Preparing for the Summer

Updated: April 2022

As the summer nears, we are getting very excited about camp, and know that you and your daughter are getting excited as well! Like always, our desire is to glorify God by providing the very best camp experience possible, and we couldn’t be happier about how our plans are coming together this year.

Classes:

At our June, Main, and August sessions, campers will once again choose their classes! With all of our activities located outside or in open-air buildings, we are excited that campers can customize their camp activity schedule once again. Campers at Junior Camp will love sampling ALL of our Junior Camp classes with their cabin friends!

Meals:

We will be eating in our Dining Hall this summer, and campers will eat with their cabin group. Like last year, campers will love the cabin bonding that mealtimes provide!

Masks:

Campers are not required to bring masks with them to camp; however, they are welcome to do so if they choose. We will provide a mask if a camper needs one (i.e. if she goes into our Health Hut), but we do not expect campers to wear masks any other time.

Continued Health and Safety Measures:

Our goal is to have the safest and healthiest summer possible every year. Because the girls live and play so closely together, we always take every precaution against the spread of contagious illness in our community.

This summer, we will once again go “above and beyond” our standard health and safety protocols. We will encourage hand washing and hand sanitizing (with sanitizer outside of each cabin and in all program and dining areas), spend the majority of our time outside, continue using HEPA filters and multiple fans in cabins (to improve ventilation), and ensure our public spaces are professionally cleaned multiple times a day.

But we need your help before camp in order to start each session with a healthy community!

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Before Camp:

To protect your daughter’s camp experience as well as that of her fellow campers we are asking ALL campers, regardless of vaccination status, to do the following:

Be cautious with your activities in the 2 weeks prior to your daughter’s session, especially in the 3 days prior to Opening Day. Do your best before camp to avoid contracting any contagious disease. Stay away from anyone that is sick or has symptoms of illness of any kind. And if you are traveling from a community with a high level of COVID-19, please follow the local guidance.
Notify us immediately if your daughter is exposed to someone with COVID or any other infectious disease in the 2 weeks prior to her session so we can make a plan for her arrival.
Notify us immediately if your daughter develops any symptoms of COVID or any other contagious illness such as fever, cough, “cold” symptoms, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea in the week prior to her session.
Take a COVID test within 24-48 hours of her arrival at camp. We are asking all campers and counselors, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, to come to camp with a negative test result unless they have tested positive for COVID in the 90 days prior. We suggest a rapid antigen test, but you may use any at-home test or go to a testing site if you prefer. You do not need an “official” copy of a test result. You will submit this test result with your Pre-Arrival Screening Form, which will go live in your Greystone Account 3 days prior to your arrival.
Complete your Pre-Arrival Screening Form and submit it within 48 hours of Opening Day. We will send more detailed information the week before your session, but this online form will ask you to provide information about vaccination, previous infection, history of exposure, your pre-camp COVID test results, and any travel details prior to your session. This form will go live in your Greystone Account 3 days prior to your arrival.

As your session nears, we will send more details (and reminders!) about these pre-camp requirements and the Pre-Arrival Screening Form.

COVID at Camp:

While we are praying for a COVID-free summer, we will once again be prepared for a COVID case at camp.

Testing at camp: As of now, we do not plan to test campers after they arrive at camp unless they exhibit COVID symptoms.
Positive COVID test: Campers who test positive for COVID will need to go home and isolate for a period of time before they can return (regardless of vaccination status). If your daughter tests positive while at camp, we will contact you and ask that you pick her up or arrange for her to be picked up as soon as possible.
Exposure: If someone in your daughter’s cabin tests positive for COVID, you will be notified of that exposure. We will monitor any exposed campers for symptoms of illness; however, at this time, our plan is for ALL campers to stay at camp and continue their camp experience after exposure unless they develop symptoms and/or test positive themselves.

What about refunds during the summer?

We hope that every camper is able to stay at camp for the entire session, but with the uncertainty of COVID, we want to make sure your family is aware of our refund policies. If your daughter must go home during her session due to having COVID (whether vaccinated or unvaccinated), we will offer a 50% refund for the days she will miss. To receive this refund, we are also asking that you follow our pre-camp policies so that your daughter does not bring COVID into camp.

COVID preparedness and additional safety protocols

Summer 2021 is just around the corner, and we cannot wait to open the gates for our 102nd season! For over a year, we have been researching, planning, and brainstorming how to open camp in a fun and safe way. We are confident that this summer is going to be incredibly special! Camp will be a place for your daughter to have fun, enjoy being with friends, and feel a sense of “normalcy” that is much needed. We truly can’t wait to welcome her to Greystone this year!

