Camp News

Category: Frogbridge Staff

Meet Frank Pugliese Sr., Owner of Frogbridge Daycamp

Staff Spotlight: Frank Pugliese Sr., Owner & Founder of Frogbridge Day Camp 

 
It takes a special kind of person to create a children’s wonderland in their own hometown right here in New Jersey amidst the competitive edge of other, common, business pursuits happening in this state. ”A man in business, not a businessman”, is how you will find him describe himself and for those that know him well, they would certainly agree.  Frank Pugliese, the owner of Frogbridge says that the most rewarding aspect of his work is witnessing how his creation brings joy to children. Throughout the years, Frogbridge has had changes and additions to the camp, but one thing Frank is proud that has always remained the same is the love and nurturing the entire staff extends to the children.  

Impacting the lives of children has always been the favorite part of his job, and he keeps up with their every need by doing the most simple thing: he listens to what the children say. And it works! Campers feel so appreciated here that they often come back as counselors and teachers to work for us as adults. What makes Frank feel most wonderful though, is when the kids that he watched grow up return to Frogbridge for their weddings, such is the bond that campers have with Frogbridge.  

Frank became a grandpa again on February 22, 2018 with the birth of his youngest grandson, Christian. He is over the moon to welcome him to the Frogbridge family, and watch him grow alongside his three other grandkids, Anthony, Isabella and Vincent. Frank and his son, JR, the camp’s director, are excited to see what the future holds for the newest generation of Frogbridge campers, and look forward to making the camp a place with even more smiles. 

Frank’s Vision For The Future of Frogbridge Day Camp 

For Frank, the future of Frogbridge is more of the same, but perfecting all the moving parts that come with a camp, as well as working to better understand campers and teach them valuable social skills. 

“I think the future is very, very bright. We will constantly be adding new activities and events, and that will never stop. We will keep teaching the kids to respect each other while giving them a place where they feel safe. We want the children to be happy coming in but even happier going home.” –Frank Pugliese Sr. 

Frank is just one example of the devotion the Frogbridge Day Camp staff shows their campers. Their camp team is comprised of the most attentive and skilled professionals, with most of our staff primarily men and women who teach children for a living during the academic year.  

At Frogbridge, we are always available to answer any of your questions to make you feel that your child is in safe, respectful, and fun environment. Please feel free to contact us at anytime. Make sure you say hello to Frank when you stop by! 

Division Leader Alison’s Top Tips For CITs At Frogbridge Day Camp

Division Leader Alison’s Top Tips For CITs At Frogbridge Day Camp 

Being one of our Counselors In Training (CIT) is one of the most rewarding and exciting groups you can be in at Frogbridge Day Camp, the best summer camp in NJ. You learn from the best team leaders how to take charge of a group, handle any situation, and had to leave a lasting impression on your campers. Our CIT division leader, Alison has been with us for 6 years and has shaped the CIT program into what it is today. She’s trained some of our best team members and taught them everything they know about being a team player, attentive counselor, and a compassionate leader. We asked Alison what advice she has for future CIT’s and what makes a CIT standout among the rest! 

Frogbridge: Please Explain The CIT Program. 

Alison: The CIT program is made to teach upcoming 9th and 10th-grade students how to be successful future counselors. They are assigned to two groups throughout the summer to be exposed to multiple age groups and truly find which level they like best. During their time in their groups, they will learn from their teachers and counselors what the lofty expectations are for working at Frogbridge Day Camp. They will learn how to balance being a friend while still being an authoritative figure for the campers. Halfway through their time there they will be evaluated by both the group’s counselors and the CIT leaders. This evaluation is to have them learn areas they need to work on or also to see what they are doing well. They will also receive a final evaluation and a recommendation for hire by the CIT leaders. Every week the CITs get to enjoy an off-campus trip and upcoming 10th-grade CITs get to go on one overnight as a thank you for a job well done! 

Frogbridge: What Do You Think Makes A Great CIT?  

Alison: The top characteristic of a CIT that has them stand out from all the rest is the ability to be flexible in any situation. This includes being moved between two different levels of campers and going where they are needed, sometimes daily. When they are finally placed, we love to hear how interactive they are with the campers. It’s important to find a good balance between being the fun playmate who is always involved with the campers, while also keeping in mind they are learning to be a counselor and should listen to what the teachers and counselors of the group need from them. We want our CITs to have fun, but most importantly, to learn how to take on more responsibility.  

The best CITs build strong relationships with campers and counselors! 

Frogbride: Why Do You Enjoy Working With The CIT’s  

Alison: I have always loved my work as a teacher. This group [CITs] is a favorite of mine because I am growing the next group of counselors. They are of the age that you can really teach them how to be young adults and good leaders. The conversations are more mature and we are really assisting in molding them to be great young men and women! 

