HEALTH & SAFETY

06.07.20 CAMP UPDATE

Happy Hall Schools has been serving essential families since the Shelter In Place Order went into effect in March 2020, and one thing we know for sure is that Camps are going to be a little different! And sometimes, different is good! Please read this document in full to prepare yourself and your camper for a successful camp experience.

WHAT TO EXPECT

• The same amazing camp staff! - Our Camp Staff are the same teachers who work at our before and after school programs. They receive year-round training and are CPR and First Aid certified. Our teachers are dedicated to maintaining a nurturing and safe environment that still allows campers to explore and have fun.

• Engaging Curriculum - Our curriculum leads have meticulously adapted each lesson plan to minimize cross-contamination and maximize fun! We look forward to leading a variety of workshops, games, and virtual field trips!

• The Great Outdoors - As recommended by the CDC, we are prioritizing outdoor activities where social distancing can be maintained as much as possible. Our Meadows campus allows for plenty of outdoor space to jump, create chalk art, or even read a book in the shade.

• Cabins! - Each camper will be assigned to a Cabin (classroom) that only their group will use for the next 4 weeks. Cabins are set up to maximize social distancing with little to no soft surfaces and minimal decor to make it easy to clean and disinfect.

• Personal Material Caddy - Each camper will have their own Caddy filled with markers, color pencils, pencils, scissors, paints, paintbrushes, glue sticks, Lego, and more! The supplies in their caddy are just for them to use. Any shared equipment will be disinfected between uses.

• Prepare Your Camper - Campers who have attended our camps in the past may be surprised that their teacher is wearing a mask; however, they’ll surely be able to hear their smile. Greeting friends must be done from a distance and we’ve seen our campers get really creative when playing “together.” Our experienced and caring staff is here to make the transition successful.

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WHAT TO BRING

In an attempt to limit germs entering our camp, we have limited the items allowed in camp to:

• Refillable Water Bottle - All water fountains will be closed

• Light Jacket - The weather can be a bit fickle in the hills of Millbrae

• Hat - More outside time requires more sun protection!

• Lunch Box - If not signed up for our lunch program (we cannot heat food)

• Toys & Electronics - Please leave all toys and electronics at home (this includes Fridays)

• Bags/Backpacks - Please do not send a bag or backpack with your camper. Your camper has a dedicated space to store the above-listed items.

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Drop Off & Pick Up Procedures

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CLASSROOM & FAMILY APPS

Please download the 1Core Family App to access the following features:

• QR Scanner for Contactless Sign-Out

• Receive photos or videos of your camper

• View cabin notes and classroom activities

Google Play 1Core Family

Apple Store 1Core Family

EMPLOYEE HEALTH SCREENING AND TESTING

We've partnered with Kyla (https://www.kyla.com), a program that provides access to health resources for our employees. Most notably, Kyla provides:

• Weekly testing for COVID-19*

• Daily symptom monitoring

• Protocols and training on social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting, good hygiene, and proper use of PPE.

Once a week, Kyla’s trained nurses will set up a testing station in front of our schools to test all employees. Their program tracks abnormal symptoms and COVID tests. If any results are positive, all contacts are traced and tested.

*Kyla is testing for the active virus, not the antibodies.

SUN PROTECTION

We take sun protection seriously! Please assist your camper with applying sunscreen prior to coming to camp. Throughout the day we will apply Rocky Mountain Sunscreen SPF 50 KIDS Spray Mist as needed. Please do not bring sunscreen from home unless your camper has a doctor’s note verifying an allergy or skin condition that requires an alternative brand.

FREE LUNCH

We’ve partnered with the Millbrae School District to provide hot lunch to our campers. We understand that this lunch program may not be suitable for campers with special diets. Lunch includes the main course, seasonal fruit, veggies, milk or juice, and additional snacks.

05.22.20 CAMP UPDATE

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Our number one priority continues to be the health and safety of the staff and children. As promised, we continue to evaluate our program in partnership with local health officials to ensure we can offer a program that meets the current needs of our community. Although the new order issued by San Mateo County Health requires us to make additional adaptations to our Summer Camp program, we remain committed to creating a fun and enriching experience for every camper.

