WE ARE BACK!

It is so exciting to be back for summer 101 in the 12523! Time is a funny thing at camp, and while each day has been jam-packed with camp firsts, the first week flew by. By the end of Opening Day, each bunk was flooded with stories from the year, chatter, and cheers.

We welcomed 50 new campers just seven days ago, and yet already we are fully immersed in the rhythm of camp.

While it’s hard to convey everything that happens in even one camp activity (let alone a full day, or week!-- there are simply too many small in-between moments, natural phenomena, and interactions between peers), our hope is that the Scatico Blog will share a taste of the summer experience.

OPENING CAMPFIRES

Each summer, Opening Campfires mark a special first tradition at Camp Scatico. For both campuses, it happens on the second night of camp, and campers and counselors gather outside cabins to walk to their respective campfire sites. O the boys side, DLs run a series of activities, followed by a musical jam session. On girls side, the Soopers (oldest division) take charge of the night, explaining several time-honored camp traditions and leading the camp in songs.

This year, the boys side played long-time favorite games: pillow fights, fool ball, and screaming eagle (essentially running around in a circle, holding a note with a single breath). Each division has their time to shine. One highlight of the night was a performance by Carly Messite, a new camp nurse , who played the guitar and sang “I am a believer” by Neil Diamond. For Scatico alum, Carly’s name might sound familiar! Her grandpa, Lenny Messite, served as the boys head counselor in 1979/80 and as an assistant for many more years.

On girls side, the Soopers led the campfire, and started (as always) by introducing the “spirits” of camp (spirit of the Old Camper, New Camper, Fire, Health, and Happiness). They then led camp through a series of campfire traditions, including sprinkling the ashes from last summer’s Closing Campfire over the flames to signify the bond between each camp season, singing campfire favorites like “Circle Game” and “The Year Song,” and distributing candles for each camper to light and make a wish on. The campfire also included a Land Acknowledgement, a new tradition from last summer, which highlights Scatico’s connection to Schaghticoke First Nations.

TEAMS AND COLLEGE BOWL!

Two key summer competitions are officially underway…. TEAMS and College Bowl!

In TEAMS girls side is split into four– Racing Wind (yellow), Blazing Arrow (red), Flying Eagle (green), and Thunderbolt (blue). The start of TEAMS (aka the “break”) is always a much-anticipated surprise, with girls side never knowing when the word TEAMS, or the four judges, or the four colors might appear. This summer, TEAMS broke during a new camp evening activity: CAMPLE (modeled after the now-popular WORDLE). In CAMPLE divisions had to solve for the five-letter word that was somehow related to camp (early words were Buddy, Admin, Crafts…). Finally the word everyone was waiting for appeared… TEAMS! Instantly the Social Hall erupted into cheers as the judges split campers into their four teams. Now, for one day a week over the next three weeks, the Soopers will lead each team in sports, arts, and singing!

For College Bowl, boys side is split into Ohio (red), Michigan (dark blue), UCLA (light blue), and USC (yellow). The first big kick-off event, which happened Friday evening, is a full-camp Capture The Flag on the driving range! Campers of all ages work together to capture the “flags” (frisbees) of the other team, each of which are worth different points. The following day of College Bowl is chock-full of special events including full-camp Mass Softball and Dodgeball; a giant Rock-Paper-Scissor tournament (as people get out they cheer on their team until it’s down to just two campers); Egg Toss; Relay Race; Upper Senior Knockout; and always a favorite the Upper Senior Slapball Homerun Derby!

DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS

A quick look at what different divisions have been up to throughout camp! This week marked a lot of group hikes!

GIRLS SIDE

Pixies - Had a full day of exploring the many treats of Dutchess County! On Friday, the Pixies headed out to Poet’s Walk, a scenic trail along the Hudson in nearby Red Hook. Not only did they spot 15+ butterflies, but the Pixies also “crashed” (from afar) a wedding ceremony happening at one of the park’s gazebos! Poet’s Walk was followed by blueberry picking at Greig’s Farm and (of course) Holy Cow.

