A Beau-Tea-ful Party

Our ladies who lunch were decked out in fanciful garden dresses, lace gloves and hats with flowers. Stepping into the CSS Garden (we continue to be be surprised by the different faces of the dining room), they let themselves take it all in. The tables were set with heavy brocade floral tablecloths, delicate china tea sets, bouquet centerpieces. A buffet of finger sandwiches, napoleons, custard cakes and petit fours graced the back table. Yet another station was set up where campers decorated straw hats with ribbons and bows and lace. Classical music played in the background as we dantily sipped out tea. 'Twas simply lovely.

The Mentalist Amazes Minds

Welcome back. This is Leah with member station WCSS. Thank you for joining us for today's segment of "Simcha Special Activity." We bring you reports of Ted Saint James, psychic entertainer, in a humorous and entertaining show. This mentalist involved every member of the audience in mind-reading games. We wrote down personal information that he could not possibly know and then gave him the cards. He blindfolded himself and then astounded us by guessing what we had written. Ted even correctly guessed the birthdate of Melanie C.

Rochel D. said,

"I loved it."

In an official statement camper Ilana F. said,

"It was freaky, like how could he read minds? Was it really real? It was wonderfully amazing."

Workshop Watch: Woodworking

Good afternoon and thanks for joining us today for this edition of Workshop Watch. I'm Leah and I'll be your host. Today we are getting reports of activity down at the Woodworking shop where Mr. Engel is helping campers fashion unique pieces out of wood. From piles of sawdust, emerge napkin holders, key racks, jewelry boxes among other things. Campers first saw the wood, then shape it, sand it, glue together any pieces, then finally stain and decorate it.

Yocheved Krakauer (no relation to Jon) contributed reporting to this story. She spoke with campers. Here's what they had to say:

Mara C. said she

"worked so hard and made a napkin holder."

Ilana F. made a key holder. She said,

"the best part was when I helped to cut the wood."

Another camper, Karen, said,

"I made my name and the best part was working with Risa on the saw."

It Never Rains in Camp Simcha, It Only Waters the Grass

The flowers we planted this morning are now being watered by a delicate rain. Our ladies who lunch are enjoying an extended garden party in the terrace dining room and learning camp cheers. A special activity is planned for later in the afternoon.

How Green is Our Garden

Today will be a leisurely walk in the park. In fact, a garden, complete with trellises and climbing ivy seems to have sprung up in the dining room overnight. As this reporter's mother says about children, "give them plenty of water and sunshine and they'll grow." Here in Camp Simcha, there must be something in the water, because it seems like we'll all grown together over the past week. But don't think we'll be resting on our laurels. Camp is packed with activities. Among the scheduled activities is gardening. We're going to get our hands dirty. Stay with us for more updates.

Where there's a fire drill, there's a (bon)fire!?

Camp Simcha gets an A+ on a perfect regularly scheduled fire drill. All was in order. But what was that smoke rising from behind the pool?

It's Leah here, investigating from the scene. There appears to be a small fire surrounded by stones and wood. Expert witnesses tell me this is called a bonfire. The natives are dancing in a circle around this structure. They're holding hands and swaying back and forth, singing to the music. Aviva Honickman and others are strumming away at their guitars. The natives are cooking hotdogs, popcorn and smores on long sticks. Other campers are busy decorating masks in honor of the Purim party. The sun may set and the fire may die down, but memories of tonight will flicker on.

Musical-IQ Brings Arts to Life in CSS

The day just keeps getting better and better. In the afternoon, the Musical IQ team guided us in a vibrant program of music and rhythm. The program opened with a drum performance. Then campers were given a special drums to play. Called a djembe, this drum comes from the West African country of Mali and is played in community settings. Our guide Ross told us that the group energy, not the instrument, is what makes the performance unique. We learned the two sounds the drum can make: the low sound from the center portion, called the bass and the higher sound from the side, called the tone. The interactive, hands-on approach to creating music and meaning helped us further cohere as a CSS group. The program was both energetic and inspiring.

Rachel L., Rachel B., Bracha D. and Sara made up their own beat and performed it for the rest of camp.

Overheard in Camp Simcha

Ari and her sister Tali H. were talking about home. Ari commented that Tali's favorite place is home.

"No," corrected Tali, "My favorite place on Earth is Camp Simcha Special!"

Party Favor: Masks

Hear ye, hear ye. It has been decreed by Queen Rivky that all Camp Simcha campers should receive masks in honor of today's Purim Party. We also gave mishloach manos (candy-grams) to our friends.

