Summer Day Camp 2019 Handbook - The Salvation Army 1707 W Chestnut Expressway Springfield, MO 65802 - The Salvation Army Springfield ...

 
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Summer
          Day Camp 2019
            Handbook
                                The Salvation Army
                            1707 W Chestnut Expressway
                               Springfield, MO 65802
                                     (417)862-5509
                                   Fax: (417)862-1135
                             www.salvationarmyspringfield.org

                                                  Staff
                                       Majors Butch & Lisa Frost
                                         Corps Officers/Pastors
                                              Kelly Thomas
                                       Community Center Director
                                                   &
                                      Community Center Support Staff

                                           Updated: 2/27/2019

                                           Days & Hours
The Sal Day Camp is open Monday – Friday 7:00am (for drop-offs) to 7:00pm. The first day of Day Camp is
  Monday, May 20 2019 and the last day is Friday, August 9, 2019 (as determined by Springfield Public
Schools.) The Sal will be closed on Memorial Day, July 4, July 5, while being open on other weekdays from
                                  7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday-Friday.
Sign-In & Out Procedures
All members must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when entering the building. The parent or
guardian must sign the child in and out. Only those designated on the authorization form will be allowed
to pick-up. All changes must be made in writing, by the parent or legal guardian prior to departure. Please
make all changes through the Community Center Director or Lead Community Center Assistant.

The program is open until 7:00pm. A late fee of $1.00 per child per 1
minute late will be billed to your account. We will make every effort to
contact the parent to ensure the child is being picked up. If the child is not
picked up or contact is not made with the parent or other emergency
contact within one hour, we reserve the right to contact Child Protective
Services and/or the police.

                                              Program Goals
1. To offer a structured and positive day camp program that encourages education.
2. To provide activities throughout the day that keep kids active.
3. To create an active and challenging environment.
4. To give opportunities for the participants to learn about the world around them.

                                                Trial Period
There is a trial period of 4 weeks from the date child care begins. If the child care arrangements is not
mutually satisfactory, either party can terminate this agreement with a 1(one) day notice – any money
already paid is non refundable.

                                                Termination
 Parent/Guardian will give two weeks written notice, and two weeks full payment to terminate your child’s
   enrollment in the summer day camp program regardless as to whether your child is present (with the
 exception of the trial period). If two weeks notice is not given, you are still financially obligated for the two
                                   weeks of child care fees and late payments.

                        Refusal for Service & Terminating Child Care
The Salvation Army reserves the right to refuse service to anyone and may terminate the service if:

1. Immunizations are not kept current (by MO state regulations)
2. Tuition is not paid on a weekly basis (or sliding fee for subsidized families)
3. If the parent is not supportive of the policies and procedures
4. The provider is treated in an abusive or derogatory manner
5. Child fails to adjust in the day camp
6. If the child’s behavior is disruptive, unmanageable, and/or harmful to the other children or to the provider.

                                                     Meals
Breakfast will be served from 7:30am until 8:30am. Lunch will be served between Noon and 1:00pm. We
only serve meals during these times and are unable to make any exceptions for any late children. An
afternoon snack will also be provided. We will only serve meals during these hours as is mandated by the
State of Missouri Feeding Program & USDA. Please have your child at The Sal no later than the designated
times to receive a meal, or please be sure your child has had the meal at home. Children are encouraged to
use meal time to share their experiences with each other. Manners will be taught and encouraged at this
time as well. Please do not send any candy, soda, or money with your child(ren).
Each child should bring a water bottle with his or her name written on it to fill with water only.
While we will serve a free nutritional meal at every breakfast and lunch, however, you may choose to send
your child with a sack lunch. If you choose to bring a sack lunch you must leave your sack lunch at the front
desk at the start of the day and provide a nutritional sack lunch for that day (any candy or soda sent in
sack lunches will be kept in the community center office until the child goes home for the day). We
cannot refrigerate lunches and will not accept lunches containing candy and/or soda. Sack lunches may not
be shared with other campers. If you choose to send a sack lunch a free lunch will not be provided to your
child. All sack lunches will be kept locked in the Community Center Office until lunch time. A lunch menu
will be provided at the start of each month.

