Camp Chipinaw

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Camp Chipinaw is a residential children's summer camp located in Swan Lake, New York. Camp Chipinaw was founded in 1926.

[edit] Silver Lake Campus

In 2004, Michael Baer, the current owner and director of Camp Chipinaw, purchased Camp Hillel, an orthodox Jewish residential camp which neighbored Camp Chipinaw. This campus was later renamed "Camp Chipinaw @ Silver Lake" and was specifically set up to allow for only two sessions of 4 weeks, whereas the original Chipinaw campus allowed campers the option of staying either 8 weeks or 4 weeks. Following the establishment of the Silver Lake campus, no new campers would be allowed to enroll for 4 weeks on the main campus. Ironically, in the later years of the Silver Lake campus, some older campers chose to enlist in two 4 week sessions. From the 1940's through the 1970's, Silver Lake was also the home to two other Jewish sleepaway camps -- Camp Ma-Ho-Ge and Camp Ranger, which were later sold. Some of the Ma-Ho-Ge campers and staff went to Chipinaw beginning in 1978 while others spent time at Camp Echo Lake in Poyntelle, PA.

[edit] Chipinaw Campus

Established in 1926, Chipinaw is a "sleep-away" camp that caters to non-religious Jewish children mostly from suburban New York and New Jersey. A large cohort of campers also come from suburban Florida, Maryland, Connecticut, and California. In Chipinaw, there are two campuses that separate the boys from the girls, and vice versa. The ages of the campers range from 7-16. There are 5 divisions on camp and a 6th division/program set up for the oldest campers. The youngest campers, commonly referred to as the "Inters," are 7-9 years old and live in what is called the "Midget House," an old establishment that houses 4 dormitories and a main lodging area for recreational and meeting use. The Freshmen division, second youngest to the Inters, are for campers who are going into 5th grade. The rest of the divisions systematically classify by individual grade. The Sophomore, Junior, and Senior divisions are for campers going into 6th, 7th, and 8th grade respectively. Campers who are just about to enter high school (9th grade) are called "Super Seniors," but are still in a division with the regular Seniors. The oldest campers, who are about to enter 10th and 11th grades, are placed in what is called a waiter and waitress program. Their day consists of working three meals in both the Chipinaw and Silver Lake kitchens. However, their day is less regimented than that of the younger Chipinaw campers.

The campus for males is commonly referred to as "Boy's Side," while the campus for females is respectively referred to as "Girl's Side." A common Chipinaw day consists of 6 periods of activities, which are split up into two periods of electives, two periods of team sports, and two periods of swimming/aquatic activities. At night, there are whole camp evening activities and a "canteen time" for boy and girl campers to socialize.