Workshop Watch: Scrapbooking

Stickers, glue, glitters, scissors, colored paper, cut-outs litter the tables in the scrapbooking room. We're making scrapbooks and calendars. Here's what we have to say about it.

Baila Perel D.

I made a calendar. It looks the cutest you have ever seen. It has pictures in the background of what we dressed up as and the theme. And we made the letters colorful and I have very good taste, all different colors. It has just the two months of camp so you remember what we did each day and what we dressed up as. I can look at it when come home from camp.

Juliette

We made calendars with lots of pictures describing a different day that we were here. We put it down on the calendar to describe the experience.

Emily R.

I liked scrapbooking because there were cool patterns and papers and different supplies. I made a scrapbook page and I'm going to put the pictures that I am taking here so that I can have memories of camp. I love camp because I get to do things I never thought I could do.

Workshop Watch: Leather

At the leather workshop this year we are busy at work. Campers especially like making bracelets, siddur covers and, new for this season, picture albums. They love personalizing their crafts with stamps and then painting the leather. Keren is making a keychain for her friend Naomi back at home. Shana is making a headband. Samarra is working on a keychain. Francesca is making a bracelet with her name on it.

It's a Bird - No, it's a Plane!

That's right! This morning helicopter rides came to Camp Simcha. We went on rides around Gley Spey. The aerial views of the campgrounds and lake were beautiful. Some of us have been looking forward to this special activity all year.

Francesca said, "It was amazing. It was the best experience and I hope that I get to go on next year. And I always like to go in the air."

Chaya Fraidel said, "It was a lot of fun. My favorite part was when we were up in the air. I could see everything in camp."

Thanks to Ponytail Shlomo (it's fake) and Bob the Pilot.

Venahapoch Hu!

Where is the head staff table? Why are we eating dinner for lunch? Why do our division heads look different today? Because it's Purim, of course!

Camp Simcha Special woke up this morning to a topsy-turvy world in which campers are counselors, head staff, and maintenance, and Purim music is heard in the middle of the summer. Our new head counselor for the day, Henny O., made all of the morning announcements over the loudspeaker, and Stephanie, dressed as Bill Cosby, entertained us all with her hilarious jokes.

After an inspiring learning group led by Liliya, we couldn't wait to see what other topsy-turvy surprises Purim Day holds in store!

Acrobatics Team Delights on This Superbowl Sunday

Chicago Boyz Acrobatics Team drove all the way in from Chicago to amaze us with their awesome stunts. They performed jaw-dropping flips, turns, jump rope tricks and even jumped over very brave campers and even Shaindy Lowenthal. One of the gymnasts, nicknamed Superman because he flew so high, leapfrogged over seven campers in a row. Rena stood on top of Head Lifeguard Rachel's shoulder and then one of the gymnasts jumped over them.

Workshop Watch: Roofy Roofy

For the first Roofy Roofy project of the summer, we are making beautiful wax creations. Kyle from Allentown, PA says making candles has been her favorite activity so far. The candles I've seen are multi-layered with concentric scales that resemble palm trees arranged around a center cylindrical candle base. They're purple and red and yellow and give off a light sweet scent when they burn. Look for these in your campers' suitcase when she comes home. The candles are beautiful addition to a havdalah set. Shifra, the pottery director, has also told us that some campers have made their own pottery candle holders and then taken them to Roofy Roofy to fill with brightly colored, sweet-smelling wax.

Party Favor: Caps

Party City is reporting that popular athletic hats have been completely sold out. In a related news story, in honor of the Simcha Superbowl, campers received athletic hats for party favors.

Simcha Scores Major Victory in Superbowl

Welcome to the first annual Simcha Superbowl. It's Simcha Swines (campers) vs. Simcha Staff. The social hall became a field with taped down foul lines and goals. Alexis opened with a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. The game was on!

The half-time show featured the Lovely, Lively Lifeguards in an exclusive performance. Another two of our staff member performed skateboard stunts.

Of course our very athletically inclined campers won scored touchdown after touchdown as the staff fumbled over their feet and tried to steal the balls from each other.

And the crowd went wild! Dressed in their favorite team's colors and face paint, everyone was cheering with horns.

