Camp Life
Camp Life at Ramah Darom
Every day at Camp is an adventure! From sunrise to starlight, campers explore a wide range of activities—arts, sports, music, hiking, cooking, and more—all while building friendships, celebrating Shabbat, and connecting to Jewish life, Israel, and Hebrew in meaningful ways. Read A Day at Camp.
| 7:00 AM | Kima (Wake Up) |
| 7:30 AM | Tefillot (Prayers): Morning prayers with the special Ramah Darom siddur created just for our campers. This service is participatory, interactive, and age-appropriate. |
| 8:20 AM | Aruchat Boker (Breakfast): M’mm…smells like pancakes! |
| 9:00 AM | Nikayon (Cleaning): Time to clean up the bunks. |
| 10:00 AM | Schiyah/Agam (Swim/Lake): Instructional and free. Enjoy the lake or the pool! |
| 11:00 AM | Chugim b'Ivrit (Hebrew): Learn places in Camp by going on a Hebrew scavenger hunt. |
| 12:00 PM | Chugim (Electives): Choose from art, drama, multi-media, karate, art, boating, guitar, and more. |
| 1:00 PM | Aruchat Tzohorayim (Lunch): It's grilled cheese day! |
| 2:00 PM | Sha'at Menucha (Rest Period): Read, relax and write letters home. |
| 3:00 PM | SaBaBa (Cool): Today we're trying X! |
| 4:00PM | Yahadut (Judaics): Learn about Kashrut by baking brownies! |
| 5:00 PM | Sports: Choose from basketball, soccer, hockey, golf, tennis, softball, archery, volleyball, and more! |
| 6:00 PM | Peulat Erev (Evening Activity): By age and division. Tonight it’s a pool party! |
| 6:45 PM | Aruchat Erev/Shira (Dinner and Singing): A delicious dinner and awesome song session. |
| 9:15 PM | Laila Tov (Good Night): Bedtime according to age. |
Here are sample schedules for each aidah (age division) with visual icons to help campers learn the Hebrew words. These visual schedules are created to help campers remember their schedule during times they might not be with their bunk. They include morning tefillot (services), breakfast, nikayon (bunk clean-up time), and each perek (time slot) up to dinner. They do not include puelot erev (evening activities) or special days like Wednesdays, Fridays, Shabbat, Yom Sport and Yom Israel.
Ta’am
(rising 2nd graders)
Garinim
(rising 3rd graders)
Nitzanim
(rising 4th graders)
Sollelim
(rising 5th graders)
Halutzim
(rising 6th graders)
Kochavim
(rising 7th graders)
Shoafim
(rising 8th graders)
Nachshonim
(rising 9th graders)
Nivonim
(rising 10th graders)
Camp Time
During the summer, on the first night of Machzor Aleph and Bet (First and Section Session), Camp Ramah Darom sets its clocks to Eastern Standard Time. For example, when it is 12:00 noon in Atlanta (which is Eastern Daylight Savings Time–EDT), it is only 11:00am at Camp. On the last evening of each session, the clocks are changed back to EDT. “Camp Time” allows younger campers an opportunity for programming on Saturday nights after Shabbat. In addition, the sun has an extra hour each morning to warm the pool and lake for swimming and dry dew off of the playing fields.
| Aidot | Hebrew | Rising Grade | Program Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ta'am | טַעַם | 2nd Grade | 5-nights |
| Garinim | גַרְעִינִים | 3rd Grade | 11-nights |
| Ktzara
|
קְצָרָה | 4th & 5th Grade | 18-nights |
| Nitzanim
|
נִיצַנִים | 4th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Sollelim | סוֹלְלִים | 5th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Halutzim | חלוּצִים | 6th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Kochavim | כּוֹכבִִים | 7th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Shoafim | שׁוֹאפִים | 8th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Nachshonim | נחְשׁוֹנִים | 9th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Nivonim | נְבוֹנִים | 10th Grade | 4-weeks |
| Gesher | גֶשֶׁר | 11th Grade | 8-weeks |
| Tikvah Vocational Education Program | 12th+ | 4-weeks |
Birthdays at Camp
Every camper with a birthday during Camp will receive a birthday cake for a tzrif (cabin) party in the dining hall at mealtime. There is no need to call Camp with a similar request. Campers with birthdays during Camp will be allowed to phone home on their birthday. Calls are generally made between 8-10pm EDT and are facilitated by the Yoetz/et.
B’nai Mitzvah Reviews
As an educational institution, Ramah Darom is committed to making sure that the hard work your child has put in preparing to become a Bar/Bat Mitzvah prior to Camp is not forgotten during an amazing, fun-filled summer. If your child has a Bar/Bat Mitzvah between July and December 31 this year, please complete the “B’nai Mitzvah Guided Review Request” on your family dashboard. Camp will provide some guided scheduled review with a staff member on a weekly basis. Since there is very little “free time” at Camp, the review will usually take place during rest hour. Camp staff will schedule the review times and make every effort to make sure your child attends, but it is ultimately the camper’s responsibility to attend their review sessions!
While we do not offer review sessions for children with Bar/Bat Mitzvah occurring after December 31, every camper will have the opportunity to learn valuable skills during the summer like leading services, Birkat Hamazon, reading Torah and Haftarah (Camp does have its own melodies though, which may vary from what your congregation sings).