Last weekend was a special one for 7th and 8th graders from Central Galilee (Jezreel Valley, Nazareth Illit, and Migdal HaEmek).  They attended the main preparatory session prior to traveling to Camp Tamarack-a joint English-language summer camp for Israeli and American Jewish youth that offers a variety of exciting activities.  This time, the youths spent a Shabbat weekend together (accompanied by graduates of the Tamarack program who served as 'counselors').  The weekend was full of activity that encapsulated the real-life experience awaiting the teens at Camp Tamarack, Michigan in about one month, during the summer vacation.

"The Shabbat seminar was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had; the powerful spirit and the encouragement from the staff and the 10 Israeli TSS (junior counselors) was remarkable. We are going to camp excited and prepared."
 
So says Nivi Levy from the Jezreel Valley, one of the 79 campers and junior counselors who attended the annual Shabbat seminar in the Galilee to prepare the Israeli campers for their summer at Camp Tamarack. A dynamic staff of creative and inspiring leaders, most of them from the Partnership 2000 Central Galilee Region and graduates of Federation and Partnership 2000 programs for teens, led the seminar with enthusiasm, excitement, and tireless spirit. An intensive weekend of  sessions on Jewish identity and Jewish camp life, along with lots of singing and games, prepared the campers for  what will be - according the Simona Librov from Nazareth Ilit, a camper in 2007 who is returning to camp this year as a TSS - "the summer of their lives."
 
"We learnt so much this weekend, the camp songs and cheers and just general stuff about the camp. We know that we need to go to Michigan with an open mind. It's a comfort to know that throughout the summer there will be a great team leading and supporting us."
Alexandra Seledts, Nazareth Illit
 
 
"I can't wait for the summer to begin. It is going to be wonderful. I am going to meet so many new people and make new friends."
According to Irena Skolnik from Migdal Haemek, who shares the sentiments of this year's camper contingent, the summer cannot come soon enough. Seventy-nine campers left the seminar on the buses singing the camp cheers and counting down the days.