!!Camp Out Info. Please Read!!

Dear camping families in K-1-2,

The campout is almost here! We’re really excited. Here’s some information for you to help in planning. The fee for the campout for your child is included in the annual activity fees. If you have not paid the activity fee, please understand how important it is and pay now! The fee for the campout for other family members is $15.00 each person. Children 3 and under are only $5.00. Please pay by Friday May 14^th. Pay your child’s teacher directly, please.

All three classes are going together. We will leave Thursday, May 20^th and return on Friday, May 21^st . We are staying in yurts, which sleep 8 rather cozily. You will need to expect to share with another adult or 2. What a great opportunity to meet new people! The yurts have a queen bunk, extra large twin, and a queen futon. You will need your own sleeping bags and pillows and maybe extra sleeping mats, but it’s mostly comfy.

Due to the fact that we have 120 spaces in the yurts and if each child were to be accompanied by one adult that is 116 people, we are limited on our space. We have booked two tent sites as well. We would really like this to be a campout for the kids and one of their parents. It is a time for them to bond and for parents to meet and bond as well. If all family members come it changes the feel of the campout. We would like to encourage all families to have their child attend and one adult family member. If you cannot attend, you can decide if your child is ready for an away-from-home sleepover. We would really like to discourage older siblings from attending as they completely change the experience of our campers. We do understand that younger siblings may need to tag along. Just remember it will be cozy. If you really want to bring the whole family we would like you to rent your own campsite to assure your comfort and the comfort of the group. You will still be welcome for meals and all group activities. We will have a pre-campout meeting on Monday, May 17^th to go over details before we leave.

If you are driving please be here about 9:00 to load vehicles. We will be staying at Cape Lookout state park again. We can check into the group site right away. We have to wait until 4:00 or so to check into the individual yurt spots. We can have one car at each yurt included in the cost. Additional cars must have a parking permit which we will make sure you have. Two at each yurt is the limit, otherwise parking is allowed in the overflow area with a fee too. We will have structured and unstructured activities and meals and snacks. We have to be checked out by 1:00 on Friday.

We have a sign up sheet for our planning. Please return these to us by Friday, May 7^th. It is very difficult to estimate the amount of food and yurt assignments without necessary information. Thanks for your help on this. Any parents planning to attend have to complete a criminal background check form. This is required by the Portland Public School district and Trillium. We’re sure everyone will feel more confident knowing that we have documentation of no criminal history while other parents may be with your child. This form must be returned by Friday, April 30^th. We need time to process them so that we have the information back in time for the campout. If we do not have one completed you cannot attend. If you have one from last year you do not have to fill it out again.

Each year water safety is an issue. We are at the beach, but none of us are lifeguards. We invite you to enjoy beachcombing or playing on the beach but children can only enter the water up to their knees if an adult is holding their hand. We really cannot have exceptions to this rule. It really is a matter of life and death. If you want to stay at the campground and extra day and play according to the guidelines that your family feels comfortable with that’s great. However, we need the adult supervision in the water rule to be followed by all.

DO NOT Bring electronic games. Also, although you may allow your child to use a knife while camping with your family this is a school outing and therefore dictates that knives are NOT allowed. Please do not bring them or any other potentially dangerous items. If your child were to bring one, or exhibits behavior that is unsafe to themselves or others they will have consequences that could include leaving the campout. Bring along acoustic musical instruments if you have them. This should be fun! Let us know if you have any further questions.

Children should bring the following items, MARKED WITH PERMANENT MARKER, in an easy to pack bag. Space is limited when driving to the coast.

• Sleeping bag
• Pillow, if needed
• Flashlight
• Coat – Windproof is best
• 3 Pairs Pants
• 3 Shirts
• 2 pair shoes
• 5 pair socks
• 4 pair underwear (more if your child has problems in this area)
• Pajamas
• Towel
• Bag to keep it all in
• Board games, kite, Frisbee, beach game (optional)
• Toothbrush & toothpaste
• Optional – sleeping mat