Holocaust Museum Reflections

On Thursday, July 3, four of our bunks traveled to Washington, D.C. for a special trip to the Holocaust Museum. Feedback from campers and staff who attended was both powerful and moving. We asked some campers to share their thoughts and feelings about the experience. Here are links to the blog posts with their thoughts:

LaQuashia Wider, Bunk N
Jazz Teich, Bunk N
Lindsay Goldstein, Bunk N
Alicia Garvey, Bunk O
Dani Schwartz, Bunk O
Aunt Sarah Rosenberg, Bunk N

Feel free to share your feedback!

Holocaust Museum Reflection - Aunt Sarah Rosenberg

Our trip to the Holocaust Museum was an emotional and unforgettable experience that I’m glad I could share with my campers. The trip to the museum gave a clear understanding of the Holocaust’s cruelty and damage and gave the campers an inside look on what happened. I enjoyed the trip a great deal as did the rest of the group. It is an important place, not only for the Jewish culture but for every child to visit. We appreciate the board sending us to the museum. Thank you!

Aunt Sarah Rosenberg
Council Girls, Bunk N

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Dani Schwartz

What the people went through during such hard times as the Holocaust is simply unimaginable. Innocent Jews, homosexuals, and gypsies were the victims targeted for the extreme suffering. Women’s hair was shaved off and used for mattresses and slippers, children had all their toys taken away, and men were forced as labor workers. Thousands of people were convinced to take showers while in reality the chambers expelled poisonous gas in very cramped conditions. Meanwhile, the Nazis would be watching the captured die in a matter of minutes through a peephole. Nazi control spread rapidly in Europe to parts of Africa. As a result of all the cruel actions by Adolf Hitler and his followers over 6 million people died. The Holocaust Museum has affected me so much, seeing all the struggles innocent people had to endure. Those who lost their lives will always be remembered. All that survived are extremely lucky. Whether they survived the Holocaust or not, each and every person was very brave and their battles through the Nazi invasion will never be forgotten.

Dani Schwartz
Council Girls, Bunk O

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Alicia Garvey

My experience at the Holocaust Museum was a memorable and enjoyable time. My person’s name was Simone Weil. She smuggled little kids from the Nazi War. She made a daycare center for them and got a degree to be a kindergarten teacher. Simone Weil was born in Ringford, France in 1920. I researched her and found out that she didn’t die. She came to America. Simone Weil was only one of many that helped people. The Holocaust Museum was a great experience and hopefully I can get another chance to go.

Alicia Garvey
Council Girls, Bunk O

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Lindsay Goldstein

My trip to the Holocaust Museum was moving. Even though I’ve been there once before, when you’re younger, you don’t get the same effect until you’re older and you can understand more. Personally, being there and just sitting in the presence of all that history made me cry.

Just listening to what they had to say, and looking at pictures of the torture they had to go through just really makes you think, “Why?” “Why would one man hate one race of people so badly that he would think of people as bugs that need to be exterminated?”

I’ll admit, at times, just looking at pictures just made me cry. It’s horrible. I think it was one of the best trips I’ve been on, and I really appreciate having the camp take us there.

Lindsay Goldstein
Council Girls, Bunk N

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper Jazz Teich

The Holocaust Museum was a great experience. Though I hadn’t learned much more about the Holocaust, it reminded me of three very important lessons. They are tolerance, love, and forgiveness. Without those three things, we saw what the world turned to. I also see these three lessons here at camp. This camp daily practices tolerance, love, and forgiveness. We are a camp of many different cultures, races, and religions, but we all get along. So in a way, the Holocaust Museum and this camp teach us all that when we all come together and use love, tolerance, and forgiveness, anything is possible.

Jazz Teich
Council Girls, Bunk N

Holocaust Museum Reflection - camper LaQuashia Wider

The Holocaust Museum was very sad. I was expecting to experience the same thing I’ve always heard about the Holocaust. But I didn’t. It was actually interesting because I learned from a perspective of a little boy named Daniel. Daniel helped me understand how it was for a kid in the Holocaust. The Holocaust Museum taught me a lot and for that I’m grateful.

LaQuashia Wider
Council Girls Village, Bunk O

1st Enc 2008 Olympic Songs Part I: Indiana Jones

A full Olympic report is on the way, but for now here are the songs for Indiana Jones. The songs are the culmination of four days of hard work and learning by the campers, and the grand finale of Olympics. All songs are written and learned within four days!

Indiana Jones Cheer ("See You Again" by Miley Rae Cyrus") - The song all about Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones March ("Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones)- The song that helps Indiana Jones march over other teams
Indiana Jones Alma Mater ("Breaking Free" by High School Musical) - The song all about Golden Slipper Camp

(Here is the blog entry with links to Back to the Future's songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to Jurassic Park’s songs)
(Here is the blog entry with links to The Goonies' songs)

Check out all of the new posts and pictures

In case you didn't notice, we have added quite a few entries and pictures today. Here is your guide:

The MTV Night recap blog entry
The MTV Night photos

The Olympic Breakout entry
The Olympic Breakout photos

The Adventure Movie Bowl - Day 1 photos
The Adventure Movie Bowl - Day 2 photos

Enjoy the above links, and check back for Feather Winners and more podcasts featuring campers!

OLYMPICS ARE HERE!!!

Our routine at Golden Slipper Camp is pretty consistent throughout the entire encampment: we wake up, have electives and bunk activities, eat with our bunks, and enjoy an evening program with the rest of camp. Whether it is Monday, Wednesday, or Sunday, you can expect us to follow that routine.

There is one notable exception: Olympics.

