Frequently Asked Questions
Moshava Ba’ir is located on the beautiful Westchester Torah Academy Campus, 150 Stratton Rd, New Rochelle, NY 10804.
Moshava Ba’ir is for children entering pre-k (4) through entering 7th grade. Our program is carefully and thoughtfully developed to be age and developmentally appropriate for these ages across the board, from swim and sports, to chinuch, specialties and arts.
Campers at Moshava Ba’ir enjoy a rich and well-rounded experience. Each day will include sports (basketball, baseball, soccer, football), specialties (music, dance, arts & crafts, cooking, drama, baking, gardening, nature, fitness, and more), and our unique experiential education program.
All campers enjoy a full camp experience, and our tailored scheduling allows for more sports-weighted schedules for bunks that enjoy sports and specialty- weighted for others. We also offer chugim (electives) for our older campers, in which they can choose their own interests.
Moshava Ba’ir provides busing from New Rochelle, Riverdale, and Scarsdale. Depending on interest, we would be happy to organize busing from other areas as well.
At MBW, FiveStar Catering will offer a weekly lunch program with 3 dairy days (M, W, F) and 2 meat days (T, TH). Friday is pizza day and campers can opt just for pizza day. The cost for the lunch program is $42.50, pizza lunch is $8.50 weekly.
We will offer instructional and free swim 3 times a week at an off-site location (exact location to be determined). We will also have a rotation of dry and wet inflatables for all chanichim (campers) to enjoy.
Our bunks range in size for younger campers from 11-14 campers each, with at least 2 counselors per bunk. Our older campers have bunks of approximately 15 campers each. Each grade is a separate Eidah (division) with its own experienced and capable Rosh Eidah (Division Head). Our Rosh Moshava (Head Counselor) and Sganei Rosh Moshava (Assistant Head Counselors) oversee the Roshei Eidah. This camp structure allows each child to feel at home and cared for, while enjoying the excitement of being part of a big program!
Our bunks are separate gender, with the exception of campers entering pre-k and kindergarten, which, depending on space, may be co-ed. In our younger divisions, we maintain a 1:5/6 ratio of campers to counselors and a 1:6/7 campers to counselors in our older divisions, following or exceeding ACA standards.
We understand that the experience your child will have at camp will be largely impacted by their wonderful counselors. We take pride in the maturity and responsibility of our staff, and our youngest counselors are rising high school seniors. In our youngest division, Eidah Aleph (campers entering K), each bunk has 1 Morah working alongside 2 rising HS Sophomores.
We run a week of intensive counselor training in advance of the summer, highlighted by a shabbat at Moshava IO, as well as regular follow up workshops that offer professional development to our staff over the course of the summer. In addition to the supervision our division heads and Rosh Moshava offer, our camp psychologist mentors and offers guidance to our counselors.
We believe that Moshava Ba’ir offers the oldest, strongest, best trained, and best supported madrichim of any day camp out there!
Each week our older divisions take one major trip, (while Eidah Aleph with take 2-3 trips in a 4-week session), and we will also have one exciting event on campus. Examples of trips include amusement parks, berry-picking, boating and rock climbing. On campus events include carnivals with blow ups, petting zoos, and concerts. One highlight of the summer for our older campers (entering 4th – 7th grade) is the opportunity to go on an overnight to Camp Moshava Indian Orchard, in Honesdale, PA.*
*Our overnight to Moshava IO is dependent on bunk space in Moshava IO and therefore may not happen in certain summers.
Moshava Ba’ir offers an excellent sports program that includes baseball, basketball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, gaga, dodgeball, and fencing.
Every effort is made to ensure that sports activities are age and developmentally appropriate, and are structured to incorporate instruction, play, and competition. Our huge air conditioned gym means full sports even on rainy days!
Moshava Ba’ir is a nut–sensitive camp. The food that we serve contains no trace of peanuts or tree–nuts, and our policy is that any food sent along with your children to camp contain no nuts or trace of nuts. If food that contains nuts is brought by a child into camp, we will replace it with a nut–free equivalent.
Our number one priority at Moshava Ba’ir is always the safety and security of your children. The WTA campus is in a secluded, suburban area. We control access to the grounds at all times. We are staffed by full time security guards (armed). In addition to the experienced camp professionals running the program and the many staff with CPR and First Aid training, we employ a full time nurse as camp health director for the summer.
Our application process is first–come, first–served. Once an age group is full, applicants are placed on a waiting list. In the event that space becomes available, spots in the program are allocated on a first come, first–served basis. When multiple applicants are in the same position on the waiting list, spots are allocated by lottery. In all cases, we will not cash an applicant’s deposit check if we cannot offer the applicant a place in the program.
