Summer 2016, Edition #7: August 4 - August 10

HIGH STAKES COLOR WAR 

Color War is always an intense, all-out finish to an event-filled summer at Scatico. It's the last full-camp push; a series of games and competitions campers and counselors alike have been looking forward to since their very first day in Elizaville. For Soopers and Upper Seniors it's a bittersweet four days: both a time to lead, and a farewell song of sorts. From coaching younger campers' sporting events, to strategizing for All-Star games, leading cheers, and encouraging good sportsmanship, the Soopers and Upper Seniors truly set the bar for Color War, and the rest of camp follows suit. For younger and first-time campers, Color War is an exciting rush, and a time when truly every camper is given the opportunity to step up to the plate and shine for their team. The best Color War moments come when new and unexpected talents are brought into the spotlight. With activities as diverse as art projects, softball, chess, trivia, ping pong ball balances, and egg tosses, there is bound to be an activity for everyone. 

Inter/ Sub Junior soccer 

All smiles at jump roping 

BOYS SIDE 

Boys Color War is four days of non-stop action, from the first dodgeball match on the A-court to the final chicken fight in the Social Hall. On boys side three counselors are chosen to be Generals for each team, and help the Upper Seniors lead and coach the rest of camp. At some moments the teams were neck in neck, but ultimately Grey pulled ahead to win. The four days had many magical moments, but here are a few standout highlights. 

Gathering sticks for rope burn. 

HIGHLIGHT REEL 

• An intense game of Inter/ Sub Senior soccer went beyond overtime and into penalties, where Isaac Malkin scored the winning penalty kick to take home a victory for Green.

Isaac Malkin's penalty kick

• A heated game of All Star Chess eventually ended in a draw, with Jake Vandercar and John Fischgrund as the final two standing. 
• Boys side resurrected an old event: the Flagpole Shootout. It used to be that a counselor sat in a chair and campers shot foam arrows at them from a distance, but this summer we switched it up and used real arrows to shoot at a life jacket draped over a chair. Simon Mandel scored a victory for Grey when he shot an arrow that pierced right through the lifejacket's "heart." 
• Novelties are fun, mini-competitions that break up the flow of larger sport events throughout the day. In the egg toss novelty, Aidan Rogers and General Alan O'Neill were the final partners with an intact egg, securing a win for Grey. 
• The always-heated A-game (played at the Pavilion) was a particularly close one this Color War, with Green winning by just two points. 

The A Game 

• The Swim Meet and Boating Reggata always bring new all-stars to the fore. War Canoe, which involves campers from all divisions rowing as fast as they can, was won by Grey by only three seconds. Shout outs to Grey coxswain Henry Lilienfeld and Green coxswain Max Rosh. 

Grey and Green go head-to-head in a canoe relay

• Green won All-Star Softball, in part thanks to a home-run hit by Captain Brian Schindler. 
• Both Senior Football and Upper Senior Soccer were intense matches ultimately won by Grey. Senior Jonny Leibowitz scored multiple touchdowns for his team, and Captain Ethan Edelson scored 4 goals! 

Upper Senior Ryan Ditkoff up to bat. 

• Green nabbed a victory in Soph-Sub Junior Hockey with Nick Mozga scoring numerous goals!
• Rope Burn is always a highly-anticipated Color War event, and involves each team building a fire high enough to burn through a rope hanging above the flames as quickly as possible. Each team is allowed to recruit one "fire-building" supervisor, to strategize how to maximize the height of the fire's flame. Evan Baitch designed Green's winning fire, a moment made extra sweet since his twin brother Ryan was General. 

"Go Green fire, burn a little higher!"

• Grey clinched their Color War victory in the final potato race (campers run back and forth along the Social Hall to place blocks at various distances), when Upper Senior Sage Blumenfeld won.  

GIRLS SIDE

On girls side Color War is structured slightly differently, and the Sooper girls really step it up to lead the rest of the camp. The competition kicks off with a Sing, where each team chooses a theme– this year's were Green Candy Land and Grey Rydell High– and perform a series of songs (an Alma Mater, Folk Song, and Entrance about how awesome their team is, are a few highlights). Soopers and Seniors work together to prep for sing for days straight, creating unbelievable sceneries to hang in the Social Hall. Following Sing it's three days of non-stop action, from Apache relays and All-Star Volleyball to Scavenger Hunts and the Bucket Brigade (teams need to fill a huge garbage can with water so that a ping pong ball inside of it raises to the top and spills out). It was a close competition, but in the end Green secured an overall victory. 

The team emblems, made by the Subs for each camper to wear everyday. During sporting events, campers opt to hang them from trees. 

HIGHLIGHT REEL

• The Sing included many standout moments, including a beautiful winning Alma by Grey to the song "All I Want" by Kodaline, and impressive winning scenery and Entrance (appropriately to the song "I Want Candy") by Green. 

Green Candy Land Scenery

Grey Rydell High Scenery 

Green Candy Lane Soopers and Seniors in costume for the Sing 

Green and Grey in an epic sing down 

• The jump rope novelty, where division by division girls run through a spinning jump rope, is always a highlight. The Junior girls surprised all of camp with their impressive skills, and in the end the Grey team had the final campers not eliminated, including the youngest of the trio Maya Pisetzner. 
• The Apache Relay involves everything from finding objects in a hay stack to rolling clay into a ball and accurately serving 3 tennis balls. Every camper participates in an event, there are over 70 in total, which spans all of girls campus and the lake! Although they started out behind, Green pulled ahead for a victory. 
• A little rain did nothing to stop the intensity, with everything from Junior/ Jinter Simon says to Sooper/Senior dodgeball. 
• The Upper Hill treasure hunt was particularly high stakes, ending with two Soopers rowing to the ice peak located in between boys and girls waterfronts to find the mafia's "weapon". It all came down to Sam Derasse and Lindsey Sherman from Grey, and Sophie Blumenfeld and Anna Rosenberg from Green. It was neck-in-neck but Green emerged victorious. 

