CAMP GREENWAY/RIDING WORKSHOP AT THE MADEIRA SCHOOL

Transcription

1 CAMP GREENWAY/RIDING WORKSHOP AT THE MADEIRA SCHOOL Summer 2015 Dear Parents: Welcome to Camp Greenway 2015! We are so happy that your child can join us for the 42nd year of Camp Greenway. To make your child s camp season as safe and enjoyable as possible, we ask you to please read the following information carefully. Camp Hours The camp day begins at 8:30 am and ends at 3:30 pm. Morning drop-off begins at 8:15 am; please do not drop off your children until 8:15 am, as the counselors are in a daily meeting until that time. Afternoon carpool begins at 3:30 pm. Please plan accordingly, as cars line up early and quickly. We ask that you do not pick up your child for early dismissal at the camp office anytime after 2:45 pm. additionally, you will not be able to park and pick your child up from the carpool once carpool has begun. Children enrolled in our Early Morning Program may be dropped off as early as 7:30 am at the Hurd Sports Center. Extended Day campers may be picked up between 4-6 pm from the gym in the Hurd Sports Center. Forms Due 5/1/15 The New Parent Night on April 29 th from 7 8 pm is a great time to turn in forms! This PDF File was on your confirmation page when you registered and also appears on the Summer Forms page of our website. The first page of the bundle is a checklist to help you identify which forms you need to complete and when each form is due. Physicals All campers must submit a current physical exam and immunization record yearly to the Madeira Health and Wellness Center before attending camp. Any physical exam completed after July 1, 2014 will be accepted. The deadline for Health Forms is May 1 st. If your child s doctor s appointment is for a date after May 1 st, simply the camp office indicating by what date you will be able to submit your Health Form. For your child s safety, no camper will be allowed to participate in camp activities unless his/her health form has been submitted, signed by their physician, prior to the first day of camp. If we have not received your child s Health Form by May 1st, you will be notified by . If the form is not in by the first day of camp, your child will be sent to the Health Center for immediate pick up and cannot return to camp until all paperwork has been submitted. Please remember physicals need to have been conducted within one year of the start of the camp session. If your child has any medical condition(s) that you would like to discuss, we encourage you to contact The Madeira School Health Center, via at healthcenter@madeira.org, prior to the start of camp. Please note that along with the physical we need a copy of your child s immunizations. Many doctors forget to include the immunizations and it causes you two trips. 1

2 Medications If your child will be taking a prescription medication while at camp or has been prescribed and inhaler for asthma or Epi-pen for allergies, you must have your physician sign a Medication Authorization Form (MAF). Please return the completed MAF to the HWC before the start of camp. Please bring the prescribed medication with you on the first day of camp and check in with the nurse at the medical desk before your child joins their camp group. The nurse will make sure the medication is safely stored in the HWC or if it is an inhaler or Epi-pen it will be placed directly in your child s counselor s backpack, to be with your child at all times. All prescription medications must come to camp in their original pharmacy container, with the prescribing label attached. Please make sure your medication has not expired, as it will not be accepted. No child who requires an Epi-pen for an allergy will be allowed to attend camp unless the Epi-pen is present at camp and MAF form has been submitted. This is solely for the safety of your child. All prescription medications will be returned home, in your camper s backpack on the last day of camp. Schedule The link to your child s daily activity schedule for each session will be posted on our website. On days when your child has canoeing please remember to send an extra pair of old sneakers to camp with them. Rising 8 th grade campers, will be taking off-campus field trips twice each session. Rising 7 th graders, will take a field trip once each session. A schedule and permission slips will be ed to you prior to the start of the session. Permission slips must be returned no later than two days before the field trip. Additional fees for field trips may apply and your credit card on file will be charged. Please note if you do not wish for your child to participate in a field trip, simply indicate that on the permission slip and we will place them with another group for that day. Picture Day All campers will be photographed in their group on camp picture day! Group photo will be available to order on line. Session I Picture Day - Thursday, June 25 Session 2 Picture Day - Thursday, July 9 Session 3 Picture Day - Thursday, July 23 Pictures will be available through Smugmug on our website. Camp T-Shirts Your child will receive a camp T-shirt on picture day. There is a separate shirt for each session. Please indicate your child s T-shirt size when registering on-line. Food and Drinks You may access the camp lunch menu on the Summer Forms page of our website. If they prefer, campers are welcome to bring a bag lunch, which we will refrigerate if necessary. If your child brings his/her lunch, please send it in a bag that can be thrown away, labeled with his/her name, group letter and the date. Our preference is that you do not send your child s lunch in a lunchbox as these items often get lost. 2

