Shabbat-O-Gram: Week 3 2024

Dear parents and friends,

Yesterday as I was walking across camp, I was stopped by a camper asking to extend to a longer session. Around this time of the summer that’s not such an unusual question, but in this particular situation, I had to laugh. “Adley” I said, “You’re already a 7-weeker this summer,” thinking maybe in her 8-year-old mind she didn’t remember, and she thought she was leaving on Tuesday. “I know,” she said, “but I mean like another month or two past that, so then I can celebrate my September birthday at camp!” I told Adley that if her parents were up for doing a few weeks of Florida school from Maine, I was in. (Sorry Lisa and Michael! 😉 )

That comfort Adley was expressing is what it feels like all across camp right now. We’ve started to hear it from our 2-weeker families, writing to share stories of their campers’ homecomings, and how their kids are already in for 3.5 weeks next year! We heard it on the mid-session camper surveys last week, where campers raved about their favorite activities and most beloved staff, and one new Bogrim camper shared, “I have found my people and I couldn’t be happier!” (Side note: We also heard on surveys what you may have heard in letters – that our new chefs weren’t meeting expectations, so we made some changes and our new head chef Juan is already winning glowing reviews, a few days in!)

There are so many places for campers to feel a sense of belonging here – in their bunk, within their unit, living on girls’ or boys’ side, in their electives, even on their Color War team. In all of those spaces, friendships form. When campers ‘find their people,’ it’s what makes the time between activities feels just as awesome as the activities themselves. By the last week of Session I, camp friendships have taken root, and it feels good to relax into trusting relationships.

For the last two days, everyone’s gotten to know a whole quarter of camp as they’ve eaten meals together, cheered, played, lost their voices, and cried together as part of their Color War team! Win or lose, that intense experience of teamwork doesn’t fade fast, no matter how much a team player or solo flier a camper tends to be in regular life. Admittedly a Color War junkie myself, as a camper, I lived for those days on my Color War team when I felt as much a sense of belonging as a team member as a young camper as I did as a team captain. I could tell you every theme and I could sing you every final team song from my childhood; just as I am confident many of you will be hearing Toy Story chants and lyrics for weeks to come.

The CITs have wowed us all session, but as the official Color War captains, they really blew me away. Most of our CITs have been at Kingswood their whole lives, waiting for this summer – the culmination of their camper experience. Watching them lead their teams, and especially the final moments of the relay as they’re building fires in front of the whole camp – is one of my favorite moments of the session. For the CITs, this may be the most public and intense leadership moment they’ve ever experienced. How do you handle your stress and emotion while building a fire in front of 300 screaming people, acting like their lives depend on whether or not you successfully burn a rope?! Being a CIT is so much more than just learning to work at camp, and that moment shows why. In just 3.5 weeks, CITs have had a crash course in leading and responsibility that no other job or internship could ever compare to. Moments like the rope burn will stay with them forever, and they’ll always be able to go back to how they were able to stay composed under that level of pressure, remaining stellar role models all the way through to the end.

When all the units come together on a team, the CITs are in the official role of team leaders as the captains, but bringing the age groups together brings out the best in all the campers, and we saw leaders emerge from Bogrim and Chalutzim too. We talk a lot about Kingswood as a family, and that was on full display as Bogrim and Chalutzim campers modeled good sportsmanship and incredible ruach (spirit), looking out for younger campers, and taking the time to make sure there whole team knew all the cheers and presentations, with no team member left behind.

After a week like this one, it was perfect that Chalutzim chose ‘Leadership’ as the theme of this week’s Shabbat. Our final Shabbat of the session is led by the units of Chalutzim and Olim together, with the oldest unit leading in partnership with their buddies in our youngest unit. The Big/Little Program at Kingswood is a favorite for both units, and their Shabbat together is the culmination of a whole session of special time together.

As we head into our final days of Session I, we’ve already felt the shift in the vibe toward “lasts.” Last night was the last Friday night in the Chapel for Session I campers. It was the last Ruach at the Old Rec, and today will be the last Saturday afternoon sports tournaments. This evening we’ll celebrate the accomplishments of the campers who have taken A&C electives with the Art Show, and we’ll finally get to see the Session I musical we’ve all been anxiously anticipating – High School Musical! We’ll be videoing the full play and sharing it online, so please check in after the weekend for your own private viewing.

Sunday will be our last regular day of the session, and Monday after an afternoon of packing, we’ll finish the night with Closing Campfire. There, we’ll reminisce watching our session videos and seeing slide shows of summer pictures, we’ll sing our favorite camp songs, and honor campers and staff reaching milestone summers (Years 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 have milestone gifts!). Each area will call up campers for area-specific awards, like Most Improved Sailor, or Best Sportsmanship at basketball. The culminating awards for the summer are the Values Awards, where two campers each session are chosen by a staff vote to sign the Values Plaques. Their signatures will live on the plaques hanging in the New Rec, and campers for years to come will see their names highlighted as the personification of our core values of responsibility, courage, spirit, and community. It’s the biggest honor a camper can receive here at Camp Kingswood, and it speaks to the importance to us of living our values each day, and not just talking about them.

As the buses pull away on Tuesday, we’ll be excited to greet all the Full Summer families coming for Visiting Day! While we’ll be sad to see our Session I friends go home, it’s just a short 11 months until we’re back on Woods Pond doing it again. 🙂 Session II campers will arrive on Thursday, and we’ll be anxiously awaiting their arrival after an awesome Intersession program for our 7-weekers.

Speaking of next summer, while it’s crazy to even think about now, last summer, over 300 campers were already registered before we wrapped up Session II. Based on the calls we’re getting, we have no doubt this summer will be the same. I know, it’s nuts, but that’s how overnight camp works! Luckily, now that you’re all returning families, the hardest part of picking a camp is behind you, and once you register, you won’t have to think about it again until packing starts in the spring!

We’ll open 2025 registration during Session II, exclusively for returning campers and their siblings. Registration will open to the public after Labor Day, so please make sure to watch for the email announcing that registration is live. Our Summer Special rates end before Labor Day, and we anticipate several grades being waitlisted by the time school starts, so please register early.

Thanks for your support and partnership this session. It’s been an incredible summer so far, and we have so much still in store for Session II! Throughout the fall and winter we’ll be hitting the road to visit all of you, so please let me know if you have friends interested in learning more about Camp Kingswood. We’re always happy to come do a home visit, or schedule a time for a family to come tour before camp’s covered in snow!

After the summer we’ll be inviting you to share feedback on our Parent Survey, but between now and then, please know I’m only a phone call or email away. I’m always eager to hear your feedback, and when parents write letters of support, we share them at our staff meetings so staff can feel the love too.

Wishing you an amazing rest of the summer,