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Director's Corner - Monday, July 15

Monday, July 15, 2024

Walking on Sunshine

I'm walking on sunshine, whoa
And don't it feel good?

It’s Monday night, and we’ve just wrapped up the first full day of Beber Summer 2024 - Second Session. What an awesome day full of sunshine (mostly) and a plethora of new activities! It was fantastic for me to start the day at instructional swim. The Makor boys were having so much fun, and I was really impressed with the kindness of our staff. Today, campers were swimming laps and treading water so we could get an understanding of the abilities of our younger campers!

Speaking of kindness, I spent time with the Ramot girls who had their first cabin activity reviewing the B’rit Kehilah. B'rit Kehilah translates from Hebrew to Covenant of Community. In the context of camp, especially a Jewish camp like Beber, it can be understood as a mutual agreement among all members of the camp community (specifically the cabin) to uphold certain values, behaviors, and commitments that strengthen their collective bond and ensure a positive, inclusive, and respectful environment. By integrating B'rit Kehilah into various aspects of camp life, you can cultivate a strong, cohesive, and supportive community that embodies the spirit of mutual respect, shared responsibility, and collective growth.

At Beber, each day is packed with opportunities to challenge our skills, strengthen bonds with bunkmates and the camp community, and have a blast doing it. In future Director’s Corners, I’ll delve deeper into our daily schedule and the reasoning behind its structure.

Today, I was just getting my feet wet, exploring all we have to offer. Today's hobby highlights included:

  • Archery: We’ve created a beautiful new space for Archery. It’s also right next to our special slingshot paintball range.
  • Gymnastics: I saw some amazing tumbling and springboard routines. We also debuted our new uneven bars!
  • Outdoor Cooking: I was able to watch our staff teach fire safety, help campers build fires, and make some tasty campfire popcorn. These useful skills will help them when they go on their three day trips and overnights.
  • Challenge Course: The heat did not stop our campers from hanging over 20 feet in the air.
  • Waterskiing: I saw so many smiles at the end of 3rd hobby when several of the Makor campers shared their excitement of skiing for the first time!
  • Movie Making: We had a very cool artist in residence teaching a group of campers about how movies are put together.

Everywhere I went, campers were having a great time learning about their hobbies and getting to know fellow campers.

Meals:

  • Breakfast: Waffles with a toppings bar, including strawberries and whipped cream, plus a breakfast bar with yogurt, fruit, granola, cottage cheese, and various juices.
  • Lunch: Cheese quesadillas, Spanish rice, toppings, and a salad bar.
  • Dinner: Spaghetti with meatballs, vegetables, and garlic bread.

Each division had their opening programs tonight:

  • Makor: Summer theme: Marvel(ous) Makor (Super Hero theme) - Campers played all kinds of games together tonight to begin to bond as a group and dive into their theme for the summer.
  • Kesher: Summer theme: Olympics - Tonight they held their opening ceremony and designed their cabin flags to be an integral part of their theming for the summer.
  • Ramot:  Summer theme: Beber Road Trip - Tonight they played Beber Family Feud to get to know each other better in both their bunks and as a division.  

The Pios had a great day.  Typically our Pios are in Israel but the trip has been postponed until next summer. Today's theme was hiking through the Golan Heights. In the morning the group went hiking at Minooka Park and then spent the afternoon go-carting at K1 Speed. I saw them return and they were full of smiles. I'm so proud of the resilience of this group!

As promised last night, I’d like to introduce you to the leadership team responsible for supervising your camper. This is your Summer 2024 Division Leader Team:

