The Final Countdown….

When is the exact moment when the approaching summer firmly starts to take shape in a camper’s mind? As a child growing up in the late 1960s, the youngest of 4, I think it may have been the day when the trunks were brought down from the attic and lined up along one wall in the dining room. Opened up for the first time since the previous August, they emitted an odor distinctly camp. Next came the piles of green shorts and white t-shirts….

Hard trunks may have given way to soft duffels, yet I can imagine this scene being replayed today (just a few generations later) in homes across the off-season Scatico universe. I can also remember how it felt seeing those four trunks lined up. Excitement. Anticipation. And, yes, a little nervousness. Looking forward to seeing my camp friends and meeting my counselors…. Thinking about playing on basketball and baseball teams, but also helping to build campfires and canoeing across the lake…. Today, looking back on my camper years, it’s amazing how many memories are rooted in the experience of just living a simpler life and being outdoors. The embracing sensation of dusk settling across campus while finishing the day’s final activities; the chill of an August morning walk to the flag pole, bundled in a favorite sweatshirt and with the warmth of the sun on my face; the embers of a campfire drifting upwards and disappearing; the Big Dipper dominating the star-filled night sky….

On a recent home visit to welcome a first-time boy camper who lives in New York City, the dad was sharing with me how excited he was for his son. To paraphrase, he couldn’t wait for his son to experience all of the in-between times at camp, when he could be outdoors and with friends, whether walking to and from meals or throwing a tennis ball against the handball wall on campus during free play. At home, once the scheduled programs or family outings ended, he was back inside the apartment for the day.

So as campers spy those gradually-filling duffels (and maybe even a few hard trunks) on their respective living room floors, I hope they are not only anticipating the friendships and fun soon to come, but also the sunsets and star-filled night skies.

Welcome To Scatico Class of 2016!

Zach Gluckstal, Noah Lowenthal, Tommy and Nate Hall, Zach Chait, Jed Greer, George Max, Elias Ranzer, Roy Goldstein, Jake Finkel, Etan Zerwitz, Matt Roban, Jarred and Chelsea Weisfelner, Jacob Meltzer, Eustace Cheyrou, Nathan Koehler, Emma Justus, Kate Miller, Eden Miller, Zoey and Shyaa Mendez, Marissa Miller, Alexa Tannenbaum, Bella Becker, Dylan Freeman, Natalie Korczak, Sage Wasserman, Charlotte Florin, Emily Pomerantz, Denali Cather, Gracie Klein, Addy Fienman, Spencer Zuckerman, Charlotte Mark, Samantha Gould, Scarlett Hartstein, Ingrid Irby, Philippine Barbe, and Isabela Colomb

Plus, 2015 one-week Scatico-in-Training campers returning for their first extended stay….

Parker Caldara, Meryl Cooper, Maya Darel, Alex Googel, Jessica Hochberg, Fallon Krane, Tori Madison, Sarah Moyal, Dylan Schaeffer, Jesse Bockstein, Aaron Goldberg, Aidan Lapatine, Jasper Lilienfeld, Josh Mazarin, Dylan Schmeidler, and Bryce Yurdin.

Mark Your Calendar

Open House for New Campers: Saturday, June 11 Opening Day: Saturday, June 25 Visiting Day: Saturday, July 16 Scatico-In-Training: Sunday, July 24, to Saturday, July 30 Closing Day: Saturday, August 13

For Parents

By now you should have received our Forms Mailing and Parents Handbook. The following forms are required for all campers: Enrollment, Medical, Confidential, and Signature Sheet. Return paperwork to: Camp Scatico, PO Box 6, Elizaville, NY 12523. As a reminder, rather than mailing a Packing List, you can link to this on line from our homepage at www.scatico.com.

We hope to see all first-year campers (including this year’s oneweekers as well as our 2015 SITs returning for a longer session) at the June 11th Open House at camp. The program runs from 12:30 to 3:30PM and includes lunch. Have campers wear sneakers so they can participate in activities. You can bring luggage to the Open House as campers entering 6th grade and younger will be unpacked prior to Opening Day.

Wha's Happenin'?

The final Wha’s Happenin’ column of the 2015-16 offseason... Thanks to the many contributors of news (and non-news) who helped Scaticonians near and far stay connected throughout the off-season. As always, let’s start with the latest reports of Random Scatico Sightings (RSSes)!

