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CampChat: What are you going to miss?

By Alaina Yoakum, URJ Camp Newman Director of Marketing & Communications In less than 36 hours, Camp Newman is going to be something it hasn't been in several months: Silent. Over 500 campers will be saying farewell to the bunks they've slept in, the cabinmates...

What happens when you give knives to a bunch of teenage campers? Magic.

By Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik: Nice Jewish Artist, URJ Camp Newman Hagigah Artist This was my ninth summer teaching papercutting at Camp Newman in Northern California. Nine years driving my mobile studio up to wine country. Nice years eating in a dining hall and sleeping...

All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Song Session

By Rabbi Paul Kipnes, URJ Camp Newman Rabbinic Dean   The insight took me by surprise. Hanging with our faculty cohort late at Friday night at the URJ Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA, I came to realize that so much of who I was, who our children are becoming, and...

CampChat: First-Time Campers Banish Their Butterflies

By Rosie Elysa Gurman, URJ Camp Newman Counselor Of the 1,400 campers we welcome here at Camp Newman every summer, around 400 of them are here for the first time. Soon they may call this place their new home away from home. But for now, these campers of all ages have...

The Power of a Frisbee

By Ben Wong, Communications Coordinator   Camp days go by with remarkable consistency. There is art created, hills walked, and laughter heard every 24 hours. Not a day goes by without prayer, pool, or programming, and each has its own value. This is my 8th summer...

Guest Post: KAQ (Kids Asking Questions) – An Antidote to Pew Study

URJ Camp Newman's KAQ (Kids Asking Questions) Are the Antidote to the Pew Study's JNR (Jewish No Religion) By Rabbi Paul Kipnes, URJ Camp Newman Rabbinic Dean   Invite 6th and 7th graders to get real about God and spirituality, and the depth of their questions...

Finding Four Jewish Homes After Loss

By Sareta Gladson, URJ Camp Newman Avodah camper The following is the confirmation talk given by Sareta. We were so touched by her comments and how Camp Newman changed her life, that we wanted to share it with you - our community.    When I was nine I became...

Rishonim: Repairing Our World, One Trail at a Time

By Rosie Elysa Gurman, URJ Camp Newman Counselor Walking around camp on an average day, one can see campers playing sports, doing arts and crafts, talking, laughing, and busy in other programs. But what about Rishonim? What do they do? With 88 kids going into 8th and...