Fall 2006
A few words from Greg & Laura...
Hi Everyone!
Pierce Camp Birchmont
37 Mineola Avenue
Roslyn, NY 11576
516-621-5035
Announcing the newest in “On Line” surveys!
For the past several years
we have been sending home an old
fashioned paper camper/parent survey to gather your input from the
previous summer in an effort to
make Birchmont the best that it
can be!
will automatically compile your
input so we know exactly what you
like, want more of and your ideas
for new stuff at camp!
is click on the graphic and fill in the
password, which is; candlelight (all
one word) then point and click to
select your answers!
It’s easy, all you have to do
This year we have
taken the next step in an attempt to get a larger return of
your likes, dislikes and ideas!
Please take a moment to visit
our website at:
www.CampBirchmont.com
and select the graphic at the
benter/bottom of our homepage labeled 2006 Summer
Survey.
It’s the latest in technology in online surveys that
Each camper in the family
should take a turn filling in
one of the surveys and please
encourage one of your folks to
take the time to fill in the Parent Section of the survey; we
want to know what they’re
thinking too!
Please don’t share this
password with anyone who
didn’t attend Birchmont as we
take your input very seriously
as we move into the planning
stages for summer 2007!
Fall is our time to plan for next summer, tell us how we’re doing...
Tell us what you are
thinking, please!
PIERCE CAMP BIRCHMONT
There are no strangers
within, only friends
waiting to be met...
The Birch Peelings
www.CampBirchmont.com
We just returned from a
NH Camping Conference
where we discussed lots of
camp stuff with different
directors. It’s always good
for us to share experiences
in this unique field, and we
come away with a renewed
sense of pride and wonder
of the camp life created by
all of us at Birchmont.
Greg and I got back to
camp after meetings, and it
was great to just walk
around. The grass was
green and just mowed by
Henry, the flag pole looked
naked without its billowing
fabric waving in the fresh
fall breeze. Rod and Sandy
have been working on
cabin repairs, so your
bunks will look spiffy and
ready to be worthy homes
for summer. The waterfront
looked lonely without all of
you, but the lake was gorgeous with the autumn sun
shimmering all over with
not a sound to be heard
except for loons and lapping waves. We lost the
Totem pole down there. Its
wings must’ve caught some
ferocious wind in a storm
and it toppled into the
woods, after so many summers standing sentinel over
our beloved sandy beach.
Rod and Bob will have to
hoist it back up, and give it
the support we give to old
friends who we hope will
never leave us.
Bob Doe (Trapper Bob)
was going off to visit the
Beading Lady who has
developed a woodchuck
problem on her property.
Greg and Bob checked on
the quail in the new
“Johnny Hut” we built for
them last summer. The
eggs we hatched at camp
have grown into beautiful
plump little birds (pictures
inside) and are housed ¼
way up the Cliff Trail. We
will release them into the
wild in a few weeks as they
are still learning to fly.
Our dog, Buck found them
very interesting; he loves
being at Birchmont as
much as we do. He especially likes running through
boys camp and down the
waterfront trail which looks
so different with the leaves
falling and turning colors.
Shorty likes to hang around
the director’s cottage, and
still forages for food by the
picnic tables by the Barbeque area. Poor Shorty comes up with nothing
much after the season. We
have built a beautiful rock
wall down by basketball
where the area was getting
a little too “rooty” (if that
is a word, maybe one of
those camp words). We
are also awaiting approval
for building a brand new
barn down near the Meadowlands. Each and every
building and facility we
look to improve, counselors we look to hire, and
programs we seek to tweak
always makes us wonder
“how do we make next
summer better than the
last?” Well, just know that
we never stop trying, and
neither should you. Try to
come back and join us
again, because really it’s all
about YOU. Give your
best effort in school and
home, and in everything
you do, and we hope to
have the rest of the best of
you for SUMMER 07 at
Birchmont! We’re all
counting the days...
All the Best
Laura and Greg
A view of the fall foliage
from the “The Cliff.”
Special points of interest:
• Birchmonters Birthdays!
• Timely info about iPods…
• New kids in the bunk!
• Important dates…
• WhatsUp!
• The newest in online surveys...
