Summer Camp I & II (June 27, 2005 – July 1, 2005): Summer Camp I was a three day camp that lasted from June 27 through June 29. It was for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students. Summer Camp II was a week long camp that lasted from June 27 through July 1st, in which 6th, 7th, and 8th graders participated.

Students arrived by 7 am every morning, looking forward to the activities planned for the day. After enjoying a hearty breakfast in the tent that was pitched outside, students attended Morning Prayer and assembly before dispersing for their classes.

The camp theme chosen for the kindergarten and 1st graders was stars, constellations, and the moon. Teachers discussed scientific facts about stars and the moon as well as narrated numerous legends behind their existence. The second graders focused primarily on nature and learned about natural marvels such as plants and rainbows.

The sixth graders’ topic was the “Ganga River.” In addition to learning facts about the natural features of this sacred river, students learned the Ganga Stotram, a hymn in praise of the goddess Ganga. The theme for the seventh graders was “Devi”, or God as Mother of the Universe. The students learned the Devi Suktam and several other bhajans in praise of Devi. The sixth, seventh, and eighth graders had various topics. The eighth graders learned the significance of the Panchopachara Puja and how to perform it. Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita was also studied as well as biographies of great people such as Mahatma Gandhi.

In the midst of all of the periods of serious studying, students enthusiastically enjoyed meals and snacks along with their afternoon playtime. Past eating records were beaten by new students. Competitive games of Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, tennis, jump rope, and badminton were played. The younger students also enjoyed a nap in the afternoons.

On wednesday the entire camp went to a park in the neighboring town of Kinnelon for a full day of fun and learning. The students enjoyed studying under the shades of trees, playing various games and eating a delicious lunch prepared by teachers and helpers. The occasional rain showers did not affect the games, rather, it served to cool the hot summer day.

In the evening, summer camp’s first session of presentations began. The kindergarten, first, and second graders presented to the teachers, friends and family all that they had learned during their three days at Vidyapith. They presented cute songs about the stars, named constellations, and sang bhajans and dhuns.

Like wednesday’s presentations, Friday’s were also fun and informative. The sixth, seventh, and eighth graders presented what they had learned from their week at camp. Presentations ranged from the recitation of the Shiva Mahimna to skits on the topics of the three gunas - satva, rajas, and tamas. As usual, the evening was a great success. Summer camp seemed to have flown by as it always does!

For this camp, teachers, Counselors, and Helpers in the classrooms were: Kindergarten – Sudha Aunty, Shraddha Desai, Anusha Raju; 1st grade – Mihir Uncle, Anish Parameshwaran, Resha Parikh; 2nd grade – Latha Aunty, Sonali Tatapudy, and Nitai Dalal; 6th, 7th and 8th grades –Lina Sivadasan, Mansi Mehta, Smit Shah, Nirmal Shah, Nisha Parikh, Dhruvin Dave, Ayushi Desai, Rushil Desai, Uncle, Vivek Kocharalakota, Jasmine Gadhavi, Nupur Patel, Anand Krishnamurthy. (Report written by Sneha Shah)

Summer Camp III (July 4 -8, 2005): Summer camp III 2005 was filled with endless joy, excitement, and of course, inner development. It consisted of third, fourth, fifth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders. Camp started on July 4, 2005, the day of independence for the United States as well as the day Swami Vivekananda gave up his body. These events helped to give camp III an extra drive of energy for five days. In camp III students arrived at 7:00 a.m. for morning prayer, followed by a hearty and healthy breakfast, the most important meal of the day. The yummy breakfast got the children up and running for the following five classes.

The third, fourth and fifth graders focused mainly on divinities in Hinduism. The third graders were given Sri Krishna, fourth graders were given Sri Rama, and fifth graders, Lord Shiva. During the course of each day the students learned stories and bhajans, and did projects based on their particular deity.

The classes of the older students were a lot more varied. The ninth graders learned the meaning of chosen Subhashitani, the Rudrastakam, the biography of Karna, the reports of Swami Vivenkanda’s visit to the U.S, and two bhajans, “Shankaram Abhayakaram”, and “Bhobero aye Pagol khanaay”, a favorite song of Sri Ramakrishna. The tenth and eleventh graders had combined classes where they learned about Swamiji’s experiences in the U.S, the Panchopchara Puja, prominent women in the Mahabharata, Gita Chapter 14, and the Sarada Devi Stotram. The twelfth graders learned the Sri Ramakrishna Jayashtakam, and a bhajan “Murta Maheshwara.” They also discussed letters of Swami Vivekananda, debated quotes on various topics, discussed Hinduism in the USA, and learned about Practical Vedanta.

The first morning flew by, and before you knew it, it was lunchtime. The food throughout the week was delicious and the children dove right in, eating to their tummies’ content. After lunch came playtime! The kids chose from numerous activities ranging from tag and ultimate frisbee to a jump rope contest to see who could jump the most.

As in all summer camps, the third day of camp (wednesday) was spent in the Kinnelon Park. There the kids had their five classes on the sprawling grounds of the beautiful park, along with playtime, lunch, and snacks. During playtime the rain clouds came rolling in, but that didn’t discourage the spirit of the students. Regardless of the drizzle, everyone had a wonderful time at the park. After returning to the Vidyapith in the afternoon, evening prayer began, where the mood stayed serene and peaceful. Every day, after the prayer everyone enjoyed the delicious dinner with varities of dishes. On the last day of the camp, pizza, a favorite of all the kids, was served. Monday through Thursday, after dinner, there was an hour of storytime during which inspiring stories were told to the students, teachers and parents.

The days flew by and before we knew it, it was Friday. In the morning, at 7:00 a.m., everyone was able to participate in the “Dashopachar Puja,” a special worship performed to celebrate Guru Purnima. After worshipping various divinities, a special worship was offered to Sri Ramakrishna and all the great teachers of the world. At the end, all campers, teachers, and helpers offered flowers as a part of worship. After the celebration, all had prasad at breakfast. During friday’s playtime, all the older kids stayed inside to perfect their skits and organize their much anticipated evening presentations. It began to rain heavily outside, but everyone kept their spirits high and used the time well for the practices. The presentations went smoothly, with all of the students presenting what they learned throughout the week. It was evident that the students had gained a great deal from the camp. Not only did they make new friends and enjoy classes and playtime, but they also learned many moral and spiritual values that would help them in building their character. Camp would not have been able to flow smoothly without the help of teachers, alumni, and volunteers who selflessly and enthusiastically gave their precious time and energy to make it a huge success. Vidyapith Camp 2005 was a lot of fun and we are definitely looking foreword for a great time at camp next year!

The teachers, counselors, and helpers in this camp were as follows: Teachers: Neirah Bhargava, Jyotiben Rajani, Lalitha Krishnan, Rajan Krishnamurthy, Pradeep Doraiswami, K. Prasad and Mahendra Jani; Senior Counselors and Teachers: Neeraj Patel, Lina Sivadasan and Vivek Kocharlakota (all alumni); Helpers: Bindi Parikh, Dipa Gandhi, Sanjay Vemparala, Poonam Patel, Neehar Raval, Vidhi Kacharia, Premal Kamdar, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Priya Parikh, Bhavani Prajapati and Sneha Shah.

These Summer Camps would not have been possible without the constant help of several people who worked for days and weeks to plan them, taking care of the registration and paper work, buying grocery and paper goods, setting up tent, taking care of the kitchen, cleaning, winding up at the end of the day, and many, many such important chores. We will always remember with gratitude their valuable contribution. (Report written by Nupur Patel)