3 Each year we have many children with food allergies. Our primary concern is to provide the safest environment possible for these children. All campers eat in the Dining Hall with their assigned group. (A peanut free table is available; please us at for details.) The Madeira School is NOT a peanut/dairy/wheat-free facility, and it is not possible for camp staff to monitor specific ingredients in foods or snacks. While we are NOT a peanut/dairy/wheat-free facility we make every attempt to minimize the risks for campers with food allergies. As such, rising 3rd grade campers and younger, with food allergies that require them to carry an EpiPen are required to bring their own lunch and snacks. (We provide a menu tuition discount for these campers. Please note this discount is not provided for campers without medical considerations.) If your child will participate in a cookout, you must also furnish food/snacks for that event. Campers who are rising 4th grade and older, with food allergies that require them to carry an EpiPen, are strongly encouraged to bring their own lunch and snack. Additionally, we ask that campers who elect to bring their own lunches do not bring peanut butter products in their lunches. We are more than willing to discuss any concerns you may have, please call or summer@madeira.org. If you would feel more comfortable discussing your concerns with a nurse you can call There are vegetarian options listed on the menu for campers who have indicated that dietary restriction on their application. There are three different lunch periods each day. Each group will be given a mid-morning snack. Fruit is always available for children with allergies. We also encourage parents of children with food allergies to send in a supply of approved snacks/treats for their child, which the counselor will make available to them as needed. If your child will be celebrating a birthday while at camp you are welcome to send in a birthday treat such as cookies or cupcakes for the group. Water is available at every activity location. While we provide cups at each water station; in the interest of being "greener" we are requesting that you send your child with a water bottle with their name on it. We ask all campers to bring a water bottle with their name on it in permanent magic marker. If you have any questions regarding the menu please contact Andy Gaylord our Director of Dining Services at or at Sodexo@madeira.org. Cookouts Once each session all campers have the opportunity to extend their camp day by attending a cookout. Campers may swim, play games or hike to Black Pond. Dinner will follow with a hot dog, hamburger and s mores. The cookout ends at 7:30 pm with pickup at the Hurd. Attendance is limited with registration on a first come first serve basis. To ensure that we can have adequate staffing levels, we close enrollment when the event reaches capacity or three days prior to the event, whichever comes first. Many dates are close to full already. We regret that we are unable to add campers the day of the event. Many of you registered for these events at point of registration. If you did not, and would like to enroll 3

