Shabbat-O-Gram: 6/20/25
Dear families,
Sometimes there’s an unscripted moment at camp that takes my breath away. Tuesday’s dinner during Staff Color War was one of those moments.
It was Hunger Games Color War—a theme only appropriate for Staff Training. 🙂 We model some of our bigger camp events like Color War for staff during training because it’s really fun, it bonds the staff together, and it’s the best way for new staff to know the flow before they’re doing it for the first time with campers.
We had broken Color War at lunch with an announcement by President Snow (a very convincing Nature Rob), declaring the assistant area and unit heads too powerful for camp and in need of a competition to choose the one to move forward. The staff freaked out with excitement and spent the rest of the day experiencing some of the campers’ favorite parts of Color War, like the relay race around camp, ending with the Kingswood classic – Rope Burn. After a very close Tug of War at Flag, we headed into the Dining Hall for Silent Dinner. (For any campers reading this with their parents, I know. The silent Color War meal is lunch, not dinner. Don’t worry, we made that clear. :))
While I love lunch on regular days—cheering, loud, lots of talking—I really love Silent Lunch. I love that it breaks the script of regular camp, and that it gives everyone a chance to have some quiet on what is the loudest, craziest two days of the session. One of the best parts is seeing the kids jump up on their benches after they eat to cheer silently. Teams can continue winning spirit points without noise, and the big exaggerated movements of the cheers while mouthing the words always crack me up.
When it was time to start clearing, as usual, music came on in the dining hall. After some dancing around while stacking dishes and wiping down the tables, Yellow by Coldplay came on and a few staff put their arms around each other and started swaying.
By the end of the first verse, not just a few of the staff, but every single person in the Dining Hall was in a circle with their arms around each other, swaying, singing their hearts out, without sound.
“Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and all the things you do…”
For those four minutes, time stood still. Everyone was so connected and present, and the joy and happiness on people’s faces spoke through the silence coming from their voices. I hope the photo I chose for this Shabbat-O-Gram does the moment justice, but it probably won’t, because you had to be there.
That’s the thing about immersive experiences like camp. You have to be there.
That’s why it’s especially hard in this moment to know that there’s a chance our Israeli campers may not make it in time to join us for Session I. Our last two staff coming from Israel, Tal, Head of the New Rec, and Niv, an American Olim counselor who was on Birthright, are both on boats headed to Greece as I write. They will miraculously make it back to the US in time for the start of the session. But there is uncertainty about the flights departing this week for our campers, and as the situation in Israel evolves, we are doing everything we can to help facilitate their arrival, even if it means they arrive late. We have also offered the option of switching to Session II, space-permitting, because it is so important to us that especially this summer, our Israeli campers be here, with us, as part of our circle.
What a special circle they’ll be joining. A circle that’s ready to welcome them with open arms, providing the kind of belonging that reminds kids that they are not alone, even when the world feels unbalanced and uncertain.
When the buses pull into camp on Wednesday, the rest of our campers will be joining this incredible community of staff, already connected like we’ve been a team forever.
Once they’re here, they’ll each find their way into moments like that circle—sometimes right in the middle, arms linked with friends, and sometimes a few steps back, quietly taking it all in. That’s why we intentionally build in moments like Silent Lunch during Color War. While some kids love the chaos of cheering and racing, others connect through stillness, strategy, or creativity, like creating the team plaque or planning the team skit for Creativity Night, the closing Color War event, worth just as much as any of the races or sports competitions.
We don’t offer the option to sit out at Camp Kingswood, because growth doesn’t happen from the sidelines. But we do offer many ways in—different paces, different pathways—all with one goal: to help each camper stretch, discover, and shine in their own way.
At Kingswood, being part of our community means showing up. Not all the same, but all together.
Counting down the minutes until Session I campers arrive,
Jodi
Announcements & Reminders:
Lending Library
Last summer in Woodshop we witnessed the creation of a Lending Library, and now it’s ready to be put to use! Please send campers with books that can be left behind, and if you have any books you’d like to donate, you can bring them to a camp bus stop or send a few favorites in your camper’s duffels!
