2021 Camp Policies

We will be operating our camps this summer following the guidelines issued to recreational camps in Massachusetts by our local board of health and are looking forward to offering a full summer's worth of fantastic camp experiences. Our top priority is (as always) the safety of our campers and staff. This page will address the unique health concerns posed this summer.

Parents may request to see any policies at any time including backgrounds checks and behavior management plans.

Review our current policies

Please note that these policies are based on current guidelines provided by the State and the town of Brookline. Guidelines may change (and have already!). As any changes are made, we will update this page as soon as we are humanly able so your family can be up-to-date with our expectations for this summer.

Masks at camp

We will follow the following guidelines as issued by the State of Massachusetts.

Campers & Staff

Masks are required to be worn indoors at all times by all campers and staff, unless eating or drinking in designated areas.
Wearing masks is optional in all outdoor settings for all campers and staff. There will be plenty of opportunity for campers to spend time outdoors for mask breaks.
Families are required to provide a mask or face covering for their child. If your child's mask needs replacing during the day, one will be provided by the camp.

Ensuring the health of our community

All campers and staff will complete a daily wellness check before entering camp. Families should expect the following every morning:

When dropping off your camper, you will be asked to review a list of symptoms to ensure everyone in your household is not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19. Nobody knows your health better than you do! If at any point you or your camper feel sick, please do not come to camp. Symptoms that should prevent you from coming to campus include body temperature of over 100.4 degrees (fever), unusual headache, unusual soreness, or other symptoms that you do not normally experience.
Please do not leave your vehicle in the drop-off/pick-up line. Our staff will assist you and your camper.

Key information to keep our community safe:

There will be three medical professionals on campus each day.
We know your child is already a handwashing pro, but please know that we will encourage your camper to refrain from touching their face and wash their hands often. Counselors for each group will enter the bathrooms and handwashing stations to help facilitate this process so we can ensure that every camper washes their hands after using the bathroom, before and after meals and snacks, and as they leave an activity area.
If any camper reports COVID-19 associated symptoms throughout the day, the camper will be evaluated by our medical team. The decision to send a child home or to return them to their group will be made based on the child's general wellness and/or observation of any COVID-19 symptoms.
Any camper who has a fever of 100.4 degrees or more and/or exhibits true symptoms of COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to camp until they are able to provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test.
Campers who test positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to camp until advised by their local board of public health.
Campers who are determined to be close contacts of people who test positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to return to camp for 10 days OR 7 days following a negative COVID-19 (PCR) test collected 5 days after exposure.
- Review Massachusetts quarantine guidelines here.
As a guiding principle, campers will also be reminded to keep a three-foot distance from other campers and staff, though help will be provided from the counselors within your children's group in situations where extra help is needed (skate tying included!).
All families coming to camp this summer must abide by the most current version of the Massachusetts travel order.
There will be no COVID-19 testing available on campus.

Please help us keep our entire camp community safe. Should you, your children, or another member of your household develop symptoms of COVID-19 or come in close contact with a person diagnosed with or under monitoring for COVID-19, please contact the m edical team. If required to quarantine during their time at camp, families will receive a pro-rated refund based on the number of days that they were able to attend in that week.

Lunch and snacks

Sage Dining Services, our food service team, will provide campers with snacks and lunch each day. Meals will be served to campers individually by the dining staff. Menus will be released soon.

Lunches will be served indoors. Most campers will have the opportunity to enjoy their lunch outdoors as weather permits. All indoor dining locations have been designed to allow for proper physical distancing between campers while eating.

Campers who have marked that their child follows a vegetarian diet or who have indicated a food allergy on their online health history form will have a specifically marked boxed lunch delivered to their camp group. The health history form is available to fill out on your Camp InTouch account and is due on June 1.

Families who would prefer not to use dining service this year may send their child to camp with a lunch and snack as long as the food is nut-free. There will be no discount to the camp fee if you decide not to use this service, and we are unable to provide refrigeration for personal lunches or snacks.

If you have any questions about the food or snacks at camp, please email Mike Chen.

Camp groups

Each camp will have a reduced capacity to ensure that proper physical distancing can be in place.
Campers will be placed in groups of no more than 12 children of a similar age and will stay with that group throughout the day.
In some certain programming, group size can increase to a total of 25.
Each group of twelve will have three to four counselors assigned to those groups, who will travel solely with those campers throughout the day.
Though we accept group requests and do our best to accommodate them in the best way we can, this year in particular group requests MUST come prior to the start of camp. Please fill out the new group request form on your file to let us know who you would like your child to be grouped with at camp.

Transportation unavailable in 2021

Bus transportation is no longer being offered. Thank you for your understanding. You may choose to drop off your camper as early as 7:30 a.m. You may also choose to enroll in Club A.C., our extended day option, through the camper application to be able to pick up as late as 5:30 p.m. Our regular day runs between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Please note: all transportation savings are being allocated to fund the significant increase in daily cleaning and operational costs associated with camp this summer.

Swimming

The pool will be sectioned off to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. Each section will be able to accommodate one group of campers. Every camper will have the opportunity to swim every day!

As always, campers will go through a swim test on Monday to assess their swim level. Campers who do not pass the swim test will stay on the shallow side of the pool.

Unless there is an emergency, lifeguards will patrol from the side of the pool to avoid unnecessary contact between groups visiting the water. Counselors will swim with their groups to provide extra eyes and safety in the water.

At this time, only our Junior and Day Camps will have swim lessons available during the camp day.

Hugs, high fives, and needing help

We know: the idea that your child will be blocked from running to their friend for a huge hug after not seeing each other in months is disheartening. Camp is about maintaining those connections, and we are going to work through the social distancing awkwardness the best that we possibly can.

Just as we did last year, we strongly recommend that you chat with your child before camp to help them remember that distancing is helpful, since campers will be reminded to keep a six-foot distance as a guiding principle. However, we are structuring our groups a little differently this year and asking for group requests in advance so we can maintain those memorable moments in the best way that we can.

Counselors working with your child's hockey group will still be there to help tie skates. Junior Campers will still be able to hold their counselor's hand to hold if they are having a particularly nervous moment. Your camper's teammate will still celebrate your child's amazing goal out on the fields. Though there is no mud run this year, kids will come home with a new sense of confidence about something they tried and giggling about the joke their counselor told them.

We hear you: we know that this will be hard, and we are ready and willing to work through this with your camper to make this summer a memorable experience.