Camp Ramah in Canada

Camp Ramah in Canada,(Hebrew: מחנה רמה‎ Machaneh Ramah) is a Jewish summer camp located in the community of Utterson in the town of Huntsville, Ontario, Canada.

Camp Ramah in Canada logo

The Max and Beatrice Wolfe Campus is located on Skeleton Lake, a two and a half hour drive from Toronto. Part of the National Ramah Commission, Ramah camps in the United States, Canada, and Israel are all religious camps governed by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

In 2009, Camp Ramah in Canada was attended by 450 Jewish youngsters, many of them from the United States.

List of edot

• Shorashim (entering 3rd grade; 1 or 2 weeks long)
• Nitzanim (entering 4th and 5th grade; 4 or 8 weeks long)
• Arazim (entering 6th grade; 4 or 8 weeks long)
• K'firim (entering 7th grade; 4 or 8 weeks long)
• Tzirim (entering 8th grade; 4 or 8 weeks long)
• Nachshonim (entering 9th grade; 4 or 8 weeks long)
• Magshimim (entering 10th grade; 8 weeks long)
• Tikvah (Program for campers with learning and social disabilities; 6-week sessions)
• Alonim (entering 11th grade; 8 weeks long)

Activities

Judaica

For younger campers, each day includes an Ivrit perek with staff members from Israel ("mishlachat"). Also important is yahadut, where campers explore Judaism from different angles, in many "courses" offered by the camp. Israeli culture is also learned in shira (song) and rikud (dance).

Agam

Waterfront activities take place at the agam, Ramah's section of Skeleton Lake. Daily, campers take swimming lessons designed to meet the requirements for swimming and lifeguarding skills. Campers who take the Bronze Medallion or Bronze Cross courses take an exam at the end of their session in order to achieve the designation, which can be used to apply for many lifeguarding positions. The other part of the agam perek is boating, where campers sail, canoe, kayak, and water-ski or wake-board on Skeleton Lake. There are levels to achieve in each area by completing skill and knowledge tasks. On Shabbat, campers can partake in the free swim. Other agam activities include point swims, water trampolining, a sailing trip, and excursions to a waterfall.

Chug

A perek of every day is devoted to chugim, which are 2-week options in the arts and hobbies field. Choices include woodworking, ceramics, arts and crafts, beading, photography, hip hop dance, rock climbing, newspaper, and radio, but the choices change every year, and even during camp depending on what talents the staff bring to the table. More eccentric choices of the past have been cartooning, mad science, nature survival, and rhythmic gymnastics.

Sports

Campers play sports during this perek, but any time is game time, whether with one's cabin, the edah, or the more intense staff leagues. Some of the main sports played are basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, ultimate frisbee, floor hockey, and baseball. Some other games that have popped up over the years include dodgeball, ga-ga, cricket, croquet, golf, and aerobics.

Yom Sport

Yom Sport is the yearly Camp Ramah in Canada version of colour war, which consists of four teams competing.

Other

Along with these official activities, there are other "peulot" created by the staff. Whether these peulot are done by cabin, by edah, or even with the whole camp, they vary from the highly educational to the very silly. On Yom Meyuchad, or "special day", each edah experiences a different themed day planned out by their staff. Some of these include Yom High School for Nachshonim, or Yom Israel for the whole camp, which is run by mishlachat (staff members from Israel). Other unofficial camp activities include laying on the migrash, chilling in a hammock, or playing freeze with one's cabin at lunchtime.

History

Murray Shiff was instrumental in founding the camp, and was its first administrator.

External links

• The National Ramah Commission
• "Research Findings on the Impact of Camp Ramah," 2004
• Official Site