Hello Arayot Parents,
We started off the week with a joint talent shown between Arayot and Maalot (fifteen year old age group). Each tzrif (bunk) did their own talent: the boys did a spectacular rap parody and the girls performed a hilarious interpretation of the Veggie Tales theme song. We ended the talent show with two of the boys doing a quick comedy skit, using the most popular phrase in the bunk, “Yaah Boy,” and it did not disappoint. Wednesday was a normal day; the girls had Omanut (Art) where they made ink imprints and string bracelets, while the boys played drip-drip-drop and other fun water games. On Wednesday night, we had a chill movie night. The campers were able to choose between Monsters Inc. and Shrek!
Thursday was July 4th! We had a normal morning, but in the afternoon we had a camp-wide parade. Bil led the way and picked up each bunk on the way; we marched around camp singing American songs. The march ended in the Beit Am (gym building), where we sang more songs and danced together. Afterwards, we ate red, white and blue cupcakes. On Thursday night, we had an all-camp talent show. Lots of campers from different aydot (age groups) performed songs and dances, told jokes, did ventriloquy, and more! It was super fun. The campers were then given popcorn and soda and got to watch Yavneh’s very own fireworks show–it was amazing!
Friday was another normal morning of chug, kitah and swim. On Friday afternoon, we started working on Zimriyah, a camp-wide singing competition that happens every summer. Zim is on July 18 this year, and each ayda performs three songs with hand motions, harmonies, solos, and more! It is Amanda’s most favorite part of the whole year, and the campers love it so much. Last year, even though they were only 30 people, they came in third place! And we know this year we have a real chance at winning, so we are all so excited! The campers learned two of their songs already and absolutely love them (and they sound amazing!). Today, they will learn their third song. After their practice, we brought in Shabbat and sang all night long– like last week.
Saturday was a nice relaxing Shabbat, with more free time and learning. On Saturday night, we did Havdalah (marking the end of Shabbat) and danced a lot. After Saturday, the kids were finally done with meltzing. Shoutout to Halleli and Gabi for winning meltzer of the week!
Sunday and Monday were full of preparations for Ketzev, which is this Thursday. The campers are so excited to perform and to show off all their hard work. The boys and girls each have practiced a dance, the entire ayda is performing a song (which is also one of their songs for Zimriyah), a smaller group of campers is performing an acapella song they volunteered to work on, and they whole ayda worked together on a Ketzev poster. Everyone is so impressed with their hard work ethic and commitment to making the performance the best it can be!
On Tuesday we had some more practice for Ketzev. The boys played kickball and the girls played on the Kangaruach (the inflatable trampoline we have at camp). Last night was Erev Paint (paint night). The campers played a series of games that involve paint (and by paint we mean colored shaving cream) like twister and tag. This peulat erev (night activity) is an Arayot tradition, and we were so excited to do it with them!
Today we are going to be having an in-camp practice for Ketzev as well as some extra fun activities like boating/free swim at the Agam (waterfront), sports, and a trip to the University of New Hampshire swimming pool at night! But we will make sure to get to bed early, because Thursday will be a super fun, exhausting and jam-packed day of Ketzev. For all those who are able to make it, we can’t wait to see you there! We will also be live-streaming the performance, so we hope everyone will be able to watch in whatever way they can and see all the hard work the kids have put into this performance. We are so SO proud of them.
B’ahava (with love),
Amanda and Ethan