Frogbridge: What Are Some Of The Things That Make CIT’s Stand Out?  

Alison: When we sit down to choose our CIT of the week and CIT of the year we look for a combination of qualities: 

1. Performance as a counselor: Do they interact with ALL of the campers or just a few?  

2. Activity participation: Do they engage in all activities or just the ones they enjoy?  

3. Relationship building: CITs are expected to build relationships with their counselors AND campers. 

4. Interaction with other CITSs & groupmates: Are they being respectful to all others? Can they handle constructive criticism? 

All of this is important to gage their future performance and capabilities as fulltime counselors.  

Frogbridge: What Is Your Favorite Moment From Working With The CIT’s?  

Alison: There are a few! One of my favorite moments is seeing their faces when we announce CIT of the week! Another is to see them the following year as actual assistant counselors.  It makes me extremely proud to see them succeed! 

Related Content: From Camper to CIT to Councelor: Vaughn Staiger 

Frogbridge Camper Vaughn Staiger Returns To Camp As A Team Member

Here at Frogbridge Day Camp, one of the things that we’re most grateful for is being able to watch so many children grow up. Seeing children go from their very first day in Tadpole Village to their bridge crossing during their CIT summer and then off to their first staff meeting is such an incredibly rewarding process!

In 2006 Vaughn Staiger started her first day of camp when she was only three years old. Thirteen years later, she is returning for the first time as a Frogbridge team member! Vaughn is one of the many examples of the lasting connections our campers have with Frogbridge, and like all of our campers, we are so proud to have her!

We caught up with Vaughn, so parents and campers alike can learn from her life-long experience with Frogbridge and how it has shaped her into the incredible young adult and now the official team member she is today.

How Do You Think Your CIT Year Prepared You For Your First Summer As A Team Member?

I did a lot my CIT year! My counselors trusted me with a lot so I was able to really learn.

Fun Fact: The Frogbridge Day Cam Staff is comprised of teachers, professionals, and only the most trusted of individuals to care for the children.

How Has Frogbridge Shaped You As A Person And Your Friendships?

I definitely wouldn’t have the friends I have today without Frogbridge. Some of my best friends today I made at camp when I was three years old and I’m sixteen now. That’s thirteen years of friendships because of Frogbridge! I feel like I’ve learned to be so much more accepting because even though you stay with your tight-knit group from Tadpole, new campers were always coming into the group. So, you were constantly meeting new people and making new friends. Being at camp and growing up at this camp taught me how to grow my friendships and more importantly maintain them as well as accept new friendships into my life.

Overall, it’s changed me. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Frogbridge. I mean, the first memory I have ever is from Frogbridge. I was three years old and walking into camp and meeting my teachers and counselors.

What Are You Most Excited About This Summer At Frogbridge?

The kids! I love little kids and I’m so excited! I know it’s going to be different than last year when I was a CIT but just walking in, in the mornings and seeing the kids and having them run over to me, there’s no greater feeling.

As cheesy as it sounds, I’m just so excited to be a part of this team. This is going to be my thirteenth summer and for twelve years I’ve just been looking forward to this— and it’s finally here! It’s been my dream since I was a little kid and it just feels like my three year old Tadpole wish is being fulfilled.

From all the staff at Frogbridge, we are so excited and proud to have Vaughn on our team this summer, and we look forward to many more!

Thinking of Joining the Frogbridge Team?
Check Out Our FAQ For Potential New Team Members!

Frogbridge Camp Transportation: Leave The Driving To Us This Summer!

Camp Transportation: Leave The Driving To Us!

Camp season at Frogbridge summer camp is just around the corner. We are so excited to see familiar faces and meet new ones! Our drivers are all revved-up, too! They’re the magic carpet rides that bring our campers safely from home to camp and back again each day. Their care for the children, make campers feel comfortable and our parents feel secure knowing that their children are well looked after when the bus pulls away. To the drivers, their bus routes are so much more personal than just a bus-ride or a job: they are looking after extended family! 

Parents feel confident leaving their kids with our drivers, not just because of their smiling faces each morning, but because we only hire the best and most experienced drivers to transport such precious cargo. At Frogbridge we take great pains to ensure that our drivers are competent and trustworthy. All drivers are CDL licensed, finger printed as well as drug tested and have passed several background checks. In fact, our transportation specialists have many years of experience transporting children throughout central New Jersey. 

Whether your child is 4 or 14 years old, we understand the pre-camp jitters and how scary it can seem to be driven to a new place by a strange person. To give them the confidence they need, we introduce campers to their drivers with a dry-run meet and greet in June before camp starts. This makes the children (and parents too!) feel comfortable during their ride because they have a familiar face they already met before the first day of camp. 

