Summer 2016, Edition #4: July 13-19

The Dunk Tank at Carnival 

It's been another busy week in the 12523, with Carnival, The Boys' NAT, a second Tribes day and Visiting Day all in the books. Visiting Day always marks a big milestone, serving as a reminder that the summer is moving way too fast. As exciting as it is to have a day to share all that's going on at Scatico with family and friends, there is still so much we can't quite articulate or explain. From the nervous jitters felt before your Tribal team is asked to perform at a campfire, to the easy jokes and chatter of a line of boys playing full camp knockout, there are so many minuscule moments that make up a camp day. While we can't squeeze it all in here, we can at least provide some highlights of the week, from our victorious chess tournament to pretzel making in cooking, and everything in between. 

Crazy for Carnival 

Carnival, an afternoon where all of camp (boys and girls) gets together to run a series of booths and play various games, is always a summer highlight. It was hard to imagine something that would top last years' stellar (pun intended) Hollywood theme, but this year's Olympics theme proved just as creative (and even more timely). It all started with a procession down the tree-lined path, with counselors representing their countries of origin (we have staff from India, Argentina, New Zealand and more!) holding the "torches" for our opening ceremony, and campers from each division dressed as a different sport (from the U.S. Swim Team, to archery, and even a few refs!). Once our torch lighting ceremony was over it was time to hit the booths! A few classics – like the Upper Seniors haunted house, Senior girls Marriage Booth, Senior boys dunk tank, and Deb Zap Mail (campers deliver messages to one another in balloons)– were back, but several new elements were added to the mix. One booth even involved a triathlon that incorporated a shot-put throw, standing broad jump, and high jump. As always the local ice cream truck was a smash hit, as was the DL horse race to close out the afternoon of celebration. 

Ready for donut eating

Taking a try at the dart board

Everyone has their own high jump strategy

Zap mail message writing

Soopers at the Kissing Booth

DLs before the big race

... stakes are high

Lower hill at the bottle toss

Things getting intense with the Juniors 

FEEL THE BURN 

It was another week chock full of tournaments and sports events, starting with the girls second Tribes day on Friday! This week red, yellow, green and blue competed in a track meet, plus shared their Comic Songs, Fractured Fairy Tales (which use existing stories to tell the tale of how Scatico came to be.... this summer involved a very hilarious and clever "Hamilton"-inspired one), Rhythm bands (creating a scene using only noise), and counselor imitations. As of now the order is Thunderbolt in first, Racing Wind second, Flying Eagle third, and Blazing Arrow fourth, but we'll have to see what the third and final Tribes day has in store! The Soopers have been busy working on their plaques and teaching folk songs.... so anything could happen. 

Centers before the track meet

On your mark, get set, go!

CITs at the finish line

Juniors at the Tribal Campfire

All of camp got back into their green last Thursday and headed to the A court for the boys NAT! Though the boys team did not make it to the finals, we still felt unlimited amounts of Scatico spirit. 

Ready for the NAT! 

Above: Henry Beck on the foul line

Right: Jared Simons goes up for a shot

And there were even more tournaments and events! From the boys: A wide range of ages headed to Timberlake for tennis and we came in a cumulative 1st place! Special shout outs to Brandon Rothenberg and Jonathan Fischgrund for making doubles finals, and Mark Perlman and Jonah Levine for coming in first in their age brackets' singles!... Our entering 6th soccer tournament nabbed 3rd place at Greylock.... And our entering fifth Pontiac Baskteball team made it to the finals with all-star player Oz Rubinson scoring "a million" points ... Plus Scatico hosted its annual chess tournament and we won an incredibly impressive 88 out of 100 matches to ultimately come in first place! 

From the girls: Our Gymnastics team tumbled, jumped, and cartwheeled it up at a competition at Wah-Nee... The Upper and Lower hill Dance Team headed out to Timberlake, and the Upper Hill routine (set to the song "Hurricane" by Halsey) came in second place!... Girls side held their annual camper-counselor tennis tournament on Wednesday afternoon.

DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS

From the boys...

The Sophs played an intense game of human battleships (kids lie on either side of the squash court on towels and throw water balloons over the top at each other) and enjoyed an evening sunset while boating and fishing... The Sophs and Sub Seniors put their heads together for a "Shark Tank" competition, coming up with amazing inventions to wow the counselor judges (the winners invented the flex-comb that combs and gels hair simultaneously)...The Sub Juniors embarked on their hike to Monument Mountain followed by (you guessed it) ice cream... The Juniors played a high stakes game of "Nathin Golf" all across campus, needing to hit certain markers within "x" amount of shots along the way... they were also joined by The Inters for a bowling night on Monday... The Inters also had their hike to North Point in the Catskills and enjoyed a game of U.S. Gladiators on the tennis courts... The Sub Seniors hosted a "Yacht Party" bringing their kayaks and canoes out to the middle of the lake to be enjoyed with some ice cold sodas... The Seniors had their waterfront cookout (nothing like burgers and s'mores by the lake)... And the Upper Seniors were in for a pleasant surprise when they thought they were going down to the Canteen for a Ping Pong tournament, but actually were headed on a Mystery Ride to go Go Carting! 