If your child has a food allergy and requires an alternative item at a meal, we must have a note on file from
your physician including what item(s) your child is allergic to and we food we may substitute it with.

                                         Personal Belongings
All personal belongings must be labeled with your child’s name on it. Please do not let your child bring
any valuables (i.e. laptops, tablets, cell phones, other electronics etc…) Items will be confiscated and kept in
the office until pick-up. If your child needs to keep a cell phone with them, you must make prior
arrangements with the Director. The Salvation Army is not responsible for lost or stolen items. We will put
out “lost and found” items approximately once per week.

Blankets: The Sal will provide a blanket & a rest mat for campers to use during rest hour, we will store the
blankets in a plastic container with a lid with his/her name on it and keep it at The Sal. Mats will be wiped
down daily. The Sal will wash blankets every Friday. Blankets will not be shared between campers and will
only be allowed to be used during Rest & Relaxation Time. No extra items should be brought by campers
during rest time.

                                                    Health
Sick children should not be brought to The Sal. If your child becomes sick during the day, we will notify
you to come and pick him/her up. Any temperature of 100 degrees or more, head lice, skin rash, vomiting,
severe coughing and/or diarrhea will constitute us calling you to come pick up your child. The child must be
picked up within an hour or the authorized emergency contacts will be called. Sick children will be isolated
from the other campers until a parent, guardian, or emergency contact arrives to pick him/her up. Please
make sure children sent home for illness are completely well before they return to The Sal .

                                                Dress Code
A complete change of extra clothing must be brought on the first day of day camp
and left here over the summer. This includes shirt, shorts, underwear, and socks.
Please replenish if the items are returned to you. Please be sure these are season
appropriate. We will return all clothing on the last day of day camp.
All campers must follow The Sal dress code while attending our programs. During the Day Camp program
this includes the following:
    1. Play clothes are encouraged, as we might get dirty while outside having fun!
    2. Tennis shoes or sandals that attach to the foot must be worn at all times, excluding when we are
       swimming. Shoes should be comfortable for running/playing/etc. Please no flip flops unless we
       are at the pool!
    3. Shorts must be fingertip length when standing with arms at sides.
    4. Shirts must have a shoulder width of at least 2 inches (3 fingers wide.)
    5. No spaghetti straps, tube tops or strapless shirts.
6. Pants must be worn at the waist.
    7. Skirts may be worn but only if paired with shorts or leggings underneath.
    8. Swimming:
            a. Girls should wear a one-piece swimsuit with straps. If your child has a two-piece suit,
                she may wear it but ONLY if the entire top touches the bottoms (tankini style).
            b. Boys must wear swim trunks (i.e. no Speedo briefs) and they should fit appropriately.
            c. Flip-flops & crocs are allowed AT POOLSIDE ONLY.

If a child comes to Day Camp in violation of the Dress Code guidelines, a reminder will be given to the
parent/guardian and, if available, a replacement item will be given for the child to change into. A change of
clothes must be brought to The Sal on the first day of day camp. Any additional instances will result in the
parent/guardian and/or emergency contact being called to bring a replacement item to the child, i.e. tennis
shoes for flip flops or a t-shirt for a spaghetti strap tank top.

                                        Schedule Information
Please review the schedules frequently. Any necessary changes will be posted with the sign-in/out book. A
monthly field trip schedule will be available the first week of Day Camp.

 Please remember that this is a day camp, and all children must be dropped off between the hours of
7:00 am and 9:00 am and picked up no earlier than 4:00 pm and before 7:00 pm. There is no alternate
   care provided should you arrive after 9am on days when we are out of the building. Should there be
   appointments or an unforeseen need, individual cases can be discussed with the Community Center
                              Director or Lead Community Center Assistant.

                                             Sign Up Forms
   At the time of enrollment, the parent is responsible to sign up for the days their child will attend for each
    week. We are limiting our program to only 45 spaces daily. Once the spaces are filled we must close
enrollment for that day and your child may be placed on a waiting list. The parent may choose to sign up for
 the entire week (for $45 per child) or the parent may choose to sign up for single days (at a rate of $15 per
 child/per day). We will still accept financial assistance. You will not be charged for the days/weeks that you
are not attending as long as the parent communicates these dates with The Sal staff. Once the parent signs
 the form (in the registration packet), they are responsible for the charges based on the days for which they
   have signed up. Removing a week must be done in writing one week prior, if changes are not made the
                                   previous week, your account will be charged.

