Camp T-shirt Day!

Calling all Scatico campers, staff, parents and alum, mark your calendars… Tuesday 11/10 is #camptshirtday!! For 10+ years, Camp T-Shirt Day has been a special day for the international camp community to celebrate camp and show some serious camp spirit. And this year at Scatico, we’re using it as an opportunity to support two fantastic Columbia County-based non-profits Kite’s Nest and Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood.

Kite’s Nest is a center for liberatory education with the mission to build the collective capacity of young people to bring about personal transformation, social connection, healing, and systemic change. The Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood works to create a chain of support for children and families in the community from cradle through career in order to break through the inter-generational cycle of poverty and help kids' reach their full potential.

How to Participate

1. Wear your favorite Scatico tee or gear on Tuesday 11/10!

2. Send a photo via DM to Scatico’s instagram or via email to nicki@scatico.com

3. For every photo submitted we will donate to these two awesome organizations, because camp spirit is always sweeter when you spread it!!

Special Camp T-Shirt Day Virtual Event

Scatico is also a Community Partner for the 2020 Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival, which features a special virtual fireside chat between New York Times bestselling author Iris Krasnow, who wrote Camp Girls: Fireside Lessons in Friendship, Courage and Loyalty, and Micah Hart, host of the podcast, Campfires and Color Wars .

Virtual tickets are $10, and the chat is on Tuesday, November 10 at 7:00 PM!

Organized by the JCC Houston, the event is also celebrating #camptshirtday and is collecting pictures of participants in their favorite camp t-shirt. You can email pictures to msteinberg@erjcchouston.org.

As the event website writes:

“For most of us 2020 was a summer without traditional camp – the special experiences, friendships and lessons learned at camp stay with those who participate throughout their lives. A nostalgic memoir with a universal message on the importance of long-term friendship for campers and non-campers alike, Camp Girls weaves between the past and present, and the joy of finding your independence as well as your interdependence alongside peers. Krasnow demonstrates that camp is more than a place or a collection of activities: it's where we learn what it means to be human and what it feels like to truly belong to a family - not of blood, but of history, loyalty, and tradition.”

Closing Day Thoughts

The final 24 hours of a typical camp summer are truly jam-packed— with emotions, traditions, the sweaty frustration of packing, tears, and laughs. The banquet, slideshow, closing campfire and burning of the year are four landmark moments, each helping to culminate and celebrate a summer at Scatico. For new campers they are traditions filled with mystery and wonder. The way the boys camp just knows how and when to huddle up after lunch to sing “I Don’t Want to Go Home” in the dining room. The way the girls camp seemingly floats magically from the campfire site to the Clubhouse to set their lit candles across the lake. For older campers these are traditions that mark the passage of time, giving us permission to reminisce and feel nostalgic for a summer that only just ended (while still getting that twinge of excitement for what future summers hold). The sight and feel of an essentially empty bunk, the beds pushed together so campers can have their “final sleepover,” lone water bottles and final sets of clothes the last items on shelves, copies of “Scatico Memories” on otherwise empty cubbies…. that is a snapshot of the final hours. What remains unseen but is felt everywhere is the friendship, the buzz, of a summer spent at camp.

Summer 2020 was a strange and difficult one for many reasons and for people of all ages all over the world.  A summer without camp, without our Opening and Closing traditions and all the magic that comes between, was just a small piece in the giant puzzle of 2020 as “the summer without…” Through our fundraising and programming with the DREAM Project in the Dominican Republic, we got a small view of communities faring far worse than our own— where vital resources and programming have become scarce.

We are endlessly grateful for all of the much-needed camp spirit, activity and connection we were able to have in 2020, even amid a global pandemic. From our first virtual activity (the talent/art show in March, which somehow feels like a lifetime ago), through the Scatico podcast, Alma and “I Don’t Want to Go Home” virtual medleys, 10x2 (x2) Community Board, Visit Days, and Opening and Closing Zooms, the Scatico family has shown up. If we managed to pull this much off in 2020, there is no telling what 2021 will bring.

