CELL PHONES

We do not want to police cell phone use. Our feeling is that your job is to engage with kids. If you are not engaging with kids, ask yourself if there is a good reason for that. If you are a Head Counselor and you are bringing the attendance to the office or talking to a parent or learning about allergies from the nurse, those are good reasons to not be engaging with a kid. Perhaps there are ways to use your cell phone that are legitimate uses of your time as a counselor. What we ask is that you step away from the group and into the conference room (opposite the main office) if you need to use your cell phone. That way, we can honor your need to use your phone for something legitimate without risking the negative impact that comes from counselors taking out cell phones all over campus and taking away from activities. Campers may not use cell phones at camp. If they need to call a parent, they can step into the office.

PARKING

Our parking lot is relatively small and we have 350 campers getting dropped off every morning. To the extent possible, we do not want to add counselors to that traffic. That is part of the reason why we ask Head Counselors to arrive no later than 8:30 and all other staff to arrive no later than 8:45. The two places where staff members can park are the grass along Butter Lane - please park in one long row, nose in - and in the field to the north of the tennis courts.

WORK TIMES

Head Counselors are expected to attend the weekly Monday Morning Head Counselor Breakfast Meeting at 8AM as well as hosting their own weekly Wednesday Morning Team Meeting at 8:15AM. On all other days, Head Counselors are expected to be in their home bases by 8:30AM. All other staff members are expected to attend their Wednesday Morning Team Meeting at 8:15AM. On all other days, staff members other than Head Counselors are expected to be in their home bases by 8:45AM. But it is important that you understand the reason for this. We want all staff members to feel like their Head Counselors are there for them. Part of being there for them is literally being there. When staff members arrive, their Head Counselors should be there to greet them. The same holds true for campers. We want campers to feel like their counselors are there for them. And part of being there for them is literally being there. When campers arrive (and some of them arrive as early as 8:45), all of their counselors should be there to greet them and make them feel like the definition of the start of the camp day is less about a time of day and more about “You’re here! Let camp begin!”

If you only work in the morning, you should expect to stay until around 1:15 in order to reset for the next day. If you work Aftercamp, you should expect to stay until around 3:15 to reset and to see all of the campers off. 

COUNSELOR GUESTS

In general, we prefer that staff members do not bring guests to camp. Often, guests are a distraction for the staff member and reduce the efficacy of that staff member. However, sometimes guests turn out to be wonderful additions to our staff. If you talk to a Director and your Head Counselor(s) in advance (at least a few days) to get permission and if your guest works in a group other than yours, we are open to guests working here for the day. You are welcome to have lunch together, but we want your guest to add to camp rather than detract.

TIME OFF

We work a 39 day summer. The expectation is that any days you know you will miss are shared with Doug in advance of the summer. With notice, we can deal with almost anything. However, please note that you will not be paid for days off. Sick days are obviously unpredictable. If you are sick, you are encouraged to take the day off. Please note that we reserve the right to only pay you for days that you are here. Breaks are up to the discretion of Head Counselors.