4 your child please us at and indicate the name of the child and the cookout or campout date(s). Refunds of 50% of the cost will be given for campers withdrawn from cookouts/campouts no later than one week prior to the event date. Carpool & Bus Transportation Please see the attached document, which outlines carpool procedures. Parents of campers enrolled in either one-way or round-trip bus transportation will be ed by our Transportation Coordinator approximately one week prior to the start of the session with specific pick-up and drop-off times. Bus stops will be posted on the website. If for any reason your child will not be riding the bus at any time during the session please the camp office as soon as possible. If your child is not currently enrolled in bus transportation and you would like them to be, please the camp office at by June 1 st and indicate which bus stop you would like to add them to and whether you would like AM/PM or round trip transportation. While we cannot guarantee placement for transportation requests made after June 1 st we may be able to add your child if the stop you select is already in use and there is room on the bus. Our bus drivers are often the counselors at Camp Greenway who possess a clean driving record and have shown the maturity to drive the bussettes. They will be at least 18 years of age. There are no refunds for transportation after May 1. If registering after May 1, there is no refund for transportation. Dress LABEL EVERYTHING YOU BRING TO CAMP WITH YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME WITH PERMANENT INK Campers spend much of their day engaged in activities at which they will get dirty, so please dress them appropriately. Campers must wear close-toed/closed heeled shoes at all times, preferably sneakers. Please do not allow your child to attend camp in sandals, flip-flops, Crocs or Heelys. Campers wearing open toed or open heeled shoes will be unable to participate in Inner Quest, Ropes and Canoeing activities. Those campers who participate in canoeing should bring an extra pair of OLD sneakers that they can get wet and muddy. Each camper will need a suit and towel daily for swimming lessons and free swim. Please label these WITH PERMANENT INK and all other items like towels, backpacks, goggles and even shoes, with the camper s first and last name. Younger campers are encouraged to come to camp with their swimsuit on under their shirt & shorts to make changing for swim lessons (which are always in the mornings) easier. Parents of our young campers, Rising K groups are encouraged to leave a spare set of clothes in their child s backpack. If there is no clothing available and there is an accident you will be required to come and pick up your child. Lost and Found We make every effort to return lost items to their owners. If items are unmarked we will place them in our Lost & Found area. During the camp session we keep Lost & Found items in the dance studio in the Hurd Sports Center adjacent to the camp office. You are welcome to check 4

5 the Lost & Found for missing items at any time. We ask you to please come find lost items as soon as you notice them missing. If your child is attending camp for more than one session, please check at the end of each session. Items not claimed at the conclusion of the last day of camp will be donated to a local church. We have bags and bags of unmarked lost and found that we would love to give back to you, so please check the lost and found after each session. Sunscreen & Insect repellant As the campers spend at least half of their day outside, we encourage you to apply sunscreen to them each morning before camp. We will be providing sunscreen for all campers. We will have sunscreen stations set-up throughout the campus. The camp staff will remind the older campers to reapply sunscreen and will assist the younger campers. We strongly urge all campers to apply sunscreen prior to coming to camp each day. If your child is sensitive to sunscreen you may provide your own, please label the sunscreen with your child s name and group on it and put heavy clear tape over it so the name does not wash off. We also highly recommend the small sunscreen sticks for application on faces. Sunscreen should be given to your child s counselor on the first day of the session. Counselors are aware of the dangers of sun exposure and will do their best to ensure the children continue to use it throughout the day. We do not allow campers to bring their own insect repellant, nor do we supply it. Campers attending cookouts may bring insect repellant for the cookouts only. Any insect repellant brought to camp for the cookout must be labeled with the child s name and checked in at the camp office upon the camper s arrival at the camp on the day of the cookout. Toys & Stuff! Please DO NOT allow your child to come to camp with cell phones, ipods, electronic games, water guns, trading cards, etc. They distract from our myriad of activities and tend to get lost or damaged. The camp is not responsible for lost or damaged items. Any of these items seen in use during the camp day will be taken to the camp office for safekeeping and returned to the camper at the end of the day. Though unlikely, on rainy days it is possible that campers may be in spaces where they are in proximity to school computers. Campers are not permitted to use computers on campus unless given permission from the Camp Director In addition, campers (with the exception of those enrolled in the extended day program or our oldest campers who are going on field trips) should not bring money to camp. With the exception of the afternoon extended day program campers, campers are prohibited from using vending machines on the premises and therefore, there is no need for them to bring money to camp. Emergencies In an effort to effectively manage an emergency situation that effects the normal operation of camp, an Emergency Response Plan has been developed and is available for your review in the camp office. It is very important that we have updated phone numbers for each parent so that we are able to contact you in a timely matter should there be an emergency. We thank you for taking the time to read the above information and we look forward to seeing you soon! 5

