WEEK 2 AT SCATICO
Days fly by at Camp Scatico! This week was sprinkled with special events, including our 4th of July celebration, Girls TEAMS and the Boys NAT. It has only been two weeks since Opening Day, but already we haves stories that will last us through the rest of the year.
We know with phone calls this week, families got a little filled in on all things camp… but here are a few highlight moments we want to share.
TALENT SHOW, TEAMS + NAT
THE 4TH OF JULY
The 4th of July is always special day of traditions at Camp Scatico. It’s the first big, full camp event of the summer, and campers and counselors exchange their regular uniforms for red, white, and blue. A day of activities is followed by a BBQ, talent show, and fireworks (with bomb pops!). Chef Jim and Ricardo go all out decorating the BBQ deck and cooking up corn on the cob, pulled brisket, turkey legs, burgers and hot dogs, and, of course, lots and lots of watermelon and ice cream sandwiches.
This year’s talent show had us enjoying many creative acts: from singing and dancing, to gymnastics, beat boxing, comedy routines, and magic tricks. Talent show hosts Kate Metzendorf, Kate Greeley and Jacob Schumer led us through a (potential record) 30+ impressive performances. Some of the highlights included:
Singing acts from Eva Marcus, Caleb Sanchez, Sophia Behar, Avery Lobel and Allie Stavrides, Sam Ryan, Carly Messitte and Daniel Pisetzner, The DLs, Lawson Davis, Spencer Hellman, and Kylie Hall. We went from Pixar Movie soundtracks to Billboard 100 to old school classics!
Comedy routines from Sander Gross and Lucas Nestler, Jayden Olenick, Ava Stavrides, and Jacob Strauss.
Dance routines from Harper Odell, Ella Bernstein and Kyra Razos; Eve Jacobs; Ruby Elkin and Abby Harwood; Lila Harvis and Liliana Micelli; and Ari Cuevas (fittingly, one of our dance counselors). Lots of cartwheels, round-offs and walkovers involved!
Poetry reading from Ethan Rosenberg and Ryan Derasse, and the Inter boys
Beatboxing from Eli Porter
Magic from Hickster the Trickster (JJ), and Jacob Hirschl.
A sneak peek from the day is posted on Scatico's Instagram Reels. Take a look!
TEAMS
As we covered last week, TEAMS broke, with girls side divided into the four teams of Thunderbolt, Racing Wind, Flying Eagle, and Blazing Arrow (you can see the team splits here!). Much prep and many meetings later, Tuesday marked the first official TEAMS day!
On a typical TEAMS day, two teams combine to join forces in the competition, with the Soopers at the helm. So on Tuesday, we had Racing Wind (yellow) and Flying Eagle (green) aka “Lemon and Lime” against Thunderbolt (blue) and Blazing Arrow (red) aka “Berry and Cherry.” After a quick morning pump up meeting, the teams headed to the athletic fields to compete in Volleyball, Soccer, Kickball, Basketball, Football and more! After two sets of AM activities, it was time for lunch, and then the afternoon brought… the Swim Meet! During the Swim Meet, campers compete in swimming races, boating (a highlight of the event is the war canoe, in which one representative from each division participates in rowing a canoe out to a far buoy and back in record time), and silly events like the “Plate Toss,” in which Pixies and Juniors have to find plates hidden in the crib.
TEAMS Day 1 concluded with the first TEAMS Campfire! Somewhat of a misnomer (there is no physical fire involved), at the Campfire each TEAM showcases the songs and routines they have been practicing all week long. For Week 1 each TEAM presented their cheer– a ditty about their team set to the tune of a popular song– and their human pyramid. Each Campfire also comes with its own “novelties” (activities where representatives from each division compete is a small, mini-challenges). This week brought the Sub Talk down (two Subs go head-to-head talking as animatedly as they can about opposing viewpoints, e.g. “Tik Tok vs. Instagram”) and the Jinter word definition (one Jinter from each teams presents what they believe to be the definition of a long, complicated– and actual– word).
By the end of week one we had: Flying Eagle (4th), Racing Wind (3rd), Blazing Arrow (2nd), Thunderbolt (1st). We’ll see what the next two weeks bring!!
BOYS NAT
One of the biggest summer sports events, the Boys NAT tournament took place on Wednesday! The entire camp gathered on the A Court to cheer for the team… and you can bet there was a lot of green!
