1 Hour Closer – Notes from Camp March, 2020

Hi Folks,

IT OCCURS TO ME….

I was so frustrated this weekend when we lost an hour of sleep, it was hard to think of any positives with daylight savings time. Then I realized that this loss of an hour really means two things. We get more daylight which is so nice because it gives us more time to spend outside. Also this loss of an hour means that we also are closer to the summer starting. Let me repeat that WE ARE CLOSER TO THE 60th SUMMER OF TIMBERLANE!! This is the fact that made the loss of the hour worth all of the tiredness that came with it. 

It was not just daylight savings time that got me excited about this summer, but the Big Dog meeting in Tucson. The last weekend in February RICK JONES, JEFF MELROSE, and STEVE HITCHENS joined Mike, Leslie and I for a great weekend of laughs and planning. We had time to plan some great sessions for staff training and some big exciting things for the summer. After this great weekend we all are very excited for this summer!!

Corona Virus Update

If you are concerned about Corona Virus impacting camp this summer, we’d like to share our approach.  This is based on what we know now, with an understanding that things may change as the summer approaches.

Camp is in a rural, outdoor setting, and is a community of predominantly young, healthy people.  These two attributes are both positives in the calculus of a person’s likelihood of being exposed to the virus, or being at grave risk from the virus should they contract it.

Remember – we have nurses in residence at camp, and we are only 5 miles from a hospital, a family clinic, and an urgent care clinic.  Last summer we became the first Wisconsin camp to implement a telehealth system, and we will again have that system in place this summer.  

As a communal environment, we have had a long standing awareness of communicable illnesses and the protocols to avoid or minimize them.  We’ve had experience with strep, chicken pox, and stomach viruses. And while those are clearly not the same as COVID 19, the recommended protocols are nearly identical.  We are into hand washing and safe sanitation practices as part of our normal camp culture.  

We have a close working relationship with our local health department.  Should additional preventative steps be recommended or even if they should become obvious steps for us to take, we can take them immediately.  

We know you share our belief that camp plays a tremendous developmental role in your son’s life.  We all want kids to be safe and healthy, and we will stay and keep you informed to do so.

 

YO PARENTS:

It is spring time in the land, and that means it’s time to get started on all the fun pre-camp paperwork!  Yay!

Some of you have already gotten to it, and that’s great.  If that’s not you, please don’t panic. There is still plenty of time to get everything taken care of.

Here’s the best part: ALL OF THE INFO YOU NEED, AND MOST OF THE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ARE ANSWERED IN YOUR PARENT HANDBOOK!  It’s long.  There’s a lot of info.  But it is highly organized and you can just look up the info you need as you need it!

  • PLEASE download your Parent Handbook from your CampInTouch page. Stick it on your refrigerator.  You’ll be glad you did.
  • PLEASE read through it.  Not all at once, but it is important enough that you should be familiar with all the info in there.
  • PLEASE call or email us if you have any questions at all.

HEALTH FORMS:

All of the health forms we require are on your CampInTouch page.  This includes:

HEALTH HISTORY:  This is an online form you complete and submit from CampInTouch.  Please have a look at this and be sure all sections are completed by May 15th.

INSURANCE & CONSENT FORM:  This is a form required by the medical providers in our area so we can expedite a visit to their facilities for our campers.  It is a form you download, fill out, and upload to your CampInTouch account. All health insurance information must be included in this form. 

DOCTOR’S FORM:  This is a one-page document that your doctor’s office must fill out EACH summer.  This is the doctor’s verification that your son is healthy enough to attend camp, and it is a requirement by the ACA and the state of Wisconsin.  It is a form you download, fill out, and upload to your CampInTouch account

IMMUNIZATIONS: You can submit this information through the Health History form, or if you prefer, you can download this template, fill it out and upload it. If you have a paper record already, you can upload it by clicking the “upload” arrow in the “Immunizations” row on your CampInTouch page.  

CAMPER MEDS: 

ALL medications your son may take at camp, prescription or otherwise, you will mail directly to camp in their original bottles with the prescription, and we will dispense it to your son on the schedule you select.  It is important that you make sure your dispensing instructions are clear on your son’s Health History, and they match any instructions on the bottle with the medications.

There are important dates by which we must receive your son’s medications.  IF YOU ARE LATE MAILING YOUR MEDICATIONS TO CAMP, FEES UP TO $100  WILL BE APPLIED.  The table below lists these important dates.  Please take a look, and again, this information is in your Parent Handbook.

Date by Which Medication MUST Arrive at Camp 1st Session 2nd Session
10 Days Before Session Begins – NO FEE June 12, 2020 July 9, 2019
5 -9 Days Before Session Begins – $50 FEE June 13 – 16, 2020 July 10  – 13, 2020
4 Days or Less Before Session Begins – $100 FEE June 17, 2020 or Later July 14, 2020 or Later

ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS?  If your son experiences a last-minute injury or illness requiring a medication to be prescribed beyond our designated deadline, we will, of course, manage the medication for him.  If a late doctor appointment results in a prescription change or addition, we will manage that as well. In either event, we will add a Medication Handling Fee of $25.

OTHER INFO & FORMS:

CAMPER PERSONALITY SURVEY: This is a form you fill out and submit from your CampInTouch page on our website.  This is good stuff for us to know about your son to help us get ready for him. Also your 2nd (and last) opportunity to make cabin mate requests. THIS FORM IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CITs. Thanks!

ORDER TIMBERWEAR ONLINE: Use the Everything Summer Camp website to buy most everything your son will need, as well as camp logo’d items. The ONLY REQUIREMENT we have for logo’d items is a standard camp laundry bag.  If you’d like your son to have his clothing and gear in time for camp, PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER BY MAY 1ST!

VISITING WEEKEND RSVP: A form you fill out and submit online.  If you have a full season camper, or CIT, and you plan to join us for our Visiting Weekend, please let us know as soon as you can.  If you have four- week campers and you plan to join us for some or all of Visiting Weekend, please also complete that form.

TRIP NEWS:

We want to remind all of our experienced tripper kids that we are signing up for our pre-registration available trips.  As of today we have had a few guys sign up for the Isle Royale, the Quetico, and the Apostle Islands Sea Kayak trips.

We still have plenty of space on all of them, so we encourage you go talk it over and let us know if your son wants to go.  As a reminder, these pre-registration trips are for returning campers who are of adequate age and experience level for the trip. If you have any questions, please let us know. GET OUT THERE THIS SUMMER!!

BRAVO TO OUR BIRTHDAY BOYS: 

Avery Oppenheim 3/1, Emily Gurner 3/2, Nick Pearlstone 3/3, Cole Ramirez 3/3, Dillon Berlin 3/4, Ryan Lee 3/5, Erez Gil 3/5, Javvy Vallejo 3/6, Charlie Carroll 3/7, Calvin Pence 3/8, Andrew Melrose 3/8, Jonah Bartlett 3/11, Jonah Gerstein 3/12, Joey Ettinger 3/13, Adam Klein 3/16, Michael Dattilo 3/19, Grant Van Thomme 3/19, Dustin Greenwood 3/20, Noah Murov 3/20, Cooper Weinstein 3/21, Frankie DePodesta 3/23, Solomon Greene 3/24, Ethan Fromm 3/26, Spencer Cohen 3/27, Joe Berns 3/28, Leo Weiss 3/29

 

Later this month, we’ll update you on some campers and counselors who will be joining us this summer!!!

Benches up,

Sam,Mike & Leslie