6 **Please remember that once camp begins the camp office is located in The Hurd Sports Center.** You should not call Pam or Rachel on their private lines to say you are picking up your child early, they may not be in the office. The telephone number in the camp office is ; is: and they are staffed throughout the day. We look forward to a wonderful summer! Camp Greenway Carpool On the first day of each session we will have staff in place to guide you along the carpool route both in the morning and afternoon. Carpool inevitably moves more slowly than normal on these days, but we are hopeful that the following directions will help it to run as smoothly as possible for the duration of the summer. Prior to the first day of camp the first day of camp we will you two cards with your child s name(s) and group letter on it. During morning drop off please place this card on the driver's side of your dashboard. This will help expedite your entrance through the gatehouse. During afternoon carpool please place it on the right passenger side of your windshield. It will help us have your child ready for pick up and expedite carpool. Any person picking campers up from camp will need to have this sign in their window. This procedure ensures that only authorized adults pick campers up. For security reasons, if the provided sign is not displayed, you will be asked to park and provide identification to a member of the administrative staff. If you are part of a carpool group and would prefer to have all of the campers' names on the same form simply summer@madeira.org and we will make a note of it so that we can produce the correct form for you and send it home with your child on the first day of camp. Each session there is a special day on Friday and this sometimes dismisses from our auditorium. You can count on carpool taking between minutes longer on those days. PLEASE READ THESE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY MORNING DROP-OFF INSTRUCTIONS 8:15 8:30 am Follow the road past the tennis courts and make your first left, down the hill. Stay to the right and proceed BEHIND the sports center. You will drop your child/ren off at the back of the Hurd Sports Center. Once the camp staff has gotten your camper(s) out of the car and closed the door, please continue straight ahead up the hill. At the stop sign take a right and proceed out through the front gate. Staff members will be on hand to help get the campers out of the car*. (Please do not drop children off until staff members are in place at 8:15 am. Campers dropped off prior to that time will be placed into the Early Morning program and your credit card will be charged accordingly). If you arrive after 8:45 am (at which point all staff are in the gym with campers) please park and walk your child into the gym to join their group. 6

7 PLEASE NOTE! On the 1 st Wednesday morning of each session we conduct a fire drill. If you arrive after 8:45 am when the drill has begun your car will likely be unable to proceed up the hill in front of the Hurd until the drill is over. If you know you are running late this day you may want to park in the front of the sports center and walk your child into the gym. *If you feel it is necessary for you to walk your camper into the gym on the first day (only), you may find some parking spaces available in the front of the sports center, and more in the lower visitors parking lot PAST the sports center. PLEASE DO NOT PARK on the road or on the grassy area in front of the sports center, or in the No Parking Zone directly in front of the sports center. This creates a dangerous situation for the campers, and Madeira and Camp Greenway staff members trying to get to the parking lot past the sports center. NOTE: If the situation warrants, Madeira Security may tow illegally parked cars. We ask for your cooperation in driving with care. We have approximately 300 campers in camp each session; therefore there may be campers/counselors on or near the road. The speed limit on campus is 15 mph. AFTERNOON PICK-UP INSTRUCTIONS 3:30 4:00 pm Pick-up route Follow the road into campus and continue past the tennis courts and make your first left, down the hill. Then take your first left into the Beeches neighborhood. You will be driving on the wrong side of the road. Follow the route around the cul-de-sac and return back out the way you came in. When you get to the intersection, turn left and proceed BEHIND the sports center and up the hill to the stop sign. You will be stopped there until carpool begins. All campers will be dismissed from inside the Hurd Sports Complex. Counselors will listen with campers for their name, walk them to, and then help them into the car. PLEASE DO NOT call for, or motion to your camper(s) to come to your vehicle in advance of their name being called. Your child might run into the path of an oncoming car. As well, please explain to your child that for safety reasons they cannot run to their car when they first identify your vehicle in the carpool line. They must wait for their name to be called and to be placed into their car by a staff member. You can expect carpool to last anywhere from minutes. Having your sign in the window helps to expedite carpool and minimize waiting time. The last day of each session often proves to be a slightly slower carpool as the campers are often saying extended goodbyes to their friends and therefore don t get to their cars quite as quickly. Thanks in advance for your patience on these days! Procedure for the Late Arrival of a Camper - (After 8:40 am) You will need to accompany your camper to the main camp office. (Located immediately inside the Hurd Sports Center on the right) The Administrative Assistant will check the camper in and have the parent sign the child in. You or a staff member (if one is available) will then escort the camper to join his/her group. Please do not drop campers off directly at their activity, as then we have no way of monitoring their attendance. Any Camper who arrives after the start of a field trip will be placed with another group for that day. Procedure for Early Departure of a Camper The parent or guardian of the camper must call ahead of time or the camp office to alert us of the early departure of their child. So as not to interfere with carpool traffic, any camper leaving early must depart by 2:45 pm. 7

