Author: Elissa

Today was Rookie day and we hosted a great group of potential Chenny Kids. They arrived all eager and excited to start their journey. With that first step into sleep away camp, I sat watching their faces as they separated from their parents, all excited, some nervous but with an eagerness to explore this next step. What was interesting throughout the day was to watch the older kids notice these new young kids, start their Chenny journey. I over heard one of our older kids say to his buddy, “remember when we were rookies?” They smiled to one another as to acknowledge this journey goes so quick. Faster than you can imagine. I watched these rookies from their very beginning. Some I’ve seen over the years at Visiting Day as they visit their big sister or big brother and now it’s their turn. Some are brand new to Chenny but equally amazed about this whole experience. I see the beginning and I see the end and everything in between. When you pick the camp for your children, it is such a huge decision as you are making a choice on where they will grow up and that will change who they are, forever. I had so much joy in my heart today watching their first steps, these rookies who spent their day with us. They may have rode the Great Big Mable in Fiddle Lake today, or hit a wiffle ball way over the big red monster this afternoon but what they really did was take their first step into what will most definitely change the course of who they become. It was an absolute honor to be part of that process. Was a great day at Camp Chen-A-Wanda as we were able to introduce it’s magic on a whole new group of amazing kids.

Our dance team took 2nd place at the Wayne dance competition today. We are so proud of our contemporary dance group as they dazzled the judges with their beautiful lyrical performance. There were so many amazing performances today and Chenny just blew everyone away. Our girls are graceful and had the time of their lives today.

A GIANT congratulations to or Collegiate Girls Basketball team as they are Wayne County Champions defeating Morahsa with a  41-24 victory in todays Championship game. In true Chenny form, it was a jump in the lake after the win!!! Our girl swede fierce and played one heck of a game.

Middy Boys Soccer – CAW 0 vs. Wayne 10

Super Boys Basketball – CAW 28 @ Island Lake 45

Congratulations to our Campers of the Week – They were spectacular camper wall week long.

Freshman         Skye Housenbold  &  Alex Minkoff

Juniors              Eden Lebovitch   & Jonah Burke

Middies             Sydney Sacks  & Zach Marasia

Inters                 Shaya Roth  & Max Gutman

Collegiates         Lexi Gruberger   & Zach Goodman

Seniors               Sarah Haber   & Aarn Marasia

Supers                 Kaley Morabito  & Andrew Larheim & Drew Korn

CIT’s                     Mel Borker  & Reed Dooskin

It was a great week to be kind here at Chenny. Our Kind Campers are: Ally Schwarz, Addy Goldstein, Samara Goldman, Dylan Grabow, Sloane Irizarry, Elaina hammy, Emily Kushner, Elana Kessler, Sammie Pariser, Addy Rubbovitz, Alex Mallor, Alexa Selter, Hailey Nydish, Gracie Murphy, Skyler Fensterstock, Abby Nussbaum, Tyler Agulnick, Alex Berman. Ethan Coulthard, Alex Gatto, Noah Kule, Benji Herzog, Jagger Morgan, Jared Simpson & Bradem Schwartz.

Tonight was Head Staff Lip Sync Battle and they show was insane. It was a night to remember and our Dance and Fitness Director, Sandra Belleiu was crowned the unanimous winner of the battle and won for the entire Middy division. She took control and put on 2 performances that brought us out of our seats. It was a night that nobody will forget.

Chenny out.

There seems to be a vibe on camp that is quite contagious. As we are quickly approaching the last two weeks of camp, there is a renewed appreciation of where we are. We are all noticing how fast our summer is going by so we aren’t sweating the small stuff here. Everyone is relaxed and fully embracing the home stretch of summer 2016. We are trying to stretch the days and lengthen the nights. With each bugle that rings it means that time is passing and soon we will be heading home so we are getting it all in while we can and making every second matter. Friendships are becoming deeper and more meaningful by the minute. In just two weeks our hugs and long talks face-to-face will be replaced with texts that read ilysm (I love you so much – for those of you who don’t know text talk). The smiles we see everyday will soon become a little happy face emoji we type into a screen. It’s unreal that what we experience here everyday has to end in just fourteen days but what we are left with are hearts full of great memories and a summer that embraced us all.

