“This summer, I will hopefully be a camp counselor for a day camp in U-City. I am also going to do extra math, history and coding (kudos to my dad for that). I am currently writing a fiction novel, which I will work a lot on during the summer. I also plan to hang out with my friends a lot, and I will hopefully go to Chicago to visit my grandparents.”

— Avital Vorobeychik, 8th grade, Epstein Hebrew Academy

“This summer I am planning on working for B’nai Amoona as a counselor for the first few weeks. Then, I will be attending sleepaway camp, Herzl in Minnesota, for a couple weeks. Finally, I am planning on just hanging out with my friends and family, socially-distanced.”

— Benjamin Kruger, freshman, Parkway Central High School

“This summer is a bit of a mystery for me. It’s mostly going to be a combination of work, traveling to look at colleges and getting a well-needed break from the heavy expectations of school. Sadly, my chances to go to a concert are slim-to-none but I’ll hopefully take some time to see friends. My biggest goal for this summer is to get outside and work on my art portfolio. Overall, it’s a little depressing that my plans for this summer are anticlimactic but I’m going to try to make the best of it.”

— Olivia Riutcel, junior, Webster Groves High School

“This summer, I will be working for two weeks at Ramot Amoona, the day camp at B’nai Amoona. After that, I plan to go on the EPIC Israel trip with USY. I will be in Israel for five weeks, first a quarantine, and then I will be traveling around the country. I am really looking forward to spending my summer in Israel with my friends and trying new things.”

— Ilana Boyer, sophomore, Whitfield School

“This summer I am going to be a counselor at Camp Emeth. I’m also going to spend my sixth summer as a camper at JCC Camp Chi in Wisconsin. After camps were canceled last summer, I was devastated. I couldn’t be more eager to have a summer with camp again.”

— Alex Cohen, sophomore, Clayton High School

“This summer I plan to work at United Hebrew’s summer camp as a camp counselor. I plan to hang out with my friends and travel to Florida with my family as COVID restrictions ease up. I also will attend yearbook camp towards the end of the summer to prepare for my editor position next year. I look forward to hiking, mountain biking and spending time outside. Overall, I plan to just relax after this crazy, abnormal school year.”

— Molly Levine, sophomore, Marquette High School

“Over this summer I look forward to going to Camp GUCI in Indiana. After being stuck at home with very little social interaction for well over a year, I’m really looking forward to seeing several friends for the first time in what feels like ages. Once I return home from camp, I plan to work on my college essays and other preparation for my senior year and the college application process. All in all, with vaccines being quickly distributed, I think the summer will be a much-needed return to normalcy.”

— Jordan Eisen, junior, Parkway North High School

“This summer, I look forward to traveling to sleepaway camp for the first time in two years due to the cancellation last year. While that will take up the majority of my time, I am also excited to continue to volunteer with some local organizations and to prepare for the upcoming college application process. I’ve been taking COVID precautions very seriously throughout this last school year, and have kept up with school virtually, so I’m hopeful that with the warm weather, this summer can provide a break from being stuck indoors.”

—Ryan Silver, junior, Ladue Horton Watkins High School

“I will be going to Israel this summer with my summer camp. This will be my first time going to Israel, and I am very excited to share this experience with some of my best friends. I am especially looking forward to visiting Yad Vashem.”

— Noah Kleinlehrer, junior at MICDS

“This summer I am planning to go to Israel with Ramah Seminar. Although we were also supposed to go to Poland, due to COVID, that part got canceled. I am still traveling to Israel for 5 weeks with around 350 other kids across the US and Canada.”

— Halle Wasserman, junior, Whitfield School