8 Fifteen minutes prior to the requested time of departure, a staff member will retrieve the camper from his/her activity and escort him/her back to the camp office located immediately inside the Hurd Sports Center on the right. The parent must come into the office and sign their child out on the early departure sheet. Procedure For Your Child Going Home With Another Camper. If your child will be going home with another camper outside of any pre-arranged carpools, for a play date for example, we ask that both sets of parents send in a note indicating the details of the pick-up. Please remind your child to give this note to their counselor when they arrive so that the counselor can turn it in to the camp office. (If your child is to go home with a camper who takes the bus. the Transportation Director must approve this the day before.) Please send an to our camp office as well. In an Emergency If it is necessary to pick up your camper directly from the camp, PLEASE go directly to the camp office. Camp Greenway must be sure that you are the person authorized to pick up that camper. With your support in complying with these procedures camp will run safely and smoothly this summer. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the Camp Greenway Office at Thank you! Cancellation Policy There is a $175 non-refundable policy on each session cancelled before May 1. This fee is nontransferable. Cancellations must be submitted in writing. After May 1 there are no refunds. Cancellation requests due to illness or accident prior to camp session start date require a note written by the attending physician. Upon receipt of verification we will refund 50%. Exceptions to this policy cannot be made for any reason, including weather, Act of God events, or personal emergencies. Frequently Asked Questions 1. What equipment does my camper need to bring to camp? Your camper needs to bring a bathing suit and a towel in a backpack and a water bottle. Rising 4 th through 9 th graders will also need to bring an old pair of shoes for canoeing. Equipment for all other activities is provided. Please remember to label everything with first and last name and with permanent marker!! 2. Where do campers meet their counselors each morning? Counselors meet their groups in the gym of the Hurd Sports Center. Group letters will be posted around the gym to designate the area where each group meets. 3. How do I find out what group my child is in? There are 22 groups, letters A-U at Camp Greenway. Campers are grouped by grade. Prior to the start of camp you will receive an indicating what group your child is in. We make every attempt to honor group requests, though we are unable to place campers in different grades in the same group. You will also receive the name of the Counselor assigned to that group for the session. Either the Counselor or Junior Counselor will contact you the weekend before the session begins. At this point feel free to mention any concerns or to ask any questions you or your child have about the upcoming session. 4. Can I walk my child in to the gym each day? 8

