Parent Guide K TON UNIT 3 year old, 4 year old, Kindergarten Camp Ruach Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC 775 Talamini Road Bridgewater, NJ 08807
Camp Directors: Stacey Herman 908-725-6994 x223 sherman@ssbjcc.org Lauren Paniccia 908-725-6994 x264 lpaniccia@ssbjcc.org Unit Head: Dawn Van Ness 908-725-6994 x251 jccdanceschool@ssbjcc.org Nurse: Corey Schrier 908-725-6994 x250 N1emtb@aol.com Camp Secretary: Michelle Roth 908-725-6994 x234 campsec@ssbjcc.org Transportation Coordinator: Caryn Kenin 908-331-3176 ckenin@ssbjcc.org
Morning: If your child arrives on a bus, they will arrive between 8:45am-9am. Camp Staff greets campers off the bus. Camp Staff will then walk them up to their group. If your child is in early care, drive to the cul-de-sac on the side of the building and there will be staff there to take them out of their car. Camp Staff will walk Kindergarteners to early care at the campsite. Camp staff will walk 3 and 4 year olds into the building for early care. If your child doesn t take a bus or participate in early care plan to drop off your child between 8:45am-9am. Please drive up to the front of the JCC building and we will have camp staff that will assist your child out of the car and walk them up to camp. If you choose to walk your child to the K ton Unit tables, please park in the front parking lot. If you drop off after 9:00 AM, please park and walk with your child to the camp office. Sign them in and a counselor will come and bring them to their group. End of the Day: Half day campers for K ton will also be picked up in the cul-de-sac at 12:45pm. Counselors will walk the campers down. Please park in the circle to wait. You can get out of your car if you wish to greet your child, or wait for a counselor to bring your child to the car. If your child is going home on the bus, the buses leave the JCC at around 4pm. If your child is in Late Stay and a Kindergarten camper, he/she will be in the camp building. If your child is in Late Stay and a 3 or 4 year old, he/she will be in the preschool building. When you arrive to pick them up, please park on the side of the building and walk up to the camp building or into the preschool. You will sign them out and your child will be brought to you. If it is raining or has thundered, Kindergarten will be inside the main JCC building and can be signed out inside the building. A counselor will be in the cul-de-sac to direct you. Parent Pick Up Procedure at the end of the Regular Camp Day begins at around 4:05 after the buses have departed. Parents drive into the cul-de-sac on the side of the building. Staff members will direct traffic to help you know when and where to pull up and stop your car. Campers will be brought to cul-de-sac by camp staff. All campers must stay with camp staff until we dismiss them to you. There is no need to get out of your car. We will bring your child to you and buckle them in to their seat. If you wish to pick up your child between 3:45 and 4:10 and not wait on the pickup line, you are welcome to park in our front parking lot and walk up to camp to retrieve them. Please make sure to sign your child out with his or her counselor. If you wish to pick up your child in the middle of the day please send a note in the morning or call the camp office to notify them. The counselors will meet you with your child at the camp office at the specified time where you will sign your child out of camp.
What should you wear/bring to camp: Label everything with a first and last name!!! Your child should come to camp in a bathing suit with shorts and a shirt over it. K ton campers who are not potty trained, please come in a regular diaper and clothes in the morning. We will change them into their swim diapers, rubber pants and bathing suit before swim. Change of clothes. Please put an additional change of clothes in a zip lock bag with your camper s name on it and we will keep it in a bin at camp, just in case it is needed. The bin will be stored in the preschool building. In their backpack should be 1-2 towels and a second bathing suit. (for full day campers) If your camper wears diapers, you can leave a package of diapers and wipes at camp. You will be notified if more are needed. Non potty trained campers must have a swim diaper and rubber pants. These can be purchased at Babies R Us. Wear sneakers/closed toe shoes that they can play sports in. Campers can bring flip flops/water shoes to walk to the pool with if they prefer. Bottle of Sunscreen. Please apply sunscreen to your child in the morning. Staff will help apply sunscreen to them after each swim and throughout the day. Reusable water bottle. It will be refilled throughout the day. Counselors will carry water bottles all day so campers always have access to a drink. Labeled Glasses Case. If your camper wears glasses, please send a labeled case they can store the glasses in during swim time. The case will go into their backpacks. Three and Four Year Old Parents: Please fill out the nap/swim form included in this packet and scan, email or drop off with a camp director or Dawn before camp begins.
NAP/SWIM FORM THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLD CAMPERS Camper s Name NAP: YES my child will nap after lunch NO my child will not nap If YES: my child need a DIAPER at nap my child needs a PULL UP at nap (Please put Diaper/Pull UP in your Ziploc nap bag) allow my child to sleep until he/she wakes Wake my child after hours SWIM: Potty Trained. NO diaper needed Not Potty Trained. Needs swim diaper AND rubber pants Napping: Crib sheet, blanket and lovie if needed. Send on Monday in a large Ziploc bag clearly labeled with your child s name and items will go home on Friday. Diaper/pull up for nap if needed. If your child is not sleeping during nap time, Dawn will call you to discuss a change in schedule. If you would like your child to wake up at a certain time, please inform Dawn and we will make sure that happens.