Birchmonter Birthdays
Brooke Sterneck
9/01
Amanda Schnell
10/30
Christopher Pierce
9/02
Jake Gutman
11/02
Luke Gilbert
9/03
Tara Stone
11/03
Grant Newburger
9/03
Jamie Sanford
11/04
Jared Feldman
9/04
Gabe Freilich
11/09
Danielle Rothenberg
9/05
Daniel Kadden
11/10
Jenny Kantor
9/07
Jason Brill
11/10
Susan Leahy
9/07
Haley Finkelstein
11/11
Kristina DeMatteis12/04
Parker Spector-Salwen
11/11
Patrick Boyle
12/05
Jordan Aronowitz
11/13
Jesse Calo
12/06
Tyler Tetreault
11/15
Virgil Chao
12/07
Erik Pedinoff
11/15
Andrew Berman
12/08
Alexandra Peseri
11/17
Samantha Levitt
12/10
Jeffrey Sims
11/17
Lucy Nachmanoff 12/10
Alexandra Ofer
11/17
Alana Santodonato12/11
Brittany Flax
11/18
Allison Guarino
12/12
Danielle King
11/19
Beth Mottel
12/15
Natalie Birnbaum
11/20
Kyra McAndrews 12/16
Max Willen
11/20
Jacob Erlich
12/16
Ross Greenfield
11/22
Ashley Randall
12/16
Emily Ritter
11/25
Natalie Henderson12/17
Malcolm Nachmanoff
11/25
Daniel Westrich
12/17
Charles Rubenfeld
11/30
Kayla Conway
12/20
Matthew Matera
11/30
William Bralower 12/22
Gabriella Pines
12/01
Devon Gordan
12/23
Rebecca Cohen
12/01
Dylan Gordan
12/23
David Cohen
12/01
Grace Krasnerman 12/23
Molly Feinstein
12/02
Sam Riggs
12/23
Matthew Schwartz
12/02
Spencer Wolfe
12/23
Alex Selden
12/04
Caroline Kugler 12/24
Ariana Zetlin
12/04
Alex Japko
Alayna Treene
Brandon Kassimir
Shelby Pinkerton
Joey Santodonato
Ace Orenstein
Nick Richter
9/08
9/08
9/09
9/09
9/09
9/10
9/11
Nicole Vichroski
9/11
Jamie Klebanow
9/11
Harris Mintz
Ryan Griffon
9/12
9/13
Sam Liebmann
9/14
Sarah Munger
9/14
Madison Sanders
Chelsea Dankner
Julian Dankner
Aaron Bronfman
Reuben Jalbert
Rachel Haber
9/16
9/16
9/16
9/16
9/18
9/18
Patrick Gorrell
9/20
Eric Rubin
9/21
Imogen Gilbert
9/23
Adam Rubin
Page 2
9/24
Andrew Bortnick
9/27
Emma Winick
9/27
Sarah Marks
9/29
Jeremy Taube
9/29
Matthew Mirkine
9/30
Jacob Sporn
10/01
Robert Aybinder
10/05
Robin Lippman
10/06
Kevin Walker
10/07
Alex Weber
10/08
Alex Katz
10/08
Jason Bleiweiss
10/11
Michael Bass
10/11
Talia Azadian
10/13
Jamie Progebin
10/14
Jeremy Gittelman
10/15
Jennifer Paszamant
10/16
Hayley Fuchs
10/17
Erin Fahey
10/17
Mollie Pester
10/18
Sara Guttentag
10/18
Matthew Krasnerman
10/20
Mariel Pica
10/21
Rachel Dean
12/26
Emma Belfer
10/21
Daniel Kollef
12/30
Daniel Korn
10/22
Lauren Berman
12/30
Cooper Spector -Salwen
10/24
Sophie Frances
12/30
Elizabeth Rowan
10/25
Liza Newman
12/31
Rebecca Schneider
10/28
Carly Schneider
10/28
Rachel Dimenstein
10/29
Sam Green
10/30
The Birch Peelings
Be sure to send us your accomplishments and news to
share in the winter edition of
the Birch Peelings at:
[email protected]
Timely information on iPods at camp...
We thank everyone for their compliance with Birchmont’s policy which
does not allow campers to bring electronics capable of playing video or
displaying digital photos to camp.
We have found that most resident
camps have a similar philosophy and
policy. The iPod can be a little
problematic in that we want
campers to have access to music
in their bunks, but do not allow
iPods with video capability…
even if all video content is supposedly deleted.
If you purchase any type of Apple
iPod it will have the capacity to play
videos and store video content like
movies, clips, and TV shows. In
keeping with our policy, it will not be
allowed at camp. An iPod Nano or
Shuffle, however, is not video capable and would be allowed at
camp. Additionally, you should
be aware that any regular iPod
sold by Apple before 10/12/2005
is also okay for camp, as it cannot
play video. Again, we appreciate
your understanding and support of
our policies in this fairly new
digital/electronic age. Please call
us if you have specific questions
or concerns
If you are planning to purchase a
NEW iPod for the holiday season,
and want it to be “camp compatible,” we recommend you purchase
an iPod Nano. Info is available at:
(http://www.apple.com/iPodnano/).
