Following along our theme of mascots this option period, here is a fluffy friend trying to eat a house made of candy (permitted for the 48 hours after visiting day only!)
Archive for July, 2011
Photo of the day 07.17.11
Sunday, July 17th, 2011
Visiting Day
Sunday, July 17th, 2011Yesterday was Visiting Day at Camp Starlight and it was a real pleasure to be part of such a special day for both campers and their families. Campers came to breakfast bubbling with excitement, something fueled further still by a good Camp Starlight sing-a-long in the Rec Hall before friends and families arrived.
The gates to camp opened just after 10am and a constant stream of cars processed down the driveway for well over an hour. At 11am the tape dividing the parking lot and the main campus was taken down and loved ones literally ran to meet their children at their bunks. Massive smiles, huge hugs and lots of kisses ensued. There was time to meet the counselors who have had the pleasure of being with the campers for three weeks already, but the day was very much about families being together again.
We were so lucky to have a perfect sunny day and many chose to stay close to the waterfront – who could blame them with that perfect view? Some had bought picnics and others took advantage of the barbeque lunch on offer. It was a time to chat and unwind and just enjoy each other’s company. The more energetic were able to take advantage of the facilities at camp and play tennis, basketball, softball or volleyball, or for a more sedate activity take out a rowboat or go for a motor boat ride. Gymnastics exhibitions and an art gallery ran in the Carriage House with a Starlight Playhouse Review and a dance show taking place later in the day. All 2,000 visitors were then surprised with the first ever Starlight flashmob – “Hello” everyone!
The day drew to a close with the 65th Anniversary Directors’ Reception with probably the biggest display of cupcakes you have ever seen. Decorated with everything from Teddy Graham Crackers to Oreo cookies and jellybeans, there was one to suit everybody’s tastes. 4pm came around far too quickly and before we knew it the announcement was made that visitors should make their way back to their cars. Of course it was hard to say goodbye after such a perfect day, but it was with the knowledge that Camp Starlight really is one of the best places on earth to spend the summer.
Going Gaga for Ga-Ga
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
Something you might not know about summer camp: It breeds passionate athletes in many different sports, even ones that are little known outside of summer camp, such as ga-ga. Although it’s not well known in America (but becoming more so everyday!), hoards of campers dream all winter about getting back into the ga-ga pit. Many camps even have ga-ga tournaments! Camp challenge weeks even have ga-ga challenges. There is no doubt that campers are going gaga for ga-ga!
So what is this ga-ga? It’s a little like dodgeball in a circular enclosed space. Many camps feature ga-ga pits , but the game can be played virtually anywhere there are four walls or barriers. As in dodgeball, when players are hit with the ball, they are out. They may, however, use the walls of the ga-ga court to clear the ball. As players are struck by the ball, they are eliminated, and leave the pit. The last boy (or girl) standing wins. Two primary ways that ga-ga differs from dodgeball is that ga-ga strikes must be at or below the knees and players bounce rather than throw the ball. Also unlike dodgeball, players may either bounce the ball at other players or against the walls of the pit. Some camps have adopted rules of play unique to their campers’ style of ga-ga play, while others prefer to stick to the official rules…What? There are official rules? Yep. In fact, there is even an International Championship Tournament held annually in Europe. More than 30 countries , including the U.S., winner of multiple championship titles, participate.
No one quite knows how ga-ga originated or where it comes from, but rumor has it that the game gets its name from the sound the ball makes during the opening play. It’s bounced twice in the air and the players say “ga” on each bounce. On the third bounce, the ball is in play (some rules call for three bounces with the ball officially in play on the fourth bounce). So warm up your ga-ga hands and start stretching. We’ll see you in the pit!
Camp Memories – Alumni Blog #2
Saturday, July 16th, 2011Dani S was writing in blog class today about how time seems to go by very differently at camp to when she’s at home. To quote, “At Camp Starlight, the days are long but if you blink, you’ll miss a week,” and she couldn’t have put it more precisely. Visiting Day is upon us already and it seems like only yesterday since the campers first got off the buses. So, for those people who are no longer able to come to Camp Starlight, the memories are so vivid it seems like only yesterday since you were here, yet in the same way it seems like such a long time ago.
As Camp Starlight celebrates its 65th anniversary, we look around and see while campers and staff may come and go, they all leave their mark. At the start of this summer there were 2,652 bunk plaques hung on the rafters in the dining hall. From the ten bunks who started it all in 1947, to the 50 bunks we have today, every camper who has ever spent the season with us is literally ingrained into the fabric of the building. Every time you look up you see a plaque you never noticed before, read new names and wonder who they were and what their time was like at camp.
This morning, David pointed out two stars which had been buried in the ground by the flagpole forty years ago to celebrate 25 years at Camp Starlight. These were only discovered a couple of years ago and had been hidden in the flowerbed for safe-keeping. They are now proudly on show for all to see and remind us of summers past. This year we are collecting various pieces of camp memorabilia to go into the 65th anniversary time capsule for future generations to find. Live for the present, remember the past and look for the future and you can be guaranteed that the best memento of camp life is the memories which will never die.
Photo of the day – 15.07.11
Friday, July 15th, 2011
Recipe of the day – 07.15.11
Friday, July 15th, 2011
New this year at camp is our garden, full of fresh vegetables and herbs for use in cooking class. Not only are our campers using all this home-grown produce, but they are visiting the garden, learning about all the plants and picking it for use in their class. There’s nothing like using fresh herbs in cooking and we’re very excited for the time when the tomatoes are fully ripe and can be eaten. This quiche recipe has been used today to take advantage of the wonderful produce available to us.
