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For Parents
Caring ... Honesty ... Respect ... Responsibility
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Camp Echo is Accredited by the American Camp Association
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Fun And Safety: ACA Camps Set the Standard
ACA Accreditation means that the camp you are considering for your child cares enough to undergo a thorough (over 300 standards) review of its operation -- from staff qualifications and training to emergency management.
American Camp Association collaborates with experts from The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross, and other youth service agencies to assure that current practices at the camp reflect the most up-to-date, research-based standards in camp operation.
Camps and ACA form a partnership that promotes summers of growth and fun in an environment committed to safety.
ACA helps accredited camps provide:
- Healthy, developmentally-appropriate activities
- Valuable learning experiences
- Discovery through experiential education
- Caring, competent role models
- Service to the community and the environment
- Opportunities for leadership and personal growth
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Why Send Your Child to Summer Camp?
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Click here to read the latest research.
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The "Leave No Child Inside" Movement
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The popularity of Richard Louv's 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder,
has inspired groups around the country to begin a nationwide movement to reconnect children and nature.
Camp Echo provides the perfect setting for accomplishing this task.
Campers can leave their computer keyboards and cell phones at home -- and spend two weeks playing, learning, and experiencing the great outdoors.
Research has shown that outdoor play helps relieve stress, stimulate the imagination, and encourage creativity.
Parents who send their children to camp are giving them an experience they can't easily get in the city or suburbs during the school year
-- fostering their heath and well-being -- helping them build a life-long appreciation for the wonders of our world -- and promoting "green" values.
Click here for a PDF on Nature Deficit and how nature benefits children.
Click here to read more about the "Leave No Child Inside" movement in the Chicago area.
Click here to read an article by Richard Louv on the Sierra Club website.
Click here to listen to an interview with Richard Louv on NPR.
Click here to purchase Last Child in the Woods from Amazon online.
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The "Healthy Family Home" Project
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The Healthy Family Home Project is a collaboration between YMCA of the USA and Eli Lilly that is designed to help any family in any community make healthier decisions and lead healthier lives at home.
The program offers families practical tools for making small, sustainable changes that can make a big impact over time.
Visit the Healthy Family Home website for more information to learn about a variety of ways you can integrate physical activity (play), healthy meals, and family time into your homelife.
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Asset Building at Camp Echo
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Research from the Search Institute shows that lots of factors influence how our kids grow up and the choices they make.
When life gets complicated, it can be easy to forget the basics -- the foundation that helps kids make positive choices in many areas of life.
Search Institute's widely used framework of Developmental Assets offers a practical, positive strategy for making a difference.
Grounded in scientific research, Developmental Assets are 40 essential building blocks of healthy development.
Think of assets as the "good stuff" that young people need in their lives to help them grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
Camp counselors can play a vital role in building these assets as they relate to your child.
Research shows that the more Developmental Assets young people experience, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors including underage drinking, violence, illicit drug use, sexual activity, gambling, eating disorders and school truancy.
Just as important, the more assets they experience, the more likely they are to engage in positive or thriving behaviors, such as succeeding in school, helping others, maintaining good health and overcoming adversity.
Camp Echo staff members are trained to understand the ways in which camp exposes campers to important external assets, and how camp counselors encourage and strengthen your child's internal assets.
Camp Echo staff members know that you are counting on them to be positive role models, and that you have placed your trust in them!
We urge you, as a parent, to learn about the importance of Asset Building. Click here for more information about the Search Institute and the Forty Developmental Assets.
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Click here for the Camper Registration page.
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Click here for the Camp Echo Calendar.
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Camper Email and Summer Online Photo Gallery
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Camp Echo has partnered with Bunk1, a web-based company in New York, to provide one-way email, camp photographs, and a camp newsletter for parents of current campers -- all password-protected -- for a small fee.
Bunk1 also provides an option for parents to send Bunk Replies (blanks with a bar code), on which campers write replies; the Bunk Replies are scanned and sent back to parents as email attachments.
We do not accept or deliver Bunk Notes during Pre-Camp, Family Camp or Outdoor Education.
