Issue 1 - July 2, 2010 - Gesher Summer Camp

The Gesher Gazette
Scott
A Message From the Directors
Volume 9, Issue 1
July 2, 2010 /
Tammuz 20, 5770
Lantzman, Director
(973) 597-3699
All Star Staff
Looking Forward
Gesher Closed
Happy Birthday
America!
July 5
Wild Water Day July 6
Soccer Team
Jersey Day
Crazy Hair
Day
Silly Socks &
Funky Feet
July 7
July 8
July 9
Happy Birthday !
Arielle Flaks 6/26
Ari Bieber 6/27
Ben Haase 6/27
Molly Frey 6/29
Julia Varman 6/29
Zaky Cohn 6/30
Ella Zander 6/30
Dylan Revsine 7/2
Itai Merlin 7/2
Eve Smolensky 7/3
It was wonderful to see so many smiling happy faces both new and old
bouncing all over Gesher on the first day of camp. As excited as they
were, we were just as excited or even more so to begin our ninth
summer. Your campers have quickly acclimated to camp, rekindling old
friendships and creating new bonds. Our Kinneret campers emerged
from the bus with wonderment in their eyes and have already overcome
many new challenges in just this first week. This summer we added
NINE professional trainers to our Gesher
family. They are: Yogi, Oliver, Dan, Ben ,
Haas, Ian, Tom and Kesh and Shane.
Each week you will learn a little bit about
them in our “Sports Spotlight” of the Gesher
Gazette.We’d also like to say Bruchim
Haba’am (welcome) to our retuning
shalicha Oshrit and our two new shalichot
Nofar and Ella. They have added so much
ruach (spirit) to our camp day. Many of
your children will be singing new songs or
showing you the new dances they have
learned this past week.Thank you for
entrusting your precious children to us and
for being part of the Gesher family. A
tradition here at Gesher is to recognize all of our campers that are
entering their fifth year by calling them onto the stage at Lehitraot and
giving them a “five star camper” sweatshirt and trophy. This year we
welcome the following campers into this group: Abby and Rebecca
Cohn; Orli Forster; Joshua Gindi; Stephanie Goldberg; Jami Gutterman;
Zach Hart Rosenthal; Jonah Heimowitz; Josh Kalet; Bradley Kessler;
Hannah; Jonathan and Sarah Kirsch; Zane Lantzman; Joseph Mandil;
Noa Mobilio; Samantha Munk; Ariel Neyman; Ben Plotnick; Gabriel
Plotsker; Ben and Jordyn Raymon; David Reiss; Matthew
Rosenberg;Gabriel Schaerf; Sam Schrage; Danielle and Josh Shapiro;
David Sheffet; Eve Smolensky; Leah Topilow; and Julia Varman.
Lastly, we all enjoyed dancing and singing along with Mama Doni
Friday Afternoon. The children had an amazing time moving and
grooving to her songs with a Jewish twist.
Please remember to send back your picture order forms by
Thursday, July 8 th .
Director’s Choice
Counselor of the
Week
Stacey Roth
Kinneret
Aliza Caplan
Moriel Daniel
Ronnie Herman
Becky Kurson
Laura Slifer
Ariella Tsioni
Negev
Ian Gleaner
Hannah Gruer
Yael Lewitter
Freddie Morgan
Reuven Shechter
Mike Warman
Galil
Allie Mayer
Dylan McCauley
Shelby Saunders
Jason Wien
Specialists
Shane Caulfield
Mara Godfrey
Dylan Kessler
Hass Zerban
Aquatics
Rafi Abramowitz
Zack Abramowitz
Gabe Rozenwasser

Page 2
The Gesher Gazette
The first week at Gesher has been incredible! Our campers have
been working very hard on the Tevah garden. They have all
worked phenomenally well as a team to create a unique and
awesome garden. During the summer we will be planting and
searching for tree saplings on the campground that we will
transplant, take care of, and replant ~ keeping the Earth green
one tree at a time. Other projects this summer will include:
Recycling bottle caps ~ constructing a Gesher mural and garden
markers, and assembling planters using a variety of recycled
products.
Of course, we have the critter of the day and cool objects from
nature for our “Tevah Museum.” The newest additions to Tevah are
two extremely adorable bullfrog tadpoles. They have a huge
appetite and love spinach.
We’re all looking
forward to an
exciting summer!
Thank you to
everyone who
has been
collecting bottle
caps.
TEVAH ROCKS!!!
Tevah: Heather
Tennis: Andria & Gail
This week in tennis campers
had fun learning a forehand
progression and how to grip
the racquet properly. We
also played fun games such
as “jail” and “school” to reinforce
these skills. Drills include
weaving relay races
and bump-ups for control
and eye-hand coordination.
While experienced players
enjoyed playing doubles
during
their
Chugim.
Welcome Campers! Bishul is off to an amazing and healthy start!
We have started a "Two Bite Club" contest. If a camper makes something and takes at least "two bites"
to try it, he is awarded a certificate of achievement. We are also having a weekly bunk contest to see
which bunk tries the most new foods. The winners this week are PK2, KG1, B2B and G3B!!!!!
Easy Applesauce Muffins
Bishul (Cooking): Erica & Michelle
Ingredients: 6 tablespoons butter,1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon
baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups chunky
applesauce
Instructions: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter on high for
about 30 to 60 seconds; set aside to cool slightly. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and
salt into a large mixing bowl. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar. Stir in the
applesauce and melted butter until the mixture is smooth. Pour the apple mixture over the flour mixture.
Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown.

