Camps
SUMMER CAMP SAFETY
Here’s what you need to know for the season ahead
BY JESS MICHAELS
Let’s talk about camp safety. It’s
impossible to predict exactly where
we will be with COVID-19 by summer,
however, both day camps and
overnight camps operated last summer
successfully amid a global pandemic
and campers had a safe, fun and
healthy summer.
Camps have put numerous protocols
in place to mitigate the risk of
COVID and while no environment can
be 100% COVID free at this time, the
summer camps that operated in the
region had either no COVID cases or
very few positive cases which were effectively
managed and didn’t spread
among the camp community.
Camps have a blueprint on how to
operate safely during COVID and the
good news is that even the camps that
didn’t open last summer, will be open
COURIER L 30 IFE, APRIL 16-22, 2021
for this summer.
Here are a number of safety measures
that camps implemented last
summer.
You can expect to see many of these
changes at camp but all fi nal decisions
will be made closer to the summer
with COVID changing so rapidly.
Although camps may look a little
different than in summers past, the
core fundamentals of what makes
camp so special and valuable for children
such as gaining independence,
building self-esteem and making new
friends in an outdoor environment,
remain the same and these opportunities
feel more important now than
ever before.
Day Camp Safety
Daily Temperature Checks –
Children and staff were required to
have their temperatures taken daily
before attending camp. If your child
had a fever, they were asked to stay
home for a certain number of days
and some camps required a negative
COVID test or a note from your pediatrician
before returning to camp.
Daily Health Screening – Families
were asked to fi ll out daily health
screenings. If a child or staff were exhibiting
any COVID symptoms or had
traveled to certain states, they were
asked to stay home from camp.
Reduced capacity – Camps ran at
a reduced capacity of campers to maintain
social distancing guidelines.
Outside activities – Because the
spread of COVID is reduced when outdoors,
many camps ran outdoor programs
and maximized their outdoor
space.
Cohorts/pods – Camp groups
acted as cohorts where they stayed together
throughout the day and didn’t
intermingle with other groups. State
guidelines will determine if cohorts
are needed and if so, the size of them
for 2021.
Additional cleaning & disinfecting
– Camps have always cleaned and
disinfected equipment and activity areas
but with COVID, those cleanings
increased throughout the day and included
a deeper cleaning.
Lunch– To limit the number of people
gathering together, lunch times
were staggered and lunch took place
outside. Many camps also switched
the way they served lunch from family
style or buffet to pre-packaged
lunches.
Rainy Days – Because camps ran
activities outside for the most part,
some camps built in “rain days” last
summer, very much like snow days
where there wasn’t camp on extremely
wet days.
Masks – Last summer, all staff
wore masks and children wore masks
on buses and when social distancing
couldn’t be maintained.
Busing – Some camps decided to
run busing last summer and some
didn’t but camps will do busing in 2021.
Due to social distancing guidelines,
there may be less children on each bus
this summer, children may be wearing
masks and children may sit alone,
with a sibling or with a camper from
their group.
Field trips – While out of camp
trips have always been fun, camps
eliminated them last summer to reduce
exposure to other people. Field
trips will be determined by each camp
and fi nal decisions on them will occur
closer to summer when directors
can evaluate where the state is with
COVID-19.
For more on camps, visit our sister
publication NewYorkFamily.com.
2021 Treasure Island
Day Camp
For Children Ages 3 (Potty Trained Only) -
3rd Grade Graduates
July 6 - August 13, M-F, Full Day or Half Day, Pick 1-6 weeks!
REGISTRATION BEGINS 4/5/2021
It is time to get OUT OF THE HOUSE
and INTO THE SUN!
Sprinklers, Outdoor Games, Arts & Crafts, Theme Days,
Sand Table, Painting, Water Activities,
Air-conditioned Classroom Fun & Playground Time!
For pricing:
email Miss Kim, Camp Director
TIsland347@gmail.com
Flexible Weeks!
Half Day, 9am – 1pm
LUNCH & SNACKS
Full Day, 8am – 4pm
INCLUDED!
Treasure Island 347 74th St., 11209 �� 718.238.7676 �� TIsland347@gmail.com
/NewYorkFamily.com
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