COVID 19 Updates
We know that these are uncertain times for everyone. Please know that at Killooleet we will do all we can to open and run as normal a summer as is safe in 2021. We are monitoring advice from the State of VT, the CDC, and both the American and Vermont Camp Associations.
Please check this page for updates.
April 7th, 2021
It is exciting to watch the vaccine rollout and hope that most adults will be able to be vaccinated by summer. As states slowly open up, we want to remind you that we need your family to practice low risk behavior prior to having your child join us for the summer. Making sure Covid and other communicable diseases stay out of camp starts with the care you take in June. Please, even vaccinated adults can transmit other diseases, and a fever or other illness would prevent your child’s arrival on June 29. We will send more details, but please avoid large gatherings and travel during the two weeks before camp starts.
We are following American Camp Association (ACA) guidelines and we assume that the State of Vermont’s guidelines will be close to them as we plan our summer. Even if many of our staff are vaccinated, campers will not be. They are two thirds of our community and we need to keep everyone safe. We will do that by layering Non Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) such as monitoring health, handwashing, distancing, masks, testing and keeping our cohorts small for contact tracing. In normal Killooleet, tracing one positive case of Covid would quickly find contacts with almost every person in camp, and that would close us down. We will make extensive use of being outside, distanced and wearing masks, and these three are some of the most effective layers. When combined with the other forms of defense, we hope to have a healthy summer for everyone.
Getting everyone into camp, from so many places, is a time when we are vulnerable. The nursing staff and ACA want everyone to arrive on the same day, and we will monitor, test and be vigilant about using distance, masks and outdoor spaces. Returning campers will find that there are new routines to learn, that while the food might be the same, the dining spaces are changed, the ping pong table is outside, and there are new safety procedures. We need everyone to start learning at the same time so we all progress to the next level of reduced restrictions at the same time. We are not able to accommodate late arrivals or trips for family celebrations, and we are sorry. We are doing our best to run a large community safely and fairly.
The cabin group will be our basic cohort, the equivalent of the family group where you don’t have to wear masks or physically distance yourselves from each other at home. Campers won’t have to wear masks while biking to activities, swimming, or playing most sports, but will have to wear masks when they are with people from other cabins, and will have to wear masks to activities like Sings, even outside. Campers will leave camp rarely. Our hiking program will be evaluated in the context of how safe Vermont is and how easy it is to stay distanced from other hikers. We are still updating our guidelines, using the research the American Camp Association did on the camps that did run last summer and new information about schools as it emerges this spring. As we get more information, and the summer gets closer, we will provide more details.
We have opened up the Killooleet website for enrollments, and we urge you to enroll your child(ren) on line. We request that new families also fill in the paper contract we are mailing you, because it helps us to have everything on one page as we get to know you and your child. Families who receive scholarship will also receive a paper contract containing our agreement on tuition for the summer. Please sign it and return it promptly, even if you have already enrolled your child online. Thank you.
Tuition for this summer is $ 10,200. Payments are:
Deposit: $ 1000
April 20 $ 3200 or July 20
May 15 $ 3000 plus incidentals
June 20 $ 3000
If you need to space your payments out so you pay in April, May, June and July, that is fine. If it would help you to extend payments into the fall, we would prefer that option rather than your taking on credit card debt. It is not a problem for us, please just enclose a note with your deposit check detailing your payment plan.
We prefer checks, because credit cards charge us fees, and if you don’t pay your balance on time they charge you fees also. We also know that for international families, and people trying to increase available airline perks, credit cards make it easier to enroll for camp. We are still setting up the website to take credit cards and apologize for the delay. If you choose to pay by credit card Killooleet loses tuition money that we really need to pay for the increased costs connected with opening this summer. Rather than raise the tuition for everyone, we request that you add 3-4% (of the amount you paid by credit card) to a donation for new construction, testing or PPP supplies. Thank you.
Until June 1, please send all checks and mail to:
Kate Seeger, Killooleet, 70 Trull Street, Somerville, MA 02145 - 3630
BUSES AND LUGGAGE We hope to be able to rent buses to bring children from the greater NYC area to camp on June 29. Those buses will probably have to operate at 50% capacity, but we are waiting for guidelines from the State of Vermont. Once we are sure we are able to rent buses we will figure out the cost. We are working with Camp Trucking, who will pick up duffles and uncrated bicycles from your house, deliver them to camp and then bring them home to you in August. They offer a great way to get your child’s luggage and bicycle to camp, and their information is on the website near the health forms. You sign up with Camp Trucking and pay them directly for their service.