Page 3
Kinneret
Our Kinneret campers on day one
Were ready to have some fun in the sun!
Boker Tov with Gary and Rabbi Rich
was great!
Songs and dancing almost made us late.
To what do you ask-let us tell you
Swimming, tennis and go-karts too!
Favorite tv character and Hawaii day was
great to see
Lots of our campers dressed up to a T!
Picture day was cool and Mama Doni sang
for us
What a first week, we even loved the bus
We can’t wait to see you for week 2
Don’t forget that Gesher is closed Monday
for red, white and blue!
Negev
Week one was filled with lots of fun
Smiles were on the faces of everyone
We got swim buddies at the pool
And learning to daven was really cool!
Wednesday was Hawaii Day
Everyone at camp was wearing a lei.
Ga-Ga, tarbut and playing kickball
Singing our cheer is really a ball
On picture day we smiled
and looked great
Our new Gesher t-shirts
are really first-rate.
On Friday we danced to Mama Doni's
singing
Were looking forward to what next week
is bringing.
A unique game show we'll play on
Tuesday night
Pick up’s at 6:45 for our Negev
undernight.
Galil
We’re so happy week one has finally come
We’re so happy to see everyone
With all our counselors and all our friends
We know the fun at Gesher will never end
We had picture day and a concert too
The first week of camp really flew
This weekend we celebrate Americas birthday
And we cant wait for Wild Water Day!

Parents Corner
Please check Bunk1.com for photos of
your children.
Log in with your name and password.
The Gesher code is 9464GE1
Picture schedule:
Monday: Pre-K
Tuesday: Kindergarten
Wednesday: Negev
Thursday: Galil
Friday: All
Jokes: Gary Berger
Monday: What did one elevator say to the
other?
I think I’m coming down with something
Tuesday: How do you make a slow horse
fast?
You don’t feed it
Wednesday: What did the baby volcano say
to the mommy volcano?
I lava you
Thursday: What did Snow White say to the
photographer?
I hope someday my prints will come
Friday: What did the American Flag say to
the flag pole?
Nothing, it just waved.
Waterfront: Samantha & Nate
Jump, Dive, Slide, Splash!
That’s what’s happening down at the pool! Week one is off to a splashing good start. On Monday, every
camper was given their swim test to assess their swimming abilities and have now been placed in their swimming
group.
Just a few reminders:
Please send your child to camp in a swimsuit every day. If they are unable to swim, just drop me a note
through bus mail to let me know why. Without a note, we do require them to
participate in both swims.
I want to ensure that every child has the best possible swimming experience this summer so, if you or your child
have any concerns, please send me a note or feel
free to call the camp and leave me a message. I
will get back to you sometime during the day or
after camp ends.
Lastly, deep water bracelets are issued to all
campers enrolled in level 3 or higher who have
passed the deep water test. Many campers have
been re-tested since the first day of camp, and
we do adjust swim groups as needed.
Swim reports will be sent home on Friday of
weeks, 2, 4, 6 and 8.

Weekly Parsha Dvar Torah: Pinchas
Candle Lighting: 8:15
Wow! Ican’t believe we just finished the first week of camp. Your children have displayed such amazing
ruach (spirit), whether it’s in boker tov, davening, benching (grace after meals) as well as other activities
during the course of the day.
In this week’s Torah portion of Pinchas, we read about a leader who is not an overly popular figure in Jewish
life or among his own generation. The people of Israel were angered by the actions he took for the sake of
justice. Ultimately, however that action gained Pinchas the reward of inheriting the high Priesthood. Another
component of this week’s Portion is the second census (btw, did you remember to complete your
census?). Nearly forty years had passed since the first counting of the Israelites, and a new census had become
a necessity. The Land was shortly to be divided amongst the Tribes for an inheritance; and the exact
number of fighting men and families had to be known.
Here in Gesher, every person is important. We stress that every mitzvah, every act of good, can make a
difference in the world. Sometimes the actions one takes may not be the most popular, but the key, and our
challenge, is the goal of truth and goodness. The Torah portion of Pinchas reminds us to always keep these
points in mind.
Shabbat shalom to all!
Rabbi Rich
Masada (Grades 6-8)
Sports Spotlight: Risa
MASADA had an incredible first week of camp!!
After some fun ice-breakers, we headed over to
Fairfield for a fun game of mini-golf.
On Day 2, we split up into two teams for some
laser tag fun and the campers and counselors had
a blast!
Day 3 was spent in the hot sun, looking at some
beautiful wolves and having a nice picnic together
at The Lakoda Wolf Preserve.
We spent day 4 at Six Flags and then headed to
the hotel for our first overnight! We spent today
at the beach and then arrived back at camp for
Kabbalat Shabbat and The Mama Doni Concert!
It has been a great first week and we look
forward to some more great trips throughout the
rest of the summer!!!
We have nine new members in the Gesher family.
They are all
professional sports instructors from Soccer Domain
Academy in
Montclair, and are bringing us an entirely new level
of fun and games to Gesher! Each week we will introduce
one or 2 of them to you.
Shane comes to us from Ireland and he is really enjoying
his work at
Gesher, as he is teaching the campers many new
skills through games and drills. While he values
teaching the kids the skills of each sport, he values
teaching them how to work as a team equally. He is
having fun learning “American” sports, particularly
Newcomb & Ga-Ga, which is a favorite of most Gesher
campers, and hopes to share his expertise of
Gaelic football in the upcoming weeks.

110 South Orange Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
Ph: (973) 597-3699
Fx: (973) 597-3344
Email: info@gesherfun.org
Web: www.gesherfun.org