We re-energized with a celebratory Superbowl dinner of subs, heroes, chicken wings and chips and salsa. Then we relaxed for the after-dinner commercial break. Simcha filmmakers really enjoyed producing the commercial from thinking up the concept to directing their fellow bunk-mates to acting out and shooting the final product. The screening of the advertisements had us all laughing all the way to night activity.

Hut! hut! hut! Hey Simcha!

We are the champions - my friends. . .

This is Leah reporting from Party City, NY where preparations for the first annual Simcha Superbowl are in progress. This morning expert cheerleaders taught us a stretching and dance routine set to sports songs. Out on the field (who knew the dining room could have so many faces?), the Simcha Swines (homage to the H1N1 virus) are getting in formation. Campers and counselors are in uniform with whistles and eye black.

Simcha filmmakers are now are producing their own commercials for the Superbowl. The categories for the different advertisements include Tamiflu, Maayim Chayim water, Pizza and camp's famous Gem Carts. The commercials will be screened tonight during the after-party. The Simcha Academy Awards committee will be attending.

Stay with us for more updates straight from the field.

Gut Voch !

I'm Leah and this is Letters Home from Simcha Special live from the basement of the dining hall. We're getting reports of post-Shabbos dancing already taking place above ground. In fact, I can feel the floor shaking above me. Camp is bringing in what will certainly be a week of excitement.

Nechama S. and Tali H. inspired us with their divrei Torah on the parsha.

We spent Shabbos afternoon in our famous Bingo games, relaxing in the library and taking luxurious shabbos walks around camp.

Rabbi Scholar addressed staff and campers after Oneg Shabbos on Friday night.

Stay with us for more updates from the Happiest Place on Earth.

It's Time to Say Good Shabbos

Another week's gone by, become a memory . . .

Camp is preparing for Shabbos. Kabalas Shabbos is in less than ten minutes. After that we'll have seudas shabbos and zemiros. Tomorrow morning after davening is the kiddush in honor of the baby shower and then after seudas shabbos, we'll have special learning groups and a shabbos play.

We'll be back here after Shabbos with updates from the weekend.

Workshop Watch: Pottery

During the thunderstorm, we had to stay indoors and I had to stay in the pottery room for about hour. There were only a few people there including the pottery director, a waitress, a camper and her counselor. During that short time, I watched as the homesick camper, who had never been to camp before and was having trouble adjusting, light up as she and Shifra, the potter, fashioned a mug, a bowl and a vase for all her friends back home. I think sticking her hands into the clumpy wet clay and then holding them around the lump of gray clay that would become a unique piece of her own was a transforming moment.

Shloime Dachs Concert !

It's Erev Shabbos and there's just enough time to fit in ... a concert ?! Surprise, Camp Simcha Special, Shloime Dachs is here for the first concert of the summer.

Disco lights on overhead, the social hall was shaking underneath our feet from the frenzied dancing. In Simcha spirit, the concert was a perfect prelude to Shabbos. Many campers were able to come out of their wheelchairs and dance with their counselors in a circle on on their counselor's shoulders. Everyone sang up a storm -- literally. It rained outside, but we barely noticed. Bracha sang us a solo. We love Shloime in Camp Simcha Special. As Shloime Dachs said, "Thank you so much. I'm so glad to be back here in Camp Simcha Special. . . I was so happy that I came."

Party Favor: Necklaces

Today in honor of the baby shower, campers received light-up pacifier necklaces.

We're now back to our regularly scheduled activities and are waiting to hear about the special activity of the day.

Kiddush Announced

Tomorrow morning we are going to have a special Shabbos kiddush in honor of the CSS baby shower. Does anyone have any name suggestions? Campers can post their ideas at our party headquarters. The winning name will be announced tomorrow.

Cupcakes as Cute as Campers

In honor of our baby shower, we had delicious pink and blue cupcakes decorated with teddy bears for dessert after lunch. Yum!

Camp Simcha Flexes its Brain Muscles

The Brain Show, the latest addition to the lineup of Camp Simcha shows, surprised us on this bright Friday morning. Our hosts, Chris and Arielle, let us know how the game is played. Before we began we had to take the The Brain Show pledge:

I, Camp Simcha Special, promise not to yell out or whisper the answers to the contestants.

You can't lose points if you get the answer wrong, but you can lose points if you don't do the "thing-in-between." We had to dance the right moves to the dance music played in-between rounds.

The winners of the Brain Show were awarded the official "I am a Brain Show Maniac Medallion." In an company statement, Chris warned, "Remember that medallion is worth exactly 49 cents."