Please send Bunk Notes from June 14 to August 15, 2008 only.
Click below to transfer to Camp Echo's Bunk1 website.
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Some first-time campers miss home more than others.
Counselors are trained to deal with the initial signs; in severe cases they are assisted by the Head Counselor, who will communicate with parents.
We encourage parents to be brave during a bout with homesickness.
We urge parents to cooperate with the camp administration in these cases and to understand and believe that their child will benefit the most by staying at camp for the entire session.
Parents should avoid making a pre-camp promise to pick up a camper early.
There are no refunds for campers who are sent or taken home early, even if they go home on the first day.
If a child really does not want to go to camp, consider waiting until he or she is a year older.
Even if you believe your child is "ready for camp" you may have concerns about homesickness.
We recommend that you purchase a DVD entitled "The Secret Ingredients of Summer Camp Success" by Christopher Thurber, Ph.D, which is available for $9.95 plus shipping and handling from the American Camp Association Bookstore.
Click here to order this DVD from the American Camp Association.
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Parent Information Booklet and Campers Forms
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(Printed copies of everything will be mailed to parents of participants in early April.)
Click here for the 2008 Parent Information Booklet
You will also need these forms:
- Health Form [the "green" form, two-sided]
- Waiver of Liability Form [the "blue" form, two-sided]
- Personal History Form [the "brown" form, two-sided]
- Trading Post and Cabin Request Forms [the "yellow" form, two-sided]
- Code of Conduct [the "gray" form, two-sided]
- Release, To, and From and Layover Forms [the "pink" form, one side]
- Scheduled or Prescription Med Form [the "purple" form, one side]
- Warm Fuzzies (Care Package) Flyer [bright yellow, one side]
If you have objections to receiving traditional medical care ...
Note: The colors in the list above may be helpful to those who are familiar with the colors we use for these forms every year.
You do not need to print them on the color specified. Also if a form is two-sided, you may print it as two single sheets and staple them together.
Save a copy of the health exam! It's good for two years at most ACA camps.
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Additional Information and Waivers for Teen Programs
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Ranchers Option for Explorers and Voyagers
Cattle Drive Waiver
Voyagers
Habitat for Humanity Waiver
Rangers @ Birches
Rangers Program Information
Leader-In-Training
LIT Program Information
Counselor-In-Training
CIT Program Information
Girls Trailblazers
Trip Information and Itinerary
Boys Trailblazers
Trip Information and Itinerary
Michigan Bike Trip
Trip Information and Itinerary
Porcupine Mountains Backpacking
Session 3 Trip Information and Itinerary
Session 4 Trip Information and Itinerary
Minnesota Boundary Waters Canoe Trip
Session 2 Trip Information and Itinerary
Session 5 Trip Information and Itinerary
Backpacking in the Rockies
Trip Information and Itinerary
Rock Climbing Waiver
Rock Climbing Doctor's Waiver
Georgian Bay Sea Kayaking Trip
Session 3 Trip Information and Itinerary
Session 3 Kayak School Waiver
Session 4 Trip Information and Itinerary
Session 4 Kayak School Waiver
Sessions 3 & 4 Canadian Travel Permission
Pacific Northwest Adventure
Trip Information and Itinerary
Kayak School Waiver of Liability
Kayak School Rental Agreement
Canadian Travel Permission
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Information for Parents of Staff Members
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Parents of Staff Members click here for Information for Parents of Staff
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The Packing List is available online as well as in the parent mailing sent out in March or April.
Please label all items you send to camp. Order forms for name tapes will be included in the parent mailing in March or April.
This is the best way to ensure that the items you send to camp come home with your camper.
Here are some links to some sources for name tapes and labels.
Please specifiy "McGaw YMCA Camp Echo" and, for Bell of Maine, Code 1664, so Camp Echo gets credit for your order.
Click here for the Packing List.
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Click here to view each staff member's Job Description.
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Click here to view Camp Echo's procedures and policies.
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Bus Arrival and Departure Information
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Click here for bus status on the first and last day of each session.
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