Author: Elissa

It was rise and shine for our Super kids as they got an early start to their day and off they went for the 4 day adventure to Virginia Beach. They were giddy with excitement as they boarded the buses bound for an incredible trip they had ahead of them. Then no too long after then it was our Seniors who were gathering in center camp for their overnight in Hershey Park. When you get to travel with your camp family is just plain awesomeness. From the bus ride to the attractions to sleeping in a hotel, it is just so much fun when you are with your campies. Overnight trips brings us closer as division and a camp family. It is inevitable that when the buses roll back into camp after a group has an overnight, they get off the bus all saying the same thing, “We had the best time…We laughed for hours…We had no idea he or she was so funny…That was the best trip.” We know this year will be no different and look forward to seeing the closer bonds each group will come back with.

Win or loose our Chenny kids love playing the sports they love to play.

Girls Gymnastic Tourney @ Bryn Mawr – CAW places 8th out of 13 competing teams

Freshmen/Junior Boys Basketball (Gold) – CAW 10 @ Tioga 32

Middy Boys Baseball (White) CAW 5 vs. Tioga 1

Collegiate Boys Baseball (Gold) – CAW 12 @ Westmont 13

It was Round Robin tonight for the Cherokee and Mohican kids at camp tonight with all of Navajo out of camp. The Freshmen/Junior and Inter Boys had a true Inter-camp night as they went to Camp Westmont for a Soccer tourney. Freshmen girls spent their night making chocolate in The Cookhouse while our Junior girls had a beach bonfire with s’mores, stories and songs. Middy boys enjoyed a night time pool party as the Middy girls were busy with Cake Wars in The Lodge. The Inter girls spent their night in the Chen-A-Plex in jammies and a great flick. The Collegiate boys played Cranium in Shields Hall as the Collegiate girls had a ball playing powder puff football under the lights.

Our GC’s are still West and their trip is winding down in Phoenix. It’s time for a little rest and relaxation for these campers have one more day on their trip of a lifetime. Looks like all the Chenny kids are loving’ life and having a summer they won’t soon forget.

Chenny out

 

 

Today was one of those summer days we wish wouldn’t end. Having been here for 4 weeks and with only 3 to go it seems that each day passes quicker than the next. How can we make time stop or at least slow down? We all wait so long to spend 50 days here and it seems to be going way too fast. At this point in the summer, everyone seems to cherish the little things that truly matter the most. Our relationships have grown stronger by the day and our new friends have officially become our family and old friends have continued to enrich our lives.

There is something that sticks out to me every summer as I watch these relationships grow and that is benefit of a hug. Something so simple and easy as a hug or a piggyback ride or holding a hand is just what we do, daily. It’s human connection that we all crave and here is where we get it. We may not even realize how much we need it until we get here and standing next to your friend or counselor seems awkward without sitting on their lap, holding their hands or giving them a hug. You have to see it to believe it and living in this environment breeds it. It’s the thread that makes us closer and the benefits are profound. How different the world be if getting and giving hugs happened like they happen here at camp. You can’t help but smile as you watch campers walk arm in arm to an activity. It warms you from the inside out. It brings our friendships to a very different level than with our home friends. It is why our camp friends become our family. It’s why we love this place so much. It’s why we call it home.

It was another fun day full of sports for our Chenny athletes.

Freshman/Junior Girls Soccer – CAW 3 vs. Westmont 6

Senior Girls Basketball (Gold) – CAW 16 vs. Tioga 22

Freshman/Junior Boys Baseball (Gold) – CAW 0 vs. Westmont 13

Middy Boys Basketball (Gold) – CAW 26 vs. Westmont 31

Middy Boys Basketball (White) – CAW 8 vs. Westmont 18

Inter Boys Softball – CAW 20 vs. Tyler Hill 8

Inter Boys Tennis – CAW 0 vs. Starlight 5

Collegiate Boys Baseball – CAW 5 @ Westmont 3

Tonight our campers were entertained by Audiobody, who dazzled us with their synthesizing drumming light show. You could hear a pin drop in Shields Hall and the look on your kids faces were priceless. It was a night that took our breath away and left us all in awe. They were fun to watch and we all felt as if we were apart of the show!! Here’s to another magnificent day in paradise.

