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Frequently Asked Questions

 1] I’m nervous about sending my little ones to camp… He/she is only 5-8 years old...who watches them and what’s their day like?

 

Absolutely...  $100 /week

 

2] Can I sign my kid(s) up for specific weeks in both sessions?

 First, it's important to realize that our swim area is cordoned off from the rest of the river. [See photo gallery] The deepest part of the swim area is 4ft. Red Cross certified lifeguards are positioned at the edges of the docks. Older campers have to pass a rigorous swim test in order to gain access to the raft which lies slightly beyond the swim area. Lifeguards are positioned on the raft at all times. Campers can only enter the water with a swim buddy and corresponding name tags are placed on a buddy-board to insure an accurate count of all swimmers at all times. Every 5-10 minutes the head lifeguard blows the whistle, swimmers must stop what they're doing, find their buddy, and hold their hands up to be counted. This is known as a BUDDY CHECK. The count is then cross referenced with the corresponding name tags on the buddy board to maintain safety. This process repeats every 10 minutes or so...hour after hour...whenever there are children in the water.

4] How are my kids supervised in the river?

 13] Who are the people running this camp, and do they know anything about kids?

 The Recreation Camp                     Derby, CT.

Understand that the campers are divided into groups by age...so the 5s and 6s stay with the 5s and 6s...the 7s and 8s stay with the 7s and 8s etc. as they go from activity to activity. Each group gets its own adult counselor (usually a certified teacher) and then usually 1 or 2 other college/high school age counselors. The counselors stay with their campers all day...escorting them from program activity to program activity, down to the waterfront, up for lunch, out to the basketball court, across to the field, into the Rec. room etc. Furthermore, each program [i.e. Activities Program, Waterfront Program, etc] has its own adult director [ALL of whom are certified teachers]. For example, if your child is 5, he/she would be in the “red group”. The red group head counselor is a CT. certified teacher. There are typically 2 other counselors also assigned to the red group on a daily basis. [The State of Connecticut mandates a ratio of1 counselor for every 12 campers]. Our Activities Director would then be overseeing the head counselor and other counselors during whatever activity the campers were engaged in. The same holds true for the waterfront. We have an entire staff of Red-Cross certified lifeguards and small craft safety (boating) instructors manning the waterfront at all times; but then our Waterfront Director or myself oversees the lifeguards and boating instructors. I’m proud to say that as Camp Director for the past 8 years, either myself or my Waterfront Director has been on the waterfront every minute that a child has been in the water. At the Recreation Camp, we take safety very seriously, have had a flawless safety record for 96 years, and have earned our reputation as the safest place to swim in the Valley.

 

 

 

 YES!!! We offer what’s called AM care. Starting at 8:00am, parents can drop their kid(s) off and we provide a pseudo day care service from 8:00am to 9:30am (when Camp officially opens).  Cost is $25.00 week per child.

 10] Do I have to be a resident of Derby, Ansonia, Shelton, Seymour or Oxford to send my kid(s) to this camp?

 11] Do you guys offer early drop-off for parents that work and if so, how much does it cost?

 No...we’ve had kids from Orange, Trumbull, Monroe, Waterbury, Naugatuck, etc. So long as you can get them there...we’ll take’em!!!

 12]  Due to my work schedule, there are a few days a week that I will need to pick my son up earlier than 4:00..... Is that ok?

 You can pick up early any day or time you want...we sign the kids in and out everyday just so we have a record...Parents pick up early all the time....picking up late is another story!