The Imagineers have finished off a great first half of the camp season! Although Adventureland was rained out, we had an early trip to the movies and got to see Incredibles 2 - in fact, Jack Jack was our favorite character in the film! On Tuesday, we painted our very own pictures of beautiful tulips in Arts and Crafts, and spent Wednesday back at camp playing Kickball and Ping Pong and ate yummy hamburgers for lunch. Thursday was all fun under the sun at the Bronx Zoo - we saw butterflies, flamingos, rhinos, and red pandas! And, of course, we can’t wait to show off our awesome group song at Family Day tomorrow!

This week, Tori, Brianna, Immaliah and Madison all stayed back to help pile up our Family Day song sheets nicely after collecting them during practice. Thanks for your help, girls!

Week three continued on Tuesday with exciting in-camp activities, like swim, gym, teen lounge, and the Wii room. We continued to prepare for Family Day, the campers excited to perform for their visitors on Friday, July 27th! 

Dressed in their red camp shirts, our campers spent Wednesday at the weekly barbecue. We enjoyed activities like soccer, newcomb, and playground games. We fueled up on a lunch of consisting of hot dogs, sandwiches, watermelon, and the like. After cleaning up and enjoying some more play time, we returned to camp to cool off in the pool! 

Thursday morning began with a refreshing swim, followed by a period spent playing games in the Wii room. Then, we boarded the buses for SkyZone. Upon arrival, we were greeted by an assortment of trampolines, slides, and games satisfying everyone’s craving for intense fun. Back at camp, the day came to a close with gym. At dismissal, we refueled for the trip home with ices and fresh fruit. 

The week concluded with an assortment of in-camp activities, like swim, gym, and music with Ilan. At our Friday morning Oneg  Shabbat service, we listened to Rachel’s unique stories about kindness and compassion. Then, we sang songs reflecting the Sabbath’s theme of peace and reflection. Upon the conclusion of the service, our campers walked into the lunchroom hand-in-hand, setting the mood for a tasty chicken nugget and French fry lunch (along with salad and other goodies). After lunch, the 8/9 Boys played an intense game of Gaga in our outdoor Gaga pit. Then, we met with the weekly Krav Maga instructor to practice self-defense drills and fitness exercises. Having spent the day - and the week - engaged in exciting and challenging activities, we all looked forward to a weekend of rest, albeit reluctant to leave our friends for a while two days! 

While campers spent the weekend anticipating Monday’s trip to Adventureland, rainy weather meant that the trip would be postponed to a sunnier day. In lieu of rollercoasters, the entire Upper Camp spent the morning enjoying a thrilling Incredibles 2 at the movie theater. At camp, we feasted on a bagel lunch, followed by such activities as music, gym, swim, and continued preparation for Family Day. 

Jamie F. is the camper of week three! Jamie is the calm in the center of the storm - when others lose their cool, Jamie is a beaming source of patience, perseverance, and optimism. Jamie is an integral part of our group, and we look forward to spending the rest of the summer with him!

We started off our third week of camp with the Manhattan Circle line. We went on the boat with the 8/9s and got a good view of the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty from the water. The boat itself was somewhat fast making the breeze in the front quite nice. Then afterwards we all took a picture next to the boat. On Tuesday we said our goodbyes to three 10/11 boys who would be enjoying the rest of the week at the New Jersey Y overnight while the rest of us had a wonderful time back at camp in the pool, at gym, baking cookies, eating pizza, etc. The boys also learned a little self-defense in the weekly Krav Maga class. Our second Wednesday barbeque was just as fun as the first, but with hot dogs instead of hamburgers this time. Thursday’s trip to Sky Zone was easily the highlight of the week. Sky Zone is an indoor trampoline center, where the kids jumped around for fun, played dodgeball, shot basketballs, or jumped into a foam pit. Friday was different from the norm because we had a lice inspection going on. The inspection was quick and didn’t hinder anyone from having fun for the rest time being. We still got to play gaga, play in the gym, and swim.
    The camper of the week is David L. David is always polite and respectful towards other campers and his counselors. More importantly on Friday David had single handedly beat the 8/9 boys and their staff members in an 8/9 boys vs 10/11 boys gaga game.

