Author: Elissa

Each summer we have the privilege to witness the best parts of your children and today didn’t disappoint as I saw kindness and love rise to the top in a very special way. We have a camper who has been coming to Chenny for years but this year, nerves knocked on her door and it hasn’t been an easy ride. From her smiling face, you would never know that on the inside she was feeling insecure and unsure of herself. But she kept it inside and just didn’t want anyone to know. When she sat with me today and cried and saw a huge mountain in front of her, I asked if she shared these feelings with her friends to which she shook her head no. I told her the only way to get over that huge mountain in front of her was to trust her friends and let them in and talk about it and that support would get her through the times she felt alone. I knew she needed backup and she couldn’t do it alone, nobody can do it alone.  She named 2 friends to which she thought could be her support and with her permission agreed for me to fill them in. Feeling shy and nervous about revealing her feelings, I sat with these two amazing girls and brought them up to speed on what their friend was facing and how she was keeping it all inside. Without hesitation, they wanted to help their friend whom they had no idea how sad she was feeling on the inside. These two incredible kids showed compassion and kindness and said it so perfectly, “We got her. She’s not alone.”  You see, this girl who has been here for years just didn’t want to burden anyone with how she was feeling and her friends had no idea but when they heard that she was struggling, they stepped up, grabbed her hand and put their arms around her. I saw the three of them on their way to dinner and when they saw me they stopped and gave me a look as to say, Don’t worry, we got her covered.  The camper who was having a hard time earlier today looked happier than I have seen her since summer began. A smile so genuine and a look as she shed the weight that was heavy on her heart. She opened up, trusted and let her friends help. It was magical and she wasn’t alone. She is climbing that mountain with her friends right by her side. Sometimes you have to take a leap before you are able to fly.

GIRLS SIDE SPORTS:

Middy Soccer Soccerama Tourney @ Westmont – CAW played 3 games – won 1, tied 1 and lost 1

Lower camp Gymnastics meet @ Bryn Mawr- CAW placed 2 overall

BOYS SIDE SPORTS:

FR/JR Basketball  – CAW 19 vs Starlight 11

Middy Basketball – CAW 25 vs. Westmont 10

GC/CIT Flag Football Laz Bowl Tourney at Tyler Hill – game 1. CAW 6 vs. IHC 20 / game 2. CAW 14 vs. Timberlake 6

You know those days that everything just makes sense and feels so right? The ones that are notably close to perfect. The weather set the the tone – not too hot, not too cold and only can be described as just right.  Today, there was a feeling on camp. A feeling of calm. A feeling of being relaxed. A feeling of being at home.  Maybe it was a combination of starting week 5 and everyone is completely and totally in their groove here or the fact that we all have developed a feeling of confidence and security in this camp family we have built together or maybe it’s both. Whatever the reason, today was magical.

Fiddle Lake looked like a postcard with a glistening glow that just was so peaceful today. I spent some time on the beach today and had the absolute pleasure of watching a few junior boys build the coolest sand castle . I was watching these campers work together as they each had a purpose in their sand creation. One was making a mote, as the other kept bringing water up from the lake while one was building the castle. These boys were having the best time together making sand castles  and I couldn’t help but think that were no devices present, no screens or need to plug anything in. They had buckets, shovels, their imagination and friends. That is all they needed. That is why these friendships are so meaningful and connections are so strong. Time is spent together, face to face. Nothing to hide behind, that keeps us separate. The castle they created was incredible but watching these boys hang out, build and bond together was the true work of art.

Girls Side Sports:

Freshman/Junior Basketball Championship – CAW 18 vs. Wayne 4 – Chenny WINS CHAMPIONSHIP

Middy Softball – CAW 5 vs. Tyler Hill 6

Inter Basketball (Gold Team) – CAW 22 @ Westmont 26

Senior Basketball – CAW 26 @ Wayne 16

Boys Side Sports:

Collegiate Soccer – CAW 2 vs. Wayne 2 – CAW looses in PK

Halloween in July!!! What a blast we had tonight and the costumes were AAAmmmaaazzzing. Truly incredible. The campers went all out and so did the staff. There wasn’t one person on campus who didn’t get dress up and celebrate our awesome camp Halloween and that is why Chenny’s spirit is inside everyone here. It’s just what we do up here. We started with our costume walk and that was electric. Each bunk got to show off their costumes and the fun they had, walking with their bunkmates down the cat walk. What a great night it was and it didn’t end there. It was time to Trick or Treat and each group went station to station, filling their bag with candy and chips. In true Chenny tradition, the Senior girls made a haunted scare mansion that spooked and creeped out everyone who dared to enter. The night was a perfect continuation of our amazing day. Great vibes all around.

Our CITS are on their last leg of their incredible trip of a lifetime as they relax in Phoenix and recover from a crazy busy week traveling out West. Supers are en route to Boston for their next adventure. It just keeps getting better. Life is so Great at Camp Chen A Wanda.