Grey Soopers Sherman and Karlin are ready to lead. 

Carson Lava at hurdles! 

• Grey was able to nab victories in nearly all of the novelties, from hit the penny to water toting (teams fill a vessel with water using only their hands). 
• The Swim and Boat Meet were as intense as ever, with Green and Grey in a dead tie all the way up until the last event: the Sooper General/Lieutenant relay where one leader loads the other up with unlimited lifejackets and then the duo swim together (it looks something like a human orange marshmellow) to the dock and back. In the end Green Gn. Emily Mester and Lt. Anna Rosenfeld made it back first. 

Jane Greeley leads the Grey War canoe. 

Erica Smiley leads Green War Canoe. 

• Grey nabbed a win in All-Star Softball, thanks in part to some stellar pitching from Eliana Pisetzner. 
• Green dribbled, passed and scored their way to a victory in All-Star Basketball. Shout outs to the "Emilys" (Holzer and Mester) for their impressive games. 
• To learn of the overall winner, the Chief Judges light the letters of a rope spelling out GREENY. They start with the G, R, and E and then depending on the third letter they light teams know if Green or Grey was victorious. With the lighting of the second E Green knew they had won for the first time since 2013! 

Green Centers on the soccer field 

Grey Inters on the soccer field 

Grey Juniors and Jinters throw their weight into Tug of War. 

PARTING WORDS

It's hard to believe it, but with Color War in the books it's nearly time to say goodbye to the 12523. The final night of camp is one filled with many time-honored traditions, from the boys and girls banquets, to a viewing of the Slide Show and closing campfires. After living 10 for 2, the 2 always seems to go by way too fast. Let the countdown to summer 2017 begin! 

1, 2, 3, 4 We Have (Boys) Color War

Scatico got political on Saturday night and hosted its very own 2016 Presidential Debate, featuring candidates Patterson, Nathin, Kenny, Rosen and Baitch.  Patterson, running on a farming platform, advocated for increased composting in the Dining Hall; Nathin and Kenny were our charismatic populists; Rosen (dressing-down in a white T) went for the more traditional stances; and Baitch was boy sides' independent. The five candidates went head-to-head while moderators John Gross and Chase Madorsky (both who work at their college radio stations in the off-season) threw some major curve balls (and even took questions from the audience). The final question, regarding a proposed destruction of the A-Court to accommodate more "housing," had the candidates thinking about all the major camp A-Court moments that would be missed (from the Boys NAT tournament, to "Meet the Counselor Night,") naming nearly everything except the obvious, which is.... splitting the teams for COLOR WAR! When the candidates finally all yelled it together, boys rushed to the A-Court for dodgeball and getting into green and grey.

From left to right: Candidates Patterson (Inter DL), Kenny (Sub Senior DL), Nathin (Junior DL), Rosen (Senior DL), and Baitch (Soph DL) 

Find the full team lists below, and prepare for our final blog update on the 11th for a full Color War Recap. 

Summer 2016, Edition #6: July 20 - August 3

ENDLESS SUMMER

It's been a busy two weeks at Camp Scatico, with Divisional Sings sung, Olympics played, Mini Camps enjoyed, Open Mic Night performed, and our Scaticonians in Training (SITs) and four-week campers departed. We try to cram in as much camp fun and action before Color War reigns supreme for the last week or so of summer (pretty hard to believe), and so there is lots to report on from the 12523. 

Scatico has seen lots of Co-ed events these past days, with Olympics kicking things off in honor of the Rio Summer Olympics (luckily the Scatico variation was less fraught with infrastructural disaster). Boys and girls of all ages were combined and divided into "countries"– such as (gold and silver medalists) Jupiter and Direwolves– to compete in a series of events from Pictionary, to a a basketball-shooting contest, to throwing tennis balls into giant rocket ship looking tubes. 

Can never go wrong with drawing a Chicken Patty. 

Pictionary gets heated! 

NIGHT OF THE ARTS

Welcome to the Scatico Gallery 

At Scatico we are always looking to incorporate new traditions to add to the old, and our Second Annual Night of the Arts is a perfect example of how quickly successful new ideas can catch on. Spearheaded last summer by Arts Program head Ken Vallario, the 2016 Night of the Arts grew to even greater heights. Incorporating both a Scatico Gallery– where counselors and campers alike featured works ranging from sculptures and pottery, to paintings and collage– and an Open Mic night, it was one of those special full-camp activities that displayed many Scaticonians' previously unknown hidden talents. Shout outs to Noah Lowenthal, Nathan Koehler, Dylan Freeman and Katie Corren for winning "Golden Brushes," for their dedication and perseverance in making their artwork. Some highlight acts from Open Mic included a hilarious stand-up comedy routine from Jacob Schumer, dead-on impersonations from co-music head CJ Ditkoff, a dance from the SIT girls to Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood," and Jordan Klein's trumpet solo. It was the second time since 4th of July that both boys and girls gathered in the campitheater, and a few more weeks in to the summer the strengthening of divisional bonds and general comfort of first-time campers was palpable. We know the campitheatre is just getting started!

