Adventure Camp Parent Packet

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Greetings Parents/Guardians! May 25, 2011 My name is Jason Czajka and I am the new Director of Camps here at Lakeshore Sport and Fitness and I am thrilled to start what promises to be an exciting summer for our day campers. A little background on myself- I am what you may call a “lifer” when it comes to the world of day camps, having been involved in all aspects of day camp throughout pretty much my entire life. From my days as a youth attending day camp in the suburbs where I grew up, moving up to become a counselor in my later years of High School and into college through serving as Camp Director during recent summers in and around the Chicago land area, I’ve done and experienced it all. After College, I was employed for 6 years as a Teaching Assistant at an elementary school in the west suburbs just prior to coming here to Lakeshore. Working with children who have several physical and mental disabilities was something I found to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my life. My previous day camp experience includes several years as a counselor for the North Riverside Recreation Department; as a counselor for 2 years working with 5-6 year olds for the JCC Apachi Day Camp; as Camp Director for one summer in North Riverside and as Director of Camps for the Memorial Park District located in Melrose Park/Stone Park area. I’m hoping my years of Day Camp experience will help transform our program here at Lakeshore into one of the premier camp experiences the city of Chicago has to offer. As you may or may not know, there has been some exciting changes around Lakeshore the past few months as the first stages of renovations have begun to help enhance the overall feel of the club for both our members and guests, and our Fun n’ Sun and Adventure Camps are no different. The entire day camp experience here at Lakeshore is being completely redone to help create the best summer fun experience for both the children and yourselves. Included in this parent packet you will find several important items relevant to the summer so please take the time to go through it carefully and familiarize yourself with all we plan to offer this summer for your children. Inside this packet you fill find: *Camper “Getting to Know You” page - Please fill out completely as this will serve as a way for our counselors and staff to get to know all the pertinent information they will need to know about your son or daughter. *Emergency Contact/Info form - This form will help us to not only be able to reach the

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Greetings Parents/Guardians!May 25, 2011My name is Jason Czajka and I am the new Director of Camps here at Lakeshore Sport and Fitness and I am thrilled to start what promises to be an exciting summer for our day campers. A little background on myself- I am what you may call a “lifer” when it comes to the world of day camps, having been involved in all aspects of day camp throughout pretty much my entire life. From my days as a youth attending day camp in the suburbs where I grew up, moving

Transcript of Adventure Camp Parent Packet

Greetings Parents/Guardians!

May 25, 2011

My name is Jason Czajka and I am the new Director of Camps here at Lakeshore Sport and Fitness and I am thrilled to start what promises to be an exciting summer for our day campers. A little background on myself- I am what you may call a lifer when it comes to the world of day camps, having been involved in all aspects of day camp throughout pretty much my entire life. From my days as a youth attending day camp in the suburbs where I grew up, moving up to become a counselor in my later years of High School and into college through serving as Camp Director during recent summers in and around the Chicago land area, Ive done and experienced it all. After College, I was employed for 6 years as a Teaching Assistant at an elementary school in the west suburbs just prior to coming here to Lakeshore. Working with children who have several physical and mental disabilities was something I found to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my life. My previous day camp experience includes several years as a counselor for the North Riverside Recreation Department; as a counselor for 2 years working with 5-6 year olds for the JCC Apachi Day Camp; as Camp Director for one summer in North Riverside and as Director of Camps for the Memorial Park District located in Melrose Park/Stone Park area. Im hoping my years of Day Camp experience will help transform our program here at Lakeshore into one of the premier camp experiences the city of Chicago has to offer. As you may or may not know, there has been some exciting changes around Lakeshore the past few months as the first stages of renovations have begun to help enhance the overall feel of the club for both our members and guests, and our Fun n Sun and Adventure Camps are no different. The entire day camp experience here at Lakeshore is being completely redone to help create the best summer fun experience for both the children and yourselves. Included in this parent packet you will find several important items relevant to the summer so please take the time to go through it carefully and familiarize yourself with all we plan to offer this summer for your children. Inside this packet you fill find: *Camper Getting to Know You page- Please fill out completely as this will serve as a way for our counselors and staff to get to know all the pertinent information they will need to know about your son or daughter. *Emergency Contact/Info form- This form will help us to not only be able to reach the