In exactly three weeks from this moment,  your kids will be back home with you. Hard to believe how fast the days are passing. We know how quick times goes here at camp and we don’t want to waste a second, a minute, a moment. We hosted a rookie day today and welcomed a whole group of kids who spent the day with us seeing if Chenny was a right for them for next summer. When the day wrapped up, I over heard a rookie boy run to his mom and dad and say, ” I am definitely going to this camp next summer. Mom, can I just stay now? Please can I stay?” This is what this place does to you, it makes you want to stay here because when you are here, it just feels good. Your kids for the next three weeks, get to feel and experience this place in all its glory. As that rookie boy headed to his car, he thanked me for a fun day and told me how lucky all the kids  are that go here because he just had the best day of his life here and they get to wake up here tomorrow. Yes, we are the lucky ones who get to wake up at Chenny and do this again tomorrow.

GIRLS SIDE SPORTS

Collegiate LAX – CAW 7 vs. Wayne 1

Senior Soccer – CAW 5 @ Starlight 3

Super Softball – CAW 5 vs. Wayne 0

BOYS SIDE SPORTS

Senior/Super LAX Championship – CAW 12 vs. Starlight 4 – Chenny Wins Championship

Awards at The Amphitheater is always a fun evening as we all sit together under the lights celebrating our standout campers who deserve the recognition. We brought back this camp tradition and the campers are absolutely loving it. It feels so campy to be outside, singing songs and dancing as one camp family. A huge congratulations to our Week 4 Campers of the. Week. Our camp is better because these campers are here with u s.

Girls Side: 

Freshman – Savi Yecies

Junior – Dylan Allaire

Middies – Skyler Rudnick- Fernand & Ava Rudnick-Fernand

Inters – Dylan Tacktill

Collegiaties – Hayley Price

Seniors – Eve Lindenauer

Supers – Mia Koenig

CIT – Addy Rubovitz

Boys Side:

Freshman – Chase Pillersdorf

Junior – Benji Spivak

Middies -Spencer Braverman & Gabe Porat

Inters – Harrison Pilkington

Collegiates – Miles Geller

Seniors –  Nick Einzig

Supers – Cole Sadofsky

CIT’s – Dylan Nydish

Kindness is spreading and our Week 4 Kind Campers are so deserving of this honor.  There is just nothing sweeter than calling their names and seeing the deep pride on their faces as they run to the stage to get their shirt and snap a photo. Its a moment that I know will stay with them forever. When the entire camp recognizes you as a kind kid, there is just nothing sweeter. – Girls Side: Emma Rice, Mia Steinberg-Rodriguez, Gabby Hassenbein, Emme Shulman, Mila Kovelman, Skyler Rosenberg, Savy Lieberman, Jagger Sacks, Morgan Fischer, Brier Schweibel, Madison Frankel, Lyla Miller, Marissa Holzman, Morgan Bassuk, Pauline Blash Boys Side: Spencer Weinstein, Mason Friedman, Mason Kohen, Luca Heiferman, Levi Sarrell, Max Israel, Noah Sitman, Samuel Heinl, Parker Agulnick, Max Goodman, Troy Golden.

Each summer we have the privilege to witness the best parts of your children and today didn’t disappoint as I saw kindness and love rise to the top in a very special way. We have a camper who has been coming to Chenny for years but this year, nerves knocked on her door and it hasn’t been an easy ride. From her smiling face, you would never know that on the inside she was feeling insecure and unsure of herself. But she kept it inside and just didn’t want anyone to know. When she sat with me today and cried and saw a huge mountain in front of her, I asked if she shared these feelings with her friends to which she shook her head no. I told her the only way to get over that huge mountain in front of her was to trust her friends and let them in and talk about it and that support would get her through the times she felt alone. I knew she needed backup and she couldn’t do it alone, nobody can do it alone.  She named 2 friends to which she thought could be her support and with her permission agreed for me to fill them in. Feeling shy and nervous about revealing her feelings, I sat with these two amazing girls and brought them up to speed on what their friend was facing and how she was keeping it all inside. Without hesitation, they wanted to help their friend whom they had no idea how sad she was feeling on the inside. These two incredible kids showed compassion and kindness and said it so perfectly, “We got her. We won’t let our friend do this alone.”  You see, this girl who has been here for years just didn’t want to burden anyone with how she was feeling and her friends had no idea but when they heard that she was struggling, they stepped up, grabbed her hand, put their arms around her and told her that they are by her side, always. I saw the three of them on their way to dinner and when they saw me they stopped and gave me a wink as to say, Don’t worry we got her covered.  The camper who had cried to me earlier today looked happier tand more relaxed than I have ever seen since she arrived 4 weeks ago. A smile so genuine and a look as she shed that weight that was heavy on her heart. She opened up, trusted and let her friends in. It was magical and she wasn’t alone. She is climbing that mountain with her friends right by her side. Sometimes you have to take a leap before you are able to fly.