The Most Important Things to Know:

Before camp, campers must complete a 7-day quarantine and fill out a Health Log for 7 days.
All campers must come to camp with a negative PCR test or a copy of their vaccination card. Campers who have received a positive COVID test in the 90 days before camp do not need to test but need to bring a copy of the positive result with them.
Campers need to bring reusable or disposable masks with them to camp this summer.
On Opening Day, campers should be dropped off during their assigned arrival times. Arrival times are between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. for each session.

Details about the Summer:

We have many details to share with you as we anticipate the summer. Below, you can search through our categories to learn how we will be updating our policies and procedures this year. As you know, the COVID guidelines change regularly, and we will keep you informed of any updates to these policies as the summer approaches.

We have also made videos specifically for our campers to help explain these plans in an age-appropriate way. So pop some popcorn, and let your daughter learn from our Directors about these summer updates.

Videos for your Camper

Cabin Families & Neighborhoods: Details

Health & Safety: Added Safety Measures

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Pre-Camp Health Screening & Quarantine

Masks

COVID: Presumed or Positive Campers

COVID Testing

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Communication: COVID & Throughout the Summer

Staying Healthy: Before, During, and After Camp

Activity Options: June, Main, and August

Activity Options: Junior

Daily Schedule

Opening Day

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Closing Day

Food & The Fort

Staff Policies

A “Normal” Camp Experience:

For the past nine months, we have been communicating with health authorities and our fellow camps, working to adapt to the current guidelines and prepare for another incredible year at Greystone. Our goal is to create as “normal” of a camp experience as possible under the restrictions. However, to put it simply, in order to open, we must meet the current guidelines outlined by the CDC and ACA (the American Camp Association), as well as state and local authorities, which means making some adjustments to the way we run camp.

That being said, so much of what your family loves about camp is going to stay the same. Campers will enjoy a wide variety of activities and Evening Programs that give them a chance to be silly and play in the beautiful outdoors. We’ll have delicious food, lots of DMCs, and dance parties galore. Your daughter will be able to reunite with old friends and make new ones, and be taken care of by incredible counselors who love the Lord. As always, we will strive to make every part of your experience excellent, just as we do every summer!

Cabin Families:

This year, every cabin building will be considered a family group (i.e. Tentalow Lower 1 and Upper 1 will form a single family). Cabin groups already feel like families each summer, so we are just taking it one step further and making it official! These groups will form “family bubbles” that will enable us to enjoy events as a larger camp community while still remaining in smaller pods. Family groups will do many things together, such as activities, Evening Programs, and mealtimes.

Food:

In order to meet the current dining guidelines, we are building a brand new, open air building that we will use as our Dining Hall this summer. This new building will allow us to eat together as a full camp community, properly spaced, outside, and under a roof! Campers will enjoy the same delicious food that they know and love while eating each meal with their cabin family group. We are planning to update how we serve our food to keep our campers safe and will provide more details on food service in April.

Activities:

We want campers to participate in the activities they love (and try new ones!) while still adhering to the current guidelines. This summer, we are planning for all campers to attend classes with their cabin family group. Each cabin will have a pre-assigned schedule, and girls will enjoy a longer time in each class to ensure that they can fully experience each activity.

Right now, we are still finalizing our activity offerings and how this pre-assigned schedule will work. It is our hope that campers will be able to enjoy some of their class favorites more than once during a session (like Waterpark), but due to our numerous class options, most classes will be experienced only one time. Some of our classes will not work in this new format or under the current guidelines, so we are updating our activity list to provide the very best classes we can offer this summer. We’ll share the full list of activities in April, but for now your daughter can look forward to trying a little bit of everything this year!

Evening Program and Events:

We are excited to offer many of the same Evening Programs that our campers love, just in a new and updated way! We still plan to enjoy Carnival, Lip Syncs, Challenge Day, Banquet, and many more camper favorites this summer. Our large outdoor spaces give us the option of spreading out while still being together as a larger community, so the “show will go on” for many of our classic EPs! We have lots of fun, new events planned for this year as well.

That said, some of our Evening Programs will need to change. Since girls will only attend most classes one time during the session, we do not anticipate having our usual Play Productions, Synchronized Swimming Show, or Production Night performances. As you know, when we have to pivot at camp, the new plan is often better than the original, so expect some wonderful new Evening Programs this summer!

