Staff Prepare to Welcome 2018 Season
This past week, our 2018 summer staff participated in trainings and activities known as “In-Service” to thoroughly prepare for the highly anticipated arrival of Tawonga campers.
Our staff this summer is comprised of nearly 200 dedicated professionals, including many staff and camper alums. They come from all over the country and world (including Israel, England and Fiji) with a common goal to provide an unforgettable experience for children.
Throughout the week, this group spent time training all together as well as in their respective departments as counselors, lifeguards, kitchen staff, arts and crafts specialists, programmers and more, honing their roles and planning for an amazing summer.
Counselors went on a mock-backpacking trip to train for their overnight trips with campers and meanwhile, received bunk assignments and began team-building within their units.
The week before In-Service, supervisors on staff also spent an additional week participating in intensive training led by the at-Camp director team to prepare for the staff’s arrival. Kasey Bellafiore, a Unit Counselor this summer and former Unit Head, reflected,
The training I’ve received at Tawonga as a staff member and supervisor has been far more valuable in my career than my graduate degree.
Our In-Service week wrapped up with a delicious Shabbat dinner, freilach (lively song and dance) and collaborative community service called Kabbalat Shabbat. On Saturday morning, staff settled into a serene Torah service led by Camp Director Becca Meyer and Associate Director Aaron Mandel at our outdoor sanctuary, Makom Shalom, which means “place of peace.”
Celebrating Shabbat together solidified the beautiful, bonded and highly intentional community that has formed over the past week. Our staff is officially ready (and “mighty glad”) to welcome every single camper to Camp Tawonga this season!
Enjoy photos from In-Service below.