Mini Quiches
Crust
1 stick butter
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons iced water
Filling
6 eggs
½ cup to 1 cup shredded cheese
Finely chopped scallions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and spray a muffin pan with PAM.
Mix the flour and salt and cut in the butter until it’s all pea size. Add the water until blended together to form a dough.
Roll out the dough thinly and cut out large circle shapes to fill the shapes in the muffin pan. Place them in the individual sections, ensuring you press down into the corners to form a nice “cup” for the filling. Bake for 8 minutes.
Whilst the crusts are cooking, beat the eggs in a bowl. Once the time is up, remove the crusts from the oven and pour the beaten eggs into them. Sprinkle the cheese and scallions on top and return to the oven for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the eggs have cooked through.
You can add many other things to the top of your quiches – try chopped chives or fresh spinach for a real savory treat.
Recipe of the day – 07.14.11
Thursday, July 14th, 2011Our cooking classes have been using this cookie recipe to make mini tart shells which they are then filling with banana and caramel sauce and cooking as below. Use your imagination and experiment when cooking, sometimes you discover something so unbelievably, deliciously good!
Spiced Wreaths
1 cup margarine
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl beat the margarine with an electric mixer on medium high for about 30 seconds or until soft. Add one cup of flour, the brown sugar, eggs, baking powder, spices and salt. Beat until well combined. Beat or stir in the remaining flour to make a dough and divide in half.
Lightly flour a surface and roll each half to 1/8 inch thick. Use a large round cookie cutter to cut the outside of the wreath, and a smaller one to cut out the center. Place the wreaths one inch apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes and allow to cool on a wire tray. Sprinkle the wreaths with powdered sugar or ice them when totally cool.
“High Lights” – Guest Bloggers
Thursday, July 14th, 2011Four of the boys in Bunk 1 have spent the last few weeks writing an amazing book called “High Lights”. They are hoping to get it published but have very kindly agreed that it can be serialized on the Camp Starlight blog this summer – thank you boys.
This first installment introduces each of the authors and shows the fantastic illustrated cover. Future blogs will include sports quizzes, cryptic puzzles and a word search. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Hi, my name is Jake B. I live in New Jersey and I love playing basketball, soccer, football and lacrosse. I like the Yankees, Giants, Knicks, Rangers and Nets. My favorite foods are cookie cake, pizza and chicken. I am on the Wayne County league 4th grade basketball team.
My name is Aidan C and I like sports. My favorite sports are baseball, football and soccer. I like the Yankees, Giants, Jets and the Knicks.
Hi, my name is Jonah S. I like sports. I don’t usually write books but this has been fun. I like hockey, lacrosse and soccer and I like to sleep!
My name is Ben W. I like to play sports – my favorites are football, baseball and soccer. My favorite foods are pasta, steak, chicken, tacos and steak. I live in New York.
Bye until next week!
JayZ Blog #10 – WCCA Sports Results
Thursday, July 14th, 2011Boys Results
| Date | Sport | Grade | H/A | Opponent | Starlight | Opponent | Result |
| 07.14 | Basketball | 4 | H | Lavi | 21 | 28 | Lost |
Girls Results
| Date | Sport | Grade | H/A | Opponent | Starlight | Opponent | Result |
| 07.13 | Softball | 9 | H | Chenawanda | 6 | 3 | Win |
| 07.14 | Gymnastics | 7 + | A | Various | 2nd |
13th July 2011
Girls 9th Grade Softball (H)
Starlight 6 – Chenawanda 3
The 9th grade girls softball team defeated Chenawanda 6 to 3. Brandi R, Sydney M, Sydney T, Hayley C and Jenna K each had a hit in today’s win, but leading the Starlight offense was Sara S with a base hit and a Grand Slam!
Starlight defense was sold behind Sydney M. Jenna K took care of every ground ball hit to her and Brandi R and Carli G combined for 10 put outs at first base. Great game girls!
14th July 2011
Boys 4th Grade Basketball (H)
Starlight 21 – Lavi 28
Entering the second half Starlight was down two points but they played their way back into the game to go up by two points. Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter Starlight’s shots stopped falling. The game ended with Josh M making a half court three pointer but it wasn’t enough to change the score line in Starlight’s favor. Numerous players excelled in the game with some impressive statistics:
Jake B scored 8 points and 3 assists. Jesse N had 6 points and 8 rebounds, Andrew H had 4 points, Elijah E had 2 points and 4 rebounds and Justin M, Eric M and Ben B had two points each.
Girls 7th Grade and Up Gymnastics Competition
The 7th Grade and up gymnastics competition was this year held at Bryn Mawr. The girls competed against eight other camps and 120 gymnasts took part. Starlight walked away with second place with several girls deserving special mentions:
Hannah C placed 1st all round, joint 1st on bars, 2nd on beam and 3rd on floor. MacKenzie A shared 1st place on bars with Hannah (both girls scoring 9.2), and came 5th overall. Lauren P placed 4th on bars, 5th on floor and 6th all round. The overall Starlight placing reflects the great effort that all the girls put in – well done ladies!
Recipe of the day – 07.13.11
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011Chocolate Scones (makes 12 3-inch scones)
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup margarine or butter
½ cup small chocolate chips
2 beaten eggs
¼ cup milk
Powdered sugar
In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in margarine or butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the chocolate chips then toss till mixed. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.
In a small mixing bowl stir together beaten eggs and milk. The add the mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Using a fork, stir just till moistened.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead the dough by gently folding and pressing the dough for 10 to 12 strokes or till nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough to ½ inch thickness. Cut the dough with cookie cutters, dipping the cutter into flour between cuts.
Place the scones 1 inch apart on an un-greased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool scones on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool. Sift powdered sugar over the tops of the scones and serve warm.