From the girls...

The Juniors and Jinters performed their short fairy tale plays that were written and directed by the Seniors in the campi-theatre... The Jinters are hosting a "So You Think You Can Dance" evening activity... The Inters headed down to the former stables for their overnight (s'mores, stargazing, and bedtime stories in abundance).... The Centers have been busy at Arts n Crafts painting murals on all of the benches... The Centers and Debs also went bowling with their boys' divisions... The Debs and Subs have been  preparing for their own play, Marry Poppins, the last of the summer.... The Subs ran the Miss Ugly pageant, always a popular girls' side evening activity. Shoutout to Sooper Katie Corren for walking away with 1st place (competitors had to prepare a talent, their evening wear, everyday wear, and Halloween costume!)... The Subs also enjoyed an "Amazing Race" theme day complete with cupcake making and a series of obstacles... The Seniors took a break from all of their work sewing their tribal blankets to take a blind hike throughout camp... And the Soopers invented a new water sport! Creatively titled "The Battle of Yorktown" (after the Hamilton song... a true girls side obsession of the summer), it involves kayaking between boys and girls waterfronts all while stealing ball-pit balls from the opposing "army" 

NEXT WEEK we will be taking a brief hiatus from Elizaville to share some highlights from our service trip to the Dominican Republic, where our 31 CITs will be leading a day camp for some 60 Dominican kids! By August we will be back in the 12523 to blog about Divisional Sing, Color War breaks and more...

Summer 2016, Edition #3: July 6 - July 12

News from the 12523

From the season's first overnights and full camp tournaments, to cheering along a victorious girls' NAT team and dancing it up at DJ Pure, it has been a non-stop week at Camp Scatico. And as many catches, dives, cheers and dances we fit into 24 hours, summer always goes by in the blink of an eye. Hard to believe that next weekend is already Visiting Day, but in the meantime we have plenty to report on.... 

A little rain doesn't get us down! Boys side enjoys a mud sliding session during some summer showers...

On and off the fields

Every day a new set of school buses are either leaving or entering Scatico's front gate headed for a wide array of tournaments. The boys hosted a going in to 10th tennis tournament and left with an overall 1st place plaque (special shoutout to Andrew Kassin and Jake Vandercar for walking away with a 1st place in doubles), while the girls who headed out to Timberlake for tennis came back with a few trophies of their own including ones for first place in both the silver and gold doubles bracket! At Camp Pontiac our boys' basketball team made it to the semi-finals and our under 5th boys baseball team went 1-1. Plus a shoutout to the first co-ed tourney of the summer! Boys and girls headed to Wah-Nee for a swim, congrats to Keira, Mason, and Bella for nabbing medals! 

Girls side is in full force Tribes mode, with song and art prep and activities revving up as the second Tribes day approaches on Friday. During the first Tribes day the four teams competed in three periods of sports as well as a Swim Meet (a perfect way to cool off after a hot day) and then showcased their Graces, human pyramids and more at the first Tribal campfire. Racing Wind is currently in the lead, but it could be anybody's game by the time week 2 of events is through... Beyond all the competition the Scatico Playhouse also had its seasonal debut with the Centers and Inters performance of Grease that had us all singing along to "You're the One That I Want"... In ceramics instructor Natalie has been hard at work giving every girl an opportunity to master the wheel, while down in Arts n Crafts divisions have been making their own (very trendy) terrariums in mason jars, so that everyone can bring home a piece of Scatico.   

Sooper Anna Rosenfeld leads a all-division War Canoe during the Tribes' Swim Meet 

Inters and Centers rock the Scatico Playhouse during their rendition of "Grease Lightning" 

On boys' side the annual full camp chess, archery, tennis, and 42 (a basketball shooting game) tournaments have started up (because there's nothing like a little inter-divisional competition) that are sure to bring a wide array of new Scatico champs... Tuesday brought the "Subs and Up Annual Tennis Extravaganza" where campers and counselors team up for a day on the tennis courts, with Luis Valdivia and tennis staff member Fernando García walking away with 1st place... Down in Woodshop the lower hill divisions have been busy on their group projects including lamps, mini bookshelves, and tic-tac-toe boards... Plus the CIT boys have been keeping things interesting with a unique set of optional periods, including a "ghost walk" through the admin building, and an "Around the Horn" sports moderating competition on back campus. 

