Issue 6 - August 4, 2006 - Gesher Summer Camp

Page 1
The Gesher Gazette Scott
Volume 5, Issue 6
August 4 , 2006
Av 10, 5766
Lantzman, Director
(973) 597-3699
A Message From the Directors
Looking Forward
Crazy Hair Day and
Track & Field Day
Negev Undernight
Yom Yisrael
Galil Camel
Beach Trip &
Overnight
Pajama Party 2 &
Shabbat is here
wear a white shirt
Happy Birthday
• Harris Mevorah (8/6)
• Corey Cops (8/07)
• Rachel Luxenberg (8/07)
• Ariella Shua (8/07)
• Max Chosak (8/07)
Aug
7
Aug.
8
Aug.
9
Aug.
10
Aug.
11
• Dalia Epstein (8/08)
• Jessica Weichert (8/11)
• Elisheva Feldman (8/12)
• Grace Hollander (8/12)
Incredibly, six weeks of Gesher have already come to a close. It’s hard to believe that the
summer is flying by so quickly, but another week of Gesher, meant another great week of fun
and special programming.
With the extreme heat, we adjusted our schedule for most of the week to be inside in the
nice cool air conditioning of our facility. We had a real treat when the Sky Riders entertained us
on Tuesday, with tricks up to the gym ceiling. On Wednesday, we had a special program led by
our Shlichim about Tisha b’Av.
Week six was also trip week for Negev as they ventured off to Bowcraft this morning. They
had a wonderful time going on the different rides and riding on the train. They came back just
in time for Kabblat Shabbat where we said good bye to our 6 week campers.
We look forward to a great 7 th week, which will include having both Crazy Hair Day and
Track and Field Day on Monday, Dancing with the Stars and a Negev family dinner on Tuesday,
Yom Yisrael on Wednesday, Galil’s Camel Beach trip and overnight on Thursday, and a Pajama
Party on Friday.
All Star Staff
Kinneret: Esther Brochin
Natasha Cooper
Sharon Stieve
Negev: Sophie Chamino
Jason Chernofsky
Tal Grebel
Justin Gordon
Karen Malyshev
Aubry Minsky Rowland
Yoni Reisman
Galil: Max Buckler
Randi Rosenthal
Aquatics: Dan Aron
David Bassan
Stephanie Benrimon
Specialists: Scott Dichter
Amir Lev
Maor Va’anunu
Don’t forget to keep sending in your money for Chai Lifeline to
help us meet this year’s goal.
Shabbat shalom,
Scott, Gary, & Aly
TEEN TRAVEL 2007!!!
The Gesher Summer Program is happy to announce an exciting
new teen travel program for incoming 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th
graders. Each day will offer our campers an opportunity to
explore local attractions and visit farther sights, as well as
build friendships and strengthen their sense of independence.
We invite all parents to attend an information session on
Wednesday, August 9 th at 7:30 PM. Feel free to bring other
families who may be interested. If you will not be able to
attend the information session, but would like more information,
please email jspiro@gesherfun.org.
ATTENTION NEGEV FAMILIES:
Please remember that on Tuesday, August 8th your campers will not be coming home on the buses. Please
bring your families and join us at 6:00 PM for dinner followed by “Dancing with the Stars” and see your
campers perform!

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The Gesher Gazette
Kinneret (Pre-K—K)
Negev (1—2)
Galil (3—6)
We started the week with a bounce from
the Sky Riders acrobats—Wow! These
performers jumped rope, flips and hulahooped
in the air. This was only matched
by our adventure in aquatics. Ahoy there,
Kinneret; We got a chance to use the kayaks
in the pool! For some of us, this was
our first experience in boating; What a
fun and special treat!
On Friday, once the “9 days” and the
heat wave had passed, the campers enjoyed
free swim again in the afternoon!
Now, they were really able to show off
their skills from all the extra instructional
swims. Be on the lookout for those swim
progress reports, a lot of our campers
have moved from big bubble to small,
and from small to none at all!
Our week ended with the sweet sound of
song as we celebrated Shabbat together.
“Put the Chicken in the Pot,” is one of our
Pre-K favorites. Since the mitzvah theme
of the week is “tzedekah,” we learned a
new song called “One Little Penny in the
Pushka.”
Week #6 promises to bring more fun
with crazy hair day and YOM YISRAEL!
Shabbat Shalom,
Bluma & Shelly and the Kinneret Kids
Even though it was so hot outside we
stayed cool
With Yom Cham and morning swimming
lessons in the pool!
The Sky Riders show was as awesome as
could be!
They flipped, bounced and jumped – it
was amazing to see!
We learned about Tisha B’Av with a
special program on Wednesday.
Then we had a day off from camp to
observe the fast day.
Friday Negev was off to Bowcraft to ride
the rides.
We had such a fun time, it was hard to
say good-bye.
We have so much fun at camp every day
Because our unit is A-O.K.!
Shabbat Shalom,
Karen, Emmy and the Negev Crew
What a week in Galil!
We spent the first half of the week indoors
trying to beat the heat—but this didn’t
slow down our campers.
On Tuesday, B4 and G4 played a close
game of indoor kickball, with the boys
escaping by a narrow victory. We also
saw an incredible trampoline show in
which the performers amazed us with their
jumps and flips.
On Wednesday we prepared for Tisha
B’Av with a presentation about the significance
of the day.
On Friday we were excited to go outside
again! B4 and B5 played a competitive but
fun soccer game against the boys from the
Clifton Y.
Everyone is looking forward to our trip
and overnight next week!
Shabbat Shalom,
Stacy and Justin
We fly through the air
with the greatest of
ease….
B2A ‘s daring young
Max Belizzone
Ropes
This summer many campers have been able to climb the wall and ride the zip
line for the first time.
We applaud the accomplishment of these campers, but we equally applaud all
campers who participate in the activities at the ropes course. All ropes course
activities are designed to challenge the campers at the appropriate age level.
This year, we also have a new Burma Bridge that all campers are able to enjoy.
Shabbat Shalom,
Scott Dichter, Amir Lev and Maor Va’anunu

