Spotlight on Shoafim

Shoafim is made up of campers entering 8th grade. Numbers wise, they are the largest aidah in camp, and just like all the other aidot, they are looking to make a big impact on camp.

Jacob Kanter (Rosh Shoafim): This is my fifth year on staff. Last two years I was a Nivo counselor, and the two years before that I was a Garinim/Halutzim counselor. I wanted to come back as a rosh because I really do love this place and I really believe in everything that it tries to achieve in terms of giving the campers a summer experiences that's both educational and memorable. I wanted to work with this aidah in particular because I had heard really good things about these campers. They were actually my campers when they were in Garinim. Shoafim is an age group that I had never worked with before-I had worked with the youngest and the oldest. This age group was something new for me and so far it has been fun.

We're the biggest aidah in camp and I think we have the most color and talent and spirit across the board. Our aidah is full of great campers who want to impact this place and are willing to let this place impact them.

One of the themes that I had conceived of before the summer had to do with the meaning of the word Shoafim. The general meaning is "to aspire," but it also means "to inhale." So, I think it's interesting that we can have these grand ideas to build a summer and build a community, but at the same time we have to remember to take a step back and take a deep breath and take our time.

Not being a counselor, I don't have as much interaction with the campers as I would like, but when I do get to have one-on-one interaction with them, I really enjoy it. The campers are so willing to laugh and have a good time and share their thoughts. I have given yishunim to most of the cabins in our aidah and I ask each camper one thing they like about camp and one thing they don't like and I have heard some really interesting things that I had never thought about before. They really do understand what camp is about, in terms of the growth and development of Jewish life and life in general.

Addie Gellman-Chomsky (SC, Shoafim): This is my second year on staff. Last year I was a Garinim/Halutzim counselor. I wanted to be on Shoafim staff this year because I had heard really great things about this particular group of kids and I thought it was such a great age. They're also doing the same play that I did when I was in Shoafim, so I thought it would be fun to be a part of that.

I like working with this age group because it's really fun getting to see campers have experiences that I had when I was a camper. They're also really starting to come into their own, in terms of sports and activities-most campers have something that they're really, really good at, and this is when that seems to become more apparent.

One of my favorite things that we have done so far this summer is that my cabin did tie-dyeing. We all wore our tie-dyed shirts together and that was a lot of fun. We also had an activity with all the girls where we colored coloring book pages from our play, "The Little Mermaid," and we're going to post those all around camp.

Joseph Eskin (JC, Shoafim): This is my first year on staff. So far it's a lot of fun because the campers are really great. It's also interesting to be a JC in general because I get to see the other side of camp. I had requested to work with Shoafim because I remember being in Shoafim and having really good counselors. I felt like this was an age where the counselors could have a really huge effect on the summer. Plus, the campers are just really fun to be around.

One of my favorite things that we did this summer was that my cabin did Paint Twister, which is just like the game Twister, but all the circles are paint. It devolved into a paint fight within a few seconds, and everyone was full of paint, but it was a lot of fun.

Erica G. (Shoafim): My favorite thing about Shoafim is that we have the last swimming period of the day, so the water is the warmest. I also like snack!

Natalie C. (Shoafim): My favorite thing about being in Shoafim is just bonding with my cabin, doing peulot tzrif (cabin activities) and peulot erev (evening activities). We always have a great time.