A double dip for Jared Googel, who first met divisionmates Eli Tannenbaum and Logan Cooper this winter at Gran Prix in Mt. Kisco and then in April found himself competing against Tyler Winderman in a Westchester soccer tournament…

Boys head counselor Cory Schwartz also recorded two RSSes. At an Islanders hockey game in March, he saw 2016 Inter Parker Edelman on the Jumbotron and then made his way over one section for a quick “hello.” In May, Cory was with girls head counselor Kerri Winderman following a Junior Counselor staff meeting in New York City when Lucy Mandel spotted them. Maybe a first-ever RSS for a camper and both head counselors?.... Through the magic of social media, brothers Michael and Jon Fischgrund realized that brothers (and respective bunkmates) Brett and Jared Simons were at the New York International Auto Show at the same time. The families connected and then had dinner together afterwards…. A brother-sister RSS!

Ryan and Samantha Derasse ran into Max and Jamie Silverman at the Manhasset train station…2016 CITs Rachel Trichon and Melanie Krieger had an RSS moment in the halls of Freeport High School on a March weekend. Rachel was there for a DECA conference; Melanie was playing in a basketball game…. Nothing quite like enhancing a vacation with an RSS. In January, Marissa Stone sent in this photo with Anna and Jane Rosenfeld taken in Turks and Caicos in January. A May graduate from Kenyon College, Jane returns for her 13th Scatico summer in 2016. After spending the last three seasons as a division leader, she will now run the girls’ side theater program….

Other Scatico news…. Aspiring doctor Danny Klyde (now a Sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania) spent part of his winter vacation visiting current camp doctor Eric Strauss in an operating room at NYU Langone Medical Center… When Adam Stiefel and family were in Los Angeles they made sure to visit his bunkmate (and L.A. native) Oz Rubinson…. High school senior Jamie Segal spent a weekend in February campaigning in New Hampshire for Hillary Clinton…. Junior counselor Mackenzie Press was featured in an article in The Bergen Record’s online publication. She led her high school basketball team into the quarter-finals of a Bergen County, New Jersey, tournament, scoring 20 points in the opening round and then hitting a buzzer-beater to give her team a 69-68 victory over a previously unbeaten opponent in the second round…. Lauren Kassin starred in the title role in her theater group’s production of “Aladdin”……

First year camper Ingrid Irby had a welcome-to-Scatico playdate with future divisionmates Emi Newman and Avery Lesser. (Thanks to camp doctor Jessica Newman for sending in the photo.)….Seven of last summer’s Centers made it to a division reunion at the Mystery Room in West Nyack….When Scatico caretaker Teddy Lydon traveled to the Final Four of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament to see his cousin (and Elizaville native) Tyler Lydon play for Syracuse, he know there would be a Newsletter photo op with devout father-son Orangemen fans Gregg and Max Rosh. Gregg was a camper, counselor, and division leader in the 1980s-90s; Max (entering his 6th summer as a camper) finally ascends to the upper hill as an Inter in 2016. Tyler’s dad Tim is the contractor who oversaw the construction of Scatico’s new outdoor theater…. When sisters Sam and Kasey Wilner traveled recently to Cuba, they made certain to send back a photo in Scatico attire…. Bunkmates Cassidy Ditkoff and Jenna Miller were teammates in a March dance competition….

Jon Gross (a freshman at Penn State) continues his foray into broadcast journalism. This winter and spring he did radio play-byplay for the school’s Men’s Volleyball and Women’s Softball teams….When Bryce Holden traveled to London during the school year, he visited with his former counselors Ashley Jones and Matty Carroll. Ashley’s fiancé Dani Vaughan (2013 crafts counselor) joined the photo to the right (as did a non-Scatico friend of Matty’s—that’s the guy in the middle).By the time you read this, Matty and Kael Au (a counselor and division leader from 2008-13) will have been married Memorial Day weekend at camp (ceremony, weather permitting, at the girls campfire site). They met at Scatico in June 2008 and both will return for the summer of 2016.…. Talk about a perfect ending for another off-season of Wha’s Happenin’? columns. Next stop, Elizaville!

Argentine Connection...

Sergio Rojas Tessel returns for his 5th summer in 2016 (4th as head of the girls tennis program). This past off-season he has been working as a tennis pro in Oman. Joining Sergio on the Scatico tennis courts are fellow Argentines Pao Zapiola, Feli Hirth, Laura Martinez Berruezo, and (on boys side) Fernando Garcia. For Pao and Feli it is summers 3 and 2 respectively in Elizaville. Both Laura and Fernando teach tennis year-round. If you’re keeping score at home, Aziz and Vinod will return to lead the boys tennis program (summers 22 and 17 for this Dynamic Duo).

Soon to be seen at a camp near you…. Ken Vallario teaching an art class; Cory Schwartz coaching a baseball team.

Spring 2016, Edition 96, Issue #3