Team huddle during lower hill soccer leagues 

Morning music optional with Jake and Liz 

A day of baskets and beats  

Any weekly recap would be incomplete without mention of the jam-packed, high-intensity of Monday, July 11th, when Scatico hosted both the annual girls NAT tournament and local music extraordinaire DJ PURE! 

Boys and girls cheer on the NAT! 

The girls NAT team pulled off two nail-biting victories in a tournament with four other camps on Monday, to win an overall 1st place! All of camp – from the youngest to the oldest, girls and boys (and Senior Staff too!!)– donned their Scatico green and rushed to the Pavilion to cheer along our team. The first game was a back and forth match throughout, but Scatico pulled through to win by 1 point in the last 19 seconds! In the finals, Scatico was up but Pontiac was able to tie the score with only 30 seconds left on the clock! We went into overtime not once, not twice but THREE times before securing a win by 6 points. The entire team played exceptionally, but major shoutouts to Sooper Sam Derasse for scoring the two nearly buzzer-beating baskets that put us back in the lead, team captain (and MVP) Emily Mester, and Halle Press and Emily Holzer our two youngest (and toughest) players!   

NAT CHAMPS! 

Jinters and Juniors cheer on the NAT

High stakes during a game one foul shot

Following the tournament both boys and girls campus headed back up to the Pavilion but for an entirely different purpose... DJ PURE! A musical talent discovered at a Kingston, NY restaurant, DJ Pure has been spinning tracks at Scatico for years and quickly become a fan-favorite. With a light show and hundreds of dancing campers, the Pavilion was transformed. 

CIT guys an girls get down for DJ Pure! 

Divisional Updates

GIRLS SIDE 

The Jinters and Juniors hosted an intercamp against Camp Kinder Ring (newcomb was the girls' favorite sport) and are also busy preparing for their Visiting Day drama performances!... The Inters had a full day at an away intercamp with Kinder Ring, but still had time this week for raspberry scone and crepe making at Cooking... The Centers not only had their overnight but also hosted an evening activity of paper bag dramatics where teams pull a situation (Bieber's birthday party, the birth of a royal princess), a time period, an accent, and a location out of separate hats and have to throw together a skit... The Debs are proud to announce they won the Friends Plaque and had the second overnight of the season down at the campfire site... The Subs have declared Yoga with Alex their new favorite activity and started auditions for their play "Mary Poppins," slated as the Scatico Playhouse's next show... The Seniors had a Finding Dory theme day that featured fish-themed cupcake making, a lane swim, and a treasure hunt to (what else) Find Dory.. and The Soopers got into the "Hamilton" musical spirit and hosted an American Revolution theme day complete with a Boston tea party (where they actually drank tea), a treasure hunt to fund Betsy Ross's flag, and dressing up as their favorite founding father...

Nothing like an air band/ tennis water break 

BOYS SIDE

The Sophomores had a busy week, enjoying a "Superstars period," full of mini-competitions, heading out on their hike to Millbrook Mountain, and also to an intercamp  with the Sub Juniors to Kenmont... The Sub Juniors participated in the first blind hike of the summer (campers are blindfolded for a nature walk/ team-building activity through camp) and also engaged in a little friendly competition with The Juniors in a Quiz Bowl trivia session ... The Juniors hosted Kenmont back at Scatico and played everything from baseball to soccer to flag football... The Inters participated in a "Sumo Wrestling" (aka pillow-shirt-stuffing) competition and also a 3 on 3 basketball tournament during which they won two games ... The Sub Seniors embarked on their hike to Bonticuo Crag and also played a heated game of "Gladiators" (involving throwing balls into trash bins set up and guarded throughout back campus)... The Seniors headed to Kenmont for a baseball game and also enjoyed an NFL combine event that included a tryout, interview (in a suit and tie!), and draft... and The Upper Seniors managed to find time amid all their haunted house prep in anticipation of The Carnvial (on Monday!) for their waterfront cookout and a game of full camp musical chairs (rather than a neat row, chairs are sprawled throughout boy campus!)

Sophs pose for a photo op en route to the ball fields 

 

Summer 2016, Edition #2: June 29 - July 5

In the Swing of Summer 

Sub Juniors whipping something up at cooking

The Senior girls ready for mountain boarding 

Life in the 12523 has revved into high gear as we officially started our second full week of camp. School buses filled with tournament teams are heading out, College Bowl and Tribes breaks are officially in the books, and white T-shirts are looking a little less clean. It's hard to keep up with the chock-full days at Scatico, but there have definitely been more than a few highlights. 

College Bowl brought all of boys side together as the four teams (USC, Michigan, Ohio, and UCLA) competed in a series of events. The games kicked off with a full boys camp dodgeball! (a special shoutout to Junior Ethan Rotko for being the last man standing) and included a brand new scavenger/ treasure hunt that involved solving riddles to find counselors hidden throughout camp, trivia questions about Scatico, and hunting for "treasure" (aka gold tennis balls). 