As you can imagine, much of this summer was also spent excitedly planning and dreaming for the future. This past week, our family sat down to hold two different meetings— one focused on the program logistics and safety precautions of next summer (think, new hand washing stations; fun, age-appropriate programming for our 2021 repeat divisions), and another on culture, on the intangibles (think, working on an official Scatico mission statement; new sustainability practices and diversity initiatives.) In a summer filled with calls for equity and social justice we are committed to looking inward and outward, and being part of a global camp community where all children learn to live and work together.

As the days get shorter, nights chillier, and summer fades to fall, our thoughts continue to be with our campers, parents, staff, and alumni. We know the transition of seasons is never easy in the “camp world,” and 2020 will definitely continue to challenge us all. Covid-19 has humbled us and taught us many things, including — as we shared in a full-staff Zoom back in May— that Scatico is a no judgement zone. Whether you’re learning or working remotely, or on the front lines as an essential worker; envisioning your next adventure or eager to stick to your living room, our community is here for you.

We can’t wait to keep sharing all year long, and dreaming of a summer spent under the Elizaville sun. Let the countdown to the 100th continue!

- David, Diana, Nicki and Audrey

P.S. You can check out the final behind the scenes tour, fittingly of the campfire sites and sunset trail, by scrolling to the last video on this page.

Closing Night Divisional Zooms

It is hard to believe it’s already approaching what would have been Closing Day at Camp Scatico. Even in a summer like this one, time continues to fly.

As a way to commemorate the moment and to reconnect with bunkmates we are scheduling Closing Night Zooms for each division led by a Scatico counselor! Check the schedule and find your zoom link below.

Again, these zooms are based on what division campers would have been in 2020. If you’re not sure, click the buttons below to view a bunk list.

CLOSING Night Zoom Schedule

Monday August 10, 5-6 PM

• Girls Side: Centers with Lauren Rosh-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87857267012

• Boys Side: Inters with Mack Madorsky- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84959699814

Monday August 10, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Soopers with Sammi Salmirs + Lauren Rosh- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89570951156

• Boys Side: Upper Seniors with Jack Heineman- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5940049599

Tuesday August 11, 5-6 PM 

• Girls Side: Inters with Marlee + Emma Georger-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86240374540

• Boys Side: Sub-Juniors with Ben Holzer + Matt Stuttman - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83063495689

Tuesday August 11, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Seniors with Jamie Rosh- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82821245462

• Boys Side: Seniors with Ben Putzer-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82086574646

Wednesday August 12, 5-6PM

• Girls Side: Juniors + Jinters with Marlee + Emma Georger-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89789311417

• Boys Side: Juniors with Ben Holzer + Matt Stuttman- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83934385879

Wednesday August 12, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Subs with Rachel Waxenberg- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84955655701

• Boys Side: Sub-Seniors with Matt Gross- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82436950225

Thursday August 13, 5-6 PM

• Girls Side: Debs with Mackenzie Press-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81846669582

• Boys Side: Frosh + Sophs with Chase Madorsky-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84781348855

Escape the Zoom

Hello Scatico Detective, and welcome to Escape the Zoom Scatico Edition. Thanks for virtually joining us! Head Counselors Kerri and Cory are stuck in a boring business  Zoom call, and are hoping some campers will save them! Can you solve all the clues to figure out the 11-digit meeting ID to help them escape the Zoom? 

First team to join the call will be crowned Scatico’s Chief Detective (a position paid in Holy Cow gift cards). 

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS:

• As you solve clues make sure you look for and keep track of the colored stars (like the one on the right.) You’ll want to remember both the star colors and the numbers in the end.

• When you open a new clue make sure you download it, and don’t just view in preview. You will need to download the clues in order to open the hyperlinks in them. Sometime you will need to enter the same clue password twice, once when you open it initially and then again when you download it!

• Your end goal is to enter the 11-digit meeting ID and help Kerri and Cory escape the zoom! First person to enter the zoom wins.

