May 22, 2022
Dear Parents,
We are excited to see your child at Summer Camp at Green Hedges and hope that your child is excited too! I am writing to provide important and necessary information as we prepare for camp. Please be sure to read this information carefully.
First and Foremost: FORMS:
Please note that by law, your child cannot attend camp unless all forms listed below have been completed and submitted. Each form can be found on the Summer Camp website, where you can download and print each form. Add that they may drop off forms with Ms. Green or scan them and send them to Ms. Nichols.
- Commonwealth of Virginia School Entrance Health Form
- Camp Health Authorization and Emergency Contact Form
- MAT Written Medical Consent - to be completed if camp staff needs to administer prescribed or over-the-counter medication or sunscreen/bug spray.
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Proof of Identity: This form must be submitted in person with original documentation. Please contact our Registrar Ms. Green to schedule an appointment to come to campus to complete this. Ms. Green may be reached at wgreen@greenhedges.org or 703-938-8323. *Does not apply to current Green Hedges students and those children who have attended Green Hedges Summer Camp in the past.
Camp Payment:
Juneteenth:
We want to acknowledge that Juneteenth is a federal holiday that will be celebrated this year on Monday, June 20. Camp will be in session on Monday, June 20. If families would like to take this day off we will be happy to prorate the price of camp for that week. Please let me know as soon as possible if your camper will not be at camp on Monday, June 20.
Drop-Off and Pick-Up Policy:
Camp begins each morning at 9 a.m., unless campers are enrolled in Morning Care, which begins at 8 a.m. Please enter the Green Hedges School campus at our Nutley Street entrance and park in any available spot. You will see Kilmer Hall, our main school entrance, and tables set up to welcome campers. You may walk up to the registration area with your child; camp staff will be on hand to take your child(ren) to their designated camp area.
Half-Day Camp dismisses at 12 p.m. and Full-Day Camp dismisses at 3 p.m. Students should be picked up from our Nutley Street entrance.
Campers remaining beyond their enrolled time will be charged $1 per minute after 3:15 p.m. Kindly respect the assigned pick-up times.
Before 9 a.m. and after 3 p.m., we are only staffed to accommodate campers who are enrolled in Morning Care or Extended Day.
Morning Care & Extended Day:
Morning Care, which provides before-camp supervision, is available on a contract basis at $80/week, from 8 - 9 a.m. daily. Extended Day, which provides after-camp supervision, is available on a contract basis, $80/week, from 3 - 4 p.m. daily.
If you are not contracted but need occasional Morning Care or Extended Day, this service is available for $20/day. Please email me at anichols@greenhedges.org ahead of time to make arrangements.
COVID Policies and Procedures:
Face Masks
- Face masks for all campers and camp staff are optional. Should you choose to have your child(ren) wear a mask, please understand that it is their responsibility to keep their mask on and not camp staff. Please pack an extra mask, labeled in a Ziploc bag, that we will keep onsite.
Cohorts and decreased mixing of campers
- Classroom and outdoor spaces will be designed to keep campers in consistent cohorts during the day. This will reduce the risk of viral transmission and allow for discrete cohorts to quarantine in the event of infection without requiring camp to close for all campers.
Hand hygiene
- Campers and camp staff will follow a regular schedule of handwashing or use of hand sanitizer throughout the day. Hand sanitizer dispensers are placed throughout campus and in the classrooms to ensure regular access. Campers are also encouraged to bring individual hand sanitizer from home.
Health Screening
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Families are expected to monitor their household members for signs and symptoms, including fever, and to keep sick children at home. Campers that present with COVID-19 symptoms will be isolated, and parents/guardians will be contacted to arrange for pick-up within the hour.
Sick Policy
- If your child is sent home with COVID-19 signs and symptoms, your child can return after being 48 hours sign and symptom-free without medication and can return to camp with a doctor's note or a negative test for COVID-19.
Isolation and Quarantine
- Isolation refers to a time period that a person who tests positive for COVID has to stay home. The isolation time is 5 days for campers and camp staff as long as they have no symptoms and, for an additional 5 days, adhere to strict masking with a well-fitting N95, KN95, KF94, or combining a cloth mask with a disposable mask when around others. The 5 day isolation period is required regardless of vaccination status.