Chenny out

 

The day was perfect and camp was ideal.  Campers were busy in their activities and it was just another perfect day in paradise. Nothing is wrong waking up in this gorgeous landscape, breathing in this crisp air, playing outside all day long and just loving life. It’s really hard to complain when your day is spent like this, surrounded by energetic happy people. From walking into the Lodge for breakfast, people pass you by and say, “Good Morning” all the way through curfew and you hear the words “Goodnight.. see you in the morning.” It’s a place that breeds good feelings and kindness. Where saying good morning and good night are as effortless as breathing. We are living in a city of good will and great vibes. Reason #175 why Life is Great at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Sports…Sports….Sports…. Chenny Loves their sports

Collegiate Girls Soccer – CAW 5 @ Wayne 1 (CAW advances to Finals)

Senior Girls Tennis – CAW 0 @ Wayne 5

Freshman/Junior Boys Baseball – CAW 1 @ Equinunk 4

Collegiate Boys Baseball – CAW 1 @ Starlight 8

Collegiate Boys Tennis – CAW 4 @ Starlight 1

It is such an honor to be a Camper of the Week and we couldn’t be more proud of these campers who earned and deserved it..

Freshmen                         Riley Skrief                   Alec Glazer

Juniors                              Sloane Kesselman     Jack Resnick

Middies                             Ashleigh Brett            Sam Kreshover

Inters                                 Jordan Glickman      Ben Farhi

Collegiates                         Rachel Novick            Noah Kule

Seniors                                Halle Recenstein      Ben Einzig

Supers                                 Phoebe Warshauer    Jordan Rosenberg

CIT’s                                     Gillian Stapler            Steven Bochner

Out GC’s are still having the time of their lives on their trip out West. They are in Las Vegas and loving it. It was Circus Circus in the day and some sightseeing on the strip at night. They group dined at Hard Rock Cafe and then off to an incredible show, Jabawokeez!! They LOVED it and loved Las Vegas. Next stop, The Grand Canyon. It just keeps getting better and better.

Everybody loves Minute To Win It and Chenny kids had a ball as each division had a boy and girl player represent their division.. The crowd cheered on their campers as they were playing for some fabulous and fun prizes. There were 16 players to start the game and after several rounds of incredible challenges, it was narrowed down to 2 finalist who battled it out. CIT Matty Krieger vs. Collegiate camper Jordan Model as they played Volcano in the last round. Each contestant had a cup full of mentos mints and both stood on a platform overlooking a large bottle of soda. The task needed them to successfully drop a mentos into the soda where it would cause a reaction for the soda to crate a volcano and shoot up. It was neck and neck and anyone’s game but with only seconds on the clock, Matty won!!! The crowd went crazy and the kids had a ball. Another amazing night here at Camp Chen-A-Wanda.

Chenny out

 

Have you ever sat and watched kids build sandcastles? I mean really watch the collaboration and design of the whole process? I did that today and what I saw was pure magic. There was a group of campers building sandcastles down at the beach. There were a few kids who were filling the buckets with water from the lake and the others that were digging the motes that surrounded the castles that were built by another crew. This division of responsibilities was like a dance these campers have done before. There was a vision they all had and boy were they busy. They discussed just how big the castle needed to be and together they worked to create this mini royal world all by themselves. It looked like too much fun to sit by and watch so just like them, I jumped in and added my own contribution with a stick here and a leaf there and every time someone new came to play with us, they were welcomed and their ideas were treasured and added value. It was the perfect example of collaboration, negotiation and creation that stemmed from building sandcastles together. This group of boys and girls, some younger and some older were working independently yet in sync with one another. We were all busy bees working together without a disagreement and with total collaboration that made something pretty beautiful. We did it together and as the bugle rang for shower hour, we all reveled in what we created. To them it was an awesome sandcastle but to me it was way more than that. It was watching your kids learn to work with others in the most positive, productive and supportive way. That sandcastle will most likely not be there in the morning but the value of what it taught your kids will be with them forever.