SIT girls take the stage 

Campitheatre fills up for the Open Mic portion of the Art Show 

"Nothing You Can Sing That Can't Be Sung"

Upper Seniors--their final Divisional Sing

Divisional Sing marks another watershed moment of the summer, and a time when girls camp and boys camp get together (separately) to showcase weeks worth of prep and rehearsal, and share the highlights of their summer via song. Counselors start writing and choosing Divisional Sing songs (which feature both a "fun" song, where the lyrics are changed to a known pop/ rock song, and a "folk song," which is a slower number sung in full) very early in the summer (maybe too early), and divisions get amped about their performance weeks in advance. On girls side divisions pick a theme that incorporates their name and usually involves an array of costumes and puns, while on boys side the more straightforward uniform of jeans/khakis and a T-shirt usually prevails. From misadventures on divisional hikes to tournaments won and divisional inside jokes, Sing lyrics always encompass the full range of Scatico experiences, and solidify a bond that only divisions can share. 

The competition was tough this year, but on girls side the Soopers nabbed Upper Hill 1st place as the "Upper Soopers" (they adopted the clothes, and singing style of their male camper counterparts... to very hilarious results) and the Inters won 1st for Lower Hill (for their adorable and impressive performance as "The Interns"). On boys side the Sub Seniors walked away with 1st on Upper Hill (folk song--"Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds), and the Juniors for Lower (folk song--"The Climb" by Miley Cyrus). 

The Sub boys wow at Sing 

Subvivors waiting in the wings 

The Interns sing out strong 

Upper Soopers get into character 

Bday Ball, Mini Camp, Tournaments and more! 

These two weeks of camp have seen some real tournament highlights, starting with the entering 10th girls softball tournament at Timber Lake Camp where Scatico came in 1st! Eliana Pisetzner pitched a no hitter in the finals, aided by Daphne Zuckerman with some very impressive plays at second base. It was the first time the host camp hadn't won in 10 years, and it was quite the proud moment for all our Scatico Softball-ers... The entering 7th girls basketball team (which the entire Debs division was on) also made it to the finals, losing by only 3 points in their last game... A handful of campers headed out to the Dinsmore Golf Course to enjoy 9 holes with golf head Alan... The entering 8th boys hockey team won 1st place at their Berkshire Hills tournament, with a special shout out to Cooper Gottfried for scoring the game winning goal in the semis (capping a comeback from a 2-0 deficit)!

Mini-Camp is another high point of summer, giving both boys and girls the opportunity to take a break from a regular program day and throw themselves into an activity they are particularly passionate about. From a trip to a rock climbing wall, to cupcake making, sweat lodge building, a spa day, to building a deck on the wood shop, and more, it never fails to be a day of fun. This summer, some new mini-camp activities we added to the fan-favorites included Spy School and a Hamilton-themed art project.

This past week also featured girls Birthday Ball, where all of girls side is divided into seasons based on when their birthday is. This year's themes were Winter the Pooh, Springer Spaniels, Summer Lovin', and Fall Is Life, each with their accompanying decor and costumes. Plus on boys side T-League play-offs in basketball, soccer, and softball play-offs are fast approaching.  

Senior girls at "Winter the Pooh" Bday ball prep 

Plus we can't forget about our SITs! The youngest of Scatico's campers, the SITs cram a summer's worth of activities into merely one week. From the athletic fields to arts and crafts, swimming, nature, and making s'mores too, the SITs sample a little bit of everything that Scatico has to offer (even a trip to Holy Cow!). Plus one night they joined the Juniors, Jinters, Inters, Sophs, and Sub-Juniors for a night of bowling at Rollin' Lanes! 

SITs go fishing 

DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS 

BOYS SIDE 

Lights, camera, action! Movie making with the media team. 

Tis' the season for Big Trips! The Sophs, Sub Juniors and Juniors all embarked on their Big Trips, which incorporate one special activity, followed by a trip to the mall for dinner and the movies...The Sophs headed to Howe Caverns, exploring the many stalactites and stalagmites (plus one rock formation that looks like a mouse)... The Sub Juniors went to nearby water park Zoom Flume... and the Juniors traveled to the Basketball Hall of Fame, which honors member and Scatico co-founder Nat Holman!... The Inters whipped up some Chinese food in cooking (it's Chef Justin's specialty) plus held an NFL combine complete with draft and formal interviews... The Subs (still basking in their Berkshire Hills hockey victory) held a game of "underground hockey," which is played in the Social Hall with garbage cans, and also a game of water balloon dodgeball... The Seniors participated in a full on mystery day, staring with a 6 am wakeup to enjoy a game of softball before reveille blew, a waterfront cookout for breakfast, a blind hike through campus, and a mystery ride to the Mills Mansion... The Upper Seniors bob sled, luged, and scarfed Ben & Jerry's all the way through Lake Placid for three days! They also competed with the Seniors in the "Senior Cup," which involved games of basketball, football, soccer and dodgeball. The US won it all, except a notable Senior victory in football.   

GIRLS SIDE

All smiles at the waterfront. 

The girls had their fair share of Big Trips and events as well! The Juniors headed to a lighthouse on Wednesday, followed by a viewing of "The Secret Life of Pets,"... The Jinters also made the journey to Howe Caverns, followed by much time picking out Big Sister's small gifts at Claire's... The Inters embarked on their trip to a rock climbing gym, and also held their theme day of "Cupcake Wars," which involved decorating their own aprons and splitting into teams to cupcake battle it out.... The Centers got brave and challenged themselves during their big trip to a zip-lining course... The Debs headed to Catamount for a day on the ropes courses and also enjoyed a "Debtective" theme day complete with a mysterious scavenger hunt... The Subbies went to a production of "Into the Woods" and many of them also went on a Volleyball tournament at Kindering. Those subs that stayed behind at camp were able to turn the tables and give their counselors a blind hike... The Seniors enjoyed the dynamic duo of a buffet lunch at the Mohonk Mountain House and then trip to the town of Woodstock (they now proudly rock their long-sleeved red shirts)... The Soopers joined the Upper Seniors for their three-day trip to Lake Placid complete with Olympic Sports and Whiteface Mountain hikes, but are now fully consumed by preparing for Color War Sing! 