College Bowl Teams

College bowl capture the flag on the driving range

Fool Ball at the College Bowl campfire 

Upper seniors at the College Bowl campfire 

On girls side, the lower hill chose their older camp sisters in a favorite camp tradition where names are selected out of a fishbowl. Camp sisters join in a number of activities together, starting with this week's camp sister night on the hill! Older and younger "sisters" participated in a new girls side favorite--9 square in the air (with the added twist that arms had to be linked), plus croquet and bocce. 

Lights, Camera, Action! 

The 4th of July always marks a special turning point in the summer. Campers are out of uniform to rock their red, white and blue, and boys and girls camp come together for a co-ed BBQ, talent show, and fireworks under the open skies of Elizaville. It's a high energy day that feels like the true start of summer. 

And this 4th marked a particularly special moment, because it was also the first time our brand new amphitheater (appropriately dubbed the camp-itheatre) was used by all of camp. Close to 400 people enjoyed a spectacular sunset and one-of-a-kind performances in our new outdoor arena as boys and girls from Jinters to counselors performed in the Talent Show. As Director David Fleischner said in his opening remarks: "In 50 years you can all look back at this moment and remember that you were here, the first night of the camp-itheatre, in summer 2016." 

Hosts Jake Lisabeth and Jane Rosenfeld prepare to take the stage 

Talent Show hosts were girls drama head Jane Rosenfeld and boys music head Jake Lisabeth (both soopers/ upper seniors of 2009) who led us through 23 incredibly diverse talent acts. The CIT boys kicked it off with rousing (and low-pitched) rendition of the national anthem. Some highlights:

• Ukelele and song performances by the CIT girls, Sub girls and Sooper girls (ukeleles are the sleeper trend of summer) 
• An interpretive water bottle dance by the Upper Seniors 
• Gymnastics routine by centers Sophie Araten and Lexi Gluckstal and a dance act by the Jints
• A hilarious and stoic ribbon dance from first-year counselors Rory and Alan 
• Beautiful acoustic performance from JC girls 
• Plus major props to all of our solo acts (it takes a lot of courage to get up on stage!) a song from Sienna Johnson, a Billy Joel piano number from Emmet Miller, the Olympics theme song on trumpet by Jordan Klein, modern dance from Philippin Barbe, and the unparalleled karate routine of Jack Wasserman. 

David Fleischner starts the 4th of July Talent Show

Jinters on stage for a dance

Sooper girls sing the "Lava" song

Welcome to the camp-itheatre

Tournament News...

• Our boys Pontiac baseball team (going into 6th grade and under) made it to the semi-finals, losing in a very close game (1-0) to Camp Lenox and finishing the day with a 2-1 record. (The one run allowed in the last game was the only run scored off of Scatico pitchers the entire day.)
• Girls soccer team (4th grade and under) also snagged 2nd place at Timberlake Camp!
• Scatico hosted five camps at its annual co-ed tennis tournament. Not only did two of our doubles teams make it to the finals, but boys side saw a Scatico vs. Scatico singles finals! Shout outs to partners Allie Putzer and Ashley Mazarin, and Max Silverman and Ethan Rosenberg for their doubles performances. Plus MAJOR congrats to Tyler Winderman for coming in first against fellow Scaticonian Isaac Malkin. 

DIVISIONAL SNAPSHOTS 

Girls SIde

Juniors- Had a busy week at Camp Scatico, heading off to Bash Bish for their hike on Tuesday and also hosting a division-wide hair washing competition (if you can't do it at camp, where can you do it?)

Jinters- All got up on stage for the 4th of July talent show and performed a celebratory dance to "Party in the USA" (a reprise of their lip sync battle performance from evening activity the night before)

Inters- Headed off to KenWood for an intercamp where they competed with the Centers in basketball, newcomb and soccer (followed by a mandatory stop at Holy Cow for ice cream!) 

Centers- Reached the top of their hike at the picture- perfect Inspiration Point before hitting up the General Store for ice cream 

Debs- Were in stellar shape this week, receiving both Honor Bunk for doing an A+ job at clean up and also the "All-Star DIvision Award" from the athletics staff for their enthusiasm up on the hill

Subs- Have embraced a new trend in light of the no-phone policy and are all about taking "mental pictures," a skill that came in handy as they dove into cooking with Ally and making s'more crepes 

Seniors- Were pumped to lead their first College League night (girls side is divided into four "colleges" to compete in a series of  evening activitie), which was Human Anagrams 

Soopers- Are busy with Tribes pep (Tribes day #1 is today!) and also riding high from their victorious performance at "Lip Sync Battle" night to the pop-song "Shower"

The Juniors down at the waterfront 

Debs at tennis

The Centers at dance

BOYS SIDE 

Sophomores- Are busy making papier-mache masks in Arts n Crafts to be displayed at the 2nd annual Scatico Art Show, and also enjoyed a special scavenger hunt activity with the Seniors 

Sub Juniors- Participated in a "Super Stars" day, competing in events as varied as pushing a golf cart, broom tosses and speed reading

Juniors- Donned their favorite jerseys for their first game of Slamma Jamma (where baskbetball hoops are lowered to encourage crazy dunks) and also had their hike to Inspiration Point!