Health:

While having a healthy camp has always been a priority, we are going above and beyond our previous standards to make this the healthiest summer ever! We will have enhanced cleaning protocols, hand washing stations throughout camp, hand sanitizer available throughout the property, and comfortable rooms to isolate if campers experience any COVID symptoms. We will be implementing every procedure possible to keep campers healthy and thriving.

Masks:

Right now, our plan is for girls to enjoy long stretches of time mask-free this summer. Girls will not need to wear masks when with their cabin family group. Since campers will enjoy meals, classes, and Evening Programs with their cabin family, this makes for a lot of the day without a mask! We expect that girls will need to wear masks during specific times when distancing between cabin families isn’t possible.

Pre-camp Preparation:

As always, we want to have a healthy camp community, and this summer that means protecting our “camp bubble” in every way possible. We want to start each session with a healthy group of campers, and we need your help to accomplish that! This year we’re asking our families to join us in protecting and monitoring their health before Opening Day in a few specific ways. This will involve forgoing unnecessary travel, limiting exposure to others, symptom monitoring, and coming to camp with a negative COVID test and a completed Health Log.

You will receive specific instructions in April after we finalize the details, but for now plan to limit your exposure and symptom monitor for about a week before your session begins. If you are still in school during the week before camp, we ask that you follow all masking and distancing guidelines while there, and that you quarantine when not at school (i.e. do not attend any other activities such as parties, get togethers with friends or family, end of year programs, or other outings).

In order for camp to open, and stay open this summer, we are relying on our families to join us in this pre-camp health monitoring process. It is a required part of coming to camp! Each camper will receive a printable Health Log in April stating that you have followed these guidelines. You will turn in your form before you exit your car on Opening Day. Please help us start each session as healthy as possible!

COVID Testing and Vaccines:

Testing methods and availability are changing rapidly, and we will provide more information about COVID testing in April. Girls will need to arrive at camp with a negative COVID test, and we will utilize testing at camp as needed.

As of now, the vaccine is not approved for children under 16 years of age; if that changes before the summer, we will be in touch with more details.

Opening Day:

Opening Day is always an exciting time at camp, and this year, we are expecting it to feel just as fun…only in a new way! We are planning to have staggered drop off times, drive through “stations’’ for all of the necessary Opening Day activities, and staff ready to deliver your daughter’s luggage to her cabin for you. Parents will need to stay in their cars the entire time. Our counselors will help your daughter move into the cabin and unpack, making sure she is settled and her space feels homey. We know this is a significant change, and we will do everything we can to ensure your family is comfortable and taken care of on Opening Day.

Arrival and Travel:

This summer, all campers will need to arrive on Opening Day (not at a later date) so that we can “close” our camp bubble and keep our campers safe. Also, we will not be able to accommodate mid-camp travel, where campers leave during a session and return back to camp after the trip. If you have an event you cannot miss, you can work with our Travel Director to coordinate an early camp departure.

Campers can still fly to camp, and we plan to pick up girls from the airport like normal. In order to adhere to our pre-camp guidelines, we ask that all flyers follow mask and distancing protocols in the airports and while on the plane.

Girls will enjoy our usual trips to our other camp properties for activities such as Riding and Hiking, but we do not anticipate taking any out-of-camp trips to public locations (for activities such as Rafting).

New Camper Tours:

Because of the changes to Opening Day, we are encouraging any new camper families who would like to tour Greystone to do so this spring. We will walk you around camp, show you what a cabin looks like, and answer any questions that you might have. It is a wonderful way to explore camp with your family! We will schedule tours throughout the spring (up until May 14th) and offer tours at the following times: Monday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Hesitations about the summer:

While we will do everything we can to keep your daughter healthy and safe this summer, we cannot guarantee that she will not contract COVID, or any other communicable disease, at camp. If you are worried about your daughter contracting COVID this summer, we would recommend that you roll over your camp enrollment until next year.

Refund Policy:

While we know this is going to be a wonderful summer, we also know that the changes detailed above could impact your desire to attend Greystone. You have until February 15th to receive a full refund with no penalty or roll over your deposit until next year. When rolling over, you can enroll in the session of your choice for summer 2022. Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer refunds for early departures from camp. If you would like to cancel or roll over, please contact , and we will take care of that for you. After February 15, our normal cancellation policies will be in place, and it is full-speed-ahead until the summer!

More details coming in April:

We know you probably have some questions, and as always, we appreciate your patience as we navigate this ever changing situation. Right now, we are still finalizing all of the many details and will send more information on April 12th. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have; we will do our best to answer!

Thank you for choosing Greystone for your daughter. We are looking forward to an amazing summer!