Summer Camp

North Shore day camps serve up Jewish summer fun

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Shelley A. Sackett, Journal correspondent

 

Happy campers in the pool

JCCNS Campers

 

After a chillier and wetter spring than usual, parents and their school aged children are especially anxious for the warmer days of summer vacation and the welcoming start of the summer camp season.

 

Families on the North Shore are lucky to have a choice of three Jewish day camps: the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore’s “Summer at the J” in Marblehead; Chabad of the North Shore’s “Camp Gan Israel of the North Shore” in Swampscott; and North Suburban Jewish Community Center’s “Summer Play” in Peabody.

 

The JCCNS has offered the Camp Simchah summer camp experience for over 70 years, starting in Lynn Beach and moving to its current 11-acre campus “on the hill” after over four decades at its former Middleton location.

 

Fine and Performing Arts- Day one

 

Summer at the J Camps covers all age groups from 2 years 9 months through those entering 10th grade. With nine one-week sessions, camp starts on June 26 and ends August 25. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended care available.

 

All campers have instructional morning swim led by the Aquatics department at the outdoor pool located on the JCCNS campus, and use of lower fields, tennis courts, and gym.

 

KinderCamp features daily schedules of music and movement, sports and games, instructional swim and more for those between 2 years 9 months and entering kindergarten.

 

Campers entering grades 1 and 2 attend Simchah Classic Junior and those entering grades 3 to 6 attend Simchah Classic, both with rotating schedules of drawing, science, arts and crafts, sports and instructional swim. The two groups also have a weekly choice of electives, among them science, engineering, SCRATCH!, robotics, drama, cooking, ropes course, dance and more.

 

Older campers entering grades 6-8 have the opportunity to attend Simchah Travel Camp, with weekly 2-3 night overnight trips and daily trips that may include kayaking, canoeing, indoor/outdoor rock climbing, museum visits, amusement parks and beaches. Day trip destinations may include Crane’s Beach, Canobie Lake Park, Salem Willow, and Water Country. Overnight trips may be to Caratunk, Maine and North Conway, New Hampshire.

 

The Simchah Counselor-in-Training (CIT) Program partners with the North Shore Teen Initiative (NSTI) to provide campers entering grades 9 and 10 with two-week sessions which incorporate counselor training, leadership workshops, social justice field trips, volunteer projects and fun social trips.. For more information and to register, visit JCCNS.org or call 781-631-8330.

 

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Chabad of the Norhshore Camp Gan Israel buddies

 

Chabad of the North Shore’s Camp Gan Israel has been in operation for almost 20 years, with Rabbi Shmaya and Aliza Friedman entering their seventh year as camp directors.

 

Aliza has directed Jewish day camps across the world, including in Dublin, Ireland, Helsinki, Finland and Boca Raton, Florida. She spearheads staff training and has extensive experience with preschoolers through teenagers. Rabbi Shmaya heads up Chabad’s youth programming, including Jew Crew and Chai Five.

 

All campers get a hot kosher lunch every day and extended before and after care options are available for those who need more hours than provided by the regular 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule. Camp runs from June 26 to August 4.

 

Mini Gan Izzy for boys and girls ages 3-4 takes place at Chabad at 44 Burrill Street in Swampscott, where campers participate in sports and outdoor adventures, art and music and swimming.

 

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Camp Gan Israel field trip

 

The Junior (entering grades K-2), Sabra (entering grades 3-5) and Pioneer (entering grades 6-8) programs take place at Chabad’s second campus at 151 Ocean Street in Lynn.

 

“It’s like an everything camp in one,” Aliza explained, describing the various activities all campers experience, from swimming at the Marblehead YMCA and Salem Forest River Park to the many specialties offered each week to the Friday Shabbat party with a specialty show that may be magic, puppets, the “bubble guy”, animal people or a mad carnival.

 

Every Wednesday, the entire camp goes on a field trip to destinations like Legoland, Canobie Lake and Water Country. The older two divisions have additional trips on Mondays that may be bowling, skating, golfing or laser tag. They also have a choice of electives that include photography, horseback riding, boating, Adventure camp, computer lab, art and baseball clinic.