Page 3
Gymnastics
Gymnastics continues to flip us out here at camp! We spent
some more time on the bars, learning front and back hip circles; low
bar and high bar.
Everyone tried ‘monkey swinging’ this week, so ask your children
to show you next time you’re in the park or on a backyard swing
set!
We’ve stacked the mats, and everyone is ‘flipping out’ over how
easy it is to do somersaults from the springboard.
Balance beam has continued to challenge campers of all ages,
and everyone has learned to improve their concentration and conquer
the beam!
Keep flipping and have a great weekend!
Kimberly Amsel, Gymnastics Specialist
Mitzvah of the Week- Tikkun Olam
(repairing the world)
The Shilichim and I had the great opportunity this week to put
on a special Tisha B'av show to our campers. Not only did we try
to "recreate" for them the various episodes of the key causes as
to why we have Tisha B'av, but we also had some amazing follow-up
discussions as to what we, as a Gesher community, can
do to make the world a better place to live in.
There is no better way to do this than to talk about the importance
of “tikkun olam.” We all recognize that everyone, in their
own way, can make a difference in the world. This will hopefully
lead us to a world filled with greater peace and mutual understanding
amongst all people.
In this week's Torah portion of “V'aetchanan,” we are taught
once again the infamous Ten Commandments. It should always
serve as a reminder, along many lines, that our relationships
between our fellow person are just as important as our relationship
with G-d; Hence we have the breakdown of the Ten Commandments
into two major components - Mitzvot between people,
and service to G-d.
One of the key ways to achieve a full and meaningful Jewish
experience, is to recognize that both of these relationships go
hand-in hand. One cannot call oneself a "religious person," if
they cheat and steal from others.
Let there be peace for Israel.
Gesher Waterworks
We have reached the end of our third swim session, and swim
reports are coming home today. As always, if you need more
information or a clarification, please feel free to call me.
Most amazing this week, was the reality that our Pre-K campers
have come so far! We began the summer with over 30 of our
campers in big bubbles, and amazingly, I counted just 14 in the
pool this week! More bubbles come off every day as our campers
learn the skills necessary to swim on their own. Kudos to the
Pre-K counselors and the Lifeguard Staff for all their hard work in
making this happen!
We concluded our “nine days of Instruction” on Wednesday,
as we remember the period of mourning prior to Tisha B’Av. Our
campers do not free swim during the nine days of Av because of
the halachic prohibitions regarding bathing for pleasure, as well
as the predisposition of the Jewish people to danger during this
time. For these reasons, we eliminate Free Swim as an activity,
and instead substitute instructional activities during the afternoon
swim. Galil and Negev learned life jacket skills on Monday,
and participated in the ever-popular kayaks on Tuesday
and Wednesday mornings during the regular instructional swim.
We were very happy to return to regular free swim on Friday
morning.
The excessive heat took its toll on swimming this week as well.
We closed the pool during the afternoon on both Tuesday and
Wednesday ; The heat made the long walk down the hill an unsafe
adventure for the kids in the afternoon, as it did for the Lifeguard
staff to be standing in the heat for the PM swims. We were
very excited to be back in the water on Friday as the temperatures
cooled off.
Our first round of swim-a-thon prizes went home today as well.
It is not too late to get your contributions in to Chai Lifeline to
support the great work that they do.
Jeff Reiss, and the entire Gesher Aquatics Staff
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Richard