Juniors - Hit the road on Friday and went to Montgomery Place, a historic estate located on the campus of nearby Bard College. The Juniors wound their way through several trails and gardens, before heading to Greig’s Farm for blueberry picking and ice cream! The goal is to use the blueberries for a creation with Chef Ally and Justin in cooking.

Jinters - Have been loving gymnastics, showing off their cartwheels, round-offs, and handstands! The Jints were also introduced to a new favorite game called “Time ball” (hard to describe) and also had their hike to Millbrook.

Inters - Started on pots and soap dishes in ceramics. The soap dishes are to compliment another camp project… making soap with Laura in Crafts!! They also went on their hike to Inspiration Point.

Centers - Went out on their hike to Sunset Rock with their counselors and none other than Kerri! Located alongside North-South Lake just across the river from camp, the Centers made it to the viewpoint and then enjoyed ice cream at the General Store.

Debs - Led girls side in the first division-led evening activity– SCATO! SCATO is camp’s version of Bingo, but instead of numbers/letters you fill your board with signatures of Scaticonians. The Debs created fun categories for each square (a camper who has never been on green for Color War; a camper who can sing the alphabet backwards; a camper who can do “the worm”) and then if the name of a camper on your square is called you get to X it. Five Xs in a row is SCATO! But the win is not complete until each person proves that they can in fact do the challenge they signed for (needless to say, we have a lot of good breakdancers at camp!).

Subs - Kicked off this week’s theme in cooking… “kicked up bunch”! They made Oreo-and cream-cheese-stuffed French toast with Chef Ally and Chef Justin. The Subs also mastered the most challenging hike of the season: Breakneck Ridge.

Seniors - Always love a little friendly competition. The Seniors went head-to-head with the Subs in Kickball and emerged victorious! They’re all set to step into their new leadership roles, taking charge of College Leagues (an evening activity league series) starting this evening!

Soopers - Jumped right into the spotlight and led the first Friday Night! Each Friday, after dinner, a division on girls side leads camp in a values-based talk on lessons learned at camp. For this week, the Soopers dove into Scatico’s four values, and what each one means to them.

BOYS SIDE

Freshmen - Had two very popular and first-time activities this week– “gymnastics dodgeball” and their “waterblaster fight.” In Gymnastics dodgeball the Frosh headed to the girls gymnastics building (it has a bouncy floor!) to amp up their dodgeball. “Waterblasters” was a game picked out by the Frosh staff during orientation for a particularly hot day… which we had Friday!

Sophomores - Rain can’t stop them. When asked about their favorite activity, several Sophs yelled, “football in the rain!” The group also had a special evening activity and headed out in row boats for sunset fishing. They successfully caught several fish including a 22 inch bass by Teddy Gourevitch!

Sub juniors - Enjoyed two oldies but goodies… slapball and the wibit! For those not in the know, slapball is played on the B Court. Any hit that goes over the tennis fence is a home run, and any hit that actually scores a basket wins the group a pizza party.

Juniors - Nothing like ice bucket backyard baseball on a hot day! The Juniors played on Friday on campus, where instead of bases, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are represented by buckets of ice.

Inters - Headed out to Bonticou Craig for their divisional hike. Involving a good amount of scrambling, every single Inter opted for the “hard route” and made it to the top! The Inters also enjoyed their first T-Leagues (now that they are on upper hill) and first-time camper Asad even had a walk off home run!

Sub Seniors -Loved a little friendly competition. The Subs had a Shark Tank challenge, in which they split into teams and presented their best business/ product ideas. One highlight? Pants that also turn into a napkin!

Seniors - When asked their favorite activity of the week? BP, BP and more BP! (BP being batting practice). Maybe having Brett (former baseball counselor) as their DL has something to do with it. Another highlight? Capture the flag against the Upper Seniors for evening activity.

Upper Seniors - Were honored during the closing ceremony of the College Bowl campfire. At the campfire’s conclusion, DL Michael Tolstoi presents each Upper Senior with their Scatico backpack and shares a few words about their journeys as campers. David also chimed in, sharing how special it is to see two Upper Seniors— Diego Groom and Danny Kedwards— back for the first time since 2019, and how they’ve helped to unify the group.

Summer 2022, Week 1