Another awesome day for Chenny Sports.

Inter Girls  Soccer – CAW 10 @ Tioga 1

Collegiate Girls Basketball – CAW 16 @ Nesher 36

Super Girls Soccer – CAW 7 @ Westmont 0

Freshman. Junior/Middy Boys LAX Tourney at Wayne – CAW lost both matches (7-9 & 5-8)

Inter Boys Soccer – CAW 6 @ Westmont 2

Collegiate Boys Soccer – CAW 4 @ Starlight 2

Senior Boys Tennis – CAW 0 vs. Tioga 5

Senior Boys Basketball – CAW 35 @ Morasha 37

Tonight was an incredible night as we watched our Head staff battle at Lip Sync. There were 8 AWESOME performances and each brought down the house. It was hilarious and entertaining. From our Basketball Director completely embodying Meghan Trainor as he lip synced All About That Base to our Head Counselors putting on a show that we will be talking about for days to come. You could barely hear the music as the roar of the crowd was defining. As hard as it was to choose 5 acts that will move on to our final Lip Sync Battle, we did narrow it down and the bar was set high. Not only do we have the best and most talented staff, they can put on a show that made every single person in Shields Hall smile and sing a long tonight. There is no place like camp!!! Life is Great.

Chenny out

 

Every summer I mention in these blogs how moved I get about watching the closeness develop between our campers and staff during the summer and today I was blown away watching it all unfold before my eyes. You can’t walk 5 feet without being in its presence. Girls holding hands, boys walking arm in arm, counselors giving piggy back rides, face-to-face everything. The giggles, the hugs, the physical connections we make and the abundance of love that is in this camp is tremendous. From the moment we roll out of bed, someone is arm in arm with someone walking to breakfast. We can’t get close enough as sitting on a lap at line-up is a must and crawling all over our counselors is what we do. Our closeness in this camp is incredible and it shows us just how much we crave this connection in a world where everything we do disconnects us. Our campers need it, our staff revel in it and the outcome is a community of people who are deeply happy and feel the love. I often wonder how different the world would be if everyone got to feel the love and experience this kind of connection for an extended time in their lives. These connections are real and are making a lasting influence on your children. We are all feelin’ the love!!!!

Our Chenny athletes were on point today with so many games being played. Everyone put in great effort and showed awesome sportsmanship. We could not be more proud of our Chenny athletes.

Middy Girls Soccer – CAW 1 @ Westmont 4

Inter Girls  Basketball – CAW 4 vs. Westmont 20

Collegiate Girls Softball – CAW 9 @ Tioga 4

Senior Girls Softball – CAW 6 @ Blue Ridge 8

CIT Girls placed 5th at Volley Tourney at Wayne

Collegiate Boys Basketball – CAW 22 @ Tioga 34

Senior Boys Soccer – CAW 1 @ Poyntelle 11

Super Boys Basketball – CAW 28 @ Westmont 39

Trivia madness was the craze tonight as campers played this awesome game show full of fun facts that we all know and love. Campers were contestants and it was a race to recall answers.  Questions ranged from pop culture to geography and the campers just had an absolute ball. Kids hit the buzzer when they knew the answers and the fun didn’t stop there. There were singing out the answers, silly dances as they raced to hit their button and even beach ball volleys as they recalled fun factoids from this outrageous game show. So much fun for our Freshmen – Collegiate campers. It was a different kind of night as we held a night swim pool party and beach bonfire for our seniors and supers. The  sun was setting on beautiful lake and our campers enjoyed this prefect summer night with a pool party, campfire and s’mores. There was a feeling at our waterfront tonight and as we watched our kids chat the night away around the campfire. The feeling was simple pure summer fun. Like we were watching a movie of what happens on a perfect summer night but this was no movie, it was real and our kids experienced a night that felt surreal. Some campers were swimming, some sat pool side and just talked with friends while others were roasting marshmallows listening to music around. It just doesn’t get better than a night like this.

Chenny Out