Juniors just wanna have fun! 

With less than two-weeks left of camp there is still plenty to look forward to. Keep an eye out for our final blog post later next week for a taste of all things COLOR WAR! 

1, 2, 3, 4 We Have (Girls) Color War!

Girls side was in for a surprise this morning when they headed to breakfast: the campitheatre had been transformed! All along the back row of seating, cutout figures of the Sooper girls (complete with green shorts, a Color War T-shirt, and blow up photos of their faces) had been placed in the grass, along with giant wooden letters (a la the Hollywood sign) spelling out COLOR WAR. Shrieks and sprinting ensued, and it was time for judges Natalie, Emily and Jessica to read aloud the pledge. Please find the complete team lists by clicking the button below (an asterisk indicates who was selected as Camper Captain), and look out for more Color War updates to come! 

Summer 2016, Edition #5: CITs In the Dominican Republic

Taking a break from our usual coverage of life in the 12523, we wanted to share the CIT blog from their trip to the Dominican Republic. For nine days, the 31 CITs swam, hiked, jumped, and led, doing everything from cave swimming and waterfall exploring to leading a Color War and a full day of activities for dozens of Dominican campers. It was the second year the Scatico CITs have headed down to the DR, and once again it was an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. 

Summer 2016, Edition #4: July 13-19

The Dunk Tank at Carnival 

It's been another busy week in the 12523, with Carnival, The Boys' NAT, a second Tribes day and Visiting Day all in the books. Visiting Day always marks a big milestone, serving as a reminder that the summer is moving way too fast. As exciting as it is to have a day to share all that's going on at Scatico with family and friends, there is still so much we can't quite articulate or explain. From the nervous jitters felt before your Tribal team is asked to perform at a campfire, to the easy jokes and chatter of a line of boys playing full camp knockout, there are so many minuscule moments that make up a camp day. While we can't squeeze it all in here, we can at least provide some highlights of the week, from our victorious chess tournament to pretzel making in cooking, and everything in between. 

Crazy for Carnival 

Carnival, an afternoon where all of camp (boys and girls) gets together to run a series of booths and play various games, is always a summer highlight. It was hard to imagine something that would top last years' stellar (pun intended) Hollywood theme, but this year's Olympics theme proved just as creative (and even more timely). It all started with a procession down the tree-lined path, with counselors representing their countries of origin (we have staff from India, Argentina, New Zealand and more!) holding the "torches" for our opening ceremony, and campers from each division dressed as a different sport (from the U.S. Swim Team, to archery, and even a few refs!). Once our torch lighting ceremony was over it was time to hit the booths! A few classics – like the Upper Seniors haunted house, Senior girls Marriage Booth, Senior boys dunk tank, and Deb Zap Mail (campers deliver messages to one another in balloons)– were back, but several new elements were added to the mix. One booth even involved a triathlon that incorporated a shot-put throw, standing broad jump, and high jump. As always the local ice cream truck was a smash hit, as was the DL horse race to close out the afternoon of celebration. 

Ready for donut eating

Taking a try at the dart board

Everyone has their own high jump strategy

Zap mail message writing

Soopers at the Kissing Booth

DLs before the big race

... stakes are high

Lower hill at the bottle toss

Things getting intense with the Juniors 

FEEL THE BURN 

It was another week chock full of tournaments and sports events, starting with the girls second Tribes day on Friday! This week red, yellow, green and blue competed in a track meet, plus shared their Comic Songs, Fractured Fairy Tales (which use existing stories to tell the tale of how Scatico came to be.... this summer involved a very hilarious and clever "Hamilton"-inspired one), Rhythm bands (creating a scene using only noise), and counselor imitations. As of now the order is Thunderbolt in first, Racing Wind second, Flying Eagle third, and Blazing Arrow fourth, but we'll have to see what the third and final Tribes day has in store! The Soopers have been busy working on their plaques and teaching folk songs.... so anything could happen. 

Centers before the track meet

On your mark, get set, go!

CITs at the finish line

Juniors at the Tribal Campfire

All of camp got back into their green last Thursday and headed to the A court for the boys NAT! Though the boys team did not make it to the finals, we still felt unlimited amounts of Scatico spirit. 

Ready for the NAT! 

Above: Henry Beck on the foul line

Right: Jared Simons goes up for a shot

And there were even more tournaments and events! From the boys: A wide range of ages headed to Timberlake for tennis and we came in a cumulative 1st place! Special shout outs to Brandon Rothenberg and Jonathan Fischgrund for making doubles finals, and Mark Perlman and Jonah Levine for coming in first in their age brackets' singles!... Our entering 6th soccer tournament nabbed 3rd place at Greylock.... And our entering fifth Pontiac Baskteball team made it to the finals with all-star player Oz Rubinson scoring "a million" points ... Plus Scatico hosted its annual chess tournament and we won an incredibly impressive 88 out of 100 matches to ultimately come in first place! 

From the girls: Our Gymnastics team tumbled, jumped, and cartwheeled it up at a competition at Wah-Nee... The Upper and Lower hill Dance Team headed out to Timberlake, and the Upper Hill routine (set to the song "Hurricane" by Halsey) came in second place!... Girls side held their annual camper-counselor tennis tournament on Wednesday afternoon.

DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS

From the boys...