                                     Field Trips and Swimming
During Day Camp we swim two days per week and take at least one field trip per week. Misbehavior during
field trips will result in loss of participation of the next scheduled trip. Members are not to bring money for
field trips. We will not be going into any gift shops. Seat belts must be worn when riding in any Salvation
Army vehicle – no exceptions!

Once again this year we are swimming at Grant Beach Pool and will have the pool to ourselves! We will
swim twice per week for two hours per day. Members must pass the deep water test given by the swim staff
before they will be allowed to swim in the deep end and go off the diving board.
Swim suits and a towel must be brought on days your child goes to the pool. Please bring a bag or
backpack to hold their change of clothes and shoes, along with their suit and towel, as all of these items go
to the pool with them. (See dress code for swimsuit guidelines.) Please bring a bottle of sunscreen labeled
with your child’s name during the first week and we will keep here. We usually have Equate brand SPF 45
sunscreen on hand for occasional use for those who did not bring sunscreen. Please do not send any
inflatable floaties or life jackets with your child to the pool.
Please note: Flip flops/crocs/water shoes can only be worn at/in the pool. Children must
still have tennis shoes to wear after swim time.

                                               Rules of Conduct
While this is not an exhaustive list, it does give some general behavior guidelines. Members are expected
to: Stay with the assigned staff member, be respectful to staff and other members, keep their hands
to themselves, use appropriate language and behavior, & not touching things that aren’t theirs. It is
expected that all members will behave appropriately in regards to the facility, property and equipment.
Children should not be in each other’s “bubble” of personal space and should never hit / push / pull
/ kick / etc. another child. If this is done to them, they are to tell a counselor immediately, not hit
back.

                                           Behavior Management
For minor infractions a child is first given a reminder of the rule and then a verbal warning, i.e. “Please stop
throwing crayons.” If the behavior continues, they are given a time-out. The length of their time-out is 1
minute per year of age. If, after the time-out, the child repeats the behavior then they will get an Incident
Report, which is reviewed by the parent/guardian and Community Center Director. An incident report may
lead to further disciplinary actions as noted below. For more severe infractions (such as kicking/hitting
another child) we will follow this Behavior Management policy:
First incident      Verbal Warning / Time-Out / Incident Report to Director and Parent
Second incident     Disciplinary Write-Up by Director
Third incident      1-3 day suspension/Parent conference
Fourth incident     One Week suspension
Fifth incident      Removal from program
If your child should pose a threat of danger or harm to self/other members of the program or staff – we reserve the right
to restrain them until your arrival, they will then be removed from the program, without exception.

                                                       Safety
All emergency information is posted throughout the facility (i.e.: fire, tornado, etc…). All necessary actions
will be taken to insure the safety of your child. We will have a fire drill at least once per month. All Day
Camp staff are trained in CPR and First-Aid. Children are not allowed to bring items considered to be
dangerous or threatening. Such items will be confiscated and returned to the parent or guardian when the
child is picked up. Children are not allowed to go to any part of the building alone/without a staff member.

In the event of an emergency situation, The Salvation Army After School & Summer Day Camp Program
has outlined the below response plan. Please know that The Salvation Army After School & Summer Day
Camp Program will make every attempt to notify you so it is vital that you keep your emergency contact
information up-to-date.

Fire (Drill or Event): All children and staff will evacuate to nearest exit and meet at the playground pavilion.
Staff will take attendance and make sure all children are accounted for and will remain in this area until
cleared by Springfield Fire Department to reenter the building.

