Ah-Raiot

Dear Ah-Raiot Parents & Guardians,
The first week of camp has sadly come to an end, but we have seven great weeks left to look forward to. This week was filled with lots of spirit and everyone had an awesome time. The first week of camp we celebrated the “High Holy Days”. We also learned about many Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.
One highlight of the week was the first time we sang a song as a group for camp. We sang the song “Grand ‘Ole Flag” in spirit of 4th of July. The kids all agreed that this song would be perfect to sing for camp. We thought it would be a great idea to have the kid’s makes paper flags to hold while they sang. The flags came out great and the kids were so excited about singing, that they sang the song all throughout the day. The annual Bouncy Bounce turned out to be a success like usual. This year they featured all new equipment which proved to be very fun. The new Bouncy Bounce and the new Bouncy obstacle course proved to be perfect and the kids loved every second.
On Thursday we all enjoyed another new addition to camp, a dance party. The dance party was a very fun way to end Thursday. We started off with the whole camp in four lines and we all proceeded to do the Macarena. Shortly after we listened to a mix put on by the Dj and every unit in camp proceeded to turn one counselor into a mummy. Every kid participated in wrapping up a counselor with toilet paper. It was very silly and every child had a smile on their face the whole time. Shortly after they mummified a counselor, we all did Cotton Eye Joe. Some kids even got up on stage and showed off their skills for all of camp. It was a nice addition and there was never a dull moment.
This Friday, we had a Field Day and Counselor Olympics. Many silly activities went on to keep the kids entertained. Counselors and kids had a really great time and they worked together to make it really fun. Every Friday at camp we also celebrate Shabbat. Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. It is a day where you can rest from regular labors of life and spend more time with family and friends. We listened to stories this week and we all sang Mizmor Shir. After we said the blessings, we ate challah bread and drank juice. It was a great time and a great way to end the first week of camp.
Next week we have our first late night. It will be on Tuesday, July 6th. Campers will have the opportunity to swim an extra 45 minutes and enjoy great food courtesy of Rachel Kutil. There will also be a bonfire in which campers from each group in the unit will sing a song for parents. Tuesday is also “Tie-Dye Day”, so if you have a tie-dyed shirt, wear it to camp!
We look forward to seeing you all next week and we know next week will be even more successful than this week was. Have a great 4th of July and see you next week! Shalom!!
Sincerely,
Devin, Jill, Millie & Anka