Inters- Headed out on a divisional flag football tournament to Pontiac where, although not victorious, they were cheered by hitting up Holy Cow on their way back to camp

Sub Seniors- Cooled off on a hot day by inventing the game of "ice kickball" where ice buckets were placed on each base to sit in (apparently it encouraged some very speedy plays)

Seniors- Not only had a successful hike up Breakneck Mountain but also conducted a "Warrior Course," that included a series of obstacle courses and drills 

Upper Seniors- Held a "15 minute life lessons" theme day, where they learned everything from how to dance to a jam band, to advice on how to apply to their first job. 

CITS- Enjoyed their first two van nights, heading to the movie theatre to see "Finding Dory" (reviews were mixed) and also to a Camp Scatico favorite Sal's Pizzeria. 

Juniors on their hike to Inspiration Point. 

Summer 2016, Edition #1: June 25 - June 28

Welcome to Elizaville 

The first days of camp are always a whirlwind of activity. Former campers who have been waiting 10 months for 2 rush through cabin doors, while first-time Scaticonians quickly dive into the spirit of camp, and in a blink of an eye we're back to the rhythms, sights and smells of summers at Scatico. Already this camp season has seen its first camp birthdays and turtle sightings, first dining hall cheers and nighttime milk and cookies, first games of Spike Ball (a new boys side favorite) and 9 square in the air (an exciting new addition to the girls athletic fields.... think 4 square meets volleyball). We're not even one week in, but already the pace, the energy, and the magic of Scatico are felt in full force, all the way from our Sophs and Juniors on up to our 31 CITs. 

Inter girls warm up before the Opening Campfire. 

Opening Campfires, T-Leagues and more!  

The second night of camp is one of timeless Scatico traditions: boys and girls both congregate at their respective campfire sites for the opening campfire and a night of stories, games, and music under the stars. On boys side counselors ran a series of activities—pillow fights and fool ball are always fan favorites—  asking for members of each division to participate. The night also included a classic campfire story led by media head John Hickey (currently enjoying his 33rd summer at Scatico!) As always the night ended with a jam session, headed by music counselors Jake Lisabeth and CJ Ditkoff accompanied by camper Manny Jacobson who performed a classic Bob Dylan number. 

Sophomore boy pillow fights 

Preparing for pillow fights

Lower hill fool ball

On girls side the Soopers, our eldest division, shared their favorite Scatico memories and led all of the campers in a series of songs, from classics like "The Circle Game" to Scatico originals like "The Year Song" (in which campers and counselors stand at the year they started camp, beginning with the 1980s and ending with 2016). The night ends with a ceremony where candles are distributed to all of girls camp and older campers light the candles of first-timers, signifying the bond and link between old and new. 

Sooper girls get ready to light the opening campfire.

Senior girls light their candles at the end of the campfire to make a wish. 

The first week of camp also sees the start of T-League on both boys and girls side. For decades the boys upper hill has known the familiar routine of heading up to the ball fields, mitts in hand, ready for the magic of simultaneous play on overlapping fields. On girls side the tradition is slightly newer (only enjoying its 2nd year) but no less beloved, as upper hill campers and counselors compete in either volleyball, softball, ultimate ball or basketball.

Other early camp highlights included the "Meet the Counselors" Talent Show (the boys' DLs performed a game of half court knock out aka "dugout," and the girls' DLs an "interpretive dance," for lack of better word) and the return of Scatico's radio station spearheaded by Arts Program head Ken Vallario. Now campers and counselors can tune in to 90.2 (available at about a 2 mile radius of camp) to hear bunk-created playlists and camper shout-outs all summer long. 

Divisional Snapshots 

GIRLS SIDE 

Juniors- Enjoyed cooking for the first time, and made lemonade-flavored ring pops (Scatico's first-ever candy creation) and two separate kinds of cookies. 

Jinters- Have discovered their new favorite activity...BBK! A Scatico-only fusion of basketball, baseball and kickball.  

Inters- Embarked on the first hike of the season to Boulder Rock! Luckily the rain held off and they made it to the top, with time for a stop at ice cream from The General Store afterwards. 