The 8/9 boys have enjoyed an exciting first week at Hillcrest 2018! On the first day, campers reunited with their friends, and first-time campers were met with warm greetings. After gathering in our home base to agree on a set of rules unique to our group, and after the very first swim meeting of the summer, we boarded the bus and were on our way to the batting cages and mini-golf courses. Competition, albeit friendly, buzzed on the golf courses, marked by laughter and words of encouragement. This continued in the batting cages, where our campers cheered each other on as they swung their baseball bats. Upon arriving at camp, the fun only continued; we enjoyed playing games in the gym, like basketball, catch, and tag. Afterwards, we partook of ices and fruit to close off a definitive first day of camp. 

Impressed by our first day of camp, we wondered what the second day might hold in store. Experienced campers knew all-too-well that Tuesday meant there would be no trip (and that there would be pizza!). We enjoyed both instructional and recreational swim, and returned once again to the gym with Greg. At lunch, our campers enjoyed pizza, salad, eggs, tuna, and sandwiches. In Jewish culture, we learned about the holiday of Chanukah and baked cookies. In music with Ilan, we learned about different instruments, brainstormed a unique band name, and even had a jam session! At day’s end, we wished a happy Fourth of July as we enjoyed our customary ices and fruit. 

Upon arriving at camp on Thursday, we inquired about each other’s Fourth of July. Questions buzzed all around: Did you see fireworks? Did you have a barbecue? Did you travel anywhere? It was in this spirit of mutual care that we enjoyed our trip to Lazerland. We played dodgeball, gaga, and laser tag with sportsmanship and camaraderie. At dismissal, we reflected on another successful day of camp over ices and fruit. 

To close off the week, Friday was spent in camp. We swam in swim, ran in gym, and engaged our creativity in arts and crafts. Before lunch, we attending our first weekly Oneg Shabbat service in the sanctuary, where we learned about gratitude, rest, and the weekly Jewish Sabbath. Naturally, we enjoyed our chicken nugget lunch (with salad, tuna, french fries, eggs, etc.) with greater appreciation than before. Afterwards, we practiced self-defense in Krav Maga, learning how best to stand up for ourselves, all the while getting an incredible workout. After a jam-packed day, and week, at camp, we looked forward to reuniting with our friends the following Monday.

The second week began with another trip, this time to the Jones Beach pool. After socializing and getting to know each other better on the bus ride out to Long Island, we changed into our bathing suits and hopped into the pool. Some campers stayed in the shallow end; others dove off of the diving board. Similarly, while some chose to eat bagels at lunch, others opted for eggs or tuna. Despite our individual styles, we all came together as a group in the spirit of enjoyment and mutual respect. Upon returning to camp, we concluded a long day by sitting back, relaxing, playing a few games in the Wii room, and eating our ices and fruit at dismissal. 

The camper of the week is Scott L. Scott is best known for his kind, respectful, positive attitude, reflected in the way he engages with his fellow campers and his counselors alike. He approaches everything with an infectious smile, from playing sports in the gym and swimming with his friends, to asking a counselor to help him at lunch. Scott is truly a pleasure to have in our group

   The first week of camp was exciting for both the returning boys who got to see their friends after the long school year, and new ones eagerly waiting to find out what this camp is like. On Monday, the first day of camp after the group did some icebreakers and went over some rules we went to mini golf and batting cages. Although not the most exciting trip of the summer, it was one way to get outdoors and enjoy the hot summer day. I found it interesting though that although we were experiencing a heatwave at the time, that didn’t stop the boys from having fun. In fact the tremendous heat served as a way for the new campers to get involved with the rest of the group since they could all complain about how hot it was together, which they absolutely did. It also made going in the pool at the end of the day so much more rewarding for them. Tuesday was a day in camp, nothing out of the ordinary, the campers played pin down in gym, won some cool prizes during bingo, had arts and crafts, baked cookies in Jewish Culture, took their swim assessments, played in the Wii room, and in the teen lounge. I think all the boys were most excited about the pizza for lunch that day. On Thursday at Laser Land, everyone had the most fun they could possibly have. When we arrived, we immediately got into a game of laser tag, and the laser tag there is actually pretty good, because at some other places it isn’t. Then we played some gaga, dodgeball, and arcade games. I think this trip was very enjoyable for the kids because all the staff were involved in all the games with them, and what kid wouldn’t like throwing balls at their counselors without getting in trouble?  Friday was another in camp day, but you could tell that this time all the kids had gotten extremely comfortable with each other and in the camp after just a few days.

            Our camper of the week was Nicholas M. Nicholas was very respectful to both his counselors and his peers. He listened to what people had to say 100% of the time. He had also brought a lot of liveliness to the group because at times he would randomly break into dance. I learned he is a pretty good dancer and is a pretty funny kid.