I can’t believe it is already Friday, Rosh Week is already almost over, the rest of the tzevet is arriving on Monday, and that our chanichim (campers) will be arriving in just over a week! Throughout the past few days, we as Rashei Eidot, have been busy preparing and talking about how to make this summer the best we can make it. Throughout this
week, many words have come to my mind about how excited I am for the summer, and Gesher in particular. To express these words and thoughts, I created a “Wordle.” A Wordle is a word cloud composed of words associated with a certain topic. You’ve guessed it, my word cloud is all about Gesher! When thinking about the words I wanted to include in my word cloud, I chose words that captures the heart of Gesher as an eidah (unit), OSRUI as a whole, and what I hope the chanichim (campers) will be excited about, too! Hopefully, by the time the summer is over, the chanichim (campers) will make their own Wordles with things they love about camp

Have a wonderful and restful Shabbat. I can’t wait to see everybody on Opening Day!

Becky is so excited to be returning to OSRUI this summer as the Rosh Eidah of Gesher! This will be her 11th summer at OSRUI and her 6th summer on staff. Becky has been fortunate to be either a camper or staff member in every eidah at camp, but there is a special place in her heart for Gesher. This May, Becky graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Elementary Education.  Becky hopes to move back and teach in the Chicago suburbs. Becky loves everything about camp, but she especially enjoys swimming at the breicha (pool), celebrating Shabbat,tiyulim (field trips), and all-camp events, such as the Gesher Carnival! Becky also loves that in Gesher, there are many opportunities to make a difference in the community and grow as a leader. Becky looks forward to welcoming all the Gesher campers to OSRUI, and to help make summer 2016 the best summer yet!

Gesher is designed to give you the ultimate OSRUI experience: more electives (we call them chugim ), going on field trips each week, preparing and hosting the all-camp Carnival, and emphasizing your role as a member of a community. As a Gesher camper, you have two chugim each day – you get to choose from sports*, sailing, nature, drama, photography, cooking and lots more. There are some electives offered only to Gesher campers, including GuardStart–the Red Cross introductory life guarding program, and leadership (open to all 9th graders, and 8th graders if space permits). Many chugim are just two weeks long, so you can switch mid-session and have the opportunity to try different things. The field trips we take in Gesher are the best! In the past, we have gone to places like a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game, the zoo, the Wisconsin Dells, and on a day-long hiking trip. The Carnival is the highlight of the last week of camp! Every Gesher camper is involved in choosing the theme, creating different booths, and then actually running the Carnival. With inflatable obstacle courses, cotton candy, a dunk tank, and golf cart rides, the Carnival is an awesome way to end the summer. When you’re not on a field trip or planning the Carnival or enjoying all your chugim, there are activities designed to emphasize your role in the Gesher community. Gesher is the Hebrew word for “Connection,” and these programs help you create the connections with other campers that will allow you to become a stronger leader, a stronger team member, a stronger member of the Jewish community, and a stronger you. All of this in just four weeks!