Centers- Are already busy preparing for the opening of the Scatico Playhouse with "Grease" (which they will perform with the Inters), and choreographed their own original dance to "Grease is the Word." 

Debs- Started a new camp-wide crafts project... portrait painting! Campers paired off to draw one another and will have their work displayed at Scatico's second annual co-ed Art Show. 

Subs- Learned how to use the wheel under the tutelage of new ceramics head Natalie. Prepare for new kitchenware come Visiting Day! 

Seniors- Were cooking in style with Chef Ally and made "peaches three ways," including a peach and cheese crostini, peach panna cotta, and peach gazpacho. Scatico goes gourmet! 

Soopers- Have jumped right in to their new leadership positions and led camp's first evening activity (song night) as well as the Opening Campfire (all while rocking their Sooper gear). 

Junior girls at cooking. 

Inter girls at swim instruction. 

BOYS SIDE

Sophs and Sub Juniors enjoy an early trip down to the waterfront.

Sophomores- Have already embraced Scatico's more unique activities including Sardines (a divisionwide, outdoor hide and seek) and a mini olympics where campers rotated between a series of two-minute activities (broom balancing anyone?). 

Sub Juniors- Won't stop for the rain! When cloudy skies had the Sub Juniors improvising they opted for a game of Pictionary. They also pulled off the season's first game of downhill tennis baseball on the driving range. 

Juniors- Started both their hoops and soccer leagues after cooling things down with vanilla ice cream making at cooking (accompanied by two different kinds of cookies, of course)! 

Inters- Brought back the old Scatico tradition of backyard baseball at "Yankee Stadium" (the area by the former stables, renamed due to the field's fence). The Ints also had a heated game of flag football in anticipation of their tournament at Pontiac later this week! 

Sub Seniors- Were led by DL Ryan Kenny in a "Catalina Water Mixer," in which they dressed in their finest to sample all of the water fountains at Camp Scatico. 

Seniors- Wanted to start off T-League on the right foot, and so they held a softball "spring training" on the ballfields and backyard baseball session out on campus. 

Upper Seniors-  Had a fierce game of European Handball in preparation for a tournament at Camp Kindering. All the hard work was rewarded with flatbread pizza making at cooking! 

CITs- Participated in their first-ever counselor orientation and training sessions (with team building activities that involve everything from plate balancing to blindfolded rope puzzles). It's a brand new experience for the group as they get prepared to work with campers all summer long!

Tribes 2016 Has Begun!

When the girls side walked back to campus after choosing their camp sisters, a red, yellow, green and blue surprise awaited them outside the Coves! Colored balloons hung from trees and a TRIBES was spray-painted across the grass... the sound of the Big Chiefs' drums moments later confirmed that Tribes 2016 had officially began!  Tribes marks the first major competitive tradition of the summer, with all of girls side divided into four teams— Blazing Arrow (red), Flying Eagle (green), Racing Wind (yellow) and Thunderbolt (blue)— to compete in a series of sports, arts projects, singing, swimming and more over the course of the next three weeks. The Soopers lead each of the teams, and are in charge of everything from choreographing aerobics routines, to coaching softball, and teaching folk songs! We're sure future blog posts will be chock full of highlights from Tribes 2016! 

Boys 2015 Color War

To the A Court!

It was a particularly eventful weekend at Camp Scatico, as boys Color War broke on Saturday afternoon with a specially designed raffle! Tradition usually has it that Color War breaks following dinner, but this summer we shook things up and announced boys side would be holding a raffle of customized Scatico swag at breakfast, lunch, snack time and dinner. Every one received a raffle ticket at each meal time, and each had an equal chance of taking home prizes (including a deck of cards featuring an aerial view of camp, a mug emblazoned with the road path, and Nat Holman luggage tags). The breakfast and lunch raffles went off with excitement, but nothing out of the ordinary, but at the snack time raffle one of the prize items was a large blanket stitched with a photograph of the boys A Court that read "Color War 2015." Well, everyone knew what that meant...

Girls 2015 Color War

1, 2, 3, 4... WE HAVE COLOR WAR!

It was an exciting Monday night at Camp Scatico. Following the co-ed show "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" the girls headed to back campus for milk and cookies only to discover "Color War 2015" pillow cases laid out on their beds! As news of the Color War break quickly travelled to all of the divisions, the girls gathered by the flag pole as Kerri read aloud the Color War pledge and Generals and Lieutenants. Then every one headed up to the tennis courts for a match between Generals Aliza Dodge and Emma Georger to determine who would be Green and who Grey, before the divisional dodgeball matches began. During divisional dodgeball as each camper gets out they run to the Chief Judges to learn what team they are on. The last girl standing in each divisional dodgeball match receives  a point for their team. Check out the girls' side splits below, and know that boys' splits will be posted as soon as their Color War begins!  