The Sophs played an intense game of human battleships (kids lie on either side of the squash court on towels and throw water balloons over the top at each other) and enjoyed an evening sunset while boating and fishing... The Sophs and Sub Seniors put their heads together for a "Shark Tank" competition, coming up with amazing inventions to wow the counselor judges (the winners invented the flex-comb that combs and gels hair simultaneously)...The Sub Juniors embarked on their hike to Monument Mountain followed by (you guessed it) ice cream... The Juniors played a high stakes game of "Nathin Golf" all across campus, needing to hit certain markers within "x" amount of shots along the way... they were also joined by The Inters for a bowling night on Monday... The Inters also had their hike to North Point in the Catskills and enjoyed a game of U.S. Gladiators on the tennis courts... The Sub Seniors hosted a "Yacht Party" bringing their kayaks and canoes out to the middle of the lake to be enjoyed with some ice cold sodas... The Seniors had their waterfront cookout (nothing like burgers and s'mores by the lake)... And the Upper Seniors were in for a pleasant surprise when they thought they were going down to the Canteen for a Ping Pong tournament, but actually were headed on a Mystery Ride to go Go Carting! 

From the girls...

The Juniors and Jinters performed their short fairy tale plays that were written and directed by the Seniors in the campi-theatre... The Jinters are hosting a "So You Think You Can Dance" evening activity... The Inters headed down to the former stables for their overnight (s'mores, stargazing, and bedtime stories in abundance).... The Centers have been busy at Arts n Crafts painting murals on all of the benches... The Centers and Debs also went bowling with their boys' divisions... The Debs and Subs have been  preparing for their own play, Marry Poppins, the last of the summer.... The Subs ran the Miss Ugly pageant, always a popular girls' side evening activity. Shoutout to Sooper Katie Corren for walking away with 1st place (competitors had to prepare a talent, their evening wear, everyday wear, and Halloween costume!)... The Subs also enjoyed an "Amazing Race" theme day complete with cupcake making and a series of obstacles... The Seniors took a break from all of their work sewing their tribal blankets to take a blind hike throughout camp... And the Soopers invented a new water sport! Creatively titled "The Battle of Yorktown" (after the Hamilton song... a true girls side obsession of the summer), it involves kayaking between boys and girls waterfronts all while stealing ball-pit balls from the opposing "army" 

NEXT WEEK we will be taking a brief hiatus from Elizaville to share some highlights from our service trip to the Dominican Republic, where our 31 CITs will be leading a day camp for some 60 Dominican kids! By August we will be back in the 12523 to blog about Divisional Sing, Color War breaks and more...

Summer 2016, Edition #3: July 6 - July 12

News from the 12523

From the season's first overnights and full camp tournaments, to cheering along a victorious girls' NAT team and dancing it up at DJ Pure, it has been a non-stop week at Camp Scatico. And as many catches, dives, cheers and dances we fit into 24 hours, summer always goes by in the blink of an eye. Hard to believe that next weekend is already Visiting Day, but in the meantime we have plenty to report on.... 

A little rain doesn't get us down! Boys side enjoys a mud sliding session during some summer showers...

On and off the fields

Every day a new set of school buses are either leaving or entering Scatico's front gate headed for a wide array of tournaments. The boys hosted a going in to 10th tennis tournament and left with an overall 1st place plaque (special shoutout to Andrew Kassin and Jake Vandercar for walking away with a 1st place in doubles), while the girls who headed out to Timberlake for tennis came back with a few trophies of their own including ones for first place in both the silver and gold doubles bracket! At Camp Pontiac our boys' basketball team made it to the semi-finals and our under 5th boys baseball team went 1-1. Plus a shoutout to the first co-ed tourney of the summer! Boys and girls headed to Wah-Nee for a swim, congrats to Keira, Mason, and Bella for nabbing medals! 

Girls side is in full force Tribes mode, with song and art prep and activities revving up as the second Tribes day approaches on Friday. During the first Tribes day the four teams competed in three periods of sports as well as a Swim Meet (a perfect way to cool off after a hot day) and then showcased their Graces, human pyramids and more at the first Tribal campfire. Racing Wind is currently in the lead, but it could be anybody's game by the time week 2 of events is through... Beyond all the competition the Scatico Playhouse also had its seasonal debut with the Centers and Inters performance of Grease that had us all singing along to "You're the One That I Want"... In ceramics instructor Natalie has been hard at work giving every girl an opportunity to master the wheel, while down in Arts n Crafts divisions have been making their own (very trendy) terrariums in mason jars, so that everyone can bring home a piece of Scatico.   

Sooper Anna Rosenfeld leads a all-division War Canoe during the Tribes' Swim Meet 

Inters and Centers rock the Scatico Playhouse during their rendition of "Grease Lightning" 

On boys' side the annual full camp chess, archery, tennis, and 42 (a basketball shooting game) tournaments have started up (because there's nothing like a little inter-divisional competition) that are sure to bring a wide array of new Scatico champs... Tuesday brought the "Subs and Up Annual Tennis Extravaganza" where campers and counselors team up for a day on the tennis courts, with Luis Valdivia and tennis staff member Fernando García walking away with 1st place... Down in Woodshop the lower hill divisions have been busy on their group projects including lamps, mini bookshelves, and tic-tac-toe boards... Plus the CIT boys have been keeping things interesting with a unique set of optional periods, including a "ghost walk" through the admin building, and an "Around the Horn" sports moderating competition on back campus. 

Team huddle during lower hill soccer leagues 

Morning music optional with Jake and Liz 

A day of baskets and beats  

Any weekly recap would be incomplete without mention of the jam-packed, high-intensity of Monday, July 11th, when Scatico hosted both the annual girls NAT tournament and local music extraordinaire DJ PURE! 

Boys and girls cheer on the NAT! 

