Author: Elissa

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t sit in awe of what kind of support for one another we have here.  People who just met only 5 weeks ago are now forever connected and it’s not just the kids and counselors in the division that share this incredibly strong bond.  There was a group of senior boys playing basketball with some adorable freshman girls on Shields Hall court at free play. We have all fully integrated into one camp family. The connections between us all are real, organic and meaningful. There was a camper that was having a hard moment today. She was sad and had a good cry – she was immediately surrounded by loads of people who were there to support. I watched not only her bunk mates and counselor but 4 older campers and a specialist that wasn’t even in her division, go to her and give support. She had a a team of people to pick her up. Whatever disappointment she was feeling was immediately seen by anyone who walked by and was drawn to help her. They listened to her, they hugged her and they got her through this moment.  The sad moment was temporary but the love she received was not. I want you to know that this is how your kids get through the tough times here. It is the magic of leaning on others and getting support at that moment that fills our hearts and allows us all to move forward. Can you imagine feeling sad and have people, lots of people rush to you and tell you it’s going to be alright while they are literally putting their arms around you? This actually happens here on the daily here. I often tell our kids here that the only way to move that mountain in front of them is to lean on those around you and they will carry you through. It works. I see it everyday as your children get support and provide it for others. They get support and they give it right back. This caring thing that is alive and well here and we get to experience this all summer long. I’m feeling pretty grateful that there is a place where this attention to caring for others is front and center.

“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”…By Unknown

Middy Girls Softball – CAW 14 @ Westmont 0

Collegiate Girls LAX – CAW 8 @ Starlight 15

Senior Girls Soccer – CAW 6 @ Westmont 9

Senior/Super Girls LAX – CAW 11 vs. Lohikan 12 (game went into overtime)

Super Boys Soccer – CAW 3 @ Westmont 4

CIT Boys Baseball – CAW 3 vs. Wayne 5

It’s that time again to honor our outstanding Campers of the week. They each earned it and deserve the recognition. We are beaming with pride and as we announced each name, the look on their faces were simply priceless.

Freshman  – Sophie Portnoy & Jonathan Hare

Juniors – Alexa Lieberman & Alex Michaels

Middies – Alex Goldblatt & Cole Rand

Inters – Jolie Weiss & Justin Gorchain

Collegiates – Lexie Klien &

Seniors – Addison Goldstein & Logan Salzman

Supers – Ashleigh Brett & Jason Rosenbaum

CIT’s – Emily Weiss & Evan Kay

It was a awesome Miss Chen-A-Wanda show tonight in Shields Hall. Some of our camp favorite Guys, strutted their stuff on stage but looking very different than we usually see them at camp. This was a beauty contest where the more beautiful and outrageous the better. Our guys put on quite a show as they were dressed up as gorgeous Miss Chen-A-Wandas. They were gowns, lots of makeup and even a boa. It wasn’t all about the beauty but these fellas brought the talent as they sang, danced, told jokes and juggled. It wasn’t your typical beauty pageant and her at Chenny, we don’t do typical. The show was hilarious and so much fun. The kids absolutely went bonkers for our evening show. Another amazing day followed by an incredible night.

Chenny out

The Inter boys played a championship softball game today and I was lucky enough to get to watch several innings. I was struck by the beauty of the day but mostly what stuck out was the absence of stress. This was a championship game and there was zero stress but there sure were a lot of “Atta Boys” . It seemed after each successful play every kid would yell out this awesome term of endearment. Even when one of us struck out, our team responded with, “it’s ok, you’ll get him next time.” There was no ridiculing, no throwing gloves down on the floor, no disappointment and no stress. The boys did their best and worked hard. It didn’t go Chenny’s way this time and our kids lost that game today but there sure were a ton of Atta Boy’s. After they shook the hands of the opposing team and not missing a beat I heard one camper say, “Hey, we got the Chenny Shack now, lets go.” And just like that, making pizza with your boys was the next thing to do today. I was so proud of those kids today as they played hard, gave it their all, supported their teammates, accepted a loss and then moved right along to making pizza. It just doesn’t get better than this.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” …….by Wayne Gretzky

Middy/Inter Girls LAX – CAW 8 vs. Starlight 15

Inter Girls Softball – CAW 15 vs. Poyntelle 9

Super Girls Soccer – CAW 5 vs. Wayne 1

GC/CIT Girls Softball – CAW 3 @ Lavi 0

Freshman/Junior/Middie Boys LAX-A-Rama Tournament @ Wayne  – CAW came in 2nd Place

Inter Boys Softball – CAW 3 vs. Poyntelle 5

Tonight was Head Staff Lip Sync and it was INSANELY GREAT!! I urge you to watch the video when it comes out on line. It was incredibly entertaining and our kids loved it. There is nothing like watching Head Staff Lip Sync in the Hall. The energy is palpable and tonight was no exception. When anyone in our camp family takes the stage, it feels like each of us are up there with them. This sense of pride blankets each one of us. You cant explain it but you love to feel it. The talent, the choreography, the lip syncing, the costumes, the heart and soul behind each performance made tonight exceptional.  There were sensational performances that entertained us all in every sense of the word. Activities like this one, brings us all together as we cheer on our staff and get behind them. There were 7 acts and 5 moved onto to our finals. The divisions that will be represented in the finals are: Freshman (repped by Tom Ratliff & Zach Krieger), Collegiates (repped by John Evitt and Jason Bowman), Seniors (repped by Casey Ward & Nikki Nystrom), Supers (repped by Sandra), GC/CIT’s( repped by Issy Hull). The pressure is on and we love it!

