Creating and building community is a central focus of the Ramah experience. This week the Yom Meyuhad (thematic programming on Wednesdays) for Solelim conveyed the value of community in a way that speaks to entering 7th graders! Yom Clash of Clans began on Tuesday night with a ceremony and counselors Yoni Hirsch and Alana Spellman, dressed in robes and masks, were the leaders of the clans. They showed the aidah a powerpoint that detailed the eight symbols and biographies for the clans. Then campers chose their clans and together determined the clan government, state and team colors.
On Wednesday morning, each clan wore their colors and rotated through activities to gain points for their clan. The eight clans were paired to make a total of four clans, and they all went together to the four stations: shield making and painting, tower-building with tape and pasta, an American Gladiator-like game using dodge balls, benches, and other fortifiers, and finger-fencing. The clans received points for their performance in each category, and before lunch, the points were tallied and the team with the most “won” while the team with the least points had to join that clan.
The afternoon continued with three clans competing again for the title of leading clan. They played a game similar to “Settlers of Catan” and “Risk,” and each clan was given certain resources based on their clan’s original tenets: wood, iron, water, and brick. The game consisted of envisioning how to use those resources on buildings that they were given; they could either spend or trade the resources to other clans, or choose to attack another clan using their resource. They rolled dice to decide who would win and lose certain resources, and chance cards were involved in either taking away or giving new resources to each clan. After seven rounds, the winning clans cheered and hugged. There were two winners and the King and Queen of the losing clan had to join the winning teams.
Full of opportunities to be with members of their aidah outside of their cabins, Solelim enjoyed a day full of strategy and decision-making. They began to understand what it means to create and build a community (or clan) and how to work as a team (or cabin or aidah). The highlight for so many members of Solelim: the American Gladiator game. They will carry the memory of this special day with them for summers to come!
