Day Camp Filled with Hikes, Field Trips, Swimming and Sleepovers

There were no dull moments for the roughly 300 children who attended the Pocantico Hills Day Camp this summer. They improved their swimming skills, hiked on the Rockefeller trails, met the Harlem Wizards basketball team, learned new outdoor games, went on field trips and more.

Campers were just as busy during the sixth and final week of the camp as they were during the first one. Many were practicing for the variety show on the last day of camp, August 10. Some of the youngest campers were perfecting their performance of “You’re Welcome” from “Moana.” Other children were planning gymnastics and dancing routines.

In the kitchen, campers baked crust-less quiches and played Uno or Old Maid as they waited for them to cook. Outside, campers took advantage of one of the most popular attractions on campus – an inflatable water slide.

“We have had an absolutely wonderful summer,” said camp Assistant Director Kerry Papa, who teaches third grade at Pocantico. “The schedule has been a very full one for the kids, which is great because it keeps them engaged in the activities.”

At the pool, the most advanced swimmers took to the diving boards, with most of them favoring cannonball jumps.

Children made great strides in swimming, said Alexis Chocianowski, assistant director of the camp’s pool program. Many went from novices who wore red bands on their wrists to green ones, the highest level. They learned four competitive strokes: freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke.

This was the first year the school district partnered with Rivertown Aquatics to manage the pool. The company has been strengthening the instructional swim program and providing appropriate staffing levels and site supervision.

A number of the kids are interested in taking lessons during the school year, said Jeff McClung, director of the pool program and president of Rivertown Aquatics. An important component of the swim program was learning safety in the water.

“It’s not only about teaching them about competition, it’s a life lesson,” he said.

Some of the other camp highlights were field trips to the Greenburgh Nature Center, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk and the Westchester Sandbox Theatre in Mamaroneck. In early August, teens went on a two-night adventure trip to Club Getaway in Kent, Connecticut, where their activities included ziplining, rock-climbing, hiking and completing a waterfront obstacle course.

Back at Pocantico, the weeklong Color Wars game was a success, Ms. Papa said. There were four color teams, each with children from multiple grades. They competed all week in various activities and made banners and chants for their teams. “It really got team spirit up,” she said.

Another fun activity was a scavenger hunt, Ms. Papa said. Counselors created one for fifth- and sixth-graders that sent the children all over campus looking for clues and taking photos.

The fourth-graders had a sleep “under” on campus. They went on a wilderness hike, swam in the pool and ate pizza. After dinner, they played games and made s’mores around a campfire. Because it was a sleep “under,” the kids were home by 10 p.m. to get a full night’s rest.

Kelly Hunt of Yonkers, who is entering seventh grade this fall, said this was her first year at the summer camp. She enjoyed the new experiences, such as making quiche for the first time, but her favorite part of camp was swimming. “It’s just fun,” she said.

Michael Lebenson, also a rising seventh-grader, said he liked the culinary class. His favorite dish that he made was macaroni and cheese. While he waited for the quiche to bake, he worked on a friendship bracelet he was making. Michael said he liked the athletics at the camp the most.

“I like Whiffle Ball and soccer,” he said. “I play on a soccer team.