We would like to give our families a suggestion regarding iPods
now, before you potentially purchase one for your child, our
We feel it is important that kids spend time interacting with each other ...
camper.
Looking
back at
2006!
“New Kids in The Bunk”
Michael Bass
Adam Guttentag
Zack Sarf
Jennifer Berman
We would like to welcome the
Will Hennessy
Caroline Schleimer
Jack Briamonte
following new campers to the
Alex Kaplan
Parker Spector-Salwen
Birchmont Experience! We
Jack Kindler
Castine Szwajkowski
Matthew Davis
can’t wait to show you around,
Daniel Korn
Rachel Waldman
Rachel Dean
and have you join the fun; see
Jacqueline Labbe
Jamie Weber
Adam Lyman
Daniel Westrich
Jensen Polizzotto
Michael Yerardi
Courtney Conway
you this summer!
Jamie Greenfield
Ross Greenfield
Important Birchmont Dates
Camper Winter Reunion
Sat., Jan. 27th
55th Alumni Reunion
Sat., April 21
st
1st Session Ends
Fri., July 20th
Parents Visiting Day
Sat., July 21st
New Camper Get Together
2nd Session Begins
Spring 2007, TBD
Sun., July 22nd
Camp Birchmont Begins
Camp Birchmont Ends
Tues., June 26
FALL 2006
th
Sat., Aug. 18th
Hamming it up in the new dugout!
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WHATSUP with you this FALL?
Kerry and Katie Shallcross recently
won the Morris County Tennis
Championship, the dynamic doubles duo represented Villa Walsh
Academy. After surviving a third
set tie breaker in the quarter finals
they won the semi’s over Monteville
6-1, 6-1, and coasted to victory
over Mountain Lakes in the finals.
The champs say all that Birchmont
tennis sure helped!!
Congrats to Meredith Abel who is
now playing on her Heritage Middle
School Team in Livingston. She
credits Birchmont Tennis with helping to strengthen her level of play
this fall.
Jeremy Kochman has entered two
USTA Eastern Boys 12 tournaments and made the semi-finals of
both winning several rounds in
each tourney along the way.
Birchmont tennis has given him the
confidence to sign up for his first
USTA tournaments, and he’s glad
he did.
Jacob Lustbader made the Marlans
baseball team in Great Neck. Winning their first game against the
Angels, Jacob had some solid play,
and thanks his friends and counselors at camp for the practice and
baseball sports tips.
Lovely Amanda Schnell is celebrating her 10th Birthday on October 30,
so send some cards. Her Manhattan Soccer League travel team
came in 1st place at the Poughkeepsie Soccer Club Columbus
Day Tournament. Way to go
Amanda; show us your big foot this
summer!
Gavin Ryan and Jake Rosenfeld
began playing together in a band
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directly after camp. They recorded
an original song with Jake on
drums, Gavin as the bassist/
vocalist, and there was a little
ground-swell. The song was recorded, the band is called Stereocrowd; listen for new developments. This means a new breakout song for the Variety Show. Hey,
wassup with the Lippman,Walker,
Chao Band?
Chelsea and Julian Dankner had
their B’nai Mitzvah on October 22nd.
Word is they were awesome! Congratulations!
Rebecca Cook has been really
working hard at rehab on her knee.
She is doing very well at school
and made straight A's in all her
classes. And little sister Audrey
celebrated her 4th birthday by cutting her bangs almost completely
off, a interesting look! Very punk
rock and just in time for Halloween...
Carly, Rebecca and Ian Schneider
have a new addition to the family –
but can it swim?? “Koby” – an adorable cavalier/poodle mix joins the
fun in the Schneider house.
Bryony Striffler made her high
school soccer team as an 8th
grader. Go Braves!!!
Emma Belfer earned a lead role in
the Roslyn Theatre Company’s
High School musical as Sharpay!
Break a leg Emma!
NEWS FROM OUR STAFF!
Our Chef Helen, is readying a Halloween event for her sorority house
girls at UNH. She says her granddaughter Libby is 15 months old,
WHATSUP continued...
walking and talking up a storm.
Helen is anticipating another Super
Bowl championship by her favorite
New England Patriots! Don’t even
try to argue with her about it!
Don and Maggie Doane (Kitchen)
are going to China for a couple of
weeks in February to see their son
Kris who is teaching English in a
city called Kunshan.
Tori Pierce has made the all female
a capella group as an NYU freshman. If you’re in NYC, listen for the
“Cleftomaniacs” in subways, parks,
museum spaces and concert halls.