GIRLS SIDE SPORTS

Middy basketball CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – CAW 19 vs. Lavi 11

BOYS SIDE SPORTS

Freshman Flag Football Tourney @ CAW  – game 1. CAW 40 vs Westmont 14 – Game 2 CAW 20 vs. Starlight 27

SUPER/CIT Soccer Tournament @ Equinunk – game 1. CAW 3 vs IHC 0 game 2. CAW 0 vs. Equinunk 2 game 3. CAW 3 vs Westmont 0 FINALS CAW 0 vs. Equinunk 0 – Equinunk wins with a penalty kick

Tonight lower camp had an awesome evening activity with The Gold Rush. Each bunk had to look all over camp for gold bars and collect them. It was hilarious as they searched high and low and everywhere in between. The campers were eager to find the gold because they knew the more they got, the better their chances were for getting some premiere prizes at the auction. Our older kids had their own fun at a Vegas style casino night inside Shields Hall. They too, were vying for more chips as they played blackjack and other card games in their own private Chenny Casino. As the night came to a close, the entire camp gathered by bunk on Shields Hall court and pooled the gold they found and chips they won to give each team the money value they had to use at the upcoming auction. It was a real deal auction as Jon and yours truly, were the auctioneers of the night. The kids were going for some very desirable prizes for their bunk from the likes of a late night pool party to a McDonalds Party to breakfast in bed too mention a few. Bunks were out bidding one another and the campers just had the most amazing time, hootin’ and hollarin’ and having a ball. It was another remarkable night your kids enjoyed.

The GC’s are truly having the trip of a lifetime as they enjoyed their last day in LA and headed to Las Vegas. What a trip these kids are having together. Making memories, deepening friendships and making new ones. Life is Incredible when you are a GC at Chenny.

A Middy girl camp up to me at breakfast and said, “Today is the day I am going to face my fears.” to which I replied “That is fantastic, tell me how.” She then began to tell me how today was the day she was ready to finally try the trapeze. This was her goal. This was her fear. This was her challenge and she was ready. Her two friends were by her side and they were all smiles and couldn’t wait for their friend to climb that giant ladder and take the leap. I told her when she was ready to have the circus staff get me because I wanted to watch her fly. The call came and I ran up to the trapeze. That middy girl climbed that ladder and halfway through you could see her fear. She just couldn’t do it. Her friends were the most encouraging, supportive kids that were doing everything in their power to tell her the she can do it. This camper was caught in between two worlds; wanting to do something so badly and having so much fear that it literally keeps you from doing what you want to do. Her friends put their arms around her and told her that its ok and they know she will do it soon. It was like a burst of courage over took her and she quickly asked to go up and try again. They put the belt on her and up she went. This time, she went up to the top and there was just no stopping her. She was close and we all knew this was it. She was about to take a leap of faith and her cheering squad below was giving her that boost she so desperately needed. She grabbed that bar, closed her eyes and stepped off and started to fly. There are moments at this place that I sit in awe of and this was one of those moments. I watched this camper doubt herself and then I watched this camper look fear in the face and tell it, not today.

GIRLS SIDE SPORTS

Inter Soccer – CAW 4 vs Poyntelle 5

BOYS SIDE SPORTS

Junior/Middy/Inter Hockey Lokanda Cup – CAW 0 vs Lokanda 8/ CAW 0 vs. Wayne 10

Super Soccer – CAW 2 vs. Starlight 5

It was a Round Robin night at CAW and each group had a fantastic evening activity. The weather was perfect and everyone was outside. An absolutely perfect summer night. Freshman, Juniors and Middies enjoyed an outdoor flick of the latest Diary of a Whimpy Kid. Under the stars, watching a great summer blockbuster was ideal for our youngest campers. Inter Boys and Girl spent their night running Quest which is an all camp scavenger hunt. They ran up, down and all around.  Senior Boys were on the major league field and it was Record Book for them. They were trying for the longest hit, farthest jump, fastest throw etc.. It was a record breaking night for our Seniors boys. Senior Girls enjoyed a movie in the Chen-A-Plex and loved it. Super Boys and Girls  were together at the tennis courts and played Water Games and Tailgated. It was a fun chilled out evening for our Supers. CIT Girls had a ball at  Knockerball while the CIT boys played an intense game of Manhunt.

Our GC’s are thriving in LA and so enjoyed their day in Santa Monica and time at the beach. It was a gorgeous day for our traveling GC’s and they consensus is, they ALL LOVE LA!

Another phenomenal day spent with great people, doing great things at the greatest place. This is why we say LIFE IS GREAT at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.