Today was our second day exploring the wonders of Japan, and it was a colorful day indeed! In Cooking, campers made a green tea cake. Green tea is known for containing powerful antioxidants that make it a medicinal powerhouse; some of the conditions that it is reputed to help include cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, infection, and impaired immune function. What do you get when you combine the healing power of green tea with cake? A treat that is good for the body and soul! It also makes for a delicious snack at the end of a long, albeit wonderful, day! In Studio Art, our older campers looked at scroll paintings from Japan and used them to inspire their own decorative landscape scroll drawings. Tomorrow they will learn a few calligraphy techniques and add what they learn to their scrolls. Meanwhile, campers in Groups One and Two learned about the children’s festival that happens in Japan on May 5th each year. During the festival, children learn the importance of love and friendship and decorate their own Koi Fish to hang within their communities. In Japan, koi fish represent good fortune and are also are associated with perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose. In Buddhism, they symbolize courage. One of the primary reasons the fish is symbolic in Japanese culture is because it is known for swimming upstream no matter what the conditions are. These fish are even said to swim up waterfalls; they cannot be distracted or deterred by anything. The koi is also a popular symbol for the family, especially in Japan - black koi for father, flame red koi for mother, blue and white for boy, and pink and red for girl. In honor of Japan's Children's Day (or kodomo no hi), our campers made their own koi wind socks. In Movement, campers learned a variety of karate techniques. Once they mastered given moves, they practiced in groups and took turns performing to their fellow campers. Tomorrow will bring with it a fun change of pace as campers don inflated inner tubes to simulate the life and times of Japanese sumo wrestlers. Stay tuned for pictures, which will no doubt be priceless! Finally, in Performance, campers learned about the traditional art of kabuki theatre. Campers had the opportunity to have their faces painted like a kabuki character. Some campers even had time to learn and perform a variety of kabuki movement techniques.
And now, to introduce our fun and fabulous staff from Division Two! They are, from left to right: Jerard Warren, Bryan Hewitt, Esther Montissol, Emily Ferjuste, and Juliette Laguerre.
Jerard Warren, our Division Two Director, is currently working towards his B.S. in Exercise Science from Minnesota State University. He loves music, and his favorite genres are rap, hip hop, and R&B.
Juliette Laguerre and Emily Ferjuste are the dynamite duo leading Group Three. Juliette is a Psychology major at Suffolk University, where she will be a junior this coming fall. She hopes to pursue an advanced degree in pediatric medicine when she graduates, and she enjoys watching Asian dramas on television. Emily is a rising junior at UMass Amherst, where she is studying kinesiology and premedical sciences. She is a sports fanatic; her favorite sport to watch is men's basketball, and her favorite sport to play is volleyball.
Bryan Hewitt and Esther Montissol are our Group Four Leaders. Bryan received his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Hesser College. He loves working with kids and enjoys reading (especially historical fiction) and working out in his spare time. Esther is currently studying Accounting at Hesser College. She knows how to play the piano and sang in the soprano section of a choir for many years.
We thank the staff of Division Two for their devotion and dedication; we think you rock!
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