New Summer, New Stops!

Central Express is one of our most popular transportation options. At designated locations throughout Central NJ, groups of campers can be picked up at a discounted rate. Each day, parents bring their kids to the designated bus stop where our drivers are waiting to bring them to a new day of frog-tastic fun! 

We are proud to announce that this option is now available to even more families because we are adding several new stops to the Central Express. We believe that ever camper should have the opportunity and ease to enjoy the one-of-a-kind experience to be had at Frogbridge. If transportation has been the obstacle in the way of your child’s attendance at Frogbridge Day Camp or if you’ve been looking for a more convenient central location, see if any of our Central Express stops work for you: 


Millstone Township 

-Wagner Farms Athletic Park Complex— Baird Road Farms Elementary School 

-Brandywine Soccer Field—Stillhouse Road, Larson Road 

Freehold 

-Moore’s/Escondido’s—Stillwells Corner Road 

-Opatut Park on East Freehold Road (next to YMCA) 


Manalapan

-Battleground Country Club— Millhurst Road 

-Meadow Creek 

-Taylor Mills or Pine Brook Elementary School 

-Lafayette Mills Elementary School—Maxwell Lane 

Colts Neck

-Dunkin Donuts—Route 34 & Route 537 


Marlboro

-Zinburger—Union Hill Road & Route 9 North 

-Marlboro High School—Route 79 

East/West Windsor/Princeton Junction/ Plainsboro

-Thomas Grover Middle School or Village Elementary 

-West Windsor/ Plainsboro High School S—Clarksville Road 


Princeton 

-AMC Hamilton Marketplace 

Holmdel 

-Holmdel Park 


Toms River 

-Hooper Elementary School—Hooper Avenue 

-North Dover Elementary School—New Hampshire Avenue 

Jackson 

-Carl Goez Middle School or Switlik 

-Howard C. Johnson Elementary School 

-Elms Elementary—Patterson Road 


Howell 

-Home Depot—Route 9 & West Farms Road 

Monroe/Cranbury/
Hightstown 

-Monroe Manor—Route 33 & Butcher Road 

-Monroe Twp. H.S.—Schoolhouse Road  

-The Learning Experience—Route 33 


Robbinsville 

-Robbinsville Town Center Parking Lot—Edinburgh Road 

-Soccer Fields on Gordon Road 

 


Transportation Options For All Family Schedules 

It’s as easy as A,B,C…and D! 

A) As always, our door-to-door transportation is available for all campers. Each morning and evening our drivers will pick up your child(ren) from home and return them safely, so you as a parent never have to worry about driving or missing a bus.  

B) For parents and families with busy schedules or who prefer to drive their precious cargo themselves, there is the option for parents to drop off and pick up their children each day, and best of all, at a discounted rate!.  

Basic parent drop off follows the same arrival and departure time as our bus transportation, with drop off times between 9:00-9:10am and pick up times between 4:00-4:10pm. each day. 

C) Those who choose to enroll in our Extended Care program can drop off their campers as early as 7:30 am and pick up as late as 6:00pm. so parents can work around busy work schedules. (i.e. if both parents work in the city and are unable to be home at the time camp ends). This program allows children to be supervised by teachers and counselors leading activities until an adult family member is able to take the child home, ensuring their safety.  

D) We now also offer a late bus option to some towns throughout our pick up zones. In an effort to make matters even more convenient for those who cannot make it to camp to pick up their children by 6:00pm, we now have late busses that will drive to designated central bus stops, dropping kids off at or around 6:00pm. Please call our office for details and to register for this amazing new transportation option! 

For more information on our transportation services and extended care options see our Transportation Page or give us a call!  

Thinking about enrolling? It’s never too late. Simply call our friendly office and arrange a personal tour today! 

Our Staff is Dedicated to Making Frogbridge the Safest Experience Possible

Your Child’s Safety is the Top Priority for Team Frogbridge

When it comes to choosing the right camp for your child, safety comes first. With that in mind, I wanted to talk about our incredible staff at Frogbridge and to share our team members‘ qualifications and the training they go through to ensure your child’s safety and comfort. Our team has the enthusiasm, character and experience needed to make Frogbridge the ideal place for each camper.

Transportation Team Member Background Checks

A major factor in making Frogbridge the premier day camp in Monmouth County is our safe, air-conditioned transportation. We offer door-to-door busing for an additional fee and “Central Express” routes from many points in Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer and Middlesex Counties at no extra cost. Our drivers learn their routes in advance and introduce themselves to you and your children to answer any questions or concerns you might have. In addition, each of our transportation team members must pass an extensive background check, including:
  • Certification of passing a random drug test.
  • An up-to-date CDL license with no points or previous violations.
  • Fingerprinting from their current employer or school district.
  • Proof of three years experience in child transportation.