The girls NAT team pulled off two nail-biting victories in a tournament with four other camps on Monday, to win an overall 1st place! All of camp – from the youngest to the oldest, girls and boys (and Senior Staff too!!)– donned their Scatico green and rushed to the Pavilion to cheer along our team. The first game was a back and forth match throughout, but Scatico pulled through to win by 1 point in the last 19 seconds! In the finals, Scatico was up but Pontiac was able to tie the score with only 30 seconds left on the clock! We went into overtime not once, not twice but THREE times before securing a win by 6 points. The entire team played exceptionally, but major shoutouts to Sooper Sam Derasse for scoring the two nearly buzzer-beating baskets that put us back in the lead, team captain (and MVP) Emily Mester, and Halle Press and Emily Holzer our two youngest (and toughest) players!   

NAT CHAMPS! 

Jinters and Juniors cheer on the NAT

High stakes during a game one foul shot

Following the tournament both boys and girls campus headed back up to the Pavilion but for an entirely different purpose... DJ PURE! A musical talent discovered at a Kingston, NY restaurant, DJ Pure has been spinning tracks at Scatico for years and quickly become a fan-favorite. With a light show and hundreds of dancing campers, the Pavilion was transformed. 

CIT guys an girls get down for DJ Pure! 

Divisional Updates

GIRLS SIDE 

The Jinters and Juniors hosted an intercamp against Camp Kinder Ring (newcomb was the girls' favorite sport) and are also busy preparing for their Visiting Day drama performances!... The Inters had a full day at an away intercamp with Kinder Ring, but still had time this week for raspberry scone and crepe making at Cooking... The Centers not only had their overnight but also hosted an evening activity of paper bag dramatics where teams pull a situation (Bieber's birthday party, the birth of a royal princess), a time period, an accent, and a location out of separate hats and have to throw together a skit... The Debs are proud to announce they won the Friends Plaque and had the second overnight of the season down at the campfire site... The Subs have declared Yoga with Alex their new favorite activity and started auditions for their play "Mary Poppins," slated as the Scatico Playhouse's next show... The Seniors had a Finding Dory theme day that featured fish-themed cupcake making, a lane swim, and a treasure hunt to (what else) Find Dory.. and The Soopers got into the "Hamilton" musical spirit and hosted an American Revolution theme day complete with a Boston tea party (where they actually drank tea), a treasure hunt to fund Betsy Ross's flag, and dressing up as their favorite founding father...

Nothing like an air band/ tennis water break 

BOYS SIDE

The Sophomores had a busy week, enjoying a "Superstars period," full of mini-competitions, heading out on their hike to Millbrook Mountain, and also to an intercamp  with the Sub Juniors to Kenmont... The Sub Juniors participated in the first blind hike of the summer (campers are blindfolded for a nature walk/ team-building activity through camp) and also engaged in a little friendly competition with The Juniors in a Quiz Bowl trivia session ... The Juniors hosted Kenmont back at Scatico and played everything from baseball to soccer to flag football... The Inters participated in a "Sumo Wrestling" (aka pillow-shirt-stuffing) competition and also a 3 on 3 basketball tournament during which they won two games ... The Sub Seniors embarked on their hike to Bonticuo Crag and also played a heated game of "Gladiators" (involving throwing balls into trash bins set up and guarded throughout back campus)... The Seniors headed to Kenmont for a baseball game and also enjoyed an NFL combine event that included a tryout, interview (in a suit and tie!), and draft... and The Upper Seniors managed to find time amid all their haunted house prep in anticipation of The Carnvial (on Monday!) for their waterfront cookout and a game of full camp musical chairs (rather than a neat row, chairs are sprawled throughout boy campus!)

Sophs pose for a photo op en route to the ball fields 

 

Summer 2016, Edition #2: June 29 - July 5

In the Swing of Summer 

Sub Juniors whipping something up at cooking

The Senior girls ready for mountain boarding 

Life in the 12523 has revved into high gear as we officially started our second full week of camp. School buses filled with tournament teams are heading out, College Bowl and Tribes breaks are officially in the books, and white T-shirts are looking a little less clean. It's hard to keep up with the chock-full days at Scatico, but there have definitely been more than a few highlights. 

College Bowl brought all of boys side together as the four teams (USC, Michigan, Ohio, and UCLA) competed in a series of events. The games kicked off with a full boys camp dodgeball! (a special shoutout to Junior Ethan Rotko for being the last man standing) and included a brand new scavenger/ treasure hunt that involved solving riddles to find counselors hidden throughout camp, trivia questions about Scatico, and hunting for "treasure" (aka gold tennis balls). 

College Bowl Teams

College bowl capture the flag on the driving range

Fool Ball at the College Bowl campfire 

Upper seniors at the College Bowl campfire 

On girls side, the lower hill chose their older camp sisters in a favorite camp tradition where names are selected out of a fishbowl. Camp sisters join in a number of activities together, starting with this week's camp sister night on the hill! Older and younger "sisters" participated in a new girls side favorite--9 square in the air (with the added twist that arms had to be linked), plus croquet and bocce. 

Lights, Camera, Action! 

The 4th of July always marks a special turning point in the summer. Campers are out of uniform to rock their red, white and blue, and boys and girls camp come together for a co-ed BBQ, talent show, and fireworks under the open skies of Elizaville. It's a high energy day that feels like the true start of summer. 

And this 4th marked a particularly special moment, because it was also the first time our brand new amphitheater (appropriately dubbed the camp-itheatre) was used by all of camp. Close to 400 people enjoyed a spectacular sunset and one-of-a-kind performances in our new outdoor arena as boys and girls from Jinters to counselors performed in the Talent Show. As Director David Fleischner said in his opening remarks: "In 50 years you can all look back at this moment and remember that you were here, the first night of the camp-itheatre, in summer 2016." 

