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CAMP ENCORE-CODAa great summer of music, sports and friends! |
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2010 PARENT'S GUIDE Updated: 5/7/2010
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I. BEHAVIOR
We expect respectful, appropriate conduct during the summer and make this very plain to all the campers and staff members during orientation. We do not accept pranks, foul language, teasing, bullying, or any other form of harassment, and take such matters seriously. Please review the behavior & dress code in your green enrollment folder with your camper prior to camp. If you need another copy, it is available here.
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II. CLOTHING AND SUPPLIES
· Bug Repellent – There are lots of mosquitoes in the Maine woods and your camper will need some bug repellent, especially for the evenings.
· Concert Dress - For concert dress, please include some "casual but nice" clothes. Long dresses or suits are not required, just something nicer than T-shirt and cutoff shorts.
· Dress Code – Clothing should be appropriate to the activity and weather conditions of the day and should not contain vulgar language, insulting or degrading messages, make mention or have pictures of tobacco or alcohol products or other inappropriate messages for children. The following points also apply:
· Underwear and midriffs should be fully covered. · When your hands are by your side, shorts & skirts should extend to at least the end of your thumb. · Piercings may be in your ears only. · Footwear should be worn at all times.
· Flashlights - The camp store does not stock flashlights, so please send one with your camper, along with some extra batteries.
· Hiking Shoes [Upper Camp Only]- If your camper thinks that he/she might be interested in going on one of the hiking trips, please include a solid pair of shoes with his/her supplies. In order to protect the health of our campers, we require that campers on hiking trips have proper footwear. These do not have to be "serious" hiking shoes, just something sturdier than sneakers.
· Laundry - Our laundry service will be picking up weekly and delivering the clean clothes back to us two days later. Your camper should therefore arrive at camp with a 10-12 day supply of laundry, including clothes for a fairly wide range of temperatures, as well as wet and dry conditions. Since the laundry provides the actual laundry bags, you do not need to include bags. The laundry does an excellent job for us, but sometimes a piece of clothing does get lost in the shuffle. We therefore advise you NOT to send very expensive clothing to camp for general use.
· Musical Items - Your camper should bring the following musical items to camp, with his/her name clearly marked on all of them:
· Obscene Items - Please do not send your camper to us with any obscene books, magazines, recordings, or clothing items. We do not allow these things in camp, and they will be confiscated upon discovery.
· Raincoat - Please include a raincoat and/or umbrella in the clothes you pack for your camper!
· Roller Blades and Skate Boards - Please do not pack skateboards or roller blades. The terrain is too rough for these items to be used safely.
· Shipping · You may ship clothes, instruments or other items directly to us at camp anytime after June 1st. · At the end of each session, we will be happy to ship back to you any items that you wish, whether or not you shipped them to us originally, and bill you afterwards. · We recommend United Parcel Service, who deliver and pickup at camp almost daily. They operate regionally, so look for their local number in your directory, or you can try them at 800-742-5877. · Please ship to: Camp Encore/Coda, 50 Encore-Coda Lane, Sweden, ME 04040 · We strongly recommend shipping your child’s luggage ahead of time if they are flying to camp. Current security measures make it less sure than in prior years that a given flyer’s luggage will reach the correct destination. By shipping ahead of time, you are more assured that your child’s luggage will get safely to camp, where we can have it waiting in the bunk on arrival day.
· Weather Conditions – summer weather in Maine can vary quite a bit, and it’s best to be prepared for all the variations. Please bear this in mind when you are getting your camper packed up, and include a variety of clothing which will serve him/her across a range of weather – from 55 degrees and raining to 75 degrees and sunny to 90 degrees and muggy. Appropriate rainwear is very helpful and often forgotten! For exact details, please see golden colored “Camper Clothing and Supplies List” which was mailed last month, and is also available on our website: www.encore-coda.com.
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III. COMMUNICATION
· Care Packages - We regret that we cannot accept food care packages. Please do not send any. Campers do not receive food that is sent to them. There are already plenty of treats 'built in' to camp life: one candy bar three times each week from the camp store, sweet desserts in the dining hall, and snacks on trips and at special events. Food in the bunks invites chipmunks and ants, and this can quickly get to be very yucky! You can order care packages that DO NOT contain food from a company called ‘Camp Pacs’ (800-248-CAMP or: www.camppacs.com). We also highly recommend sending care packages of musical items, newspapers, books, stuffed animals or comics.