• If you ever need a clue or some help along the way… just DM @campscatio_offical

• After the first several people enter the zoom the game will be done! We will post the 11 digit meeting ID answer, so you can always test your knowledge and try to finish.

Here is your first clue. The password is “ilovescatico.” 

Good Luck! 

Scatico Night Live- At Home!

FULL EPISODE- SCATICO NIGHT LIVE (SNL) AT HOME!

Last summer Kate Rosenfeld introduced a girls side media program to Camp Scatico and with it brought a new tradition that we think will be with us for years to come… Scatico Night Live! We knew we couldn’t got a whole summer without the comedy, talent, and creativity of the Scatico community… so we’re launching Scatico Night Live (At Home!). Learn more, submit a form to participate, and watch a teaser video, below.

WHAT IS SCATICO NIGHT LIVE????

SNL is a variety show! It started in 2019 as part of girls side media program, with each division coming up with a comedy segment. Some skits/performances were live and others were pre-recorded - just like Scatico Night Live!

So how will SNL at Home work??

SNL at Home will include recorded skits/ segments from any member of the Scatico family - boys side, girls side, alumni, etc!

What kind of skits should we send in?

The skits can be pretty much anything you want - parody music videos, fake commercials, sketches about days/activities at camp. Get creative! The only requirements are that they are camp related and also camp appropriate.

What does camp appropriate mean?

No cursing, no making fun of specific camp people in a negative way, etc. if you wouldn’t be comfortable showing it in front of the whole camp in person, then it probably isn’t appropriate for SNL.

How does my idea become a skit?

Below is a form where you can fill out who you are, what your skit will be and when you’ll be able to film it by! This way we can make sure all skits are appropriate and we have a good variety represented!. Once we’ve read your form, we will send you the go-ahead and you can begin making the skit!!!

When’s the deadline?

Last day to submit your ideas is July 9th and the last day to send in your skits is July 16th!!

How long should they be?

Anywhere between one to five minutes!

Who should I do this with?

You can do this on your own, with your division mates, your siblings, etc. Whoever you want!!

Have lots of fun!!!!! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

TEASER VIDEO

CIT x DREAM Virtual Service Project + Fundraiser

As many in the Camp Scatico community know, since 2015 our CITs have traveled to the Dominican Republic to work alongside The DREAM Project and help run a one-week day camp for 80+ Dominican children. The trip is a highlight of the summer as we bring the magic, fun and learning of camp to an under-resourced community, and connect with children who otherwise would never have a traditional camp experience. Sadly due to Covid-19, 2020 will be a summer without camp, for both us and for our Dominican campers.

But just because our summer plans have changed, doesn't mean that the learning and playing has to stop. As part of DREAM’s #DREAMenCASA (#DreamAtHome) initiative (which you can learn more about at the video below), the 2020/21 CITs will be creating fun activity packets for our Dominican campers to keep them engaged, laughing, learning, and even practicing a little English, during their summer quarantine. Each packet will include an activity book that the CITs will make themselves (think word searches, spot the difference games, coloring book pages, etc), and a puzzle. DREAM will then deliver the packets to our campers and community members.

A 501 c-3 nonprofit organization, The DREAM Project provides more than 1,000,000 hours of quality education to more than 8,000 children through 17 different programs across 27 communities in the Dominican Republic. That’s a lot of numbers… but basically DREAM is an incredible non-profit with multiple programs (a Montessori pre-K, an after school program, a job training program for young adults, the list goes on!) that impact community members of every age. The summer camp Scatico runs for children in Sabaneta, is just a small piece of the DREAM puzzle.

During this difficult time, DREAM has had to rethink a lot of their in-person programs, children across the island have had to do without schooling, and the Dominican Republic’s economy at large has suffered from lack of tourism. #DREAMenCASA represents DREAM’s efforts to pivot and address the needs of the community amid the coronavirus. Through the initiative, DREAM is proud to provide food, educational materials and online resources to thousands of children, youth, and community members while they remain safely at home. Learn more at the video below!