The afternoon brought rain so even though it was a wet day, it didn’t damper the mood of what was happening tonight at camp. There are so many new things here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda and then there are those things that stay the exact same. Girls Sings is one of those very long standing Chenny traditions that we can count on summer after summer. The pride, the joy and the honor of this night is tremendous. Each division worked so hard and it showed. When boys side can sit in awe for 2 hours, you know something special is happening. The support boys side gives girls side is just breathtaking. From our adorable freshmen through our crazy talented CIT’s, they all brought the house down. I could never bring justice to describing the bonds these girls have with one another but watching them up on stage perform together allows us all to witness it for ourselves.  They have all created a sisterhood that will follow them throughout their lives.  Each division picked a theme, danced and sang from their heart. The emotion that was felt by every single camper and staff inside Shield’s Hall could have moved the building. There were chills upon chills upon chills as each division wrote and sang their alma mater to a very captive audience. They held hands and did it together and by the time the CIT’s performed an extremely heartfelt performance, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Congratulations goes out to the Middy girls for winning lower camp and our CIT’s brought home the win for upper camp. Even though winners were crowned, this night was not a loss for anyone. Girls side grew closer as they shared something with their division that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. As the CIT’s captivated the audience with their very emotional performance, the reality set in that this was their last Girls Sing as a camper. The tears were flowing in Shields Hall tonight and you just couldn’t help get caught up in it. When you watch the Freshmen begin their journey and see the evolution of how strong these friendships become,  you just feel so grateful that our kids get to experience this. There are just no words but an enormous amount of love.

Chenny out

It was late wakeup and we all loved the extra sleep. The pace of camp is fast and furious so when we get to sleep in we all love it and today was that day. It was off to activities and a full day of crazy Chenny fun. The campus was buzzing between Chenny’s Got Talent Finals tonight and Girls Sing tomorrow night. There is so much going here and everyone is involved. You just gotta love camp and you gotta really love Chenny. This place where your children spend their summers is full of so many things happening you can go form one incredible activity to the next in the matter of moments. It is truly one incredible place we all call home and with only 2 more weeks to go, we are getting it all in and enjoying every single minute. Life is just great here and we have 14 more days to live it up at Chenny and that is what we plan on doing.

Now onto our sports scores of the day:

Middy Girls Basketball Championship Game – CAW 10 @ Lavi 13

Inter Girls Soccer – CAW 4 vs. Westmont 2 – Chenny is going to the Championship Game

GC/CIT Girls LAX – CAW 12 vs. Starlight 16

Middy Boys Basketball – CAW 12 @Tioga 21

Middy Boys Soccer Tournament – CAW took 3rd Place in Tourney

GC/CIT Boys Baseball – CAW 15 vs. Poyntelle 0 – Chenny is going to the Championship Game

We have so many talented campers here and they put on quite a show tonight. It was Chenny’s Got Talent Finals and boy do we have some incredible talent.  All 6 of our finalists took the stage and wow’d us with their incredible talents.  They were fearless and phenomenal. They engaged us and entertained us. They were just brilliant and tonight was all about their special talented abilities. Congratulations to Emma Goldenberg, Ashley Suchoff, Sam Rochlin,  Drew Schimer, Arielle Ashkenase and the Three Muskateers (Zoe Grabow, Jesse Gatto and Brooke Bortnick). After all the finalists performed, the vote was in our campers hands and tonights winner went to the amazing and dazzling, we cant believe it with our own eyes, Magician SAM ROCHLIN. His card tricks were so outstanding, we couldn’t believe what he was dong right in front of our eyes. We are so proud of every one of our campers who competed tonight and took that stage and gave it everything they had with such confidence and poise. What a night we all had. Chenny has got some serious talented kids. We know that one day we will say, we knew them when……

Chenny Out

We have heard that phrase before and at camp it certainly does take a village. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t sit in awe of what kind of village we have here. The term village applies to every aspect of this experience. People who just met only 5 weeks ago are now family. You cant walk by people here without feeling the strongest connection. There was a camper that was having a hard moment today. She was sad and stuck and immediately had 10 people around her. I watched not only her bunk mates and counselor but 3 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, hugged her and got her through this moment. I want you to know  that this is how your kids get through the tough spots here. It is the magic of leaning on others that give a helping hand. It is a village who cares for your kids here. There is nobody that doesn’t receive this support here. Can you imagine feeling sad and have people, lots of people rush to you and tell you its 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 you 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. There is this caring thing that is alive and well here and we get to experience this for 50 days, all summer long. feeling pretty grateful that there is a place where this attention too caring for others is front and center.

