interactions with their age group (kvutza).

The Tzofim (post 7th graders) learned leadership skills and discussed democracy.

The Bonim (post-8th graders) had a discussion about kupa, the shared candy collection and how to share equally and fairly.

The Bogrim (post-9th graders) left after breakfast for their 2 day camping trip (tiyul) to the Poconos!

The Madatzim (junior counselors) went to the creek and discussed the goals for the summer. Later, they had a very active peula about styles of education.

Keep checking back with the blog, remember if you have any mail, send it to:

Name - Shichva (age group)

146 Red Hill Road

Ottsville, PA 18942

Fun at the Beit Omanut and the Gan

Everyone woke up today feeling fresh and ready to have fun after an exciting first day. After flag raising and breakfast, campers (chanichim) split up into work groups (anafim) and introduced the duties the chanichim would be responsible for each morning during the session. Next, the chanichim came together with their age group (shichva) for the first age-group activity (peulat shichva aleph.)

The Amelim (post 3rd and 4th graders) met their Am-bo buddies (buddies from Bogrim) and played a game of soccer.

The Chotrim (post 5th graders) made collages about their identity in their family and in society.

The Sayarim (post 6th graders) discussed self-expression in a fun martial-arts moves activity and played games in the pool.

The Tzofim (post 7th graders) spent their time in the arts and crafts room, making shirts to express their favorite identity trait.

The Bonim (post-8th graders) also made shirts that they silk-screened themselves with aspects of their identity that they’re proud of.

The Bogrim were blindfolded and surprised with meeting their Am-bo buddies (partners in the youngest age-group).

The Madatzim (junior counselors) went on the high ropes course today, where many of them went on the zipline and the giant’s ladder.

A bogeret with her Am-bo buddy.

Madatzim on the giant's ladder

This year, we added a new program during the day called kishronot (specialty groups). In these groups, chanichim have a chance to refine on their special skills or experiment with a new skill. Among these kishronot are "nature/garden" (teva/gan) and "beautifying the world".

Chotrot in the gan learning about nature.

Tzofim making their t-shirts.

Stay tuned with the blog, remember if you have any mail, send it to:

Name - Shichva (age group)

146 Red Hill Road

Ottsville, PA 18942

Opening Day!

All the work our staff (tzevet) and administration have put into for the past twelve months came together today. Today we welcomed 40 new campers (chanichim) and 140 returning chanichim. Here’s how the day was broken down: After the chanichim were situated and unpacked, they played some icebreakers with their counselors (madrichim), team-building activities and health screenings. The chanichim were then treated to our traditional first day grilled cheese lunch. 

We're so excited for another unforgettable summer!

Right when they arrived, the Sayarim (post 6th graders) began playing soccer

Excited for the first day!

Rachel with her chanichim

Galil Camp Committee Shabbat and Madatzim are Here

Shabbat is a very special time at camp (machaneh) -- it’s one of our favorite times of the week and it’s full of traditions. For our first Shabbat, we are excited to have the Galil Camp Committee join us. It’s a great way to meet the wonderful people who run machaneh behind the scenes. Of course, we also love recalling machaneh stories with the people who grew up at Galil and are now giving back to the community.

In other news, the junior counselors (madatzim) have arrived! They will be performing similar duties to the counselors (madrichim) at some points, but will also be being a part of a team-building and counselor training program. They will be experiencing similar training to that which our madrichim went through and learn how to plan programs and supervise.

Madatz 2013

(back) Marc, Cliel, Ashira, Tom, Gabbi, Danny, Ari, Sophie, Shai, Daniel, Ben

(front) Sharonie, Allie, Natalie, Ross

Shabbat shalom, can’t wait to see you on Sunday!

Meet Tzevet Galil 2013!

For the past week the staff (tzevet) has been preparing activities and attending training sessions and of course cleaning and making sure camp is beautiful for opening day! We’re still hard at work, but we wanted to take a minute to informally introduce ourselves. Tzevet loves spending time together, but we really can’t wait for the campers (chanichim) to arrive and meet us in person!

Meet Tzevet 2013!

Kvutzat Workshop 63

(back) Rebecca, Reba, Lauren, Naomi, Dan

(front) Toviah, Segev, Heather, Eva, Eliana

(not pictured) Jess, Rachael

Kvutzat Workshop 62

Joel, Eliana, Andrew, Thatcher, Jacob, Anya, David, Lia, Rachel, Colan, Matt

(not pictured) Rachel, Daniel, Doron

Kvutzat Workshop 61

Diana, Pauline, Jonathan, Jack, Emma, Rachelle

Kvutzat Workshop 60

(back) Jill, Jodi

(front) Pele, Daniel, Jordan, Rachael, Shira, Jonathan

Kvutzat Workshop 59

(back) Dan, Max, Mikey, Carla

(front) Sara, Molly, Shuli

(not pictured) Nathan

Kvutzat Workshop 58

Alyssa, Elie

Aliyah, David

Kvutzat Workshop 57

Mishlachat (Israeli Staff)

Yogev , Amir , Stav, Hadar, Noa, Oded Marck

Pre-Camp Preparation and Blood Drive

Ten days before the campers (chanichim) come for the summer, our staff (tzevet) comes to Galil to train and prepare. Over the past few days, members of tzevet have run many bonding activities (peulot) and educational seminars and are now planning lots of exciting events and activities. Of course preparation for camp also includes cleaning around camp and in the bunks (tzrifim) and ropes course training. 

This past Sunday, many of our counselors participated in the 1st ever blood drive at an overnight camp!

Here’s the breakdown of how the day went: After breakfast, the staff members split up and continued planning, while groups took turns going to the Red Cross blood donation-mobile. By the end of the day, over half of tzevet had volunteered and donated enough blood to save over 60 people!

During the rest of the week, tzevet will be hard at work training and planning fun and educational activities for the chanichim. We look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!