· Cell Phones – We do not allow campers to have cell phones with them day to day in camp because we want them to focus their social energy on interacting with their bunkmates and other camp acquaintances as opposed to spending their time calling & texting friends from home. At the same time, we would like to give the kids easier access to phones on trip days. As a way to address both issues, we thought we would experiment this year with allowing the kids to bring their phones with them to camp, to be held in the office during regular camp days and then made available on trip days. We will provide access to camp cell phones for any campers who do not bring their own. So, you may send you camper with a cell phone and we will hold the phones in the office most of the time and give them out for trip days. We are expecting too many phones to be able to charge them, so please send the phone fully charged, without a charger and, most important, labeled with your child’s name. Please also remind your camper that they will have a full battery available to them on the first trip day if they don’t do a lot of calling and & texting on the way up to camp!
of ALL ages really do look forward to hearing from home, even if they seem delinquent in writing to you! If your camper is leaving home for the first time, it would be wise, when writing, to minimize details of anything going on at home that is either especially exciting or upsetting. A positive camp experience is your goal and ours; it will ease your camper's adjustment to a new environment if the contents of your letters are mainly about making new friends and other camp related opportunities with minimal reference to subjects which may cause homesickness. It is great for campers to have a letter waiting for them when they arrive at camp! You may fax letters to your camper at our regular fax number: 207-647-3259, and they may fax letters back to you at your home or office. Our fax line is available every day for incoming or outgoing faxes from 8AM to 6PM. Please print your camper’s name clearly at the top of the fax.
· Email – We are continuing our affiliation with bunk1.com, who can translate your camper’s faxes directly into your email and send your emails back to them through a centralized daily transmission to our office. Our secretary will print out your emails each day and put them in the cabin mailboxes with other faxes and letters, to be retrieved & distributed later in the day by the cabin counselor. This is an optional, fee based service and the flyer posted on our website explains all the details. At the same time, we continue to offer the traditional faxing mentioned previously at no extra charge.
· Mailing Address - After June 1st, please mail your checks, forms and other stuff to us directly at camp: 50 Encore/Coda Lane, Sweden, ME 04040. After the 1st, any mail sent to us in Brookline will be automatically forwarded to us in Maine, but it is much faster if you mail it directly to us at camp
· Problem Solving - We will do everything possible to help your camper address problems he/she may encounter at camp. We work together as a staff to help campers with issues they may be having, and often contact parents in this process for background information, advice, or just to give you an update. It has been our experience over many years that this team approach is helpful to all concerned and provides an effective feedback loop on all sides. Sometimes a camper who is reluctant to confide in a staff member will share a problem with their parents in a letter or fax. Should this happen, please contact us so that we can discuss the issue together and develop possible strategies. We want to know if your child is experiencing a problem so that we can work on it.
Sometimes a camper is unhappy about a situation in camp but tells no one – not his/her counselor or teacher or parents. Please have a discussion with your child prior to camp to remind them of the importance of letting a staff member know that they are unhappy about something in clear terms. After all, the only way that we can work on a problem is if we know about it!
We will mention this again to all the campers and staff members at the beginning of each session, and conduct cabin workshops on the subject as well. Again, we want to know if your child is experiencing a problem so that we can work on it, but he/she has to let us know about it!
· Telephone - Campers are allowed to use the camp phone in the event of a genuine family emergency or if it is their birthday. Most campers will probably be calling home during trip days (see cell phone info above), so you may hear from them on those days, between about 11AM and 4PM. Trip Days for this summer are:
· 1st Session: July 8 & July 15 · 2nd Session: August 2 & August 9
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IV. ENSEMBLE PLACEMENT
· At the beginning of each session, every child meets with his/her private teacher for a mini lesson – a sort of musical “get to know you”. The purpose of this meeting is twofold: · for the camper, it is a chance to meet with his/her teacher on the very first day, begin to get to know them, and receive a short assignment to work on for their next full lesson. · for the instructor, it is a chance to hear each student play, get to know them, begin thinking of appropriate private lesson materials, and assess proper ensemble placement.
· For these mini lessons, campers should bring with them to camp a couple of short pieces to play or sing that they like, and that will ‘show them off’ best. Staff members will probably ask them to play a couple of major and/or minor scales, and to sight read a short section of music as well. No single factor determines placement in any ensemble. Rather, it is the overall impression made by the intersection of the various components of playing/singing that determines placement: tone, range, sight reading ability, physical dexterity, interpretation, spirit. Staff members make every effort to place campers in appropriate ensembles.
· If your child will be participating in musical theater, they should prepare to sing 16 bars of a ballad and 16 bars of a more up-tempo song. We ask that they perform it from memory and that they choose the 16 bars that best show off what they can do. They should bring a copy of the music to the audition for the accompanist. We look forward to hearing their beautiful voices!
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V. MEDICAL ISSUES
· Asthma Inhaler or other Self-Administered Medication – if your child uses an asthma inhaler, EPI pen or some other kid of self administered medication, you need to complete some paperwork mandated by the State of Maine department of Health and Human Services. These forms are located on our website in the “Parent’s Info” section.
· Information Sharing - We will be sharing the medical information you send us on your child’s medical form on an as needed, confidential basis with the health professionals we normally use every summer, including: · Our regular, in-camp nurses and/or doctors · Members of our staff who we feel should know · North Bridgton Family Practice (designated camp doctors) · The Bridgton Hospital (and emergency room facility) · Area specialists as needed (Orthopedists, Dermatologists, etc..)
· Prescription Medicines - Please mail all medicines directly to us. Our camp nurses will keep them securely stored in our infirmary, and will dispense them to your camper per the prescription instructions. Maine state law specifies that all medications must be kept securely at the infirmary. All medications must be properly labeled and in the original prescription containers! Otherwise, by law, our nurse may NOT administer them!
