Planning for Summer 2019 has been going on for many months – hiring staff, planning programs, maintenance of camp buildings and grounds.  Now it’s time for us to ask for help from our parents.  We want to get to know our campers from the people who know them best … you!  And we want to help you prepare to send your campers off for the summer of a lifetime.

Fill Out (Lots of) Forms
The forms are the best way for us to learn everything about your campers.  We greatly appreciate you taking the time to fill them out carefully and submit them on time.  Go to your Forms Dashboard on CampInTouch and all your relevant forms will be listed.  If it’s in bold, it’s required.  Most forms are due May 1^st; the due date is listed next to each form.  All of this information helps us get to know your campers before they arrive on opening day, ensuring that we are prepared to help them have an awesome, safe, and healthy time at camp.

Read the Family Handbook
Where’s the packing list? What time do we drop off our camper? How do you celebrate birthdays at camp? Answers to these questions and lots more can be found in the handy OSRUI Family Handbook. You can download it from your Forms Dashboard and read through it at your leisure.

For returning families, we want to draw your attention to a few changes in policy for Summer 2019:

Electronics Policy (page 10 of the Family Handbook)
We have made two changes to the electronics policy:

1.  E-readers:  In response to feedback from parents, we are allowing campers to bring e-readers to camp. Please note: e-readers are allowed as long as their only functionality is to read books and they do not have any cellular data access. If your child’s e-reader has the ability to play games or watch videos, it is not allowed at camp.
2. Music Players:  We have clarified what sort of music players are allowed. Our goal is to allow devices that only have music on them, without games or internet access. This way, campers aren’t missing out on programming and time with the OSRUI community while playing on their devices. If there is a small screen on the music player to see the song information without any additional functionality, that is ok (e.g. iPod shuffles and iPod Nanos that do not have video capability are both allowed, as are other similar MP3 players or CD players).

Lice Checks (page 18 of the Family Handbook)
In order to help prevent the spread of lice, upon arrival to OSRUI each child will be checked for lice by an outside service that specializes in lice checks. This will decrease the chance of lice being brought to camp at the beginning of a session. Should your child be found with lice or nits (lice eggs), they will be treated on the spot. Treatment will cost $110, charged directly to the family through CampMinder. This will consist of manual lice removal as well as an oil treatment. Our on-site nurses will conduct follow-up appointments to ensure the eradication of your child’s lice. We will call you prior to treatment; if you prefer for your child to not be treated at camp, your child will need to be picked up and returned to camp with a note from your physician that they are lice free.

Peanut Butter (page 15 of the Family Handbook)
As we shared this fall, OSRUI will not be serving peanut butter at camp during Summer 2019. SunButter (made from sunflower seeds) and Wowbutter (made from soy) will be available as alternatives for campers at meals. Although we do not have peanuts in our kitchen or in the products we use in the kitchen, we do still have items in our kitchen that may have been packaged in a facility with peanuts.

Should you have questions about these changes, or about anything else on the camper forms or in the handbook, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us:  osrui@urj.org    847-509-0990.