Friday, April 8, 2022

Friday April 8, 2022

Dear Parents,

As summer approaches, a number of questions are arising about COVID-19 and how it will affect Camp 2022. If we have learned anything over the last two years, it is how quickly situations change, how important it is to have a number of scenarios planned out, and the need to react quickly and pivot as necessary. As such, we want to share with you today an overview of where we currently stand and to advise you that, for each of the following points, we will share additional information as we get closer to the summer.

1. COVID-19 protocols

We have a responsibility to protect everyone in our care while also delivering an impactful and irreplaceable Camp experience. With that in mind, we will follow best practices recommended by local Public Health and our Health and Safety Committee and COVID-19 Taskforce. These protocols will be finalized and refined as we get closer to the summer, when we have a better estimate of the level of community transmission we can anticipate, as well as changing Public Health guidelines.

2. Testing before Camp

There will be testing required before coming to Camp. We know that the testing undertaken last summer proved successful as part of our COVID-19 safety plan and played an important role in keeping COVID-19 out of Camp.

3. Vaccine mandates

COVID-19 vaccination is required for all staff working at Camp. We strongly recommend that all campers get vaccinated as well. This will protect the campers and their bunkmates.

At this time, based on an assessment by our Medical Committee of the current Omicron trends (severity of infection, hospitalization rates) and the efficacy of vaccines against COVID-19 transmission with the current Omicron strains (BA.1 and BA.2), we are not mandating vaccines for campers. However, this assessment may change if a new variant emerges with different characteristics or different response to the available vaccines. In that case, it is possible that we will require campers to be vaccinated. All parents who choose not to vaccinate their children should be aware of this possibility. We will be transparent and open in our communication, but we are aware that with COVID-19, situations can change very quickly and we need to be prepared to react to those changes.

4. Isolation at Camp

At this time we still do not have directives from Local Public Health but based on current regulations we know that if a camper is exposed to a COVID-19 case, or contracts COVID-19, the isolation duration changes depending on their vaccine status. See HERE for the most up-to date Ontario Ministry of Health Guidance (specifically the charts of pages 15 and19). Unvaccinated campers who are exposed to COVID-19 have a longer isolation period, and therefore will likely have to isolate at home before returning to Camp.

It is likely that campers who test positive for Covid-19 in Camp will have to isolate out of Camp. The length of isolation will depend on the government regulations at the time, which currently factor vaccination status into that determination.

5. Travel from outside of Canada

For campers arriving from outside Canada, they will need to follow the federal arrival requirements of masking and/or PCR testing after arrival, which differ for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. They will also need to make sure they have a contact and an isolation location should they require isolation outside of Camp.

6. Visiting Day

Our best chance of keeping COVID-19 out of Camp is by limiting contact with large groups of people. Therefore, Visiting Day will not be taking place in person

We were grateful to run a successful Camp last year and with your help, we are confident that we will be able to do so again in Summer 2022. We have a sold-out Camp for July, limited spots for August and can’t wait to provide your child/ren with another fantastic Camp Moshava experience!!!

Stay tuned for REALLY exciting staff and programming announcements with all NEW details on the last two weeks of Camp. Also look out for information on a meet and greet for new Camp families in Montreal and Toronto!!!

Shabbat Shalom,

Vicky Shizgal

Director

Aaron Katchen

Associate Director

OUR DECISION:

. The Vaad has unanimously voted to hire Rabbi Aaron Katchen for the role of Associate Director of Camp Moshava Ennismore.

· Aaron is a thoughtful, mission-driven educator who teaches Jewish and leadership values in contexts that make it all the more impactful for not being in a classroom. He relates well to kids, teens and adults.

· What sets Aaron apart is his vision of how to incorporate education and chinuch into the aspirations for the growth of the Camp, and to help us reach our goal of increasing camper enrollment from 280 to 350 by 2025 He takes no camper or staffer for granted; every summer, every peulah, is an opportunity to inspire them in the key values of Torah v’Avodah. He believes in constant improvement through honest evaluation and transparency

ABOUT AARON:

· A Calgary native, Aaron grew up as a camper and eventually senior staffer at Camp Massad in Winnipeg. He studied at York University and received his Yoreh Yoreh semicha in Jerusalem.

· He currently leads Congregation Beit Tzion (AKA Mizrachi Bayit) in Toronto, where he, his wife Shira, and three children live.

· Aaron is a longtime Moshava leader and Rosh Anaf from Camp Moshava Indian Orchard (IO), with 16 years experience leading twenty staff in informal education through their outdoor 7-location Ropes Challenge Course, which he designed, implemented and led.

· Aaron has deep experience in organizational management, which has included overseeing large and diverse teams, complex budgets, physical plant management, development, and board relationships.

· Aaron currently oversees all of Koren Publishers’ Canadian operations, as well as very successfully managing sales and institutional relationships in the Midwest and Western US.

· Aaron also has a dozen years of experience with university students, due to his roles as Assistant Director at Brown University, JLIC Rabbi at Oxford University and successive roles within Hillel, including Campus Director at U of T. Through Hillel he also played a leadership role in Ask Big Questions, a Slingshot recognized start-up initiative of Hillel International that builds community through better understanding of major topics.

· Aaron was selected to participate in Hillel International’s ACCELERATE executive training program, which provided the skills, connections, and mentorship to serve as the senior executive of a Jewish not-for-profit organization.

OUR PROCESS:

· Search Committee: Arielle Wasserman, Aviva Zieleniec, Dan Diamond, Rena Nickerson and Vicky Shizgal, sponsored by the Camp Chairman, Jonny Hass. The Committee was built to include strong representation of varied Camp, Vaad and professional experience.

· After speaking with experts inside & outside Camp, the Committee launched the search, advertised it on multiple sites, and received over a dozen high quality candidates.

· After a thorough interview process, rigorous rubric-based assessment and multiple formal and informal reference checks, the Committee unanimously recommended Rabbi Aaron Katchen for the role of Associate Director.

· The Vaad unanimously voted in approval

Thank you again for your continued support of Camp Moshava.

Camp Moshava begins on July 5, 2022

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