· Treatment Notification Policy - Should your camper require medical care of a routine nature [Tylenol for a headache, band aid for a cut, strep throat culture, etc.] we would probably not notify you by telephone unless there was a special reason to do so. If, on the other hand, your camper twists an ankle badly, or breaks a finger, or requires some other substantial care, we will always notify you by telephone as soon as possible.
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VI. MISCELLANEOUS
· Biography – If you have not already done so, please send us a BIOGRAPHY of your camper for our files, which should include anything you would like a bunk counselor, head counselor or private instructor to know about your child. This is extremely helpful to staff members in learning about their campers at the beginning of camp. Remember that some of our staff members will be new this summer and that virtually no child is “the same as last year”. For these reasons, it is quite valuable for us to have a biography of all campers, both new and returning.
· Instrument Insurance - The camp does carry comprehensive insurance, which covers your child’s instrument, minus a deductible. However, you are better off to have your own insurance as well, to cover the deductible gap. We recommend that you ask your insurance agent adding your camper’s instrument and any other expensive belongings to your existing Home Owner’s Comprehensive Policy as scheduled coverage. This will guarantee proper coverage in the event of any mishap.
· Payment Policy – Full payment must be received before we can accept you child into camp. Please mail all payments directly to us in a timely way and do NOT send final checks with your camper.
· Picture – If you have not already done so, lease send us a recent PICTURE of your camper for our files. This is extremely helpful to all of our staff members in learning camper’s names at the beginning of camp. Remember that some of our staff members will be new this summer, and that campers tend to grow & change quite a bit during each year. For these reasons, it is quite valuable for us to have a picture of all campers, both new and returning.
· Pocket Money - Because we organize our camp in such a way that cash transactions are not a part of day-to-day life, campers do not need to have any money in their possession while at camp. The fees that you have already paid take care of all expenses, small and large, including all trips, treats, extras, etc.., as well as any small individual items your camper may require. We want all campers to be treated equally by other campers and staff members regardless of their 'real world' financial status. The best way to achieve this goal is to remove $$$ from the equation. Therefore, any pocket money left over from traveling to camp will be stored for campers and returned when they depart.
· Tipping - Please do not tip our staff people. Tipping invariably leads to favoritism, which is certainly not what we want to encourage! If you would like to show your appreciation for a staff member, please speak with us about the best way to do it.
· Theater Supplies - If you have elected to be in musical theater this summer, please bring the following commonly available items with you to camp. Having these items with you when you arrive will save a lot of time and effort during camp, especially leading up to the performance on parent’s day.
· Work/Study Openings – we are looking for a few more upper campers [Intermediate or Senior] to join our work/study team in 1st session. Campers on Work/Study work for about an hour each evening cleaning up one of the big halls, either for a specific concert that evening, or just a general clean up. Work/Study campers are paid an hourly wage for their efforts and receive their pay at the end of the summer. Last summer, most of the kids earned between $80 and $100 in one session. Any interested campers or parents should contact Jamie for more information.
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VII. TRAVEL
· Luggage - Trunks, duffels, suitcases and boxes are all good ways to get your camper’s belongings to camp. Whichever container you choose, it will be unpacked upon arrival at camp so that the clothes can be stored on open-air shelves and you camper won’t be 'living out of the trunk', which can get nasty rather quickly. Please see that your camper's luggage is labeled with his/her name, rather than with that of another family member. It can be difficult to sort out baggage when bags are labeled with names of people not on our camper rosters!
· Shipping · You may ship clothes, instruments or other items directly to us at camp anytime after June 1st. · At the end of each session, we will be happy to ship back to you any items that you wish, whether or not you shipped them to us originally, and bill you afterwards. · We recommend United Parcel Service, who deliver and pickup at camp almost daily. They operate regionally, so look for their local number in your directory, or you can try them at 800-742-5877. · Please ship to: Camp Encore/Coda, 50 Encore-Coda Lane, Sweden, ME 04040 · We strongly recommend shipping your child’s luggage ahead of time if they are flying to camp. Current security measures make it less sure than in prior years that a given flyer’s luggage will reach the correct destination. By shipping ahead of time, you are more assured that your child’s luggage will get safely to camp, where we can have it waiting in the bunk on arrival day.
· Visiting · You are welcome visit the camp at anytime, but please call ahead to discuss the best day and time for your visit. When you arrive in camp, please park in the parking lot, and check in at the office before going to look for your camper. · We do not allow friends of campers to visit. · You may give permission for your child to leave camp with another child’s parents but we urge you to carefully consider granting such permission, and we don’t recommend doing so unless you know the other family well. To grant such permission, please write to us, specifically naming the individual to whom you grant permission and acknowledging that the camp is not responsible for your child while in the care of the named family. We are not able to release any child to another family without such a note. An email is not adequate because you cannot sign it. Faxes are acceptable, but must bear your signature and a date. In any case, we will only release your child to individuals over 21 years of age.
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Finally – please let us know if there was any information that was not included which you feel should have been, or anything that was unclear. There’s a lot of information to convey and we want to do so in the clearest possible way. Thanks!
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Summer: 50 Encore/Coda Lane, Sweden, ME, 04040 Tel: 207-647-3947
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