Specialized Training For Aquatic Activities

Each swim instructor is trained to give your child careful, effective swimming lessons under American Red Cross guidelines. Instructors are required to take an online safety training course, so they know how to maintain a comfortable and safe swimming environment, how to prevent accidents and injuries and how to respond to injured swimmers. After that, they come to Frogbridge to take an in-water skills verification assessment, along with our lifeguards.

Specialized Training for Division Leaders & Counselors

We hire experienced teachers licensed by the State of New Jersey to be our division leaders and we look to hire counselors studying elementary education to work alongside those teachers. Our Counselors-In-Training (C.I.T.) also work alongside licensed teachers. This provides a great learning experience for those looking to further their Frogbridge careers and ensures having multiple team members your children can turn to whenever they feel the need.

Specialized Training for Medical Team Members

Our infirmary is just like your child’s nurses office at school. Both of our nurses, referred to by many of our campers as “camp moms,” are experienced, registered nurses who create a comfortable environment, in which children are well cared for. They are trained to handle numerous situations and to ensure that your children will get the care they need to recover and return to the day’s activities. In addition to our infirmary, many of our team members serve as E.M.T.’s within their communities and have received CPR and First Aid Training. As a “nut aware” facility, we can assure that no nuts are anywhere in our kitchens, so that those children with nut allergies can avoid any possible reaction-causing contact.

Energy, Enthusiasm & Personality

We rely on our team members to celebrate the excitement of the Frogbridge experience with each camper. Team members are selected for their enthusiasm toward their respective roles and to provide a great experience for each camper. Our goals for our campers are for them to grow as people, to form positive relationships and to have a positive role models, while having fun, memorable summers.

Compassion

We want you and your campers to know that they can turn to our team members with any questions or concerns, so their time at Frogbridge is comfortable and safe.

Are you interested in having your child join us?

Enroll Now

Parent Perspective: Lisa Polvere

As one of the premier daycamps in Central New Jersey, we’re proud to have numerous team members, and former students willing to share their stories and experiences. This month, we’re proud to put the spotlight on a distinguished parent: Dr. Lisa Polvere, division leader of our Pre-K and kindergartners at the daycamp and the director of the Tadpole Village Preschool. For 11 years, she has served as the director of the school and has provided a warm, safe, nurturing environment for each of her students. Her two children, Jack and Lexi, have both gone from Tadpoles to veteran campers.

Meet “Tadpole” Lisa!

It’s hard to imagine my life without Frogbridge. It all began eleven years ago, when the incredible opportunity to work here was presented to me. Not only would I become the Director at our amazing preschool, but I was going to experience camp life once again! I would be a division leader for our camp babies … the Tadpoles! My nickname was coined “Tadpole Lisa” and my life would be enriched in ways you could never imagine. It was a dream come true. I grew up going to camp, both day camp and sleep away, and worked at a camp as soon as I was old enough. Camp life was something I had always cherished and I knew my two incredible children Jack and Alexis had to experience.

Why I Chose Frogbridge for my Children

Jack and Lexi have truly “grown up Frogbridge.” Camp life has really shaped who they have become. They exude self-confidence and the leadership skills they possess are astonishing. These were the things that were fostered at Frogbridge. They began coming here at age three and are now almost eleven and fifteen. From the time camp ends in August, the countdown to the next summer begins in our house. At the end of EVERY summer they proclaim that it was “the best summer ever!!” Just when you think it can’t get better, it does! Every age group has new things to look forward to and the friendships they have made will be treasured for the rest of their lives. Frogbridge is a second home to all of us.

Finding Camp Memories Every Year

When I clean out their closets each year I find the most random things that I am not allowed to dispose of! A bandana, a piece of shredded tissue, confetti. Each is a memory to them. We are so thankful for these memories and I have been doubly blessed because I am here to share in a lot of them. I am so fortunate to be able to catch an occasional glimpse of them walking with friends, laughing, cheering someone on or trying a new activity. I can’t believe this coming summer Jack is going to be a counselor in training! He can’t wait! Not only have I watched my own children grow up Frogbridge, I have watched hundreds of others! It’s amazing to see the young adults that they have grown into. Frogbridge is an extended family and more than that. It’s a feeling you won’t get anywhere else. I am so appreciative to Frank and JR for these years. My family and I couldn’t have been luckier. We love it here and look forward to many more summers together!
Interested in joining the Frogbridge Family?