Hello Parents!

Thank you to everyone that joined us at camp for Parent’s day.  Even with the rainy weather, spirits were high and it was a joy to watch chanichim reunite with their families after a month of camp.  When the big storm finally reached camp most parents had already left, but thank you to the families that hunkered down with us for Israeli folk dancing, some fruit, and a big game of gaga to wait out the downpour.

We are looking forward to a great last two weeks!  Full-mosh tiyul, Perth Park day and lots of other great programming is in store.

Take advantage of the great 2015 Summer Special opportunity by registering now for Mosh 2015. Click here for details.

Mattan

Good afternoon,

Wednesday evening the erev program was an activity on food choices and the environment.  Teams moved around from station to station where they completed tasks and had discussions about the food we eat, where it is produced, and how it shapes different parts of society.

The Zman mosh yesterday was led by Tzofim Gimmel: the oldest kvutza on mosh (now that Yedid is on their trip).  It was Harry Potter themed and ended with a giant waterfight againt the hadracha.  Zman mosh ended with Tzofim Gimmel thrown into the lake and a big jimbalaya to celebrate their successful activity.

Erev yesterday was an original production called “Barenaked Feelings”, a musical based on songs by the Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies.  It featured performances from several hadracha members and was very impressive!

This morning the moshava participated in this week’s Shabbat peula which summarized the first four weeks of the summer and looked forward to the second session.  The activity ended with chanichim writing letters to children in Israel to express their concern about the current situation in the region and to show solidarity and hope for an end to the violence.

Some notable Special Chugim this morning included Extreme Challa braiding, Tie Dye at the Melechet Yad, and Island Swim/Canoeing at the chof.  There was also basketball, rikkud (Israeli folk dancing), and a current events chug.

There are lots of great pictures online from the past few days!

We can’t believe Parents’ Day is just around the corner.  Make sure to check your email for information about Parents’ Day.  See you soon!

Mattan

Dear parents,

Today was yedid parent’s day: the day when the families of the yedid kvutza (the oldest kvutza on mosh) are invited to visit to help yedid pack and to say bye before they leave on an unforgettable trip to Israel.  My sister, Ayelet, is in yedid so I had the treat of seeing my parents and bubby!

This afternoon for zman mosh we played “greasy watermelon” – a classic game played at the chof (the waterfront). The game is simple: move the margarine-covered watermelon into the milk crate on your team’s dock.  It was a beautiful today and we had lots of fun together in the lake.

This evening the hadracha are beginning the election process for the Ken hanhaga.   The Ken hanhaga is the team that leads the upcoming Ken year.  I look forward to letting you know the hanhaga once it is elected and to let you know the date of the first Ken this coming year.  

We can’t believe three weeks have already flown by and that we’re already at the halfway mark.  The fourth week has lots of great activities and surprises in store.  Stay tuned!

Mattan

Hello everyone!

It’s been a busy last few days and I apologize for the recent dry spell of blog posts.  I know you love to check in to see what we’re up to at camp.

Right now, the Heart to Heart kvutza is running Yom Israel, a series of stations that the kids planned to bring Jewish and Arab Israeli culture to mosh.  Kids are learning Israeli folk dancing and Dabka, a traditional festive Arab dance.  Another station involves learning how to write each other’s names in Hebrew and Arabic. Everyone is having a lot of fun and it’s amazing to see the Heart to Heart chanichim contributing so positively to our mosh.

This evening, camp will sit down to a delicious Israeli meal prepared by the Heart to Heart kvutza and madrichim.  We’ll be having cous cous, falafel and pitot with humus.

The tzofim alef kvutza is on tiyul right now doing a canoe-hike-canoe hybrid tiyul in Frontenac Provincial Park.  The tzofim gimmel kvutza just finished a seminar on the history and current issues facing Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Tonight is “Erev Monologues”: an evening program where hadracha perform monologues they wrote.  Some are funny and some are serious, but all are interesting and moving in one way or another.  Erev monolugues is always a fascinating experience for everyone.

Two days ago was “Dynasty Day” – a medieval-themed “special day” where the machane was split into 6 houses that rivaled for control of the mosh.  It was a day filled with surprising events, alliances, and betrayals.  The day ended with moshball, a classic game where each side attempts to score points by throwing a soccer ball into their team’s net.  

Check out pictures from the past few days here.  More pictures will be posted soon!

Mattan

Good morning parents!