Summer 2015, Edition #5: CIT Trip

As many of you know, this summer we decided to shake things up and our CITs (counselors in training) traveled to the Dominican Republic to run a one-week day camp for local children. We are thrilled to report the experience was simply incredible, and want to share the daily blog we maintained while there.

Please join in on all the DR camp magic!

Summer 2015, Edition #4: July 13th-July 22nd

Lights, Camera, carnival!

Between the Boys and Girls Nat, Visiting Day, Tribes, the Gong Show and Carnival it's been nonstop action in the 12523. Carnival this year was Oscars-themed and Scatico turned out in their red carpet best, posing alongside our very own "Hollywood" sign (it said Elizaville), helping themselves to popcorn, and enjoying all the traditional booths (dunk tanks, zap mail, marriage booth and more!) The Upper Seniors brought their A-game with a very freaky circus-themed haunted house, and Cory Schwartz set up our very own Scatico photo booth complete with props.

Jinter girls at the cheese toss.

Sub Junior boys enjoy popcorn.

The Sub girls run zap mail (campers deliver messages to each other in balloons.)

Upper Seniors in their circus-themed haunted house.

Family huddle.

Upper Seniors pose with our Elizaville sign.

Besides Carnival camp has been busy with a slew of tournaments. Both Nat teams played their hearts out, the boys advancing to the finals and losing in the final seconds in a real nail-biter to Wah Nee (Matt Cohen hit a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to give us a two point lead after we'd been trailing by 10 midway through the fourth quarter...but Wah Nee hit their own 3-point shot at the buzzer) . The girls Dance Team (composed of Jints, Ints, Centers and Debs) went to a tournament at Timberlake and competed in five dances! Our Debs snagged one third place prize, and Marlee Fass came in first for her solo performance! Plus Scatico hosted it's first ever Soccer tournament for lower hill (dubbed "The Nick" for soccer-head Nick Goodacre...wonder who came up with that name) and won! (Shout outs to MVP Leia Pinals, goalie Halle Press and goal-scorers Emily Holzer, Lara and Brooke Tolstoi, and Ryan Lapatine!)

This week has also marked a few classic Scatico evening activities. The girls playhouse opened Saturday night for the Deb and Sub show, Mamma Mia!, and Wednesday night we held our annual "Miss Ugly Pageant" (the name explains it all). Soopers Melanie Krieger and Sara Feldman walked away in first place for their hilarious spoofs on Les Miz songs.  Over on boys side there was the annual Gong Show, highlights including the Sub Seniors reenactment of the opening scene from The Lion King (Bart Turri played Simba), Jake Vandercar's hat juggling act, Drew Winiarski's dead-on impersonation of a cow mooing, and Jack Wasserman's "phenomenal" karate act, quote from head counselor Dave Fleischner, with the entire Soph division.

Nat players run onto the court before the first game.

Lower Hill girls cheer along the side of the A Court.

Divisional Snapshots

GIRLS SIDE

Jinters- The last of the Jinters passed their deep water tests, and the whole group celebrated with s'mores and an evening swim at the waterfront. 

Inters- Are dressing in all black and holding a spy theme day, complete with an extra long scavenger hunt in search of a "missing counselor." 

Centers- Enjoyed their hike to Catskill State Park and hosted a favorite evening activity, Family Feud, where each division dresses as a different famous family (this year's highlights included Subs as The Kardashians, Jinters as Spongebob characters, and Senior Staff as the "Modern Family" family.)

Debs- Released Scatico's first butterflies into the wild after their cocoons had hatched from our own habitat. Plus they are interviewing people about their favorite elements of camp in preparation for their Friday night services. 

Subs- Had a Dora the Explorer theme day, complete with Spanish lessons and guacamole making! 

Seniors- Have started rehearsals for their show "Legally Blonde" with the Jinters plus most of the Seniors went on a Volleyball tournament to Kindering and advanced to the finals. 

Soopers- Switched DLs with the Upper Seniors, and enjoyed ceramics, T-League and teaching the Sooper cheer with Quinn! 

Soopers cheer on the Girls Nat. 

Centers at cooking. 

BOYS SIDE

Sophomores- Nabbed first place for the Gong Show with a group karate act led by Jack Wasserman, plus went on their first divisional blind hike (where they are led through camp blindfolded by their counselors).

Sub Juniors- Had their divisional waterfront cookout as well as their overnight, where they participated in a game of "Commando" (kids crawl through the dark and when a counselor shines their light on them they have to freeze).

Juniors- Not only had their divisional hike off-camp but are also prepping for a hike through Mosquito Hollow, considered relatively uncharted territory on Scatico property.

Inters- Got their brooms and brought back an early 2000s favorite with a game of Quidditch!