A big round of applause for our contestants!

Mazal Tov - It's a Girl !

From Glen Spey, Party City, NY, we bring you joyous news of a baby shower for CSS. At our celebratory brunch this morning, the dining room was piled high with gifts and baby merchandise.

In early morning races, we competed to see who could finish a bottle of apple juice first, who could finish the puzzle first, and who could make the best play dough sculpture.

Our precious bundles of joy are excited for the surprises the day will bring.

B'Shaah Tovah.

After Dinner Mints - Refreshing News

Congratulations to Molly Z. and Ahuva G. on passing the deep water test!

Congratulations to Baila Perel for walking up all the stairs to the top of the fun slide!

Malka S. drove the motor boat today!

We're so proud.

Coming soon ... a luau right here in Camp Simcha.

Carnival of the (Party) Animals

Reporting to you from the front lawn where a water carnival is visiting Camp Simcha Special, we're cooling off with water activities. There are awesome rides like a fun slide and a moonwalk; but on this scorcher of a day, the dunk-your-counselor booth is definitely the hit. We're having a ton of fun at the booths where we are playing ring toss, count the pennies, bowling. Jessica O. won a Dora the Explorer towel that she can't wait to use at the pool. Prizes for the lucky include Elmo hats, plastic cell phones, stuffed animals, sunglasses, bangles, wristlets, lip gloss, decks of cards, bubbles.

I just watched a paraplegic camper, her face ecstatic as she slid down the slide with her counselors at her sides. Where else but here could something like that happen? It was gratifying to see the counselor and campers bonding and everyone enjoying themselves.

Beach Party

"Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone."

From deep inside the blogosphere, somewhere in the middle of Glen Spey, Party City, New York, this is your host Leah reporting live on an important new development.

We're getting reports of Camp Simcha camped out at the beach. But this is no lazy day at the shore. It's a Beach Party. We're heading out on the ocean into new adventures on the high waves of Camp Simcha Lake. Decked out in leis, hula skirts, floaties and even towels, campers showed up for breakfast ready for the first full day of camp.

Simcha's aspiring filmmakers are getting their start right here at Simcha Studios. This morning after breakfast, Rivky announced the Each camper has one day to document her experience in camp on film. At the end of the session, she is handed her film to take home for her family.

Next, we headed into learning groups. The theme for learning groups this season is charity and good deeds. I sat in with Bunks 6 and 7 for their session in the movie room. Led by shiur counselor Esti, campers told us about the good deeds they have recently performed. Libby said "today this morning I gave two people soda." Jessica L.'s counselor told us that Jessica "always cares about everyone and texts them all the time." Evelyn woke up early this morning and didn't even wake up her counselor. She just waited in bed until her counselor got up by herself. Jessica O. brought water for other people who needed it. During lunch, campers had the opportunity to practice what they had learned in the morning and give tzedakah [charity].

Official Division Meetings followed Learning Groups. If you are not sure which division your camper is in, here's a handy list.

Rockers
Jesters
Party Animals Bunks 6,7, 8, 9 and 10
Crashers Bunks 21, 22, 23 and 24
Shenanigans 25, 26, 29 and 30

Batsheva's Party Animals went around the circle introducing themselves to the each other. Here are some interesting soundbites:

My name is Chani and I like fruits and vegetables and I'm from Argentina.
My name is Ahava and I'm from Toronto.
My name is Rena and I'm from the City of Angels.
My name is Alexis and one of my favorite things to do is knit scarves. I knit for my twin sister. We're identical. I'm from Allentown, PA. I love to draw.
I'm Liat and I'm from California.
My name is Leah Chaya and I'm from Israel.
My name is Stephanie and and I just graduated elementary school.

At the Beach, we're surfing USA. We would not have known that we were on the the volleyball court if not for the net on top of all that sand. There was a sand art painting and keychain making. We built a city out of sand in our sand castle building contest. After dancing through the sprinklers, we went on a seashell hunt.

Lunchtime at the beach and Camp Simcha is lounging around on beach chairs in the dining room. From their cabanas and grass huts, campers ordered smoothies and special mixed drinks. Chief Lifeguard Rivky Schwartz presided a contest in which five visiting beach bums (division heads) were in a hula hooping contest. But the catch was that the campers had to squirt water in their mouths at the same time.

Campers are going to pick out party favor: visors, Hallmark cards and hand sanitizer. [Sings: "Wash your hand, wash your hands, wash your hands with soap! Tra la la..."]

