Category: General News

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

 

I sat in center camp today and watched your kids playing and was thinking of you, their families at home, wondering if the pictures and video truly relay how easy life is up here. There were kids swinging on swings and some were having a catch and most were in conversation with one another and all I kept think was how at ease our kids are. The music was bumping, the sun was shining and everyone was at ease. There is no traffic to get frustrated over, no daily stresses to occupy our minds and no concept of time to worry how late we are to an appointment. How nice it is to live in a state of ease and peacefulness and that is how we are living up here. It actually took my breath away as I felt incredibly grateful  that our kids get to detox from the stresses of their real world and live at ease for another 3 1/2 weeks.

Chen-A-Wanda has a perfect winning record today!

Inter Girls Basketball – CAW 21 vs. Westmont 7

Collegiate  Girls Softball – CAW 11 vs. Wayne 10

Super Girls Basketball – CAW 27 @ Lohikan 26

Freshmen/Junior Boys Baseball – CAW 5 vs. Starlight 0

Inter Boys Baseball – CAW 9 @ Wayne 1

Collegiate Boys Baseball – CAW 18 vs. Weequahic 6

Senior Boys Soccer – CAW 7 vs. Wayne 1

Chenny has so much talent that we needed another night to showcase our kids and they out did themselves tonight. They danced, told jokes, played instruments and sang and got up on that stage and felt the love. I am always blown away by the energy in Shields Hall as nights like tonight define our summer family. We love seeing each other on stage and we love cheering each other on. I tucked in some Middy girls tonight, two of which performed at this evening’s show and as we went around the bunk saying our rose & thorn of the day , the girls who performed said tonight was something they will always remember. As the giggles were in abundance as they recalled play by play of their performance, each said their rose was having the other by their side tonight and looking out at the audience and seeing the rest of their bunk cheering them on. This is what we do here and this is why we love our summer family.

Chenny out

 

There is something quite special about heading out of camp on trips with your campies. Everyone is wearing their camp shirts and we all load the buses to some amazing fun places. It unifies us as a group as we exit our gates for some fantastic adventures. Each group had a ball today as they enjoyed themselves beyond imagination.

Our youngest Freshmen campers spent their day at Claws and Paws Zoo and it was remarkable. They watched the monkeys play, they saw some great animal shows, they enjoyed the animal scavenger hunt and in one adorable Freshmen’s own words, “That was the best day ever.” They rolled back into camp right at shower hour, all with the stuffed zoo animals they bought there. The cuteness was too much too handle. After a yummy dinner, they brought their new zoo animal friends into the Chen-A-Plex as they watched Zoo Keeper.

The Juniors and Middies started their day at Leahy’s fun park where they played in the arcade, zoomed around the go-kart track, played mini-golf and had a blast of a day. Then it was off to the movies to catch this summer’s hottest blockbusters. Half of the campers saw Minions and the other half enjoyed Inside Out. They arrived back to camp just in time for dinner and then spent their night outside playing games and enjoying a perfect summer evening under the stars. An absolutely remarkable trip and a fun relaxing night back at camp. Just doesn’t get better than that.

Inters and Collegiates got wet, wild and wacky at Camel Beach today. It was a hot day and there is no better way to spend it than with your campies swirling around the giant toilet bowl!!!! They relaxed in the lazy river and had a blast in the wave pool. It was an all around perfect way to cool down and have an ideal summer day day.

Seniors and Supers spent their day at Aquatopia and it was perfect. The brand new indoor water park is the biggest of it’s kind in all of Pennsylvania. This ginormous indoor water park was the ideal spot for these campers. They relaxed at the pool after they spent hours on the rides. It was another amazing day for these campers who made memories that will last their lifetime. When they got back to camp, every single one of them said the same thing, “That was the BEST trip EVER!!!!”

Our Wanderers had a true LA day as they toured Sony Studios and saw movie magic. After the tour it was onto more Hollywood experiences with an afternoon spent at Universal Studios where they went on rides and saw attractions they only see in the movies. They are getting the real deal Los Angeles experience and we couldn’t be happier for them. They are soaking it all in and enjoying every moment.

The CIT’s spent their afternoon at Syracuse and after touring the campus, it was time to eat and shop. The day was perfect and so meaningful as one CIT said to the group as they rolled back ingot camp tonight, “We can’t ever forget days like today and in only 25 days, our time as Chen-A-Wanda campers is done.” So they made a commitment to treasure every moment and appreciate every experience they all will have for the next 25 days.

With the exception of our Wanderers, we are all back in camp, snuggled in our beds and sleeping soundly from a day well spent.  We are not wasting one moment here and living out our summer dreams.  Best news is we are only halfway through our summer and  there is so much more to do. When we say Life is Great here, we mean it!!!!

Chenny out

 

It was 3rd period and I walked into ceramics where I saw a group of Collegiate boys having the best time using the pottery wheel. They were all laughing and so excited to show me their works of art. Some were creating hand made bowls and a few made coasters but why this moment stuck out to me today is because these same boys who were having a ball with clay just got off the field from a serious soccer game they had with their division. Their faces were flushed and they still had sweat running down their cheeks and  these kids went form a fierce game of soccer where they ran up and down the field  to sitting down  in Arts & Crafts making a creation with clay. They were focused and loved showing me what they were making. This is the Chenny kid in a nut shell. Fierce athletes playing with all heart, straight to ceramics as they so delicately molded a masterpiece. When you think of a well rounded kid who can pop in and out of activities that each equally engage their mind, body and spirit, you think of a Chenny Kid. This is what we do here and this is why your kids love spending their summers at Chenny.

It was a great and fun day for Chenny Sports.

Freshman/Junior Girls Soccer – CAW 0 vs. Tioga 5

Middy Girls Basketball – CAW 21 vs. Westmont 20

Senior Girls Basketball – CAW 8 @ B’nai Brith 25

Inter Girls Softball – CAW 3 @ Westmont 4

Middy Boy Baseball – CAW 30  vs. Lavi 29

Collegiate Boys Tennis – CAW 5 vs. Westmont 0

Senior Boys Baseball – CAW 8 @ Westmont 3

Tonight was all about our talented kids who get up on that stage and shined so bright. Before we were entertained by the plethora of talented Chenny Kids it was our Kind Camper Awards. We are pleased to announce that this week there even more nominations with kind acts happening every day by so many campers. It is with such joy that we announce this weeks Kindest Campers: Cami Platt, Alexa Becker, Julia Blee, Liam Irizarry, Bennet Goldstein, Sarah Kaplansky, David Stulberger, Sam Erlich, Sydney Steinberg, Zoe Grabow, Max Wasserman, Zoe Gorsky, Cole Weiss, Zoey Wood, Zach Olson ad Chloe Lebovitch. This Kind kids smiled from ear to ear as I announced their names and they got their tshirts. To be recognized by your peers for your kindness makes you feel just awesome.

To feel the love in Shields Hall tonight was to be in the presence of something pretty special and moving. When our kids take that stage, no matter if they  play guitar, sing a song or do tricks with their diablo, they receive an ovation of cheers followed by hundreds of people screaming, YOU ARE A SUPER STAR. Can you imagine the feeling of getting that response when you put your talent out their in the Chen-A-Wanda universe? It’s insanely awesome and those kids who performed loved every minute of it. Confidence is built here and support thrives amongst us all. We love making out fellow campers feel the love and tonight was off the charts. We know that for those 30 campers who stood on that stage and entertained us all tonight, they felt the love. We all felt it and you couldn’t help but leave Shields Hall tonight with huge smile and a happy heart.

Chenny out.