  • Makor (Beginnings in Hebrew) - Jolie Ring (Cabins K1, K2, O1, O2)
    • Hi! My name is Jolie Ring, I’m from Buffalo Grove, IL, and I am so excited to be a Summer 2024 Makor division leader! I love being at camp! This is my 11th summer at Beber and my 2nd year on Leadership. After graduating high school in May of 2022, I took a gap year to study and work/intern in Israel. I just completed my Freshman year of college at Syracuse University, where my fields of study are Psychology and Citizenship and Civic Engagement, leading to a career within the Jewish non-profit community. I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of your kids. My commitment is to create an environment where each camper is seen and heard and ready for the summer of a lifetime! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything. My camp email is jolie.ring@bebercamp.com. I can't wait to spend the summer with your campers!
  • Makor (Beginnings in Hebrew) - Sophie Heller (Cabins K3, K4, O3, O4, O5, O6)
    • Hi! My name is Sophie Heller, and I am one of the Makor Division Leaders! This is my 12th summer at camp and 4th year on staff! I am from Highland Park, IL, and am an incoming senior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studying Elementary Education and English as a Second Language. I am so excited to work in Makor again; it is truly the best (and cutest) division! I can’t wait to show our campers the Beber magic! Please reach out to me if you have any questions at sophie.heller@bebercamp.com.
  • Kesher (Connection in Hebrew) - Lior Latimer (Cabins G1, G2, G3, B1, B2, B3, B4)
    • Hi!! My name is Lior Latimer (she/her), and I am so excited to be the Kesher division leader! I am from Chicago and just graduated from the University of Michigan this past May. I majored in Public Health Sciences, and I hope to pursue a career in healthcare. My first summer at camp was back in 2011, making this my 14th summer overall and 4th year on staff. I was also the Kesher division leader last summer, and I am thrilled to be in this role for a second year. In 2021, I was a Kesher counselor, where I discovered my passion for the Kesher division. I love Kesher campers because they are fun, adventurous, and curious. This summer, I hope to help Kesher campers develop a love for Beber while also gaining independence and confidence. I cannot wait to get to know all of the Kesher campers (and Makor/Ramot campers) this session! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions at lior.latimer@bebercamp.com.
  • Ramot (The Heights in Hebrew) - Bradley Epstein (T1, T2, A1, A2)
    • Hi everyone! I’m Bradley Epstein from Deerfield, Illinois, and I’m one of the Ramot Division Leaders this summer! This is my 11th summer at Beber and I am so excited to be here to support everyone in our Beber community. I am entering my Senior year at Tulane University in New Orleans where I study Jewish Studies, Business, and Spanish. During the year, I work as the Executive Assistant to the Director of Tulane Hillel, and I hope to enter the Jewish professional field following my graduation in May. I can’t wait to provide our campers with the summer of a lifetime and memories they will never forget. Please don’t hesitate to reach out at bradley.epstein@bebercamp.com.
  • Ramot (The Heights in Hebrew) - Isabel (Izzy) Baron (A3, A4, T1, T2, T3, T4)
    • I’m Isabel (Izzie) Baron, and I’m one of the Ramot Division Leaders this summer! This is my 10th summer at Beber (2nd as a DL!) and I’m from Denver, Colorado. I’m an incoming senior at Northeastern University studying Journalism, Marketing, and Sports Media. My favorite thing about Ramot is the amount of fun activities and memories the campers make while at camp! Feel free to reach out to me at izzie.baron@bebercamp.com.
  • Teen Leadership Director - Morgan Morris (Pioneers and CITs)
    • Hey, I'm Morgan Morris, and I am your Teen Leadership Director this summer. This is my 7th summer here at Beber, and I am currently studying my MSW back home in Edinburgh, Scotland. The teen leadership program is a unique summer experience where our campers begin their transition to future Beber Camp staff members. We spend a lot of time learning about our strengths and how we can use them to become effective leaders across camp, as well as back in our home communities. Our Pios spent the first session discovering their style of leadership, deepening their Jewish life, and this session, they are taking part in a unique one summer only experience. Our CITs had the opportunity first session to dig deep into the life of a staff member and now they are spending this second session living in a bunk, gaining hands-on child care experience. I am honored to get to spend this quality time with our future leaders. You can reach me anytime at morgan@bebercamp.com.

Here’s to another fantastic day at Beber Camp. Stay tuned for more updates!

Peace, Love, 3BC,
Michael

P.S. Congratulations to the following who knew that The Beatles sang "Here Comes The Sun!"

Amanda S
Nancy Z
Matthew N
Amy B
Jill R
Wendy E
Ronit R
Jessica F
Shana S

P.S. - Today’s question: Who sang “Walking on Sunshine?”  Email your answer to trivia@bebercamp.com for a shoutout in tomorrow’s blog!