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What HSJ365 Has Given Our Family

Over the last thirteen weeks, we’ve all dealt with our fair share of disappointments, cancellations, and altered plans. As schools (and our world as we knew it) started shutting down rapidly mid-March, Jacobs Camp came to the rescue with their engaging virtual HSJ365 content. Our 7 year old son was all ready for his first ten-day session of Olim at Jacobs Camp, after an amazing 24 hours of Kochavim last summer. 

HSJ365 couldn’t have come at a better time for him. While his school was operating asynchronously, he thrived on the daily HSJ Zoom calls and the social interaction and connection they provided. He Israeli danced, played Are You Smarter Than An Assistant Director, exercised in aerobics, made a Nikayon chart, showed off his stuffed animals as treasures in scavenger hunts, and more. There are very few HSJ365 sessions he misses, as it is such a highlight of his day. As a family, we learned many new songs through the weekly Shabbat and Havdalah song sessions, and made our own HSJ365 playlist on Spotify with over two hours worth of songs we learned (and are still listening on repeat).

HSJ365 has provided a much-needed outlet for Micah to connect with friends from last summer’s Kochavim, and also begin to build connections with campers and staff for this summer.  Micah fully enjoys his on screen time with his peers and counselors; he laughs, asks lots of clarifying questions, makes tons of suggestions, and participates to the fullest extent. Living out of the region, it has been a blessing for him and our family to connect to our camp community and begin to establish connections with Jacobs families.

We were all crushed with the formal announcement that in-person camp would not take place in 2020, though many of us suspected it was to be the case. My nine years spent growing up at Jacobs Camp were some of the best days of my life, and I was disappointed that Micah would be missing out on an opportunity to be a part of the Jacobs Magic. The blow was softened by knowing that HSJ365 programming would continue through the summer. And, most importantly, he is at the very beginning of his Jacobs experience, and is lucky to look forward to many, many glorious summers in the Mississippi sun in his bright future.

Emily Kupersztoch

Austin, TX