Shabbat-O-Gram 6/19/26

Dear Kingswood Families,

Shabbat Shalom from camp! Tonight marks a milestone. After today’s arrivals, every member of our first session team is here.

After months of planning, recruiting, interviewing, hiring, scheduling, training, and preparing, the team that will welcome your children on Tuesday is finally all together.

Some of us have been here for nearly the length of a camp session. Our pre-camp crew arrived with me at the end of May, and since then, we’ve been welcoming a steady stream of staff each day. Our junior counselors, fresh off their exams, arrived last, and already they’ve been warmly welcomed into the fold.

A few hours ago, I sat down with all our returning staff for a check in, and to get their honest feedback about the vibes in camp so far.

What struck me wasn’t anything they said about the schedule, the training sessions, or the activities, although the feedback about training content this year has been great.

What struck me was how they described the feeling.

Over and over, they used words like calm, positive, organized, energized, excited, connected, and purposeful.

They shared that while past summers have felt good at this point of training, this summer feels different.

One person said, “You can tell the leadership team loves working together this year,” and another person shared that it feels like everyone is moving in the same direction, and it feels so supportive and comfortable.

As I listened, I felt incredibly grateful.

While camp is built on programs, activities, facilities, and traditions, what ultimately shapes a camper’s experience is the people and the culture. The counselors who sit on the edge of a bunk after lights out even though their friends are meeting up. The specialist who sits with a camper patiently as they build up the courage to try something new. The unit head who notices a camper having a hard day and ends up in a sailboat with them that afternoon.

The staff who stay in it are the ones who make a difference. It’s why our summer theme is “STAY.”

The idea was born from a belief that in a world that moves faster every year, one of the greatest gifts we can give children is the chance to slow down enough to truly connect. Campers are barraged with messages of speeding up. Swipe past, cancel, close a window. Think fast, talk fast, move fast. Kids move from school to activity to homework to sleep on fast forward, and we are living in a society where if you stop to catch a breathe you run the risk of falling behind.

This summer at Kingswood will be a respite from that pressure. We’re teaching the opposite. We want kids to learn to stay.

Stay at an activity, even when it’s scary.

Stay in a conversation, even if someone disagrees with you.

Stay in a hard moment, even if seems impossible.

Stay long enough for a genuine connection to develop.

As I walked around camp this week, I could see that our staff have already begun living that message. We’ve been building relationships, learning together, supporting one another, and investing in a community that will soon include your children.

On Tuesday, when the buses pull in and we unload everyone onto the Waterfront lawn, campers will be greeted by a team that is excited to be here, excited to be together, and excited to welcome them into something bigger than themselves.

I can’t wait.

Thank you for trusting us with your children. I don’t take that responsibility lightly, and our whole team is ready.

Shabbat shalom,

Jodi