What's up, everyone? I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. It seems like the days are flying by quite quickly. Because of that, you may not even realize that camp is right around the corner! (July 12-16). Because of that, there are some things I need to make you all aware of.
First, most of you have at this point, but for those who haven't, it is very important that you get your student registered on Camp Siloam's website. (This is only for the students who are already confirmed to be going to camp. It is too late to sign up.) You can do this by clicking this smiley face right here :) You will need to create an account and register your student(s) as an attendee and select Second Baptist Church on the list of churches.
Second, if you haven't turned in a notarized copy of our Student Activity Consent form, you will need to do this. Without this form, we cannot take your student anywhere. If you need one of these or if you aren't sure if you've turned one in, please contact me at (870) 997-0133.
Third, I know that many of our students take medications multiple times a day. For these students, there is a form that needs to be filled out. This form will need to be place in a ziplock bag along with the medications. Camp Siloam requires all medicines be kept in their ORIGINAL containers that have the dosage and instructions on them. They also require that your student only bring the EXACT amount of medicine that will be needed during camp. The staff at Siloam does an excellent job of handling medication. You can access this form by clicking on this little guy (-.-)
Fourth, some of you may have already heard the grumblings of your children who have heard this, but we will be taking up phones at the beginning of camp and not returning them to the students when we leave. This is something that was thought long and hard about. My first year going to camp, I noticed that a lot of times, students would rush back to the bunkhouse during free time to play on their phones. That's not what camp is all about. I think the students will benefit greatly from taking some time to unplug while they are at camp. I know some of you may be thinking, "How will I communicate with my child?????" I assure you that you will be notified of any emergency. If you have an emergency you can contact me and I can connect you to your student.
Fifth, and I know this probably isn't necessary with how awesome our students all are, but if your student is caught with anything that they are not supposed to have or if they misbehave in a way that the camp staff, another counselor, or myself finds to be unacceptable, you will be contacted and you will be asked to pick up your student. If you are unable to do this, they will be sent home an alternative way at your expense. Again, I don't think we will have an issue with this, but it does need to be said up front.
Lastly, below is some information about camp including the schedule for the day we leave and the packing list. It is very important that you are on time dropping of your student. The medical screening is going to take some time as well as packing everyone's belongings into the trailer. If you are going to be late because of an emergency, please let me know. We will not be waiting for students past departure time. If your student isn't here, they will be left.
On the day that we leave, AND on the day we return, we will be stopping at a fast food restaurant. Your student will need to bring money for those meals. There is also a gift shop at camp that your student is welcome to shop at. Younger students tend to get VERY excited at the gift shop and sometimes decide to spend all of their money at this shop and have no money to spend on their food on the way home. Please explain to your students what money is for meals.