Hi all! My name is Talya Bornstein, and I am beyond ecstatic to be back for my 14th summer as the Programming Director. This summer, I aim to elevate classic programs and introduce new and exciting ones. Â We have already introduced a new evening program called Mario Kart Night. Campers worked with their cabin to decorate Go-Karts, which they then raced around in our new Go-Karts. The campers had an amazing time, and everyone really loved the new Go-Karts; even Zach and Adam had a race of their own! I’m looking forward to spicing up some of our classic evening programs too. During the day, our campers engage in a wide range of activities, including cooking and baking, challenge course, soccer, swimming and boating, nine square, gardening, arts and crafts, and so so much more. We have definitely made it hard for our campers to decide which chugs to sign up for! I personally am really looking forward to watching this session’s musical, which will be The Lorax! We had an unbelievable number of sign-ups for the musical and are excited to see how all our campers shine both onstage and as backstage crew. Today at camp, we are celebrating Harry Potter Day. Last night the sorting hat (me), sorted all our cabins into their houses, and today, the Chadar (Dining Hall) had the tables arranged in four long rows for campers to sit by their Hogwarts house. It has been a really great day, and I am incredibly excited about all the special days still to come. These include Disney Day, Zach Duitch Day, and my favorite, Israel Day. I could continue to write out all we have going on at camp this summer, but there is just too much! So instead, I encourage you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to check out our stories and see what we are up to each day.
One of my main goals as programming director this summer is to ensure that all programming encourages inclusion. This means understanding that our kids come with unique backgrounds, experiences, and needs. I want each camper to feel thought of when creating our programming by offering adaptive programming that accommodates everyone. For example, this year for Maccabiah (Color Wars), we will have cooking and art competitions instead of solely having sports competitions. This way we can showcase the wide range of talents and skills that our campers have.
Every camper has a place at Camp Solomon Schechter, and I am excited to be offering programming this summer that reflects that.