Hosts Jake Lisabeth and Jane Rosenfeld prepare to take the stage 

Talent Show hosts were girls drama head Jane Rosenfeld and boys music head Jake Lisabeth (both soopers/ upper seniors of 2009) who led us through 23 incredibly diverse talent acts. The CIT boys kicked it off with rousing (and low-pitched) rendition of the national anthem. Some highlights:

• Ukelele and song performances by the CIT girls, Sub girls and Sooper girls (ukeleles are the sleeper trend of summer) 
• An interpretive water bottle dance by the Upper Seniors 
• Gymnastics routine by centers Sophie Araten and Lexi Gluckstal and a dance act by the Jints
• A hilarious and stoic ribbon dance from first-year counselors Rory and Alan 
• Beautiful acoustic performance from JC girls 
• Plus major props to all of our solo acts (it takes a lot of courage to get up on stage!) a song from Sienna Johnson, a Billy Joel piano number from Emmet Miller, the Olympics theme song on trumpet by Jordan Klein, modern dance from Philippin Barbe, and the unparalleled karate routine of Jack Wasserman. 

David Fleischner starts the 4th of July Talent Show

Jinters on stage for a dance

Sooper girls sing the "Lava" song

Welcome to the camp-itheatre

Tournament News...

• Our boys Pontiac baseball team (going into 6th grade and under) made it to the semi-finals, losing in a very close game (1-0) to Camp Lenox and finishing the day with a 2-1 record. (The one run allowed in the last game was the only run scored off of Scatico pitchers the entire day.)
• Girls soccer team (4th grade and under) also snagged 2nd place at Timberlake Camp!
• Scatico hosted five camps at its annual co-ed tennis tournament. Not only did two of our doubles teams make it to the finals, but boys side saw a Scatico vs. Scatico singles finals! Shout outs to partners Allie Putzer and Ashley Mazarin, and Max Silverman and Ethan Rosenberg for their doubles performances. Plus MAJOR congrats to Tyler Winderman for coming in first against fellow Scaticonian Isaac Malkin. 

DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS 

Girls SIde

Juniors- Had a busy week at Camp Scatico, heading off to Bash Bish for their hike on Tuesday and also hosting a division-wide hair washing competition (if you can't do it at camp, where can you do it?)

Jinters- All got up on stage for the 4th of July talent show and performed a celebratory dance to "Party in the USA" (a reprise of their lip sync battle performance from evening activity the night before)

Inters- Headed off to KenWood for an intercamp where they competed with the Centers in basketball, newcomb and soccer (followed by a mandatory stop at Holy Cow for ice cream!) 

Centers- Reached the top of their hike at the picture- perfect Inspiration Point before hitting up the General Store for ice cream 

Debs- Were in stellar shape this week, receiving both Honor Bunk for doing an A+ job at clean up and also the "All-Star DIvision Award" from the athletics staff for their enthusiasm up on the hill

Subs- Have embraced a new trend in light of the no-phone policy and are all about taking "mental pictures," a skill that came in handy as they dove into cooking with Ally and making s'more crepes 

Seniors- Were pumped to lead their first College League night (girls side is divided into four "colleges" to compete in a series of  evening activitie), which was Human Anagrams 

Soopers- Are busy with Tribes pep (Tribes day #1 is today!) and also riding high from their victorious performance at "Lip Sync Battle" night to the pop-song "Shower"

The Juniors down at the waterfront 

Debs at tennis

The Centers at dance

BOYS SIDE 

Sophomores- Are busy making papier-mache masks in Arts n Crafts to be displayed at the 2nd annual Scatico Art Show, and also enjoyed a special scavenger hunt activity with the Seniors 

Sub Juniors- Participated in a "Super Stars" day, competing in events as varied as pushing a golf cart, broom tosses and speed reading

Juniors- Donned their favorite jerseys for their first game of Slamma Jamma (where baskbetball hoops are lowered to encourage crazy dunks) and also had their hike to Inspiration Point!

Inters- Headed out on a divisional flag football tournament to Pontiac where, although not victorious, they were cheered by hitting up Holy Cow on their way back to camp

Sub Seniors- Cooled off on a hot day by inventing the game of "ice kickball" where ice buckets were placed on each base to sit in (apparently it encouraged some very speedy plays)

Seniors- Not only had a successful hike up Breakneck Mountain but also conducted a "Warrior Course," that included a series of obstacle courses and drills 

Upper Seniors- Held a "15 minute life lessons" theme day, where they learned everything from how to dance to a jam band, to advice on how to apply to their first job. 

CITS- Enjoyed their first two van nights, heading to the movie theatre to see "Finding Dory" (reviews were mixed) and also to a Camp Scatico favorite Sal's Pizzeria. 

Juniors on their hike to Inspiration Point. 

Summer 2016, Edition #1: June 25 - June 28

Welcome to Elizaville 

The first days of camp are always a whirlwind of activity. Former campers who have been waiting 10 months for 2 rush through cabin doors, while first-time Scaticonians quickly dive into the spirit of camp, and in a blink of an eye we're back to the rhythms, sights and smells of summers at Scatico. Already this camp season has seen its first camp birthdays and turtle sightings, first dining hall cheers and nighttime milk and cookies, first games of Spike Ball (a new boys side favorite) and 9 square in the air (an exciting new addition to the girls athletic fields.... think 4 square meets volleyball). We're not even one week in, but already the pace, the energy, and the magic of Scatico are felt in full force, all the way from our Sophs and Juniors on up to our 31 CITs. 

Inter girls warm up before the Opening Campfire. 