It was time to play some games today and that we did.

Middy Girls Soccer – CAW 0 @ Starlight 5

Senior Girls Soccer – CAW 2 vs. Westmont 5

Senior Girls Tennis – CAW 0 @ Wayne 5

GC/CIT Girls Soccer – CAW 5 @ Westmont 2

Freshman/Junior Boys Hockey – CAW 4 @ Starlight 20

Inters Boys Softball – CAW 3 @ Seneca Lake 4

Collegiate Boys Baseball – CAW 6 @ Starlight 4

Senior Boys Baseball – CAW 1 vs. Westmont 9

Magic Cube entertained our lower camp kids with an awesome game show full of trivia, games and a pie in the face. Our kids loved it and had a great night. There was so much laughter coming from Shields Hall tonight. Navajo campers were in the Lodge and played QUEST. They were all separated onto teams wearing different colors competing against one another in crazy quests. They loved it too. It was just an awesome camp night with all our campers having fun. It’s going to be hard for these kids to go back home after spending every night here being engaged and entrained.. The life of a Chenny kid is uber fun!!

Our Supers rolled back into camp full of memories they just made that will last their lifetime. So many stories, so much bonding, so much fun and so much LOVE. This group became one division this trip. They left as a bunch of bunks and came back a DIVISION. This is what the camp journey is all about. These kids have spent summer after summer here at camp and their Super summer, they bond like no other summer can provide. It happens on this trip. The endless hours on the bus in which they connect, and get to know one another in a way they haven’t before. They now have inside jokes and stories that belong to them as a group. Getting caught in a down pour in DC to literally sweating bullets on the beach in Virginia- they did this together. When they got off the buses, though exhausted from a  very full 4 days, their joy was undeniable. Every single camper, hugged us and thanked us for a trip that was their best. One camper summed it up so beautifully as he said, “Just when you thought camp couldn’t get better, it just did.” He thanked Jon and myself , hugged us both and walked off to his bunk with a smile that was so genuine, it made my heart melt. We have known these campers for years and to watch them get to this stage is joyful. They have grown up in front of our eyes and this trip was so meaningful to each one of them. Life is so great.

Chenny out.

 

Our day started with a bang. Our GC’s rolled back into camp and there was just joy as they got off the buses. When camp heard that they were back, campers swarmed around Chenny Central waiting to see our Wandering GC’s come back home.They made signs and as those buses rolled through the gates, we were all jumping and cheering with pure joy. That is what makes this place so joyful. It’s where everyone knows you name. Little kids, big kids, counselors, nurses, head staff, we are ALL CONNECTED to one another here. You see it by the hugs and piggy back rides we give one another all throughout the day and when our GC’s came back this morning, they were greeted with hugs, cheers and so much love. All of us wanting to know just how great their trip was. Just like a family, when one member comes home form being away, we anxiously await their return and thats how it was this morning. I sat watching this spectacle of love, smiling from what we have going on up here. Chenny is a place where everybody knows your name.

We are so beyond proud of our Lower camp girls who took 1st Place at the Tyler Hill Dance Competition. They worked so hard on their dance and it showed as they wowed the judges with their ability, technique, stage presence and overall effect. They were a force to be reckoned and had a blast of a day dancing all the way to 1st Place!!!!

Ineter Boys Basketball – CAW 29 vs. Morasha 43

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 24 @ Tioga 39

Seniors Boys Hockey Tournament @ Lokanda – Game 1 CAW 1 vs. Timberlake 4 – Game 2 CAW 1 vs. Lokanda 5

Though we are in July, it was Halloween tonight at Camp Chen-A-Wanda and we all got in the spirit. We all got dressed in our costumes and had a ball all throughout camp as we trick or treated filling our bags full of candy. The costumes were awesome and everyone was in the Halloween spirit. There was spooky music all throughout camp and even a haunted house. It was the perfect summer halloween night. With bellies full of goodies, our campers are fast asleep, dreaming of another amazing day in paradise.

Chenny out.