by Anne Stein, Kallah Faculty Member and Director of Education at Cong. Etz Chaim in Lombard
Each morning the segel (faculty) lead t’filot (services); each evening the chanichim (campers) lead t’filot. One of our roles as segel is to help the chanichim put together their service. In Kallah we have them pick a theme and each camper writes something based on that theme. Sometimes the chanichim write about the meanings of the prayers; sometimes they write about nature or friendship. Yesterday I worked with a tzrif (cabin) of fourth grade girls. They chose as their topic “what I love about camp.” Below are the comments by the girls. I have written it exactly as they wrote it, except for help with spelling:
“I like OSRUI because of all its fun activities but mostly I like it because you make friends. Whether you’re eating dinner, passing notes during m’nucha [rest period] or even climbing the alpine tower, you should always know friends are there for you. Also, some of my favorite things are climbing, basketball, swimming and water skiing.” Vivian
“I want to come back to OSRUI next summer so I can do the Flying Squirrel again. I also want to meet new friends and get to do archery again and get to see old friends. I hope I get to go swimming tomorrow [it rained today during their swim time]. I will be sad/happy when I go home because I’ll be happy to be home but sad to leave camp.” Elyse
“I want to come back because it is fun and I want to see friends again. I want to meet new kids and have more fun!” Cece
“The reason I want to come back to camp is that I love [she drew a heart] all the sports that we do and I will definitely do horseback riding again. I also love archery! It is so much fun at camp. I feel like I’m at home when I am at camp.” Estelle
“I like camp because we get to do sports and services and evening program. It’s fun and I want to come back next year.” Ivy
“I like camp because I get to do archery and swimming in the lake.” Sasha
“I want to come back to OSRUI because it is a fun place to be and has great things to do.” Brenna
“I want to come back next year because I made so many new friends.” Willow
“I really want to come back to camp because my mom works here and it’s really fun. We get fun activities to do. I also might be able to do Tzofim.” Samantha
It is wonderful to know that they are all having such a great time and will go home so many fond memories.