It is exciting to be planning to welcome children back to Hancock. We have been planning with a team of staff members, and look forward to including campers in our planning with individual check in calls and zoom Q and A times for parents and campers. The first zoom opportunities will begin the week of April 17, because this weekend is decade specific camper/staff reunions!! See below. Thank you all for your patience with the process and thank you for your support.
All the best,
Kate and Dean
March 12, 2021
We are excited to be opening for in-person camp this summer! Thank you for your patience as we navigate ongoing guidance for summer camps. We are deep in planning mode, and are consulting with a team that includes staff, counselors, teachers and healthcare professionals. We have the advantage of extensive work done by the American Camp Association to analyze the camps that ran last summer and recommend best practices for this summer. We are also working with our colleagues in the Vermont Camp Association. A small committee has been working with officials from the State of Vermont. Vermont has not yet released its information about summer camp opening.
Although there are still many things that need to be worked out, we wanted to share some of the things that we already know. As we plan for summer 2021, we are doing all we can to make the summer feel as ‘normal’ as possible, while keeping the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our camp community and of our neighboring Vermont community our highest priority.
Being able to run this summer will require all of us to make some sacrifices. For example, staff may not be able to leave campus, campers will need to wear masks when interacting with people outside of their cabin, and parents will probably not be able to visit in person – but we are sure you’ll agree that some form of camp is so much better than no camp at all. And, while they will look a little different, we intend to do most of the ‘classic’ camp activities like sings, sports, campfires, ProNites and special events!
Killooleet 2021 will run from June 29 /30 (still deciding on arrival procedures) through Sunday, August 15. This is one week shorter than we would have run without COVID protocols. We expect many staff and campers may have to isolate again before going back to school this fall.
Here are some things that we expect to happen this summer. Please be aware that everything listed below is our best guess, based on current information and guidance. We will have a full list of procedures for you nearer the summer.
All campers and staff will be required to provide us with a negative COVID test result taken a few days before departing for camp. Families will also need to self-isolate at home for 7 days prior to that test, and continue to keep themselves safe until their child arrives at camp.
As many activities as possible will take place outdoors, including dining. We will have large tents to enhance our ability to run a variety of programs outside rain or shine.
We are currently planning on testing campers and staff weekly throughout the summer, and doing daily temperature checks and symptom screening.
Campers will be tested upon arrival. After the first round of testing, campers and counselors living within the same cabin will become a ‘family’ group, and may interact without masks.
While masks won’t need to be worn all of the time, campers will need to arrive with a supply of them. We recommend two- or three-layer cloth masks that are comfortable and fit well. Ideally at least some of your child’s masks will be washable.
We also recommend sending your child with some good waterproof clothing and warm fleece clothing as we will be spending more time outside than usual.
Please also plan ahead for the usual health forms (available on the Killooleet website) required for participation in camp. You will need a recently signed form from your child’s medical provider.
At this point our plan is to opt for parent Zoom visits rather than in-person visits. It seems likely that the State of Vermont will require this as well.
Even though we can’t create a perfect bubble due to essential staff who live locally outside of camp, we will limit counselor options for days off and adapt our program to keep our community as safe as possible.
If you have urgent questions, please get in touch, but please also recognize that we may not be able to answer them all at this time—the situation with government requirements is still fluid. Our planning team is working hard, and we hope to have more information in early April. We will also be opening official registration soon, and will send you an email when that is ready to go.
We truly appreciate all of your support during this time, and look forward to welcoming children and staff back to Killooleet this summer!
Jan 29th 2021
While there is still a lot that we don’t know, advice from the American Camp Association is shaping the way we are thinking about the summer. While it is still very likely that Killooleet will be able to run in summer 2021, it will look a little different from other years. Masks and social distancing have been proven to be one of the most effective ways of keeping people safe, and we will also be trying to have as much of our programming outside as is possible. We will probably want to minimize the number of people coming and going from campus, which will likely have an effect on things like hike days and parent visits, along with arrival and departure.
We have put together a team of staff, campers, nurses and teachers to start planning how we can keep everyone as safe as possible, while still doing a lot of the things that make Killooleet so special.
Stay tuned for more specific updates. We appreciate your patience and flexibility at this time.