- Quarantine refers to a period of time during which a person who has been in close contact with someone with COVID has to stay home. If a camper or camp staff member is up-to-date with their COVID vaccinations, they do not need to quarantine following a COVID exposure if they remain asymptomatic and their contact with the COVID patient stops. They should wear a well-fitting N95, KN95, KF94, or combine a cloth mask with a disposable mask when around others for 10 days after the exposure when around others. Even if they don’t develop symptoms, they should get tested at least 5 days after they last had close contact with someone with COVID.
Parents and Visitors on Campus:
Parents and visitors will not be allowed in the school buildings unless there is an emergency situation.
Required Daily:
- Backpack/Bag to hold their items.
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Snack & Lunch: Small, cooler-type lunch box filled with a morning and afternoon snack, and a healthy, hearty lunch. Be sure to label these each day with the camper's name and date, and indicate if eggs or dairy products are included. We are a peanut/nut-free camp. We strive to make camp a safe environment for everyone and pay close attention to allergy information. Thank you for your help with this.
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Water bottle: Refillable water bottle with ice and cold water.
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Tennis shoes/play shoes: The children are very active; open-toed shoes are not permitted.
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Change of clothes: Please include a change of clothes in case of accidental spills or splashes throughout the day.
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Extra mask: Please include an extra mask for your child, labeled in a Ziploc bag, that we will keep onsite.
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Sunscreen and Bug Spray: Please apply sunscreen and/or bug spray to your child in the morning prior to drop off. If you would like the staff to reapply, you need to fill out a MAT form (available at the check-in table) and clearly label your child’s name on the bottle. Please drop off the sunscreen and/or bug spray when you arrive on the first day of camp as we keep it in a secure location.
Label, Label, Label! Put your camper’s FULL NAME on all items brought to Camp, either with a permanent laundry marker or labels. This will prevent items from going to the lost and found, and most importantly ensure that they come home with your camper!
Recommended labeling resources:
Counselors and group leaders will make every effort to make sure that everything that comes to camp with your camper returns home. However, inevitably campers’ personal belongings get misplaced at camp. Articles of clothing, water bottles, etc., that are left at camp are collected weekly and brought to the Front Office.
Rest Time:
Campers 4 years of age and under who are attending full-day camp are required by the Virginia Department of Social Services to have rest time, which will immediately follow lunch from 1 - 1:45 p.m. Green Hedges will supply mats. Three and four-year-old campers must bring the following: a blanket, pillow, and an extra set of clothes that will fit in a small container. You are welcome to keep these items here for the week and take them home on Friday to be washed. During rest time, some campers will "rest" and others will sleep - both are fine.
Restrooms:
All children are required to be fully independent when using the restroom. A teacher will be near the bathroom but not inside. Bathroom doors are propped open so that we can easily hear the children, but we are not available to assist children inside the bathroom.
Sample Schedule:
On the camp website, please find a general overview of camp each day. Rotation activities include art, music, cooperative games, STEM activities, water play, planting, garden, yoga, and more.
Each day of the week also includes “specials.” These are fun activities that all campers take part in. For camp this year, specials include:
Monday: Special Entertainment (The Great Zucchini, Foam Party, Science Show, etc.)
Tuesday: Scooter Day (bring your own labeled helmet)
Wednesday: Bounce House
Thursday: Scavenger Hunt
Friday: Cooking Class
Injured Child:
If the injury is minor, such as a scraped knee, camp staff will administer First Aid (i.e., wash the injured area and use a Band-Aid) and complete a minor accident report to give to you when you pick up your child. If your child experiences a more serious injury, we will take whatever steps are necessary to obtain emergency medical care if warranted. These steps may include, but are not limited to the following:
- Contact a parent or guardian, to inform you and to give you the opportunity to take your child to a physician.
- Call those listed on your emergency information form.
If we cannot contact you, and your child needs immediate attention, an ambulance or paramedic may be called. Our staff is not able to take your child to a hospital in their personal vehicles. Please keep your phone numbers up-to-date in the forms that you complete.
Thank you! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. The staff and I can’t wait to have a wonderful camp experience with your child!
Sincerely,
Allison Nichols
Summer Camp Director
703-938-8323