The day always starts with a giant huddle on campus, filled with cheers and pump up. At the end of the cheer session, everyone sprints to the A Court, creating an archway for the team to run through. Our announcers did their usual show-stopping presentation of each player, and Coach Michael Tolstoi had a special handshake with each team member impressively choreographed.
Five other camps were able to attend the tournament: Kinder Ring, Pontiac, Lenox, Greylock and Wah-Nee. First, we faced Kinder Ring, and beat them! Special shoutouts to team Captains Oz Rubinson and Matt Roban. In the semi-finals we lost to Pontiac by 10 points. Pontiac eventually went on to win the whole tournament (defeating Greylock).
FEATURED CAMPER POSTS!
An exciting new feature of the Scatico blog this week… campers as contributing writers! We’ve started a Scatico Blog optional during which campers can pitch their own article ideas, and interview Scaticonians to execute them. We’ll have a rotating selection of contributors. A big shout out to our first batch… Kayla Schmeidler, Kate Miller, Isabelle Hellman, and Mia Groom! Kayla and Kate decided they wanted to work together to illuminate new aspects of the Scatico summer. Isabelle and Mia opted for a video interview… posing 15 questions to members of Scatico Senior Staff.
10 NEW THINGS AT CAMP
By Kayla Schmeidler and Kate Miller
Fishing dock
The Ropes Course
The first new addition to camp is a ropes course also referred to as “The Jungle.” The ropes course is located behind gymnastics and campers from both boys and girls side have been enjoying the new obstacles.
Fishing Dock on Boys Side
A new dock has been added next to woodshop, and has quickly become the new spot for fishing for both girls and boys! Caught fish (and once, a turtle) are temporarily displayed in the Scatico tank, before being released back into the wild.
Pixie Division
A new division has been added to camp this summer: the Pixies on Girls Side, who are rising 2nd and 3rd graders! While Pixies used to be a division back in the 1950s and 1960s, they haven’t been one since. Director David Fleischner was a Pixie, and shared how the division used to live where the camp doctor now lives (in the house above the boys waterfront), which is why that building is still referred to as the Pixie House! Back then, the Pixies also had a mini playground to themselves, which was located where the boys flagpole circle is now.
New Sports
This summer field hockey and lacrosse run by Karlie Saed have been added to the variety of sports on the hill! Boys side has also been using the gymnastics studio for a new invention: bouncy dodgeball.
Soopers are also CITs
Due to the age shift after the 2020 summer season was canceled, and the absence of CITs, this summer Soopers are now taking on CIT roles and privileges. This includes apprenticing with other divisions and learning how to be a counselor for the future. They also get rewarding and fun privileges like going out of camp on van nights once a week.
Mark as the new Boys Head Counselor
For boys side, the newest addition and change for them is Mark Gretenstein! Mark grew up in Miami going to a camp in North Carolina called Blue Star. His first summer at Scatico was in 2018, when he started as Cory’s Assistant.
Revamped College Leagues
This summer College Leagues has been revamped! Jane Rosenfeld and Audrey Fleischner decided to combine lower hill’s D-League (day league) and Upper Hill’s T-League (twilight league). College Leagues gives the Seniors the chance to lead the camp in fun and competitive activities. This is a great opportunity for the Seniors to practice leading the camp since they will be Soopers next summer.
College Leagues
8. Lake Inflatables
In the lake, there are two new features to the lane swim, the iHop and the “bone.” The iHop looks like a bunch of floating marshmallows, or lily pads, you jump between. The “bone” looks like a bone, with a mini trampoline on each end.
9. Philosophy with Ken is now on girls side too!
Philosophy with Ken has always been an activity on boys side, but is now offered as an activity on girls side too. Each day Ken poses a new, thought provoking question on a white erase board next to the bulletin board, like, “What does it mean to have an original idea?” and people are invited to write their answers and thoughts around it.
10. New Trips
This summer, the Senior and Sooper/Upper Senior trips have been changed. Due to the Seniors being the equivalent age to Soopers/ Upper Seniors they are going to Lake Placid. And because the Soopers/ Upper Seniors are really the age of CITs, they are going on a service trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. In NOLA the Soopers and Upper Seniors are partnering with a non-profit called SBP to help revitalize neighborhoods impacted by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.