Daily Schedule: All K ton campers have instructional swim every morning and recreational swim every afternoon. (Full day campers ) Campers have a variety of activities throughout their day and week. Monday is water inflatable day, Tuesday is Tag Tuesday, Wednesday is Entertainment, Thursday is Throwback Thursday, Friday is Shabbat. There is a different theme each week, a new Jewish Hero and special events. Shabbat is celebrated every Friday morning. This is a time for our camp community to join together. Shabbat is the day of rest in the Jewish religion where we have a chance to reflect on our week and appreciate all the good in our life. We celebrate this day as a camp community by singing songs and prayers. It is a spiritual, uplifting time when our entire camp, staff and campers, join together. Parents will be invited to specific Shabbat Friday according to age group. After Shabbat, you are welcome to stay for Coffee with Dawn! This is your opportunity to ask questions and meet other parents. Schedule is on the Camp In Touch account under documents and forms. You can see what activities you child participates in each period every day. This is a great tool for talking about what they did at camp. Calendars will be on line so you can see the theme of the week and silly dress up days. Communication: Before Camp Begins: Before camp begins you will receive your child s camp group with counselors and camper names, bus color and time of pick up and drop off. Website will have daily schedules, Unit calendars, Specialists information. Parent Orientation and Meet the Counselor night. Dates will be emailed in May. During Camp: The camp staff, unit heads and directors are outside with the kids so the best way to contact camp staff is: Michelle Roth, camp administrator at 908-725-6994 x234, campsec@ssbjcc.org from 8:30am-4pm Contact the camp directors at 908-725-6994 (Lauren x264); (Stacey x223) (front office x201) Corey Schrier is our nurse. Her number is 908-725-6994 x250 You will receive emails throughout the week with updates about camp and specific emails for your groups from the unit heads and directors. Facebook: www.facebook.com/jcccampruach Like us on Facebook to see daily pictures, weekly camp videos, contests and more! Daily Camp Pictures by Professional Photographer Bernard DeLierre Please contact us at any time with any questions. Your child s unit head and camp directors and all camp staff are here for you! YakStack- please see information below about signing up.
We are excited to announce the use of YakStack, a powerful new way to broadcast messages via text and e-mail, to help us communicate with families. Many of you with children in the school systems have Announcement systems, such as Honeywell to receive notifications about delayed school openings or snow days. Camp Ruach will be implementing YakStack in case we have messages for you that are immediate in nature, such as a bus being delayed because of traffic or a trip for Road Rulz that is a late return. We will no longer using the trip hotlines for Road Rulz, Tzahov, Sababa, and LIT. We are asking all parents and guardians to make use of this new YakStack. Please follow the instructions below for registering with YakStack, which can be done from either a smart phone or your computer. We will be sending notes through text and e- mail only (phone numbers for text messaging remain private). If you already have an account with either our Early Childhood Center or the Fitness Center (JCCECC or JCCFITNESS), you do not need to create a new user name or password. You can just log one and search for "CAMPRUACH" and follow the directions below to subscribe. 1. Download YakStack in GooglePlay or go to the App Store and go to yakstack.com to sign-up. 2. Register with a username, password and email. 3. Search for "CAMPRUACH" in the Search window to find all of our JCC Camp Ruach Feeds. 4. Subscribe to the Feeds that interest you and start receiving notifications. If your camper(s) is (are) on a bus, whether in the morning and/or afternoon, definitely choose that feed so you can get information on transportation issues. Also subscribe to each camp unit that is applicable to your campers. 5. Everyone should also subscribe to "AllCamp " for general Camp Notifications. 6. You can choose to receive notifications as a text or an email. 7. For each feed you subscribe to, click as shown in the diagram 8. Control your communications by clicking, Text My Phone with Yaks and/or Send Me Email Notifications for All New Yaks (We will not be sending voice messages). Please note that busing schedules have not been completed. Once you receive your camper(s), please remember to back in and subscribe to the bus. If you haven t signed up you re missing out on important information so sign up today!
After the Camp Season: You will receive a survey to let us know how your summer was. Camp Directors are available Post Camp Week to speak with. Look for Early Bird Specials and sign up for camp in the Fall and save money! Camp 365- we love to get together with camp friends all year round. Look for emails about camp reunions for your child s age group. Upcoming Summer Events: Family Fun Nights at the JCC Outdoor Pool Free to Camp Families! every Tuesday night at 5:30 for activities at the pool. Join us Tuesday, July 7 Treasure Hunt in the Pool. Dive for Treasures. Tuesday, July 14 DJ at the Pool. Game, Dancing and contests! Tuesday, July 21 Ice Cream Sundaes-Yum! Tuesday, July 28 Volley ball at the pool. Counselors vs Campers! Tuesday, August 4 DJ at the Pool. Tuesday, August 11 Tie Dye at the pool. You provide the item, we provide the rubber bands and dye. Iced Coffee at the Pool on Family Fun Night! Adults can enjoy iced coffee every Tuesday night at the pool. On Tuesday July 7 th, the first 25 adults receive a free Camp Ruach Cup. Additional cups will be available for purchase. Bring your cup back every Tuesday night for $1 refills! Shabbat at the Pool - Join camp staff and your JCC family every Friday at 5:00PM for summer Shabbat. Light candles, enjoy challah, grape juice and songs. Free to all camp families.