proper person in the event of an emergency, but also to inform us of any medical information we may need to know about your child. *Camp FAQ- This FAQ sheet should provide all the necessary information needed to address any questions or concerns you may have about camp this summer. *Schedule of Events- This is a detailed list of some of the activities and theme weeks planned for the summer. The list is subject to change and more events will be added as the summer progresses. A newsletter will go home to parents each week detailing any changes to the schedule as well as any other information needed for the week. *Pre and After Camp Sign Up sheet- As a special offer to the parents of our day campers, we offer before and after care services. Please fill out the form with the days and dates you wish to utilize our pre or after care camp service and return at the Parents Open House or on your childs first day. I look forward to not only working with but meeting both our campers and their parents/guardians. Remember our Parent Open House is on Sunday June 12th from 1130-1 at Lakeshore. This will be your opportunity to meet not only myself but also our counselors and staff as well. If you have any questions prior to our Open House, please feel free to contact me at (773) 477-9888 x 157. I would be more than happy to address any additional concerns you may have now or as the summer progresses. Sincerely, Jason Czajka Director of Camps

Please list any allergies your child may have

Getting to Know YouChilds Full Name: ___________________________________________________________ Childs Birthday: __________________________________ Childs Preferred Name: ___________________________________ Parent or Guardian Names: __________________________________________________ Siblings in household and their ages: _________________________________________ Any languages spoken at home: ____________________________________________ Any pets at home and their names: __________________________________________ Has your child attended any programs/schools before this and where? ______________________________________________________________________________ Does your child like to swim? _________________________________ Is there anything else you would like us to know about your child? ______________________________________________________________________________ __________

FavoritesGame: Book: Animal: Color: Sport: Toy: Food: Place to go:

*Please fill out the following form and return it with your child on their first day of camp.

Fun n Sun/Adventure Camp 2011 FAQsWhat are the times of camp?Camp starts with our optional Pre Care service starting at 7:30am. The official camp day runs from 9am-230pm with our After Care Service running from 2:30 to 6pm.

What is Pre and After Care?Our Pre and After Care program is a special offer made to parents of our day campers offering a child care service for busy parents before and after the camp day. It is staffed by both our Pee Wee Camp counselors and our Fun n Sun/Adventure Counselors.

How is pick up and drop off handled each day?Each child must be walked to our daily meeting spot by a parent or guardian and checked in with their respective counselor. At pick up, a parent/guardian or other pre-approved adult must sign out each child whether it is immediately after camp or at our After Care service. PLEASE WRITE LEGIBILY ON SIGN IN/OUT FORMS TO ENSURE ACCURATE ATTENDANCE.

What will my child do at camp this summer?A list of events is included within this packet but our Counselors and Lakeshore staff specialists will lead your child in a variety of activities including Swimming, Arts n Crafts, camp songs and games, special theme week events, sports sessions, Park Visits and Field Trips. Any additional special events and activities will be detailed in a parent newsletter distributed weekly.

Who are my childs counselors?This year, as part of our restructuring of day camps here at Lakeshore SF, the staff hired this year was carefully selected from a list of teachers and education students or other college and graduate students with education, camp or recreation experience. We will employee a small group of high school runners selected for their maturity and experience with working with children. All Camp staff completes Lakeshores camp training program which includes CPR training, life guard training and a complete back ground check.

What should my child bring to camp?On each day that your child attends, they should come to camp with a backpack that includes a swimsuit, lunch, snack, drink, sunscreen and any additional items you feel your child must bring such as anything related to medical needs or the like. PLEASE LABEL ALL OF YOUR CHILDS BELONGINGS. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST OR MISPLACED ITEMS.