Sub Seniors- Had a boy band bonanza theme day where they were split into different throwback boy bands and wrote their own songs.

Seniors- Were victorious at a late night baseball intercamp to Kenmont. Shout outs to Ryan Ditkoff, who pitched, and Shay Rubinson for making the final out of the game when he caught a line drive! 

Upper Seniors- Swapped DLs with the Soopers and had their very own rendition of Tribes, complete with plaques with Jane Rosenfeld! 

The Boys Nat repping the Elizaville zip code with the 12523. 

Summer 2015, Edition #3: July 7th-12th

Life in Elizaville

Lots happening at Scatico as the summer already seems to be flying by. Girls' Side had its first Tribes Day on Tuesday, with the four teams competing in a track meet in the morning and variety of sporting events in the afternoon. At the evening's Tribal Campfire, the girls showcased songs and a human pyramid routine they'd been working on for the past several days. Plus the Scatico Playhouse opened with its first show Saturday night: the Inters and Centers in The Lion King!

Over on Boys' Side the full camp participated in a "synchronized dance competition," where each division picks a song to choreograph a dance to and then perform. The Sophs did a dance to "Lean On," Sub- Juniors to "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego Movie,  Juniors decided to forgo traditional music and instead drummed on their stomachs, the Inters stole the show (and won) with "Respect," Sub-Seniors performed to "Fergalicious," the Seniors to "Cheerleader" (hands down the song of the summer), and the Upper Seniors to "Monster Mash" (perhaps in anticipation of their Carnival haunted house?).  As Hoops League, Soccer League, and T-League continue in full force, it's always nice to shake things up and boogie down.

The Inters bask in their "RESPECT!" dance competition glory.

Centers and Inters in the Lion King.

Plus boys and girls have been participating in several tennis tournaments to much success! At Scatico Tennis, Soopers Emma Georger and Melanie Krieger made it to the finals, and at a tournament at Kindering on Sunday we came in 2nd place overall (winning three of the six available trophies!).

Divisional Snapshots

BOYS' SIDE

Sophomores- Had their hike to Mohonk Preserve on Wednesday, plus participated in a Super Stars day later in the week, where the Sophs are split into teams and compete in a variety of "events" like water chugging and broom tosses.

Sub-Juniors- Played their first ever game of slap ball (always a boys' side favorite) plus a lot of the division went on a baseball tournament to Pontiac, winning their first two games and ultimately nabbing third place!

Juniors- Appreciated one of the best sunsets of the summer thus far during their walk along the Sunset Trail (located behind the boys' ball fields) and then had their overnight.

Inters- Besides celebrating their dance victory, the Inters enjoyed a game of Subs n Heroes, in which each kid is assigned a sandwich ingredient and then stack themselves to appropriately make the sandwiches that are called out. 

Sub-Seniors- Had an NBA All Stars weekend in which they imitate and NBA Draft Combine, complete with basketball drills and interviews.

Seniors- Played a heated (literally) game of Inferno Trivia: campers wear as many layers as possible (starting with a bathing suit) and answer trivia questions in teams. For every correct answer they get to remove a layer, for every wrong answer add one. The team that makes it down to their bathing suits first wins and gets to rush to the lake.

Upper Seniors- Participated in a "Tough Mudder," which included crawling through a seaweed obstacle course, swimming in the lake, and running up an enormous slip n' slide.

Soph boys observe the broom toss in All Stars.

The Sophs Green team for All Stars.

The Sub-Juniors embark on a Blind Hike.

GIRLS' SIDE

Jinters- Visited the Mills Mansion and Buttercup Garden, a historic site located just 15 minutes from camp, and enjoyed skipping rocks in the Hudson River!

Inters- Had a spur of the moment inter-camp to Kenwood, where they participated in a variety of sports and won all of them (!) plus learned new games from the Kenwood campers.

Centers- Had a Girl Scout Theme Day complete with sash making, baking cookies and a nature walk on Scatico's own Sunset Trail ending with s'mores over a camp fire!

Debs- Hiked to Sunset Rock where they were able to enjoy a dip in a lake and then tested out a new ice cream place at the "General Store."

Subs- Have been expanding their athletic horizons with cricket! Plus the entire division decided to show their Scatico spirit and all tried out for a Pontiac soccer tournament together.

Seniors- Had a High School Musical 2 theme day where they dressed up and filmed a music video to "Bet On It" (a song that apparently takes place on a golf course) on Scatico's own golf course.

Soopers- Got pumped during their "Women of the Wild" theme day, which included dressing in safari gear and a scavenger hunt through camp.

Above: Deb girls at Ceramics. Below: The Centers aka Troop 12523 all dressed up for their Girl Scout theme day!

Parting shot: Chowing down at the Cooking Center.