For four days and four nights, the camp is divided into four teams that compete in a variety of events that show off the skills we teach at GSC. Some of the competitions are athletic, like basketball, gaga, swim meet, and tug of war, but we also have plenty of non-athletic competitions. The non-athletic competitions include a song contest, sign contest, speeches, and, most importantly, the two characteristics we value most at Golden Slipper Camp: Spirit and Sportsmanship.

Each encampment's Olympics have a bowl title, which is the theme of the Olympics. The timing and bowl of each Olympics are always a surprise to campers and counselors. They find out these elements after an evening activity or during some other time that we are gathered as a camp, when the 'Breakout' happens. The Breakout is an elaborate skit prepared through a lot of hard work from our administrators.

This year, the Breakout happened after MTV Night on Sunday. We began dismissing bunks from the Pavilion when I, Uncle Brando, shut off the lights and played "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins -- the traditional signal that something special is happening! When the lights cleared, the Breakout began with Uncle Chad and Aunt Irina hosting the 2008 Academy Awards. The 2008 1st Encampment Olympic Bowl is the Adventure Movie Bowl (thanks to alumni Steph Smoluk for the idea!), and the rest of the skit introduced our four teams -- all of whom are competing for Golden Slipper Camp. The teams are Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and The Goonies. (Click here for pictures of the Adventure Movie Bowl Breakout)

The last surprise surrounding Olympics is who has been selected as a team officer. This is one of the highest honors we can give to counselors and campers during the summer, and they do not take it lightly. For some, like the Captains (staff) or Lieutenants (Council Boys and Girls campers), they only receive this opportunity once in a Slipper lifetime. Here are the team names, colors, and officers for each team:

Team 1: The Goonies (White)
Captains (staff): Aunt Monica Moretsky & Uncle Alex Kronstadt
Lieutenants (Council Girls & Boys campers): Julia Warshafsky & Andrew Hyman
Corporals (Friends & Kadden campers): Cheyenne McCollough & Alex Pak
Sergeants (Strauss & Vogelson campers): Alexis Frey & Chris Neri

Team 2: Jurassic Park (Red)
Captains: Aunt Alexis Yett & Uncle Bill Green
Lieutenants: Erica Eckel & Mike Regan
Corporals: Meryl Warshafsky & James McNally
Sergeants: Tamara Psmenitsyna & Jared Roman

Team 3: Back to the Future (Blue)
Captains: Aunt Abby Heller & Uncle Michael Reeve
Lieutenants: Caitlin Rose & Danylo Zatserkovnyy
Corporals: Gabriel Fernandes & JaNaye Jones
Sergeants: Veronica Dilorio Marsden & Daniel O'Connor

Team 4: Indiana Jones (Yellow)
Captains: Aunt Whitney Ford & Uncle Isaiah Richardson
Lieutenants: Alison Ormont & Ilya Gourin
Corporals: Alyssa Loera & Eric Groysman
Sergeants: Viktoriya Manasyan & Patrick Gibson

Congratulations to all four sets of officers, and good luck over the next four days!!!

MTV Night, featuring a celebrity guest!

Greetings Slipperites!

Sunday night was MTV Night (click here for pictures of 2008 1st Encampment MTV Night), one of GSC's most traditional evening activities (here are the 2007 MTV Night results). For this activity, each cabin performs a skit or dance to a song of their choice. The bunks work hard on this activity, with almost a week of time spent on choreography and making props and costumes, and it is always fun to see the end products. The 2008 1st Encampment MTV Night was certainly one of the most entertaining we have ever had, with 15 well-produced skits and lots of energy in the bleachers.

Our judges were comprised of administrators and visitors, including a celebrity guest! The administrator judges were nurses Aunt Elizabeth and Aunt Jordyn, and head lifeguard Uncle Jared. Our guest judges were former campers Robyn Katz and Brianna Taylor! We were lucky to have two former campers who love GSC return to help us select a winner (more on that in a moment). Brianna also helped make the evening a little more special by performing 4 of her songs and signing autographs for every camper. Brianna has been on American Idol and The Real World and now has 5 songs available on iTunes, and we are very proud of her!

There was one finalist from each village, and an overall winner for the whole camp, which are listed below. Here are the skits each bunk performed:

A&B: Check Yes or No by George Strait
C&D: The Mix Tape by Jack's Mannequin (pictures)
E&F: American Boy by Estelly & Kanye West
Strauss Finalist: Bunks A&B

1&2: Technologic by Daft Punk (pic 1, pic 2)
3&4: Girls, Girls, Girls by Jay-Z (pictures)
5&6: Men in Black by Will Smith
Vogelson Finalist: Bunks 5&6

G&H: This One's For the Girls by Martina McBride
I&J: Our Song by Taylor Swift
K&L: Disturbia by Rihanna (pictures)
Friends Finalist: Bunks K&L

7&8: Ice Box by Omarion (picture 1 picture 2)
9&10: Just My Imagination by The Temptations
Kadden Finalist: Bunks 7&8

13&14: Who Let the Dogs Out by The Baha Men
M/N/O: Supernova Girl by Zenon the Sequel (pic 1, pic 2, pic 3)
15: Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli (pic 1, pic 2, pic 3)
The Waitrix (Waiters and Waitresses): High School Musical by The High School Musical Cast
Council Boys & Girls Finalists: Bunk 15 and The Waitrix

The overall winner for MTV Night was Bunks 15 with Time to Say Goodbye by Andrea Bocelli. Their skit was quite elegant (in a humorous fashion), and it may be the first MTV Night skit ever to receive a standing ovation from the entire camp. Congrats to Bunk 15 on their win, and to every other bunk for their hard work and excellent performances!!!