Updated COVID Response for the 2021 Season
This summer, we will continue to focus on outdoor activities as much as possible with few off-camp outings, but we will begin to move indoors for dining, rest-hour, overnights, and morning chapel. During those activities social distancing precautions will in place and windows opened to provide good ventilation. Campers may wear their masks anytime throughout the day.
Attached are the
- May 28, 2021 CDC guidelines for operating youth camps
- Recreational Camps and Programs Health and Safety Standards for Reopening for Massachusetts.
We will continue to screen day campers at drop off much like last summer and regularly monitoring overnight campers and staff for signs of illness. Parents may be asked to take campers home if they should become ill during the day.
Karen Carlson will continue to serve as our COVID coordinator and help educate the staff and campers on cleaning and hand washing procedures, reporting symptoms, and staying home when sick. Camper cohort sizes will be 25 or less for day and 12 or less for resident campers.
We were fortunate to have a happy, healthy season last summer and are grateful not to have had any COVID cases.
Camp Opening in 2020
We are looking forward to welcoming campers to Good News this summer and excited to see what God is going to do in this beautiful place. It is with hopeful anticipation that we plan to open in 2020. As our state combats the coronavirus, Governor Baker is reopening Massachusetts businesses in phases: Day Camps will be allowed to open in Phase 2 and Residential Camps in Phase 3. Since each phase will last a minimum of three weeks and could last longer before moving to the next phase, we will only open our day camp this year for most campers. Only when we are ready to address: social distancing strategies; designated hand washing stations; guidelines for who, when, and where to wear facemasks; and proper disinfecting procedures will we open our doors to campers.
Camp Good News places highest priority on camper and staff safety and wellness. These two factors are essential to a successful and fulfilling summer for all. Guidelines from the American Camp Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and American Red Cross will guide our policy to maintain a clean, healthy environment. Our communicable disease plan will be revised in cooperation with ongoing guidance from the public health authorities.
The camp staff attend a week of pre-camp to learn or review camp policies pertaining to the health and wellness of our campers and many other important topics such as camp craft, swimming, boating, child development, home sickness, etc. Staff will learn the new social distancing, hand washing, and mask wearing rules during pre-camp training.
Social distancing measures will include:
- Clear signage re social distancing
- Reduce the frequency of large gatherings and limit the number of attendees per gathering.
- Consider regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening) of campers and staff.
- Reduce the amount of parent and visitor interaction in camp.
- Day camp only to begin with to allow for daily cleaning.
- Campers at increased risk of illness should consider implementing individual plans for distance learning and returning home as needed.
Swimming in the lake remains a refreshing, fun exercise, and also helps provide a good night’s sleep. Our program will include such things as daily disinfecting, minimizing shared equipment, sanitizing shared equipment between usage, and when and where to wear masks. Our communicable disease management plan also outlines strategies to use when an outbreak occurs.
Our opening day health screening procedures reflect the current best practices recommended by the public health authorities. The goal is for all the campers and staff to arrive rested and healthy. Children not feeling well can delay the start of camp or come to a different session. The camp nurse will review other important health at practices such as personal hygiene, cabin cleanliness, caring for personal belongings, and individual camper needs.
Knowing that children benefit from the outdoors and making new friends, we plan to cautiously open our program to small groups of children. We will spread the camp community out during morning chapel, mealtimes, and during activities such as arts and crafts, tennis, and field sports. Swimming, boating, and sailing are a big part of our program and offer children the chance to exercise and improved their skills in the water. Out of state trips will be cancelled and outings such as to the ocean or off camp biking will be rare and require parental permission.
The office staff is always ready to help, so please call or email us anytime. Should camp need to be cancelled your money will be refunded, but at present we are proceeding optimistically with the hope that children can once again enjoy another great summer at Camp Good News.