Tornado (Drill or Event): All children and staff will go to the Dining Room. Staff will take attendance and
make sure all children are accounted for and will remain in this area until cleared by the National Weather
Service.
Evacuation / Relocation
1. If the emergency is confined to the immediate area at The Salvation Army After School & Summer Day
Camp Program e.g. fire, and the children cannot stay in the building, the children will be taken to The
Salvation Army Pavilion (west of the main building). The children and staff will remain at this location while
you or your emergency contact is notified of the situation.
2. If the emergency is more wide spread and encompasses a larger area such as the neighborhood due to
an environmental threat, e.g. flood, and the children cannot remain in the immediate area, they will be
transported to York Elementary School. The children and staff will remain at this location while you or your
emergency contact is notified of the situation.

Notification
Every effort will be made to contact you as soon as the children and staff are safe. If we cannot reach you,
we will contact your alternate emergency contact. Children will only be released to you or your alternate
emergency contact during times of emergency.

Please rest assured that The Salvation Army After School & Summer Day Camp Program staff will remain
with and care for the children at all times during an emergency to ensure the children’s safety.

                                                Medication
Staff can only dispense medications under the following conditions:
(1) Medication prescribed by a doctor must be in your child’s name only, and not be more than 30 days old.
(2) Over-the-counter medication, such as for allergies, must be in the original container and have your
child’s name written on it.
(3) Medication can be given a maximum of three times per day.
(4) Medication must be in the original container.
(5) An authorization form must be filled out by a parent or guardian with the directions for dispensing the
medication before we can dispense first dose at The Sal.

                                           Injury Procedures
         Minor Injury: an injury report will be filled out stating the cause, effect, and first-aid given. A copy
         of the report will be given to the parent and the original will be put in the child’s file.
         Major Injury: paramedics will be contacted immediately and a parent or guardian will be notified for
         further instructions. All expenses will be the responsibility of the parent or guardian. You and your
         family insurance is/are responsible for the cost of medical help or treatment due to accidents or
         illness while in child care. The Salvation Army is not responsible for any accidents that may happen
         to your child or for any medical or legal charges.

                                                       Photos
  We do take photos during the Summer Day Camp program of our members. On each child’s enrollment
 form the parent signs consent for their child to be photographed or videotaped for the purpose of news or
  The Salvation Army Media promotions. These photos may also be posted to Salvation Army’s Facebook
 Page found at: www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyOzarkArea. We do NOT take photos of children whose
   parents/guardians have not signed this photo release and/or have opted out of this on the enrollment
                    consent form. Photos will only be used for Salvation Army purposes.

                                Confidentiality, Abuse, & Neglect
The Sal will keep all member information confidential. The State of Missouri requires us to report any
cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. All Salvation Army employees are mandated reporters. If for any
reason someone suspects a child is being abused, neglected, or exploited, a report will be filed.
Fee and Funding Availability
Payments are due on Friday evenings and must be kept current. Failure to do so may result in removal
from our program. If payment is not received before Monday evening when your child is picked up they will
not be able to return on Tuesday. A notice will be given for accounts that are not paid in a timely manner, if
payment is not made The Sal reserves the right to remove your child/children from the program. Scholarship
funding is available but you must first be denied by the Division of Family Services for state funding. We do
accept payments from the state; however, all paperwork must be turned in prior to the child attending the
program in order to receive the sliding fee rate.

                                                    Cost
Cost is as follows:                                                   Enrollment Fees:
         Per Child          $45 per week                              Before May 1…………..No Charge
                   OR                                                 After May 1 ……………$10 per child or
          $15 per child/per day for single days                                                $25 per
                                                                                               family
         Your enrollment fee holds your spot until the first day of day camp at which time payment in full (for
         the week) is due.

                                          ONE LAST WORD:
Please be in constant communication with us. We are anticipating a GREAT summer at The Sal
full of learning new things, making friends, and trying new activities! Please do not hesitate to
contact me for any reason. Any information about your child in our program must be
communicated through me and I will pass the information on to the appropriate staff. I can be
reached by:
     1) Email: kelly_thomas@usc.salvationarmy.org
     2) Calling (417)862-5509 ext. 113. I am frequently away from the office, helping kids and
          staff & making sure day camp is running smoothly, if I am not available please leave a
          voicemail. I will return your call as quickly as possible.
     3) After 4pm please contact (417)862-5509 ext. 0 and ask for a Day Camp Staff.
                                                       Kelly Thomas
                                                  Community Center Director
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