YEARBOOK SUMMER 2020 בס”ד Summer 2020 Issue #1 JULY 2ND, 2020 Parshas חקת/בלק Looking Forward to SDC 2020!! 8:11pm בס”ד Summer 2020 Issue #2 JULY 10th, 2020 Parshas פנחס Sensational Second Week! 8:08pm DIRECTOR RABBI TAUB The last bus has just pulled out. The last car has left. The last piece of lost & found has been found. The last knish has been knished. The last splash in the pool has been splashed. The last squirt of hand sanitizer has been squirted. And to think that just 9 weeks ago we weren’t sure that we would be allowed to have camp this summer! B”H Simcha Zoom Camp never had to happen! On one hand, I reflect on the massive amounts of pumping ruach we enjoyed throughout the past 8 weeks. The hilarious dress up days, the shows, the crazy lunch challenges, the giant 50 foot slide at carnival, the Seasons Express trips for Simcha Bucks, the pies of pizza, the sodas, the amazing canteen, $36,500 that we raised for Chai Lifeline, the sports, the leagues and the swimming. And how can I forget the greatest COLOR WAR EVER! All these events were experienced with just the right amount of competitiveness, excitement and middos that are a trademark of SDC. Every camper has grown in some way, whether in sports ability, swimming levels or connection to Hashem and learning his Torah in our Learning Groups. But now what? Now it’s back to serious old life, with teachers and books, homework and looks, ifyouknowwhatimean! I won’t be greeting carpools of excited campers each morning as they rush inside to daven, learn and play. I won’t be able to meet the most amazing head staff, RABBI SUDWERTS, RABBI POLTER, RABBI ROSENBLATT, RABBI GOLDSTEIN, RABBI SAMET, RABBI DONNY RUDANSKY, RABBI HILDESHAIM, RABBI SOKOL and RABBI MEYER. I won’t be able to watch CAMPERS and STAFF getting closer to HASHEM, under the guidance of בס”ד Summer 2020 Issue #3 JULY 17th, 2020 Parshas מטות/מסעי Tremendous Third Week! 8:04pm RABBI TAUB CONTINUED... their wonderful RABBEIM and RABBI ROSENBERG. I won’t be able to meet MRS. RUBINOFF, MRS. VADOFF, MRS. FRIEDMAN and ELIYAHU TUSK for an impromptu office meeting of grave importance. I won’t be able to lend my car to YIDEL to run important errands or to give cold water to the masses. I won’t be greeted by the nicest good morning each day from MR. EVERETT FORTUNE. I won’t be able to marvel at how MORAH ETTY runs the tightest, smoothest JUNIORS division ever, with her best right hand daughters MORAH ESTI and MORAH LONI. I won’t see the cutest, most adorable and creative Arts & Crafts projects created and instructed by MRS. GARBARSKY and MRS. ROSS with their amazing assistants. I won’t see campers learning new swimming skills under the tutelage of MR. ERIC MASLIN and his crew. I won’t be able to appreciate how well RABBI KRASNOW takes care of our 9 acre campus daily. I won’t be able to eat MRS. LEVY’S delectable food any more. And last but most important, I won’t get to see so many happy campers having a great time! Now what? How will I ever smile again? One thought breaks through the clouds and gives me comfort. In only a few months we will meet back here, on this very same amazing campus! We will keep alive those warm memories of the sun on our faces and the excitement in our bones as we swam, slid into home, scored a goal and kicked the ball to kingdom come, only to do it all again! These 36 days of fun will keep us ignited for the next 325 odd days of school and get us ready for SUMMER 2020 IN YERUSHALAYIM! Can’t wait! Have a great year! Keep in touch! Rabbi A. Taub Mexican Day ASSISTANT DIRECTOR RABBI SUDWERTS Planning for 2 months of camp is a 10 month proposition. The moment the last bus pulls out of the lot we are back in the office preparing for the following summer. There are so many minute details that go in to ensuring that SDC is the most rocking, awesome place in the entire world. RABBI TAUB and I meet almost daily in the fall and winter and weekly with our amazing head counselors, RABBI POLTER and RABBI ROSENBLATT. By February most of the trips and entertainers are booked and staff interviews are underway. Obviously things really start heating up Purim time and as soon as the Pesach dishes are packed back into the boxes in the basement camp is the #1 priority on all our minds. That’s how it goes in a regular year… but this spring was NOT REGULAR! Due to the uncertainty in the world, orders were placed on hold, trips were left “penciled in” but not finalized, staff weren’t sure if they should apply, parents were hesitant to register as the summer was one big, giant ? And then on June 2nd the governor announces that day camps will be allowed to open…amazing!! But with what rules? Will we be able to run our camp safely and still have fun? Swim? Sports? Trips? Buses? We continue to wait with a feeling of reserved excitement as the uncertainty remains. June 10th—the guidelines come out… OK, WE CAN DO THIS!! We meet with our medical Board, come up with a plan and email the parents that there will be SDC 2020!! ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!!!! The next two and a half weeks went by in a blur as camp became a reality. To sit here on the last day of camp and reflect on a summer that was so grand, so smooth and so amazing, while remembering RABBI SUDWERTS CONTINUED... that most of it was put together in just 2 short weeks, with a whole new set of guidelines (hmmm…carpools, questionnaires, Purell, temp checks, masks, double bunks, no trips, more Purell, “hot spots”) to ensure the safety of our staff and campers, I must thank Hashem for this incredible (and severely needed) bracha! “ay di di diy diy day, THANK YOU HASHEM…” WE DID IT!! Our office staff of MRS. RUBINOFF, MRS. VADOFF and MRS. FRIEDMAN were a constant source of calm and professionalism and always with a smile on their faces. YIDEL, YOU…ARE…THE…MAN!!! RABBI KLEINMAN, our unparalleled Medical Director, was on top of every single aspect of the safety and health of our precious campers with the calmest and most reassuring demeanor. His smile alone healed most of the booboos that entered his office. R’ SHLOMO KRASNOW and his tireless maintenance crew awakened a dormant 9 acre campus, prepared it in a way they never had to before and kept it spic, span and sanitized the entire summer! A tremendous shkoyach to RABBI ROSENBERG and his amazing staff of rabbeim. Walking up and down the hallways in the morning listening to the beautiful kol tefilla and Torah, one would forget that our campers have not been in a classroom in 4 months!! B”H we can say with confidence that the SDC campers are ready for yeshiva next year. There was some uncertainty with our world renowned aquatic program, but those were clearly unjustified, as ERIC made all the necessary adjustments at the pool without missing a stroke!! He and his guards provided top notch instruction, moving boys up from level to level and ensuring a safe environment for the kids to splish and splash and cool off from the hot sun. RABBI SUDWERTS CONTINUED... Due to the last minute shuffling, we had the zchus of adding two incredible new division heads, RABBI SAMET and RABBI GOLDSTEIN, who brought years of camping experience, new energy and incredible creativity to our senior division led by the great and humble RABBI POLTER. In the MIDs, our younger campers returned to familiar faces with RABBI ROSENBLATT at the helm, caring for each camper as if they were his own kinderlach. RABBI SOKOL, RABBI HILDESHAIM and DONNY kept us all on our toes with their ingenuity and ‘out of the box’ness, filling the days with special activities, division wars, Simcha Bucks and so much more. MORAH ETTY and MORAH ESTIE had our juniors bouncing and bopping, infusing every day with fun and excitement. The newest addition from the Slansky family, MORAH LONI, the boys just never knew what to expect when they walked into her room every day. This summer was the biggest CIT program in the history of SDC! The great AVROMI MEYER stepped up to the challenge and took the program to the next level! The working CIT’S were given the skills and tools to be the counselors of the future while the Sports CIT’S were kept busy with awesome, competitive leagues. Weekly late nights were just one of the special perks of being part of this exclusive division in camp. Our COUNSELORS and JC’S, the front line soldiers, put their all into ensuring that every camper had the best experience this summer. I remember those days and I know how hard it is to be out there in the sweltering sun, day in and day out, staying for late nights, planning activities, calling parents, helping boys develop friendships, putting out fires, finding the missing croc or glove. These guys deserve a huge thank you (and a vacation!) No one ever goes hungry in SDC with the most scrumptious, RABBI SUDWERTS CONTINUED..