9 On the first day of camp absolutely! After that time it is our preference that you do not do this even if your child asks you to. In most instances it is easier for the child to say goodbye to you at the car than inside the gym. If your child is having a hard time at drop-off contact the camp office and we can arrange to have their counselor or a member of the administrative staff meet your car. 5. Can I drop my child off early? Children dropped off before 8:15 am will be placed into Early Morning Care and the credit card on file will be charged the daily drop-in rate of $ What if I am running late and cannot pick my child up by 4pm? Not a problem! Please call the camp office if you anticipate being late. We will place your child into the Extended Day Program and your credit card will be charged the $35 extended day drop-in fee. Children not picked up by the end of extended day at 6 pm will be held in the camp office. The camp administrator on duty will notify the emergency contacts to pick up the camper in the event that they are unable to reach either parent. In the event you do not arrive by 6 pm, a $25 fee for every 15 minutes late will be charged to your credit card. 7. Is it too late to sign up for Early Morning/Extended Day or Bus Transportation? No! You may sign up for weekly extended day and early morning care up until June 1 st. The deadline to sign up for bus transportation is June 1st, however we may be able to accommodate inquiries made after that time, depending on which route & stop are being requested. To enroll in either of these programs simply us at summer@madeira.org. 8. Can my child bring a friend to camp? Due to liability and insurance costs campers are not allowed to bring a friend to camp. 9. What is the cancellation policy? The $ deposit paid at point of registration and is non-refundable. Cancellations made after May 1 st are subject to forfeiture of the entire fee for the cancelled session. There are no refunds for absences or dismissal. Please refer to Cancellation Policy in the Greenway Parent Packet. You are able to switch your child/ren sessions/s, however, there is a $50 administrative fee. 10. Does the camp offer accident insurance? The camp offers accident insurance to enrolled campers to supplement their regular insurance policy. 11. What is the camp's discipline policy? In the case of drug use, smoking or drinking the camper will be immediately dismissed. As cited in the Camper Agreement, Camp Greenway has a zero tolerance policy towards bullying, hazing and any other types of physically or verbally abusive behavior. Evidence of such behavior may result in immediate dismissal from camp. In other instances, depending on the nature of the situation the behavior will be discussed with the child and a note will be sent home to be reviewed and signed by their parent/guardian, then returned to camp the next day. If repeated incidents occur the parents will be called. Counselors make every attempt to redirect inappropriate behaviors of campers who are having a hard time in the group. However, if the behavior continues, the child will be asked to take a break from that camp activity by going to the camp office or being placed with another group for a short period of time. No camper is ever confined in any space the camper cannot open. There is no physical punishment, no shaking, no verbal abuse, and no humiliation. Food and rest breaks are never withheld and no camper is punished for a toileting accident. 12. What happens if my child is sick? By law, any child with an elevated temperature, a communicable disease such as chicken pox, diarrhea, or who is vomiting must be picked up from camp immediately. The child will be taken to the Health 9

10 Center where the certified camp nurse will care for him/her until he/she is picked up. Please ensure you have made arrangements for your child to be picked-up in a timely fashion if he/she becomes ill. In addition, please do not return your child to camp until he/she has been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication. In situations where Camp Greenway suspects child abuse or neglect we are required by law to report this information to the Department of Child Protective Services. There is no nurse available after 3:30 pm for any activity after that time. 13. What is the best way to communicate with my child s counselor? Call or the camp office. Chances are the counselor will not be immediately available, but the administrative assistant will be able to take your information and tell you when the counselor will be able to return your call. If the matter does not require a phone call, you are also always welcome to send notes in with your child 14. Can parents attend any of the all-camp activities? The Custodial Parents have the right to visit camp at any time and are encouraged to attend our special day celebrations such as the Beach Day, lip sync and the Olympic Day flag ceremony and parade. At the beginning of each session you will receive a newsletter outlining the events for the session. This will indicate the schedule for each session s special events. 15. How will I receive information from the camp administration? Communications from the camp office are done electronically via . In the event of an emergency, i.e., tornado, earthquake, flood, fire, we will post on the Madeira website and use as our first line of communications. In the event of an electrical storm (lightening) during carpool, we will suspend carpool until we have a clear sign from Security staff. Please do not leave your car to pick up your camper during this time, please wait until it is safe to carpool to resume. Please ensure that you are capable of receiving messages from our address or provide us with an alternate address if you ve not already done so. We also have links to all of our paperwork on the Summer Forms page of our website, Reminders about special events will always be ed. 16. What do you do when it's really hot or raining? Every outdoor activity has a designated indoor "rainy day" space. On days when it is raining or the heat is extremely oppressive these activities operate in these indoor locations. On days when the air quality is a Code Red we move all activities indoors at 11 am. Please have campers prepared with a raincoat in the event of light rain. 17. Where can I find the list of bus stops that you all use? On the Summer Forms page of our website. You can also click here. 18. If I have any questions, to whom should I speak? Day-to-day operation and management decisions rest with the Camp Directors, and the Camp Administrative Staff. Should you have any billing or registration questions please contact Pam Hamer. The following is a list of our current camp administrative staff: Rachel Minchew Director of Summer Programs Anders Drewry Director of Camp Greenway Pam Hamer Summer Programs Business Administrator Susan French Camp Nurse-Director of HWC

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