Tori’s the one with the low “Pierce
voice.”
Lee Pedinoff or “DJ Lee” (from the
last and most memorable social of
the summer) has been doing plenty
of free-lance DJing, as he makes
applications to college. He has
been doing a lot of cross-country
running, and put together an end of
summer slide show which we hope
to get out to you soon.
GL Katie Quinn is pursuing her
Master’s Degree in Literacy Studies
& Reading Specialist while teaching at the Pierce Country Day
School.
Tennis counselor Tom Scott has
been back in the UK working for
the British Tennis Coaches Association, coaching a wide variety of
ages. He says this is one of the
top clubs in Britain and is a lovely
place set back in the hills…”not
quite as spectacular as the
Birchmont cliff.” Camp was an
amazing experience for him and he
thanks everyone for being so great.
Super waterfront counselor Matt
T H E B I R C H P EE L I N G S
Hortop has traded his red lifeguard
shorts for a business suit, working
as a real estate agent. He says
he’d rather talk about camp than
mortgages, but he’s doing well. He
reports he’s still with the love of his
life, Abby, who is at University in
Cornwall. Cheers to all the Supers
06.
Miss Birchmont finalist and GL,
Duncan Marshall, writes to tell us
he is in his third round call-back
interviewing for a job, but reports
the process is very funny. They
asked him to sing a song, and also
to tell a joke; he feels his camp
training has come in very handy.
They have narrowed down their
search to the final four, which includes Duncan…fingers crossed
everyone.
Group Leader Will Pierce says
hello to all his boys from sunny LA
where he is working in commercial
real estate after graduating Dartmouth College in June. He is looking forward to his first California
winter – but will miss his New
Hampshire summers. BUT he will
be up to visit!
Several counselors went touring
after camp. We’ve heard from
Aaron Donnelly (mountain biking)
Jillian Baker (Group Leader) Lizzie
Webster (Soccer), Michal Kubanek
(kitchen) - all saw much of the fantastic world in which we live, and
have reported their adventures.
Lorna Smith (Tennis) is back in
Edinburgh doing physical therapy,
and will travel to Ghana in Feb. to
work in a hospital there. She’s
says she’s never done anything
that adventurous, but tales from
other staffers have inspired her.
She will be getting together with
Dan, and Kirsty at Christmas be-
FALL 2006
fore she has to leave. Sends her
love to all.
GL Derrick Shallcross is very busy
as an R.A. at Villanova. He also
just placed 9th in the 20-30 year old
division of the Sprint Triathlon last
month in Pennsylvania.
Brett Paice is currently teaching a
course of his own design entitled
“books to film” at Notre Dame and
continues pursuing his PhD there.
GL Ryan Crowley recently moved
to a new apartment in Springfield
Mass and is working towards her
Masters in Early Childhood Education at Springfield College. Can’t
wait for another summer on upper
camp.
Nurse Laura Cook tells us everyone is well at the Cook House in
Texas. Dad Roy is coaching Audrey’s 5 year old soccer team, cuter
than cute. J.C. Katie is working
hard at school and on the soccer
field. She did get an '02 Honda
Civic, so she's driving here and
there. It’s a standard so she had to
learn the clutch (If you’re in Texas,
watch out!).
summer.
Baseball Head John Striffler sends
his best to everyone. He reports
that his son Luke (waterfront & teen
angel in “Grease”) passed his road
test and is now a licensed driver,
congrats!
Patrick Schindzielorz (Golf) has
started life as a university student
in Germany where he is learning
English, Spanish, and Chinese in
the same semester. He credits
Birchmont for his command of English and slang, which he says is
very hard to learn in Chinese.
Wish him luck in whatever language you wish.
GL Rachel Laser is studying
abroad this year, having left her
hometown in Utah to study in Scotland. She has spent time with Katy
James, Elaine Swan, Lorna Smith
and Duncan - which goes to show
you, it’s a small world, and
Birchmont can make you feel at
home anywhere you roam.
Sarah Glassman (Horseback) is
competing with her college’s
equestrian team again and has
been made co-captain of her college’s fencing club!
Nurse Julie Love continues teaching psych nursing to terrified nursing students, and Jazz and Wolf
are doing well, as are Gizmo and
Gadget (the extra furry rabbits).
Nurse Dee Dyer wants all the
campers to know, but especially
Madison Sanders and Jeremy Kaplan, that her little dog Jake is doing
just great, and out of all his casts.
Jake was the white, Maltese puppy
who will be returning to camp this
Only the sound of fall leaves rustling on
the waterfront road...
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