June 6, 2022
WE CONTINUE TO UPDATE, WORK WITH OUTSIDE PROFESSIONALS, OTHER AREA CAMPS, AND THE CDC ON WHAT PRACTICES ARE BEST. THESE MAY BE UPDATED PRIOR TO CAMP AND/OR WHILE CAMP IS IN SESSION. WE WILL COMMUNICATE ANY CHANGES WITH YOU.
UPDATE 6.2.22: We ask all campers to take an antigen (rapid) test within 24 hours of attending camp. Home tests are readily available at grocery stores, drugstores, etc. There are two ways you can accomplish this requirement
- PREFERRED METHOD: Take the test at home within 24 hours of arrival and save a photo of the negative test to show at check-in
- We have rapid tests at camp and can test upon arrival. We highly encourage you to take the test before you travel to camp because if your camper tests positive at check-in, he will not be allowed to enter camp and will need to go home with you until he is past quarantine. To save yourself the stress of this, please try and test at home.
For those that are flying unaccompanied, families can email us the photo of the test result and/or the camper can show us on his phone when he arrives. Email is info@campoatka.org.
O-AT-KA wants to provide the safest environment for our campers and staff. Our leadership team has access to excellent resources, a network of professionals, and the experience of past summers to develop the COVID protocols for Summer 2022. We are thankful to our families, campers and staff for respecting the decisions made by the administration that are best for our entire camp community.
To enjoy the camp experience to the fullest and as safely as possible, campers are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated before arrival. Those that are vaccinated must provide a copy of their vaccination record (this can be uploaded in your Campminder account or email to info@campoatka.org). If we do not have a vaccination card on file and/or you do not bring it to check in, we must consider your camper unvaccinated and a negative test result will need to be provided.
If your camper is not vaccinated, we ask that you let us know before camp starts so we can have a conversation about what that looks like for this summer. You must provide a negative test result at check-in. Non vaccinated campers without a negative test result will not be allowed to enter camp. If your camper is midway through the vaccination process, O-AT-KA is happy to help facilitate additional doses at nearby healthcare sites. This also applies if you would like to have your camper vaccinated while he is with us.
If your camper has had COVID within 90 days of the start of camp, we know this can skew test results so a negative test is not necessary at arrival. We do need a doctor’s note confirming that the camper is past the 10-day quarantine period; since being diagnosed.
Our Infirmary staff will continuously monitor campers and staff for symptoms and have the ability to test onsite.
We will not be requiring campers or staff to wear masks. We have asked you to pack 3-5 masks; in case we feel we are in a situation that campers may need to wear them indoors or in closed spaces. Hand washing and sanitizing; as well as best health practices will be demonstrated and encouraged.
We anticipate that we will be interacting with other camps through inter-camp sports and socials. If the camp we are visiting/hosting requires participants to be vaccinated, unvaccinated campers will not be able to participate.
If we have a positive case of COVID at camp, we will first inform the parents/guardian of that child. They will be in direct care of our Infirmary staff. Anyone that is deemed a close contact will be monitored for symptoms and tested onsite. If your camper is not vaccinated and contracts COVID, they will be required to quarantine and we may ask that you get them from camp. We will not have a separate quarantine area and staff setup for long-term quarantine this year.
O-AT-KA will be basing our participation in out-of-camp outings and activities with other groups/camps on the Maine County community levels. Camp is located in Cumberland Country. Community levels are reported daily as green (low), yellow (medium) and red (high). We will report this each day in the Galahad Gazette; our electronic newsletter. This metric can also be found on the CDC website (www.cdc.org/coronavirus).
In order for us to safely run camp, we need all families to comply with our policies and we thank you in advance! We are available to speak with you about any individual concerns or questions you may have.
Please see the latest update/FAQs surrounding COVID-19 and safety plans/procedures:
PLEASE NOTE: ALL FAMILIES MUST READ THE FAMILY GUIDEBOOK! There is a lot of new information Summer 2022, schedule changes etc. The guide also includes the packing list, transportation info, contact information etc.
REQUIRED CAMPER PAPERWORK! All forms must be completed by Sunday, May 15.
For access to all of the necessary forms, please use the following instructions:
- Go to the CampInTouch Account Login page (also found under our Parents Tab on our website): https://oatka.campintouch.com/v2/login/login.aspx
- Enter your email address and click to retrieve your password. CampMinder will reply immediately with a temporary password. Use that password to log in. You can then change your password in “login details.”
- If the system does not recognize your email address, either we have an outdated or incorrect one in our records. If this occurs, send an email to info@campoatka.org from your preferred address, and we will update your records. Once you are logged in to your CampInTouch account, you will see the Parent Dashboard, which will guide you through the rest of the process.
Please not the following three forms will need to be printed and uploaded into your CampInTouch account (preferred) or sent directly to camp either by mail (PO Box 239, Sebago, ME 04029) or e-mail to (info@campoatka.org).
- Medical authorization form
- Physician’s examination form
- Immunizations form
- Copy of vaccination record (if applicable)
For anyone who is bringing medications to camp, you must register with CampMeds
(with the exception of short-term antibiotics, dissolving tablets e.g. Reditabs, or injectable medications). Register at www.campmeds.com or by calling (954) 577-0025. Any camper needing daily vitamins or over the counter (OTC) medications must bring them to camp in the original packaging.
UPCOMING FAMILY ORIENTATION MEETING: Wednesday, May 25th at 7:00pm (Eastern)
We will be hosting a family orientation meeting, via Zoom, ahead of the summer season. Of course, all are welcome (including veteran families), but this meeting will be really help orient new families to camp and answer all of your remaining questions. We will record this meeting so that families who cannot attend can view it afterward. Invitation and Zoom info will be sent closer to the meeting date.
