Welcome to Summer Camp at Marin Waldorf School Session One 2022 (June 20-July 8) Dear Parents, We are delighted to welcome your children to the summer camp program at Marin Waldorf School! Our camp is based on the tenets of Waldorf early childhood education, incorporating ample outdoor activities and free play with a gentle daily rhythm appropriate to the young child. Throughout the summer, we hike, craft, cook, sing, and play together. While we are lucky to have our early childhood classrooms available to us—each equipped with a kitchen and children’s bathrooms—we spend most of the day outdoors, enjoying the sunny days in the shade of our old oak trees or hiking to the nearby creek or into the open space near campus. Below, you’ll find more information about our camp day, as well as the required emergency forms, a packing list, and health and safety protocols. We are looking forward to a wonderful summer with your children! Warmly, Lisa O’Callaghan lisaocallaghan@marinwaldorf.org Camp Coordinator (Session One)
Required: Emergency Form and Health Agreement Required: Please fill out and submit your child’s emergency form before the first day of camp and return it to office@marinwaldorf.org. You can download the emergency form here or find it at the end of this packet. If your child has an allergy and/or a medical condition, please note the condition on the emergency form and send an email to summercamp@marinwaldorf.org with the details.
Hours, Daily Schedule, and Themes Sessions and Themes This year, our camp is divided into two three-week sessions. Session one runs from June 20 to July 8. Session two runs from July 11 to July 29. Below are the weekly themes.
Session One Week One (June 20-24): Working in the Garden Week Two (June 27 - July 1): Water Play Week Three (July 5-July 8): Crafting
Session Two Week Four (July 11-July 15): Fort-Building Week Five (July 18-July 22): Working with Wood Week Six (July 25-29): Outdoor Adventures
Hours and Sample Daily Schedule Camp runs from 8:30 am to 3pm Monday to Friday. 8:30 a.m. 8:45 a.m.
Drop Off Play, Morning Circle, Morning Activity, and Snack
10:45 a.m. Walk or Hike, Storytime, Play and Lunch 1:30 p.m. Rest time/Nap Time (for younger campers)* 2 p.m. Drawing and Play 3 pm Pickup
* Rest Time Our daily rhythm includes a rest time after lunch. Not all children fall asleep at rest time. If you would like your child to nap, please let us know.
Dropoff and Pickup Campers should be dropped off and picked up in front of the school’s main office on Idylberry Road. We request that parents drop off their children promptly at 8:30am each morning and pick up promptly at 3pm. If you must drop off your camper after the morning arrival window, please park your vehicle and walk your child to the front office. Please do not block the loading zone, as this is used for emergency vehicles.
There is no aftercare program following the regular camp day. Please call the camp office (415) 4798190 ext. 109) as soon as possible if you are running late. There is a $5/minute charge for late pickups.
Early Pickup If you are planning to pick up your child before the designated dismissal time, please let their teachers know at drop-off or contact Lisa O’Callaghan by calling (415) 479-8190 ext 109. You will pick up your child at the designated time at the school’s main entrance on Idylberry Road. If your child becomes sick at school and needs to be picked up before dismissal, we will contact you right away. Please see full details on our sick policy below.
What to Pack Please send your child with the following items every day: Backpack (every day) Hearty lunch daily Reusable Water Bottle (no glass), filled with water only Cloth napkin for lunch Sunhat Clean mask/face covering, plus an extra mask/face covering (masks are optional, but we may be asked to use masks indoors (if there is a positive case of COVID at camp) Tuesdays only: an organic vegetable to include in our soup Please send the following items on the first day of camp. They will remain in your child’s cubby: Soft shoes or a pair of socks to use indoors A complete change of clothes in a bag, including the following: Long pants Shorts Long-sleeve shirt Short-sleeve shirt Underwear Socks A small blanket/pillow or roll-up bed for rest or naptime Sunscreen*, if desired (sunscreen should be given to your child’s teacher; please see note below) * Please note: For their safety, children are not allowed to reapply sunscreen themselves and they cannot have bottles of sunscreen in their backpacks. If you would like your child to wear sunscreen, please apply it before arriving at camp in the morning. If you'd like the camp teachers to reapply your child's sunscreen during the day, please give a bottle of sunscreen, clearly labeled with your name, to your child's camp teachers and specify where (face only, face and arms, etc.) you'd like the sunscreen reapplied. Bottles of sunscreen will be stored in a safe place, out of reach of children.
What to Wear Please choose sturdy and comfortable play clothes for camp, without logos and media characters. Please don’t send jewelry, watches, or tattoos. Shoes need to be easy to get on and off as well as sturdy enough so that your child can comfortably participate in all camp activities. Mornings in Lucas Valley can be chilly, even in summer. Many light layers are best.
Snack and Lunch
Summer camp is peanut-free in all classrooms (some classrooms may have additional restrictions to accommodate students with severe allergies). Our day includes a warm organic snack, made fresh every morning! Almonds, apples, and pumpkin seeds are also offered with snack. The snack schedule is as follows. Monday - Oatmeal Tuesday - Vegetable soup with Parmesan cheese (please send a veggie on Monday to include in the soup) Wednesday - Muffins Thursday - Rice and beans Friday - Honey buns and cheese slices
Health and Safety 2022 When to Stay Home/Test for COVID Children should not come to camp if they are exhibiting symptoms of illness, even mild symptoms. In accordance with Marin Waldorf School’s sick policy, children with fevers, streaming noses, nausea, diarrhea, etc., need to stay home until their symptoms are resolved and test for COVID on Day 5 after the onset of symptoms. Until receiving a negative test result on Day 5, children should wear a mask indoors at camp. Please report any contagious disease, including positive COVID tests, to the camp coordinator at summercamp@marinwaldorf.org.
Notification of Illness/Absences If your child is staying home for any reason, please notify the camp coordinator at summercamp@marinwaldorf.org, or if your child has been diagnosed with a contagious disease, including strep throat, pink eye, hand, foot, and mouth, and COVID-19, or if your child has been exposed to COVID-19.
Getting Sick at Camp If a student displays signs of illness, parents or a caregiver will be notified. Caregivers are asked to plan their daily activities in a way that will allow them to prioritize the pickup of a sick child. The expectation is that that children will be picked up within 30 minutes of a phone call.
Masking Is Optional, But Still Recommended Indoors The use of facial coverings remains a very effective tool in reducing transmission of COVID-19, and it is still strongly recommended by the state and county health departments. Many of our community members may choose to continue wearing masks indoors and outdoors. This choice is up to individuals and their families. If you would like your child to use a mask at camp, please reach out to Lisa O’Callaghan, camp coordinator, at summercamp@marinwaldorf.org.
Masks May Still Be Required in Some Settings There may be some contexts when masks will continue to be required indoors during the camp. Specifically, if a child has been exposed to COVID through contacts outside of school, the child must wear a mask indoors until testing negative for COVID on Day 5. If there is a positive case of COVID within a camp cohort, all students will be asked to wear a mask indoors until testing negative 5 days after exposure.
Contact Us Camp Office: 415-479-8190 extension 109 Camp Coordinator Session One: Lisa O’Callaghan, summercamp@marinwaldorf.org Camp Coordinator Session One: Rod DeRienzo, summercamp@marinwaldorf.org Marin Waldorf School Front Office Staff: Megan Smith, office@marinwaldorf.org