How do the field trips work?Campers must wear their camp T-shirt on field trip days. They must also bring a drink with their lunches. Buses leave at approximately 9:30 and return around 2pm. All busses are equipped with seatbelts. Field trips are listed on the schedule of events page.

Will I receive any further information about camp?Any information pertinent to each particular week of camp will be sent home with the children in a parent newsletter on the Friday of the week before hand. The first newsletter will be sent home at the Parents Open House on Sunday June 12th.

If your child is not in attendance on that Friday then the letter will be distributed on the following Monday or whichever day your child attends camp that week. If you would like to have the letter emailed to you then a special arrangement must be made with the Camp Director prior to that week.

How will my child be grouped?Each child will be placed in a group consisting of other children in their grade/age group. If you wish to have your child paired with another child attending camp who may be in a different age group/grade, special arrangements must be made with the Camp Director and only if its within a 1 year difference.

Will my child be provided snack?A specialty snack will be provided on certain special event days but otherwise parents would be responsible for sending any additional snack they wish their child to have. A notice of said special event dates will be sent home in the parent newsletter each week. A certain time of day will be set aside for each group to have a snack, and if one is not provided, an arrangement can be made to provide one for your child, but it is not Lakeshores responsibility to provide a snack each day for your child.

Fun N Sun and Adventure Camp 2011 Schedule of EventsDAY CAMP WILL RUN 5 DAYS A WEEK WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WEEK 4. EVENTS AND TRIPS LISTED ARE THOSE ALREADY FINALIZED AT THE TIME OF DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARENT PACKET. ANY ADDITIONAL EVENTS OR CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE WILL BE PLACED INTO THE PARENT NEWSLETTER EACH WEEK. -Jason Camp Director

Week 1: Summer Kick Off Week! June 13th-17th Monday: Ice Breaker Games Tuesday: Splash Party Wednesday: Ice Cream Social Friday: Pirates Cove (All Camps)

Week 2: Fitness Fun Week! June 20th- June 24th Wednesday: All Camp Tournament Friday: Pump It Up! (All Camps)

Week 3: Day

Camp Goes Wild Week!

June 27th-July 1st Friday: Lincoln Park Zoo (All Camps)

Week 4: Star July 5th-July8th

Spangled Week!

Wednesday: Lets Make a Mess-terpiece! (Fun n Sun Only) Friday: Shedd Aquarium (All Camps)

Week 5: Out of This World Week! July 11th-July15th Wednesday: WNBA Sky Game (Adventure Camp Only) Friday: LegoLand (All Camps)

Week 6: Be a Rockstar Week! July 18th-July 22nd Monday: Make and put on your own Puppet Show Tuesday: Make your own instruments Thursday: Camp Talent Show Friday: Millennium Park (All Camps) Week 7: Sun

n Sand Week!

July 25th-July 29th Tuesday: Treasure Hunt Wednesday: Camp Luau Friday: Foster Ave Beach (All Camps)

Week 8: Camp Goes to the Carnival Week! August 1st-August 5th Monday: Design our own Carnival Games Wednesday: Great America (Adventure Camp Only) Thursday: Camp Carnival! Friday: Mystic Waters (All Camps) Week 9: Night at the Day Camp Week! August 8th-August 12th Tuesday: Night Games Day Thursday: Movie/Popcorn and P.J. Day Friday: Navy Pier (All Camps) Week 10: Summer Wind Down Week August 15th- August 19th Monday: Tshirt Signing Party Tuesday: Friendship Bracelets Wednesday: Camp Prom Thursday: Parent Picnic Friday: Time Capsule

Lakeshore Sport & Fitness Sunscreen Application Permission I give permission to the members of Lakeshore Sport & Fitness Summer Camp Staff to apply sunscreen to my child, _______________________________________ anytime they go outdoors and if it is deemed necessary. If you have any questions or concerns, please see the Program Director.

Parent/Guardian Signature ________________________________________ Date ______________________________________________ *Please sign and return form on first day of camp attendance.