We have a great group going to Summer Camp this year – 18 Scouts and 6 Adults in total.
[NOTE: If you ordered Troop T-Shirts or Hoodies, we are expecting those will be delivered on Monday, June 12th. Once received, we’ll confirm and arrange pickup or delivery.]
HEALTH FORMS:
Health Forms are REQUIRED to go to camp, including Part C. If you do not have a fully completed Health Form, with all signatures and a copy of your Insurance Card, we cannot and will not let you (adults) or your Scout into the van on Saturday morning at departure.
PLEASE – do not wait until Saturday morning to give us your Health Forms; please work out a way to get your forms to Art Paquet in advance. We need three copies, so it would be very helpful it you bring 3 copies to Art when you turn in your forms.
MEDICATIONS:
All Scouts that will need or be taking any medications while at camp, MUST put those in the possession of our Medical Officer for Summer Camp, Art Paquet. This includes both prescription and non-prescription medications (such as Advil, Pepto Bismol, etc.), medications to be provided at specific times as well as those to be provided only if/as needed, etc.
BEFORE THURSDAY, June 15th – please email the Scoutmaster and Art Paquet with a list of all medications you intend to send with your Scout, with instructions on when and how much to administer, and all other pertinent information. There is a medication chart on Page 14 of the Overall guide from the camp (see below), which you are free to use; or you can make up your own version.
ON THURSDAY, June 15th – when we load the trailer, please bring with you a copy of the instructions you email before Thursday, and all medications in zipper locked bags, or other re-closable/re-sealable bags or containers.
Our suggestion for preparing your medications, if possible/feasible for you, is as follows:
– Use small zipper bags for each dosage, and write on the outside the date and time the medication is to be taken (for example, Monday, with breakfast)
– Use a medium sized zipper bag to hold all of the medications for a given day (that is, put all of the Monday dosages in a bag labeled Monday)
– For any “as needed” medications, include those in one medium sized bag labeled “as needed”
– Use one large zipper bag to hold all of the daily bags (all medications) in one single bag with your Scout’s name on the outside.
– If the idea of having to get snack/sandwich, quart, and gallon sized bags is too much; or you only have a few medications, Art and I will work with you for whatever system works best in your situation to have all the medications clearly separated and labeled.
PACKING LIST:
The camp has developed two guides for leaders and families, that have an overview of the camp, schedule, and other useful information:
– Overall Guide (Link)
– Camp Ottari Guide (Link)
– Brownsea Island Guide (Link)
– Clayton Lake Guide (Link)
There is packing list provided in the overall guide on Page 18. This does provide a good summary of what is needed; but feel free to adjust to suit your Scout. I would suggest including Gold Bond powder or similar, as most of the boys will, at some point, experience some chafing in the groin due to the amount of swimming, sweating and walking.
For BSI, there is a short supply list on the bottom of Page 2 to look over; in particular, there will be a 5-mile mountain hike, so appropriate shoes are important.
For Clayton Lake, there is a suggested list on Page 2 of the Clayton Lake guide.
I’m also often asked about cash – there is a trading post and a snack shop. It is entirely possible for a Scout to have a great experience and not spend a single penny; but many like to get a rootbeer float, or something from the trading post. Send whatever amount seems reasonable to you, but I would strongly suggest there is no reason for them to have more than $50; in fact $20 is probably plenty.
TRAILER LOADING:
We will meet at Cork UMC on Thursday, June 1 5yh at 7:30pm. We will load all of the Troop gear needed on the trip (stove, lights, poles, flags, etc.) as well as personal gear that will not be needed to be kept in Vans with the Scouts during travel. (Any items they want or need with them in the van should be included in their “Go Bag” – a backpack or smaller sized bag – pillows may be separate).
Personal gear to be included in the trailer can be contained in trunks, duffel bags, backpacks, etc. Sterilite footlockers [IMAGE](available at Wal-Mart and other retailers for about $20) make a good choice for summer camp but are not required. Consider whether a combination or key padlock might be a good idea (if you do send them with a lock; please consider sharing the combination or a copy of the key with the Scoutmaster, just in case they forget/lose it). While any electronics will be kept and locked up by the Scoutmaster while at camp, other valuables can also be locked away by the Scoutmaster, so it may not be necessary to lock your truck or duffel bag.
CLASS A UNIFORM
Class A Uniforms are REQUIRED and should NOT be included in the Trailer. Rather, ALL SCOUTS (and adults) should arrive at Cork UMC on Thursday evening to load the trailer, wearing their Class A Uniform (this is so we know they have it, and that it is NOT packed in the gear being loaded into the trailer). Please, everyone should be wearing the uniform, not just have it with them.
If everyone has their uniform on, once we complete the trailer loading, we may elect to mark and hang each uniform in the back of the trailer on Thursday night. If we do, then everyone may show up on Saturday morning in a Class B (Boy Scout related tee-shirt if you have one). However, if we do not hang the Class A uniforms on Thursday, we will need everyone to arrive Saturday WEARING the Class A uniform.
DEPARTURE:
We will meet at 4:15am on Saturday morning, June 17th for a 4:30am departure. Our goal is to get them directly into a vehicle as quickly as possible and leave as soon as everyone is loaded up. We do not intend to have to do anything other than get the boys from their cars into the van. They can be as sleepy as you like and they do not need to be pre-fed: we will be stopping for breakfast a few hours into our trip.
Electronics will be permitted in the vehicles during the drive, but so will books and other non-electronic forms of passing the time. The Scoutmaster will take possession of ALL electronics for the week of camp and they will be locked away. However, even so, we cannot and will not be responsible and we will not be signing receipts, etc. to log them. That said, we don’t expect we’ll have any loss or theft issues, but if we do, neither the Scoutmaster or the Troop will replace any lost, stolen or damaged items.
I will send messages at times during the trip to confirm our safe travels to Camp.
AT CAMP:
I will attempt to send messages at times during the week at Camp, but communications will be infrequent and any communications directly between Scouts and family at home are strongly discouraged (except in extraordinary circumstances), as homesickness and such is a natural part of going away and working through it is a major achievement for young Scouts (and one that they don’t get if they call home, or get calls from home).
RETURN:
We will depart Camp very early on Saturday morning, June 24th, and will be targeting arrival at Cork UMC around 9:00pm. I will send messages at times during the trip to confirm our safe travels home from camp, and to provide an updated ETA as we get closer to home.
Electronics will be permitted in the vehicles during the drive, but so will books and other non-electronic forms of passing the time. The Scoutmaster will return electronics at the breakfast stop.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please call me at (813) 703-1665.
In order for me to be sure you have received this information, I request you reply confirming receipt as I will begin following up with texts for phone calls on Friday to confirm all families are aware of the above.
Thank you for the confidence and trust you place in me and my fellow adult leaders to allow us to take your Scouts to Summer Camp. It’s a confidence and trust we don’t take lightly.
Yours in Scouting,
// Jackson