Life is great… just great!!

Chenny out

If you were to bring out a deck of cards and told your kids that is what he/she and their friends will play with for hours on end day after day, would you ever think they would go for it? Not in my house either, but there is something about a deck of cards in this house that can entertain your children all summer long. I was watching 3 boys who were teaching me Palace, a card game I never played before. The boys were so excited to teach me this game and each took pride listing any and all of the rules. They each new this game inside and out and took pride in conveying their strategy on how to get to the end. We all sat under under a shaded area with a deck of 52 cards (shaped like pizza) playing a game that used our minds and gave us over an hour of capturing our attention. I asked each one of them if they play this at home and all three looked up at me with a dazed look and said, “we never play card games at home.” So as the time flew by and we all laughed, played, told stories and had the best time, I was just so struck by the fact that all we had were those 52 cards. When life is simplified, life is simple. It’s not always about the latest and greatest video games or which shows on Netflix we are going to watch that make us the most happy. Sometimes its just a deck of cards. I encourage you to pull out your cards at home and when the kids get back home from camp, ask them to teach you the game called Palace – You won’t regret it.

“Don’t call it a Dream.. Call it a Plan”….by anonymous

Inter/Collegiate/Senior Boys Hockey Tourney at Lokanda – Game 1 -CAW 4 vs Equinunk 5 – Lost in overtime – Game 2 CAW 3 vs. Tyler Hill 6

It was a Round Robin night and camp was packed with happy camper. There was cooking and movies, a road rally and wiffle ball, foam slip and sliding and even a cake war. Camp was hoppin’ tonight and the vibe was awesome. One of those standout nights that feels so campy.

The GC’s had the most perfect day tanning at Santa Monica Beach and shopped on 3rd Street Promenade. They had such an incredible day and just when they thought it couldn’t get better it was off to Malibu for a private party in Paradise Cove. Incredible doens’t even come close to describing their day.

Our CIT’s rolled back into camp around 11:00pm and  the smiles on their faces said it all. They were exhausted from the adventurous trip in Lake George. This group is so close and another shared experience has made their final camper summer beyond anything they imagined. A great trip for a truly spectacular group of CIT’s!!!

Chenny out

Every evening I sit at my desk and write about our day so you at home can have a little insight to that magic that happens here. I find  inspirational quotes that are related mainly to sports, sportsmanship and being the best we can be but tonight I ran across this one and it spoke volumes to me so I had to share with you. “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” by anonymous. This is what happens here. For two month we learn about others. For two months we listen to each others stories. For two months we nominate our friends and share what kind acts they did that deserved recognition. For two months we laugh at the jokes our friends tell us and for two months we can learn a whole lot about someone else. For two months our focus is outside our ourselves and that is why these two months bring so many people into our lives. I felt this quote spoke to all of us here and why the friendships are so meaningful.

Senior Girls Basketball – CAW 30 vs. Tioga 20

Senior/Super Girls LAX – CAW 23 vs. Starlight 16

Middy Boys Soccer – CAW 3 @ Wayne 5

It is the second to last trip day of our summer and the campers LOVED their excursions.

Our Freshman cuties spent their day at Claws N’ Paws Zoo. They explored this awesome zoo and absolutely loved thier day out of camp. It was back to camp for dinner and then off to the Chen-A-Plex for more animal fun watching Madagascar. A perfect day for our little ones.

Juniors and Middies started their spectacular day jumping around at SkyZone. It was dodgeball mania and the kids had so much fun. As we left, the manager told us that our kids were unbelievably well behaved and respectful and that she has never seen such a well mannered group of kids at SKyZone. What a proud moment we felt. Then after all that jumping around it as off to see the summer Blockbuster, the Lion King. We munched on popcorn and enjoyed a phenomenal movie. After the movies it was back to camp for dinner. Everyone was wiped out and exhausted from the day. Lights out never happened this early for ourCherokee campers. It was a perfect summer day.

Inters and Collegiates had a packed day of fun. They had the trifecta – Bowling, Roller Skating & Movies. WOW! they rolled back into camp exhausted and exhilarated. Where in the world can you bowl, then roller skate followed by a summer blockbuster – At Camp Chen-A-Wanda, that’s where!!

Seniors & Supers started their day at Camel Beach Water Park. The weather was ideal and the kids loved being at the park. It wasn’t too hot or too cold, it was just right and an ideal day for a waterpark adventure. They got out of their bathing suits and headed for some shopping at the outlets. What a awesome day they had.

Our GC’S landed in Los Angeles this am and started their west coast adventure with a tour of UCLA. They explored Pauley Pavillion and took pics at the famous Bruin Bear. The campers took over the student store and had an incredible day 1. They spent their evening at Universal City Walk. It was a perfect start to their incredible adventure.

The CIT’s rolled out of camp as the sun rose. They headed off to Lake George and day 1 was incredible. It was white water rafting and it was spectacular. This special group of CIT’s enjoyed their first day and have more exciting things on their horizon.

It’s Good To Be A Chenny Kid….Life is Great!!

Chenny out

Chenny out