Of course lunchtime was filled with fun and occasionally was a competition time. Some of the younger students participated. However, the senior students and the counselors were able to eat the most. This year’s record was eleven tacos set by Payel Patel and Jayinee Adhvaryu.

On Friday evening, parents and friends were invited to watch the students present what they had learned during the week. The younger students recited passages of Swami Vivekananda, performed short Hindi Group one consisted of the third graders whose curriculum included subhashitani, bhajans, and stories from the childhood of Swami Vivekananda. The fourth and fifth graders combined to form group two and learned Chapter 12 from the Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, Ram Nam Sankirtan, and few bhajans. The eldest group of high school students discussed Swamiji’s lectures, the biographies of a few conversations, and sang Subhashitani, all of which they memorized during the camp. Humorous skits, each with their own moral and a lesson, concluded each groups’ presentations. All in all, it was a delightful evening and a great week. The camp was stimulating and a wonderful experience. Both camps could not have been possible without the dedicated helpers, volunteers, and teachers.

The youngest groups, kindergartners and first graders had a blast during their abbreviated camp of three days. This young group focused on the various aspects of Hanuman. All their activities, arts and crafts classes, music, stories and slokas, all related to Hanuman. This group was highly entertaining to the rest of the campers and staff with their cute and wild antics. On their last day of camp, they presented a skit and the slokas and projects that they had made.

The other groups were the first groups ever to venture into the linguistic field during summer camp. In addition to the basic Sanskrit classes, students in the upper groups learned some basic Hindi phrases. Some groups focused in on simple phrases like, “aap kaise hai?” and had fun conversing with each other. The oldest group, the ninth graders actually went as far as presenting a skit completely in Hindi on the last day. This group also began to learn the Panchopchara Puja and various aspects of Sri Ramakrishna’s life.

Summer camp 2001 was truly a great experience. All the campers were hard working, well behaved, and fun to be around. Last year there were no summer camps, and the year before there were only shortened camps. This year, the Vidyapith got back into the groove of hosting great summer camps. This year’s staff was able to dedicate a great deal of time and energy into making the camps a success. All in all, the first summer camp of 2001 was a great success.