Hi all! My name is Dalia Paris-Saper and I am so excited to be the merkezet chinuch (Educational Director) for the Gilboa community this summer. It is my job to design the themes and educational curriculum that kids will experience this summer.
I grew up outside of Boston and attended Gilboa’s sister camp, Na’aleh, in upstate New York. On the long drives to and from camp every summer, I would always listen to my favorite episode of the podcast series This American Life. It was called “Notes on Camp”.
As much as I love the podcast, I knew that Gilboa was a bit different. We didn’t have Color War or 500 campers. There isn’t a riflery range and we call our dining hall the chadar ochel rather than the mess hall. But the key points, and the kids’ (and adults’) stories resonated the same. In all the stories, summer camp was a crazy, unique, and incredible place that no other place in the world came close to.
Inspired by this podcast and my love of all that summer camp allows us to create, the educational theme of this summer is called Notes on Camp. It is split up into 3 “Notes” that each contain a series of peulot (educational activities) that will be run for your kids.
The first Note asks chanichimot (campers) to consider, learn, and reflect upon the foundational concepts at Gilboa. Some example topics in this section are Kvutza (age group) and Intentional Community, Youth Empowerment, and Jewish Identity. In the second Note, chanichimot will move towards learning about the world they see around them outside of Gilboa. Some example topics in this note include Climate Change, Systemic Racism, Justice in Israel/Palestine, and Labor Justice. In the third and final section, chanichimot will reflect on how they can bring the values and structures of Gilboa to other communities we are a part of. Because as wonderful and special as Gilboa is, I believe all communities can use some of that magic to create a more just and peaceful world. Some topics in this section include Actualizing Our Values, Communities of Care, and Strategies for Social Change.
As we situate summer 2021 in this current moment, I am definitely left with a lot of questions: how do we want to treat each other at Gilboa? How do we want to care for each other at Gilboa? How can we transform our other communities, and the world at large? I’m super excited to explore these questions together this summer, and for all the learning and growing that is about to happen at camp!
See you all soon!
Dalia
Comments