Opening Campfires, T-Leagues and more!  

The second night of camp is one of timeless Scatico traditions: boys and girls both congregate at their respective campfire sites for the opening campfire and a night of stories, games, and music under the stars. On boys side counselors ran a series of activities—pillow fights and fool ball are always fan favorites—  asking for members of each division to participate. The night also included a classic campfire story led by media head John Hickey (currently enjoying his 33rd summer at Scatico!) As always the night ended with a jam session, headed by music counselors Jake Lisabeth and CJ Ditkoff accompanied by camper Manny Jacobson who performed a classic Bob Dylan number. 

Sophomore boy pillow fights 

Preparing for pillow fights

Lower hill fool ball

On girls side the Soopers, our eldest division, shared their favorite Scatico memories and led all of the campers in a series of songs, from classics like "The Circle Game" to Scatico originals like "The Year Song" (in which campers and counselors stand at the year they started camp, beginning with the 1980s and ending with 2016). The night ends with a ceremony where candles are distributed to all of girls camp and older campers light the candles of first-timers, signifying the bond and link between old and new. 

Sooper girls get ready to light the opening campfire.

Senior girls light their candles at the end of the campfire to make a wish. 

The first week of camp also sees the start of T-League on both boys and girls side. For decades the boys upper hill has known the familiar routine of heading up to the ball fields, mitts in hand, ready for the magic of simultaneous play on overlapping fields. On girls side the tradition is slightly newer (only enjoying its 2nd year) but no less beloved, as upper hill campers and counselors compete in either volleyball, softball, ultimate ball or basketball.

Other early camp highlights included the "Meet the Counselors" Talent Show (the boys' DLs performed a game of half court knock out aka "dugout," and the girls' DLs an "interpretive dance," for lack of better word) and the return of Scatico's radio station spearheaded by Arts Program head Ken Vallario. Now campers and counselors can tune in to 90.2 (available at about a 2 mile radius of camp) to hear bunk-created playlists and camper shout-outs all summer long. 

Divisional Snapshots 

GIRLS SIDE 

Juniors- Enjoyed cooking for the first time, and made lemonade-flavored ring pops (Scatico's first-ever candy creation) and two separate kinds of cookies. 

Jinters- Have discovered their new favorite activity...BBK! A Scatico-only fusion of basketball, baseball and kickball.  

Inters- Embarked on the first hike of the season to Boulder Rock! Luckily the rain held off and they made it to the top, with time for a stop at ice cream from The General Store afterwards. 

Centers- Are already busy preparing for the opening of the Scatico Playhouse with "Grease" (which they will perform with the Inters), and choreographed their own original dance to "Grease is the Word." 

Debs- Started a new camp-wide crafts project... portrait painting! Campers paired off to draw one another and will have their work displayed at Scatico's second annual co-ed Art Show. 

Subs- Learned how to use the wheel under the tutelage of new ceramics head Natalie. Prepare for new kitchenware come Visiting Day! 

Seniors- Were cooking in style with Chef Ally and made "peaches three ways," including a peach and cheese crostini, peach panna cotta, and peach gazpacho. Scatico goes gourmet! 

Soopers- Have jumped right in to their new leadership positions and led camp's first evening activity (song night) as well as the Opening Campfire (all while rocking their Sooper gear). 

Junior girls at cooking. 

Inter girls at swim instruction. 

BOYS SIDE

Sophs and Sub Juniors enjoy an early trip down to the waterfront.

Sophomores- Have already embraced Scatico's more unique activities including Sardines (a divisionwide, outdoor hide and seek) and a mini olympics where campers rotated between a series of two-minute activities (broom balancing anyone?). 

Sub Juniors- Won't stop for the rain! When cloudy skies had the Sub Juniors improvising they opted for a game of Pictionary. They also pulled off the season's first game of downhill tennis baseball on the driving range. 

Juniors- Started both their hoops and soccer leagues after cooling things down with vanilla ice cream making at cooking (accompanied by two different kinds of cookies, of course)! 

Inters- Brought back the old Scatico tradition of backyard baseball at "Yankee Stadium" (the area by the former stables, renamed due to the field's fence). The Ints also had a heated game of flag football in anticipation of their tournament at Pontiac later this week! 

Sub Seniors- Were led by DL Ryan Kenny in a "Catalina Water Mixer," in which they dressed in their finest to sample all of the water fountains at Camp Scatico. 

Seniors- Wanted to start off T-League on the right foot, and so they held a softball "spring training" on the ballfields and backyard baseball session out on campus. 

Upper Seniors-  Had a fierce game of European Handball in preparation for a tournament at Camp Kindering. All the hard work was rewarded with flatbread pizza making at cooking! 

CITs- Participated in their first-ever counselor orientation and training sessions (with team building activities that involve everything from plate balancing to blindfolded rope puzzles). It's a brand new experience for the group as they get prepared to work with campers all summer long!

Tribes 2016 Has Begun!

When the girls side walked back to campus after choosing their camp sisters, a red, yellow, green and blue surprise awaited them outside the Coves! Colored balloons hung from trees and a TRIBES was spray-painted across the grass... the sound of the Big Chiefs' drums moments later confirmed that Tribes 2016 had officially began!  Tribes marks the first major competitive tradition of the summer, with all of girls side divided into four teams— Blazing Arrow (red), Flying Eagle (green), Racing Wind (yellow) and Thunderbolt (blue)— to compete in a series of sports, arts projects, singing, swimming and more over the course of the next three weeks. The Soopers lead each of the teams, and are in charge of everything from choreographing aerobics routines, to coaching softball, and teaching folk songs! We're sure future blog posts will be chock full of highlights from Tribes 2016!