WHAT WE’RE DOING + HOW YOU CAN HELP!

The 2020/21 CITs are donating their time and talents to help create the activity booklets we mentioned above as part of the #DREAMenCasa initiative! We’re excited to provide our campers with a dose of camp fun, and to make a connection with them a year before we’ll hopefully be down there again, meeting them in person, and playing side-by-side.

The CITs also launched a Custom Ink fundraiser and created the below LIMITED EDITION CAMP SCATICO x DREAM T-SHIRTS (!!) to raise money for DREAM. The T-shirts were 100% designed by the CITs. They come in green and grey, and the front has the new Scatico 100th logo, and the back reads “a dreamer keeps on dreaming” in a heart of hands. The quote is both an homage to the DREAM project, and a line from the song “For Our Hands Are Strong,” which girls side sings at every Friday Night service. The money from the T-shirt sales will go towards printing and distributing as many activity booklets as possible, as well as purchasing puzzles to go along with each kid’s booklet. Any extra we raise (fingers crossed!!) will support DREAM’s other #DREAMenCasa programs.

ONE LAST THING… FOR FORMER CIT’s

Do you remember the “dinámica” we’d do in the mornings, “El Barco Se Hunde”?! How could you forget! Well, DREAM is trying to raise awareness about their programs and work by creating a viral, virtual “El Barco Se Hunde” video with AS MANY former DREAM volunteers as possible… so that means all of YOU! Below are the instructions with how to participate, and a video explaining it (you’ll recognize many familiar faces in the video!).

INSTRUCTIONS

Film as many of the below clips as possible, and email them to nicki@scatico.com!

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family walking around clapping to the beat in the video

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family exclaiming “Si mi capitán!!!”

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family pairing up with one person holding another like a baby “BEBE”

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family pairing up with one piggy backing on the other like a backpack “MOCHILLA”

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family freezing like a tree “ARBOL”

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family making a house with a person in it like in the video “CASA”"

• 1 to 2 clips of you, and/or you and friends/ family dancing bachata

Opening Day Thoughts from Cory

Opening day.  It is the beginning of a journey.  It is a long hard road to get here.  For some it is a long travel, for some a first time through the gates, for some a recognition that this is the last dance.  But for all, it is something special.  I have been there, the night before, that nervous energy keeping you up late into the night, excitement, nervousness, where am I sleeping, who are my counselors, did I pack enough mad libs, is it chicken patties for dinner tomorrow…My family had the tradition of going to ihop every opening day morning.  For me as I grew older it was making sure I had the perfect song queued up as I pulled off Jackson Corners Road exit to make that final 8-minute drive into camp.  That unmatched feeling of finally arriving and pulling through the gates and knowing that I was home again.  

Opening Night, 2017. Photo by Cory.

For the staff we have usually been at camp a week for orientation by the time opening day comes around.  We have spent the week bonding and working on goals to accomplish for the summer.  The talk is of adventure and what the summer could potentially look like, the reality in most of these discussions is that we are all awaiting the arrival of the purpose.  We need the campers.  The lifeline of the experience.  The ones we are all waiting for. 

As the cars trickle in, slowly at first, counselors finish hasty showers, and begin tucking in their white shirts for the last time that summer.  

We all for the first time get to see the growth that has happened in the year since we last met here.  The ten months have changed us all in our own ways.  There are a lot of laughs and reunions. There is a lot of energy.  There is nervousness, and some tears as I watch first year campers say goodbye to their parents.  I can only guess there are also these same feelings on the other side of the dark windows as parents drive away.  

The day is a manic one. A special thing to witness.  It is the end and a beginning.  White shirts and green shorts are now everywhere. Balls are flying and campus is packed with kids of all ages.  

For the first time of the summer a bugle blows to indicate dinner is upon us.  We all shuffle down to the mess hall. We all take our spots in the circle around the flagpole.  