Tzofim Gimmel and our two youngest kvutzot, Chalutzim Alef and Chalutzim Bet are on tiyul right now!  Tzofim Gimmel is hiking through Frontenac Provincial Park and the younger kvutzot joined together for a canoe trip across our very own Otty Lake.  Last night they stayed at a beautiful campsite at the far East end of the lake.  They had a delicious chili dinner and built a big bon fire to roast marshmallows in the evening.  We’re looking forward to having them back at camp when they arrive this afternoon.

Yesterday we had a full-mosh game of gaga in the chedder ochel.  At the end of last summer a few members of hadracha (staff) worked hard to build a permanent gaga court (you can also find pictures of this over the past few days).  Kids have been playing lots of gaga and the practice was evident in the big game yesterday.  Check out the pictures page to see the action!

Mattan

Sunday, July 6, 2014

It’s been quite the week!  Yedid is now back from their 5-day tiyul (canoe trip) and we’re back into the swing of things after a great celebration of Shabbat.  

Today we said bye to the Shoresh program (the weeklong program for our youngest chanichim).  Their cute smiling faces have been a pleasure to have around mosh and we’re thrilled that half of the kvutza is extending their stay by another week!  We are excited to see all of the Shoresh kvutza back at Shomria next summer for Chalutzim Alef!  I’d like to extend a HUGE thank-you to Natali Tabacznik and Mihal Golan for their outstanding leadership and care that they showed over the past week and leading up to the summer.  

Last night we welcomed a group of 20 new chanichim to camp: the Heart to Heart (HTH) kvutza.  This is now the fourth summer HTH has been at Shomria and it’s great accomplishment that the program is now a staple of camp.  The program brings together a group of Jewish and Palestinian Israeli youth who spend 2 weeks at Camp Shomria as part of a year long process.  The group of kids this year is fantastic and we are already learning so much about each other’s cultures.  Many of our older chanichim stayed up until close to midnight to welcome the HTH bus with cheers and eagerness to help them with their bags.  It was a proud moment to watch.

Tomorrow Chalutzim Alef & Bet and Tzofim Gimmel are leaving for their tiyulim.  They are all packed and very excited!

Keep checking for daily picture uploads here made possible by Jacob Mazer: Rosh Tarbut and talented photographer.

Mattan
Rosh Mosh

Shabbat Shalom!

Last night we played a game of “Hide and Go Seek Hadracha” where teams of chinichim ran around finding hadracha and bringing them to the basketball court to win points for their team.  The hadracha didn’t make it easy though, even once they were found they could run away to avoid being caught.  

This morning we started the day with a Shabbat Peula (a special Shabbat Activity).  The camp split up into small “mishpachot” (families) which spoke about how their weeks went and took pictures doing various tasks around mosh.

Afterwards, we had special chugim, where chanchim choose between various special activities that aren’t usually offered during the week.  Today the chugim were: island swim at the chof, play auditions in the beit tarbut, ultimate Frisbee at the Shomria field, Rikkud on the mirpeset, and challah braiding in the cheddar ochel.  We had lots fun! I had the pleasure of braiding a large, 6-strand challah with some girls in chalutzim aleph.  We’re looking forward to seeing the result at Shabbat dinner tonight. 

We’ve got lots happening at camp today.  Bikur (weekly cleanliness challenge), official mifkad (Shabbat meeting ceremony), rikkud (dancing), erev (evening program), and more!

Check here for pictures and check back tomorrow for pictures of us dressed in our Shabbat whites.

Shabbat Shalom from Camp Shomria!

Mattan
Rosh Mosh

Good morning parents!

This morning we had a bit of rain and started off the day playing some games with the whole camp in the beit tarbut.

Yesterday was sunny and hot.  After getting on our sunscreen, we played a camp-wide game of “paint the hadracha” – where teams of chanichim put different colours of washable paint on their hands and chase down hadracha to tag them with the team colour.  At the end, the teams created tableaus with the hadracha who were successfully painted with their team’s colour.  Check out pictures from Wednesday HERE.

Daily photos uploads can be accessed from the 2014 photo page HERE.

In preparation for tiyulim (overnight canoe camping trips) each kvutza has been having its own “tiyul workshop” where kids learn the basics of the parts of a canoe and how to paddle.  They also learn the different strokes needed to stern (steer) the boat and then they hop into the boats for some practice.  Many of your kids have been telling me how excited they are for tiyul – most of which will be happening next week!

Tomorrow is Friday – a very special day at mosh.  Stay tuned for another update and more pictures!

Mattan
Rosh Mosh