General Supervision of Campers

–Late and early campers-All campers will arrive with or after and will leave before or with the bus. In the unlikely event that a camper arrives early or leaves late a counselor will be assigned to give direct supervision to that camper until the parent arrives or the bus comes and camp begins.

 –Counselors supervising passive activities must stay as involved as possible. When supervising horizontal time the counselor is expected to stay awake.  When supervising bedtime counselors are expected to be the last ones to go to sleep.

-During horizontal time and after campers are in bed a supervision ratio of 1 staff per every 10 campers should be maintained. A minimum of 1 staff per camper building in Promise Woods, 2 staff in the upstairs of the main house, 1 staff per cabin must be maintained.

–Between Activities– Counselors will travel from one activity to another with their campers. Upon arrival at the activity the counselor will account for all of their campers and will verbally connect with the supervisor of the activity if the counselor leaves the camper at that time. In the event that the counselor group is split up for an activity the leader of the activity will be given a list of participants and will not begin until all are present. The program director will assign a person to check with all groups to make sure all are present. During free time staff will be stationed where the campers are congregating, including but not limiting to, basketball court, front porch, playground area, living room, and front drive where children are playing four Square and jump rope.

–Transportation– As mentioned earlier in the transportation policy, a staff member, other than the driver, would accompany the campers whenever they are being transported for any reason.

–During emergencies the program director or other leadership staff will be responsible for decision-making.  This includes being aware of weather conditions and curtailing activities if necessary. Since activities are centralized change plans can be done verbally.  If you see ambulances, fire trucks, or police, keep the children away and focused on other things

–Infirmary– If a camper needs to go to the infirmary the will be accompanied by a counselor.

–Cabin clean up-during cabin clean up the counselor will be in the cabin area at all times and will be directly supervising the cleaning activity.

-In some cases a junior staff (16 –17 yr old) may be included in a staff team. A junior staff may assist in supervision of campers but must never be fully responsible for camper supervision.

Chapel-Campers gather in the chapel for a time of singing and Bible memory. All staff attends and helps supervise.  Counselors must sit with their campers.

Classes-Bible, Arts and Crafts, Drama, Nature; All of these classes will be held in around the chapel building. All classes will have no more than 15 campers and will be taught by the teacher of the class.  Counselors should actively participate with the class.

Meals-Counselors must sit with their campers during meals.  Encourage your campers to stay at the table as much as possible.   The cabin group should stay at the table until they are dismissed.

Clubs-Every afternoon we allow campers to sign up for optional activities such as sports,  jump rope, choir, feed the animals, survival, table games, etc… theses groups are limited in size to insure that the staff persons leading the activity can also properly supervise.

Group Games-Most evenings the entire camp gathers on the ball field for group games. All counseling staff is required to attend and actively participate with their cabin groups.

Campfire-Every evening we have a time of singing and story telling around the campfire. All campers must go to and return from the campfire with their counselor. Counselors should sit with or near their campers during the activity.

Hayride– A hay wagon, which holds approximately 20 pulled by tractor around the campgrounds. The tractor is not to exceed 5^th gear. That is 5 miles per hour. All passengers must remain seated at all times. Two staff will sit at the rear of the wagon and help campers on and off the wagon. At least one additional staff will accompany the campers on the ride.

Hiking– On all hikes the staff campers ratio of 1:10 must be maintained with no less than two staff at any time. One staff must lead the hike and one staff must bring up the rear, additional staff should spread themselves out in the middle. On hikes that are longer than 15 minutes (white and Red Trails) a first aid kit must be taken with hikers

–Campers Discipline– Under NO circumstances can a counselor physically punishes a camper. If a camper is unruly a counselor should restrain the camper from hurting themselves or others. In order to maintain well behaved cabin group a counselor may withhold privileges such as swimming or snack shop from camper. We discourage withholding privileges from the entire cabin. If the above methods are not effective a counselor should consult with program director. Camper discipline issues should not discussed at staff meetings but rather in private. See “Guidelines for Discipline” on.

–Injury– If camper becomes ill or injured the counselor should escort them to the infirmary or if there is a possibility of a head or neck injury, or broken bone the counselor should send someone for health Director.

Related Entries

• Camper Behavioral Correction Guideline
• Camper Discipline
• Expectations of Summer Staff
• Summer Camp Dress Code
• Summer Camp Electronics Policy