I watch from my spot in the middle. I see the youngest campers learning where they will lineup for the summer, knowing that in due time they will make their way around this circle.  I look to oldest campers who will lead us this summer, I look all around the circle and I realize that we are all back home.  And like that, we are off…

I am thinking of all the camp families today and I hope wherever you are, you are doing well.  

To all the campers and staff, I am sending a big hello and I will miss all of you.  Luckily for us the magic will never run out, so we’ll pick up right where we left off when the time comes.   

- Boys Head Counselor, Cory Schwartz. 6.27.2020

Scatico Pen Pals

At camp we’ve had Camp Sisters, “Peanut” Pals, Kindness Day, and more… programs where random acts of kindness and small camp-themed surprises (bed signs, canteen candy, book and game swaps) brighten our summer days. Camp is also, usually, one of the only times of the year we actually write and receive letters!

While we may be missing mail addressed to the 12523 this summer, we can still keep the spirit (and that feeling of excitement when there’s a letter waiting for you on your bed) alive through Scatico Pen Pals!! Anyone who is interested can sign up using the form below, and then we’ll match you with a surprise Scatico Pen Pal (matches won’t be co-ed). We’ll then create a schedule— by this date send your Pen Pal a welcome letter, by this date your favorite candy, etc.— so you’ll be guaranteed to have a dose of camp in your mailbox all summer long!

Use the form below to participate, and we’ll email people who their matches are by the first week of July.

Opening Night Divisional Zooms

While we can’t physically be together in the 12523 this summer, there are so many ways we can still connect, share, and keep the camp spirit alive!

To kick things off (virtually) this summer, we are scheduling Opening Night Zooms for each division led by a Scatico counselor! While boys side and girls side divisions may be scheduled at the same time, the zooms are NOT co-ed, so please find the appropriate link for your divisions’ Zoom in the schedule below.

These are based on what division campers would have been in 2020. If you’re not sure, click the buttons below to view a bunk list.

Opening Night Zoom Schedule

Thursday June 25, 5-6 PM

• Girls Side: Juniors + Jinters with Marlee + Emma Georger-  Bring an object to the Zoom from your house that is meaningful to you/ tells something about who you are! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89699340039

• Boys Side: Freshmen + Sophomores with Chase Madorsky + Matt Stuttman- Bring a piece of paper and a pencil for a game! https://us04web.zoom.us/j/72124116768

Thursday June 25, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Soopers with Sammi Salmirs + Lauren Rosh-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89057759840

• Boys Side: Upper Seniors with Jack Heineman- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81645014695

Friday June 26, 5-6 PM 

• Girls Side: Inters with Marlee + Emma Georger-  Bring a piece of string or yarn that is big enough to tie around your wrist to the Zoom! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88323203688

• Boys Side: Sub-Juniors Ben Holzer + Matt Stuttman- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84362319795

Friday June 26, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Seniors with Jamie Rosh- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83253350199

• Boys Side: Seniors with Ben Putzer- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88352466942

Saturday June 27, 5-6PM

• Girls Side: Centers with Lauren Rosh- Bring a piece of string or yarn that is big enough to tie around your wrist to the Zoom!  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82630106249

• Boys Side: Juniors with Ben Holzer + Matt Stuttman-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85421848166

Saturday June 27, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Subs with Rachel Waxenberg- bring an item from your house that’s been keeping you sane during quarantine!  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89693388843

• Boys Side: Sub-Seniors with Matt Gross - bring an object from your house that reminds you of camp!-  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85744620889

Sunday June 28, 8-9 PM

• Girls Side: Debs with Mackenzie Press- Bring an object to the Zoom from your house that is meaningful to you/ tells something about who you are! https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86127563080

• Boys Side: Inters with Mack Madorsky- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82780761882

Behind the Scenes Virtual Tours

Week 1- The Clubhouse with David Fleischner

Week 2- The Admin with David Fleischner

WEEK 3- BOYS + GIRL SOCIAL HALLS

WEEK 4- THE CANTEEN

WEEK 5- THE PIXIE HOUSE

WEEK 6- CAMPFIRE SITES + SUNSET TRAIL