15 Questions with Jane + Dusty
by Isabelle Hellman and Mia Groom
Mia and Isabelle came up with 15 questions to ask Senior Staff… and found Jane (Head of Programming/ Special Events) and Dusty (Assistant Head Counselor) in the HC. Next week we’ll head to boys side!
DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS
BOYS SIDE
Freshmen - Said goodbye to Matt Gross and welcomed their new (and now here for the rest of the summer) DL, Branden Rothenberg! Matt’s goodbye gift to the Frosh? “Matt Gross Surprise!” It was a campfire and s’mores party with the Pixie and Junior girls.
Sophomores- Had a campfire s’mores party of their own with the Jinters, and then were introduced to a new camp game: Matt Ball (hard to explain, but like kickball with multiple bases). Each base is represented by a hoola hoop, and if you accidentally step out of the base circle, you’re out!
Sub Juniors - Headed out on their Hike to Inspiration Point (followed by Holy Cow, naturally). The Juniors also had a boys side activity favorite… battle ships! The group is split into two teams, each with their own canoe. The canoes are placed in the crib of the lake, and each team tries to fill the other’s canoe with water using empty paint buckets. The goal? Capsizing the other team’s boat!
Juniors - Spent a lot of time on the water, enjoying both a Waterfront Cookout and Battle Ships (see description above).
Inters - Had their first session of “Philosophy with Ken.” Their topic of choice? The value-lessness of money. Another highlight of the week was an activity with the Debs: Volleyball and 9-square!
Sub Seniors - Competed in Gladiators. Essentially a giant obstacle course set up on the tennis courts and on campus, in Gladiators the Subs had to complete a set of challenges while tennis balls were (lightly) thrown at them.
Waterfront cookout
Seniors -Enjoyed a picture perfect Scatico sunset at their Waterfront Cookout, staying just as the sun dipped below the horizon at the lake. Another favorite activity? Music appreciation!
Upper Seniors - Along with the Soopers, the Upper Seniors have started their “apprenticeships,” where every day for 2nd activity they help out with a division in order to get counselor training.
GIRLS SIDE
Pixies - Had their first-ever woodshop activity, and got busy making book ends with Arturo and Brett! After getting painted, they will hopefully be coming to a shelf in your home soon! Another highlight moment of the week: Saturday’s Pixie/ Junior Talent Show! From counselor imitations, to dance routines, and songs… the Pixies displayed their talent.
Juniors - Embraced a little friendly competition with the Freshman boys, going head to head in a game of capture the flag on the golf course! They also listed the Pixie/ Junior talent show as a highlight.
Jinters - Everything’s better with s’mores! The Jinters and Sophs had a campfire and s’mores party. The Jinters also hosted their divisional evening activity on Sunday: a blind auction!
Inters - With backpacks and sleeping bags in tow, the Inters embarked on the first overnight of the summer! Held at the girls campout site (down the path that used to be camp’s stables), the Inters pitched tents, cooked over a fire, and stayed up late telling stories.
Center Theme Day
Centers - Enjoyed a Spy Theme Day! Dressed in all black the Centers engaged in a series of “spy” themed activities including a Treasure Hunt, full camp hide and seek, and a bake off involving mystery ingredients.
Debs - Had the first undernight (all parts of an overnight, but you don’t actually sleep in the tent) of the summer! The Debs cooked their own dinner over a fire with the help of Chef Ally, followed by a campfire and s'mores. The cooking continued on Saturday with a special Debs-only waterfront cookout for lunch!
Subs - Hosted the first-ever Scatico Showdown! The Subs invited representatives of different divisions to participate in a series of timed challenges a la “Minute to Win It,” such as chocolate milk chugging, moving an oreo from your forehead to your mouth without touching it, and popping as many balloons as you can by sitting on them.
Seniors - Have taken on leadership positions with the newly revamped College Leagues (see Kayla and Kate’s article above)! Similar to TEAMS (but more silly, and less frequent), in College Leagues, girls are split into four teams with the Seniors at the helm. Certain evening activities– including a night time sports league– count towards College League points!
Soopers - Have enjoyed their first set of divisional meetings and van nights! Now taking on more of a “CIT” role, the Soopers held their first meeting about their apprenticeships (divisional activities they are assisting in), and headed to habachi!