Page 4
Cooking
On Thursday, we commemorated a day referred to as “Tisha B’Av,” the ninth day of the month of Av. This is a day of mourning
for several reasons; Two such reasons are that both the first and the second Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. The
Rabbis tell us that the second Temple was destroyed because the Jewish people were not unified; they were not nice and respectful
of one another. In an effort to counteract this, we discussed how Jews all over the world are one big family and would come to
one another’s aide despite whatever separates us. To demonstrate this point we took several different colored icings (representing
different kinds of Jews) and beautifully (and deliciously) combined/unified them on one cake.
CAKE: Use any vanilla cake recipe. We used Manischewitz parve vanilla cake mixes. Follow instructions on box and bake.
ICING: Make any vanilla frosting of your choice. We used the White Icing recipe found in The Kosher Palette (Joseph Kushner
Hebrew Academy’s cookbook):
½ cup vegetable shorting (we recommend Crisco)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons warm water (apple juice or milk are also good)
½ teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients together.
DECORATING THE CAKE: Separate frosting into several cups. Add food coloring of your choice to each cup and mix (see side
of food coloring box for color selections). Decorate cake as you choose with all of the colors. Make a blessing and enjoy.
In Cooking Chug, we enjoyed yummy Pizza Pockets, Peanut Butter (Soy Butter) Chocolate Chip Cheese Cake, S’mores Brownies,
Creamsicle Milk Shakes, and Cookie Milk Shakes.
What a great week!
Morah Feldman and
Yael Katzwer
Tarbut
My name is Maayan. I am visiting from Israel and have been
having a great time teaching Tarbut (Israeli Culture).
This week we learned about Jewish Heritage. We discussed
the meaning of Shabbas and fasting days, as well as learned
about Israeli geography using a big map if Israel.
I use games, tell stories, and plan fun activities so that the
campers can learn about Israeli culture.
We are all having a great time and are looking forward to
more Tarbut throughout the summer!
Maayan Mor
G3B’s
Hannah
Gelber
works
on an
art
project
during
Omanut
Chug
Tennis
Week 6 on the tennis court was full of fun and games. We
survived the heat of Tuesday and Wednesday by playing in our
air-conditioned gym with indoor tennis nets.
The focus of this week was keeping our eyes on the ball.
With all groups, we played games that emphasized concentration
skills. With older groups, I tossed three tennis balls at a
time, asking each camper to concentrate on one tennis ball
only, and to only hit that tennis ball.
With younger groups, we played the dancing ball game and
campers had to watch the tennis balls and decide which ball
was in my right hand and which ball was in my left hand. It
was amazing how this activity really helped them keep their
eyes on the ball.
During the week, we also played some all time favorites like
tennis baseball, the tennis chain game, and volleyball tennis. It
really is amazing to see your children improving their tennis
skills and strategies.
I look forward to cooler weather and more Gesher tennis in
the coming weeks.
Shabbat Shalom!
Sandy Glatt

Page 5
Games
CROSSWORD
ACROSS:
1) Running and Races.
3) We love camp …..
6) When we play in the pool.
DOWN:
1) This week we had a program
for …………..
2) I have four legs, a tail and I
bark.
4) We play games with different
types of balls in this activity.
5) When we wear white shirts.
7) The Jewish star has this many
points.
WORD SEARCH
Words appear forwards, backwards, and diagonally.
R S P P R O G R A M M B L K E R E D F Y S Y W M R W F F S B
N C I I N Q B A F R U Q S G L N T R A C K A M R C E K V L S
T C T L S F I O E W O R K S E O R Z U T A B A M P T H T M F
J P L E L N J N W K H V A U R S P C W I L A U T Y Q A S I E
N E G O V Y E Y P C F H N K L I H A G R O L T N U Y A E D E
O E B H W M S Y E M R A I L P M A E F O M E E W N M L I O P
G F S M Q N C O M T E A H A V K I T R H O T T E A D N M G L
U W I H R D J Z C S E N F D K I H G F P C R Z J R I Q S N L
D Z N P H A U G U S T P H T I X C Z M E K K A F B H Z R M E
B A P E G Q L Y L U M O D R E S S U P K S P P D C G O S K S
AUGUST BOWCRAFT DOG DRESSUP
FIELD GESHER PROGRAM TRACK

From Deep Down in the Archives of
Jokedom...
Monday: What is the best thing to put into a pie
...Your fork
Tuesday: What do porcupines say when they kiss
.... Ouch
Wednesday: What do sheep like to do when it is sunny
outside
... Have a BAA BAA Que
Thursday: Tisha B’Av
...(No Camp, No Joke)
Friday: How did Mr. Berger propose to Mrs. Berger
... With an onion ring
Transportation Corner!
Just a few short notes as we roll into week 7 of camp…
1. Please remember to come into the office and sign in your
camper if you arrive to camp after car pool has ended. Even
if you see your camper’s counselors and bunk at Boker Tov,
you will still need to sign in your camper—especially if they
are usually on a bus in the morning and you decided to drive
them instead.
2. As we go into weeks 7 and 8 of camp, we have fewer campers
as we say good-bye and wish families great vacations. We ask
that you please have your campers ready a little earlier in
the morning and be home slightly earlier for them in the
afternoon because the bus routes might take less time.
Don’t forget to send back your
Chai Lifeline Swim-a-Thon
forms !!!
The camp
looks on in
amazement as
the Sky Riders
flip and jump
on snowboards
on a
their trampoline.
LOST AND FOUND
We have 4 tables of lost and found items near the camp
office that have no name labels in them. We encourage
you to come in and go through these items if your
camper is missing clothing, goggles, sunglasses, sneakers,
etc… We have no way to return these items to you if
we cannot identify who they belong to.
Current:
$18,500
110 South Orange Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
Ph: (973) 597-3699
Fx: (973) 597-3362
Email: gesher@jkha.org
Web: www.gesherfun.org
2006 Goal:
$30,000