Until next time.

Welcome to Camp Simcha Special 2009 !

Hello Camp Simcha Special!

This year for the first time, we're having live blogging straight from camp. This is Leah here and I'll be your source of news and developments from our headquarters in Glen Spey, Party City, New York.

I'm only on the bus up to camp, but sources close to camp tell me that camp this year is going to be quite a party. I'm heading up from Monsey. The trip is about an hour and a half so by the time I look around we should be right there. . .

And here we come up the road, I can see the signs. Camp Simcha Special, we have arrived. WELCOME TO THE CAMP SIMCHA SPECIAL PARTY!
A huge banner on the front gate ushers campers into what will be a spectacular two weeks.

We are greeted by droves of clowns and entertainers -- whoops, I mean staff members -- already there. They are singing and dancing and look there's Aviva playing away at the piano. From the window, I can see Rivky Schwartz and Esti Kleinkaufman buzzing about. I recognize my friends from last year and a host of new faces.

I grab my bags and head to the office to get my room assignment. Then off to Room 604 of the Hotel, where I will be staying for the next two weeks. My bunk is neat and clean and comfortable as always, and I quickly put everything away so I can head back outside, into the action. It's almost time for supper, but before then I descend into the lower level, past the library and arcade room, past the computer room where I notice a line of shiny new computers, and into our Headquarters. It's from that I'll be compiling the newspaper and keeping you posted on the latest news exclusively from CSS.

Top officials from the newspaper office, including a new staff member named Nechama, met today to discuss top secret information about this summer's newspaper. The content of that meeting will be revealed tomorrow around lunch-time. When asked about the theme of the newspaper, the newspaper office declined to comment. This leaves no choice but to wait anxiously until then.

In the meantime: dinner and then dancing! The excitement in the dining room is palpable and the floor is almost shaking beneath us as campers and counselors dance to the beat.

GIVE ME A "C"
GIVE ME A "A"
GIVE ME A "M"
GIVE ME A "P"
GIVE ME A "S"
GIVE ME A "I"
GIVE ME A "M"
GIVE ME A "C"
GIVE ME A "H"
GIVE ME A "A"

What does that spell? CAMP SIMCHA ! ! !

Please don't stop the music ... but the Rebbe's Tisch is about to begin in the social hall. And now for the first night activity of the summer. What's it going to be? You guessed it -- more dancing! Disco lights on overhead, CSS got into camp spirit as the video screen dropped down from the ceiling. We watched the CSS '08 video. This summer promises to be even more fun, with even more jaw-dropping activities and surprises.

Each specialty made a presentation. The waitresses reminded us that "I'm a fork, spoon and knife -- spatula." Aviva contacted the American Academy for Arts and Crafts to find the best arts and crafts heads. In an interview, these experts told us they were trained in the best schools. Among our staff members are graduates of TAG and FIT.

The camp-famous tenor Libby sang us a solo. The song is her original composition. "If we weren't here we would be really sad. Now that we're here and having fun let's say a a cheer with everyone!"

After this introduction, the specialties performed a dance number set to a song recorded exclusively for CSS. The lyrics are perfectly appropriate to the theme for the summer.

It's your party, you'll make it. We're waiting, come on. Yes, you got it. Let's rock it, don't wait around too long. Now you're invited, don't miss it. Step up. Come on. Dream. Dream. Dream. Dream. Life is but a dream.

The main activity for tonight was a "Get to know you" game. Everyone split into their camp divisions and assembled in circles. The game showed us how we are all connected: The object of the game was to get to know our bunkmates. A ball of yarn started in one camper's hands. Then, description was called out and the ball was tossed to the girls who fit the requirements. The first girl still held on to the end of the string, making a connection between the two girls. Then another description is announced and the second girl threw it to the third. At the end, there was a whole web of yarn, connecting everyone to each other.

Who has green eyes?
Who has five kids in her family?
Who is the only girl in her family?
Who is the middle child?
Who is wearing a pink shirt?
Who plays an instrument?

The game was going well until they asked "Who loves Simcha Special?" There simply not enough string to go around for that question. When all the string was gone, we saw a slideshow of campers from last summer. Off to the canteen, the arcades, the gym or bed.

Good night, everyone! Can't wait to speak tomorrow.

After hours at the canteen: A dozen campers were spotted at the canteen after night activity. After filling up on their favorite hot pretzels and knishes, some campers headed over to the gym for a karaoke session.