Lice, Laundry, and Swim Checks - New Camper Blog Series

Welcome back to our New Camper Blog Series. Each week we’re tackling a handful of “first summer at Greystone” questions that parents ask again and again. If you missed last week (or you’re the type who likes to read many suggestions while thinking through your packing list), be sure to browse our past posts in the blog archives; there’s lots of helpful info waiting for you!

This week is a quick one: three topics that feel a little random, but we have many parents asking, “Okay, but what about lice? And laundry? And the swim test?” Let’s jump right in!

Lice: the fastest way to protect Opening Day fun

First, the good news: you don’t have to wonder if we’re checking for lice; we are! On Opening Day, campers will complete a quick health screening, which includes a professional lice check. If lice or knits are found, our professional company will treat your daughter that day. We’ll notify you, and we will charge your credit card on file for the cost of the treatment.

What you can do ahead of time to help the process:

• Have your daughter checked before she comes to camp by someone who really knows what they’re looking for.
• Let our nurses know (email: healthhut@campgreystone.com) if your daughter or anyone in your family has been treated for lice in the six months prior to camp.

Why does this matter? Your daughter doesn’t want to spend her first hours at camp getting her head treated (no matter how fun we make the process!), and we know that you won’t want to pay the extra fee for treatment. Catching and treating lice ahead of time will help your daughter avoid missing any of our Opening Day cabin time. Checking before you come is a small step that can make a big difference for your camper!

Laundry: “simple” wins

Laundry at camp is designed to be easy and efficient so campers can stay focused on the fun of being a camper (instead of on if they have any clean shorts still left in their drawer).

Here’s the basic idea: cabin laundry is washed together, dried on high heat, and folded at camp, with a 24-hour-ish turnaround time. Clothes are tumble-dried, and colors/whites are washed together, so the best strategy is: send simple, sturdy, camp-friendly clothes that can handle the process and still look great.

Laundry by session:

• Junior Camp: no laundry service (due to the short session length!)
• June Camp: laundry is done 2 times
• Main Camp: laundry is done 4 times
• August Camp: laundry is done 1 time

Helpful laundry tips that we’d recommend:

• Keep it simple!
• Skip netted bags; clothes just don’t ever quite dry in them.
• Avoid “fancier” workout brands that don’t love the high heat of the camp laundry system.

One more related thing to remember: LABEL EVERYTHING. Truly. If it can walk off (or be misplaced, or left in a class, or mixed in with a big pile of clothes), it will. Use a permanent marker or labels for clothing, shoes, water bottles, cameras, Bibles…really anything you want to return home with your daughter.

And while we’re on the subject of items returning home: Let’s talk about valuables. Please don’t send anything that isn’t easily replaced. (Camp is joyful, but it is not gentle on special, non-replaceable items.)

Swim Check: what you need to know

Our camp Swim Check happens on Opening Day, and it helps us do two important things:

1. Keep every camper safe around the water
2. Place girls in the right swim class, if they need it

Junior Camp Swim Check Details
We ask all Junior campers to:

• Jump in the pool
• Tread water for two minutes
• Swim one length of the pool

Even if your Junior Camp daughter is still learning her swim skills, she can still participate in lake activities even if she struggles with the Swim Check; campers wear life jackets for those classes.

June, Main, and August Swim Check Details
We ask all of our June, Main, and August campers to:

• Swim one length of the pool
• Tread water for two minutes
• Do a pencil dive off the diving board

If your daughter has trouble completing any part of the Swim Check, we’ll place her in a swim class to build her skills. And just like Junior Camp: girls who don’t pass can still participate in lake activities (life jackets for everyone!).

If your daughter is nervous about the Swim Check, please help ease her concerns: it is not a “pass/fail” test to be scared of. We use the Swim Check as a simple way to figure out what type of swim support your camper will need so she can be confident and safe while still enjoying all of the water fun. We try to make the Swim Check as easy (and fun!) as possible.

That’s it for this week: three smaller topics that make camp run smoothly and keep your camper happy, healthy, and ready to jump into the fun. Next week we’ll be back with another look at camp life, and as always, you can browse the New Camper Blog archives anytime for more new-parent answers. See you next week!