The Camp Gilboa Blog

First day at camp flowed smoothly, with some kvutza (age group) bonding, fun presentations of programming, and getting to know camp and the counselors. Campers got to choose their electives (chuggim) and Avodah (work at camp) groups. In the evening, chanichim (campers) participated in an evening adventure. It seemed that the Melechet Yad (arts & crafts) cabin got seriously messed up and chanichim were asked to discover who was responsible for it. After a series of challenges (and assistance from various cartoon characters) it was discovered that the responsibility is always everyone's and that we all had to keep the melechet-yad clean. 

I have been coming to Machaneh Gilboa for a long time. It is my eighth year here and I am finally in the oldest kvutza. Being in the oldest kvutza means everyone looks up to us, whether they are a year younger or eight years younger, almost as if we were madrichim. When I started coming to Gilboa I was about seven years old and only stayed for a few days, which were all fun and games. Every year I came back it slowly became more and more about learning about issues in our society. When I was in Amelim the social issues were mixed in with games and activities. As older chanichim we discus issues such as racism, sexism, Zionism and other topics. Also, as Bogrim, we planned half a day for all the younger kids, which gave the whole kvutza a new-found sense of respect for the madrichim who work on preparing such programs every day. As I am nearing the end of my last year as a chanich (camper), learning about leadership and responsibility, I realize how long I have gone and how much h...

This week's Shabbat blogging was the responsibility of the Chotrim group. Here is an account of their week as they experienced it. Yom Israel We had an amazing time at Yom Israel. We woke up to an incredible breakfast of pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns and veggie sausages. We did many activities that were fun, yet educational. They all helped us to know ourselves more as Jewish people. After that, the madrichim told us that Israel was building a new colony on the moon. They split us into two groups, one of them agreed with building a new colony, the other disagreed. Then the two groups had to debate to come to an agreement, which we couldn't do. Then we had PISH with our kvutza (a discussion with our age group) about what worked and what didn't. We needed to improve on. It was an amazing bonding experience for all of machaneh. - Bella and Stella Gender Night Gender night was a very educational experience for all of Gilboa. Gender night is when you talk about different...

A little more than a year ago, a research published about Habonim Dror found that alumni of our camps become leaders in the community in high numbers (read more about it here: http://www.hdcamps.org/#!reviews/c2396   and here: http://www.hdcamps.org/#!news/c16h7 ).   In order to explain these “results” we could be looking into how theory and practice intertwine at camp.  At Gilboa (and other Habonim camps), a significant emphasis is placed on theory – education – and campers engage every day in issues pertaining to society, economy, Jewish identity, and Israel.  They learn about their responsibility to making the world a better place.  However, that alone is probably not enough to explain the study results. The added layer is what campers  do .  At Gilboa, everyone takes responsibility for the function and success of the community. Every morning campers participate in Avodah (work) and maintain the physical site. They wash the morning dishe...