 

Camp Gan Israel’s flexible sign up policy allows parents to craft their own schedule, whether by the week, for a few days here and there or for the entire summer. The Friedmans’s “low maintenance and user friendly” approach to scheduling recognizes that many families plan summer vacations and may need childcare on an irregular basis.

For more information and to register, visit nsjewishcamp.com.

 

For the wee ones from 6 weeks to 5 years old, NSJCC in Peabody offers a state-of-the-art childcare facility and “Summer Play” camp activities for toddlers and pre-kindergarten aged children from June 26 to August 18. With flexible 2-3-4 or 5-day options and summer theme days and water play, children enjoy gardening, exploring bugs, having camping adventures and exploring edible science. For more information or to register, visit nsjcc.org.

JCCNS Inclusion Camp champions diversity

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Shelley A. Sackett, Journal correspondent

 

Campers on bball court 04

 

 

When Marty Schneer arrived in Marblehead in 2013 to take over as executive director of the JCCNS, one of the first people he met was Marcy Yellin, whose 32-year-old son, Jacob, has special needs and was employed at the JCCNS.

 

She told Schneer that the community lacked an inclusion camp. He asked her what she would like to see. Within months, Schneer formed a committee with Yellin and a few others, including Special Education teacher Melissa Caplan. By the following summer, the JCCNS Inclusion Camp was up and running with 20 campers and Caplan at the helm as director.

 

This year the Inclusion Camp has 40 campers, a staff of 25, and a long waiting list. Specially trained staff work with children to integrate them into Kindercamp, Simchah classic camps and the Simchah CIT program.

 

There are no criteria for admission. “We take inclusion pretty seriously, so how could we make criteria that excludes some?” Caplan asked. The only reason a camper might not receive support is if that individual already tried camp and the staff knows it is unable to keep that child of their peers safe.

 

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Special needs campers participate in the same activities as their chronological peers, including aquatics and sports. “The goal of the camp is not only to provide services to a population who until now was not included, but also to break down the boundaries that often exist when people are not exposed to differences at an early age,” Caplan said.

 

Campers range in age from 2.9 months to teenagers. Staff includes teens and young adults who themselves have disabilities, filling an additional community need. “These individuals come to work and receive a paycheck just like their non-disabled peers,” Caplan said.

 

Inclusion campers and staff cope with a variety of disabilities that include developmental delays, intellectual impairments, autism, cerebral palsy, blindness, social/emotional disabilities, muscular dystrophy, down syndrome, seizure disorder and many more.

 

Most require on-on-one aids, which is expensive, and which is covered partially through private donations and organized fundraising. “We pride ourselves that the cost to attend camp is the same for all, whether you need a one-on-one aid or not,” Schneer said. “The underlying philosophical approach is that this is good for entire community of campers.”

 

“Marty believes in the need to support a neuro-diverse population, even though it costs the JCCNS a great deal,” Caplan added.

 

The term “neuro-diverse” means normal, natural variation in human cognition. It embodies the idea that those who are non-neuro typical can live their lives as they are with accommodations and modifications instead of being forced to conform to “normal.”

 

Caplan’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in multiple disabilities and a Masters degree in Early Intervention. She has worked in Roxbury, Newton and Marblehead and currently teaches special education at the Clarke School in Swampscott. “I believe wholeheartedly in the spirit of inclusion. It is a passion of mine,” she said.

 

During the rest of the year, the JCCNS runs adaptive/inclusion programs. Caplan works “very part time” in the year-round Inclusion Program, which last year added inclusive basketball and lacrosse clinics, Sunday family drumming circle and an IEP (individual educational program) support clinic for families. The program already has adaptive swim and gym programs.

 

Next year, Caplan would love to expand the sports clinics and start a lacrosse league and a Special Olympics swim team. “We have tons of great ideas and committed staff and eager participants. The only setback is funding,” she said.

 

In the meantime, Yellin sees the fruits of her vision every Friday as she walks down the hill to the JCCNS where she plays music. “I see wheelchairs amongst kids playing and all kinds of people in one space. It’s a beautiful sight,” she said.