Our experienced staff is looking forward to leading a variety of workshops, games, virtual field trips, and outdoor experiences to make this a fun-tastic summer!

UPDATED SESSIONS

According to the latest update, campers must remain in the same group of 12 or fewer children to the greatest extent possible for a minimum of four consecutive weeks. We are now offering two 4-week sessions:

• Session 1: June 8 - July 3

• Session 2: July 6 - July 31

We will consider adding a third session depending on the school district’s plan to reopen schools.

UPDATED HOURS

Groups should remain with the same staff members to the greatest extent possible. In order to meet this guideline we must offer schedules of 8.5 hours or less. You can choose from the following three schedules:

• Regular Camp: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (7 hrs)

• AM Extended: 7:30 AM - 4:00 PM (8.5 hrs)

• PM Extended: 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM (8.5 hrs)

Please note, there is a limited number of spaces for each schedule. Once your child is in a specific group, you cannot change your schedule.

UPDATED FEES

The rates below account for the reduction in AM and PM hours. Fees are based on our Regular Explorer pricing. If you qualified for the Super Early Bird, Early Bird, and/or our Sibling Discounts, that amount will be manually applied to your new registration. If your child was registered for the Trailblazer Program, your fees will be adjusted.

• Regular Camp (7 hrs) $1,500

• Extended Camp (8.5 hrs) $1,630

DISCOUNTS

• Super Early Bird (registered before 2/28) $160

• Early Bird (registered before 5/1) $80

• Trailblazer  (entering grades 4 - 7) $235

• Sibling $80

FREE LUNCH

Our lunch program is now FREE to all children. We would like to discourage families from bringing their own lunch to limit items from home entering camp, as well as decrease the need for staff to assist children with opening thermoses and other items from home. We understand that our lunch program may not be suitable for children with special diets. Please see our Camp Sandwich Bar for more details. In order to participate in the free-lunch program, you must select it during registration.

TEEN LEADER PROGRAM

At this time we have made the decision to suspend the traditional Leadership Program for our teens. However, we are currently creating some virtual opportunities for your teen to participate. More information coming very soon!

SWIMMING

We are working closely with the Millbrae Meadows Swim Club Board of Directors and county health officials to determine if and how swimming will work this summer.

WHAT IF I’M ALREADY REGISTERED?

All previously registered sessions have been canceled and all accounts have been credited. When signing up for a 4-week session, please complete all pages until you get to the payment page. Once you get to the payment page, you are done, and can close it. We will receive your unpaid registration and manually apply all eligible discounts and credits prior to processing payment.

WHAT IF THE NEW SCHEDULE DOESN’T WORK FOR ME?

We are truly sorry if our new schedules do not work for your family. You have two options:

• Leave any credit on your account for future camps

• Request a refund for any fees already paid

UPDATED POLICIES

Please view the camp sessions for the full updated policies.

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ONGOING CHANGES

As local guidelines change, we must adapt to meet the needs of the community, and therefore; our policies and procedures will need to change. We will keep you informed of such changes. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

Love and kindness,

Camp Happy Hall Leadership Team

05.12.20 - SCHOOL-AGE UPDATE

Since March 31, Happy Hall has been hard at work caring for children of essential workers, staying connected with families at home, providing digital resources via our blog, educating ourselves on best practices, and establishing new policies and procedures to keep staff and children healthy and strong, in accordance with the county’s Shelter-In-Place Order.

CURRENT PROGRAM
As many of you knew, we temporarily relocated our School-Age program to our San Bruno location (233 Santa Inez Ave), where we are providing a full-day program that includes distance learning support (kids are Zooming!), a nutritious lunch, and a lively curriculum that allows for social distancing. Frequent hand washing, as well as intensified cleaning and disinfecting of classrooms, toys, and equipment is now a part of our daily routine. Our teachers are dedicated to maintaining a nurturing and safe environment that still allows children to explore and have fun.

We are so thankful to have had the use of our San Bruno location for the past several weeks; we look forward to returning to our Meadows location (1101 Helen Dr) and have been working with the Millbrae School District to establish new maintenance protocols. We will spend the next couple of weeks transforming our classrooms at Meadows to support our current program with an expected return date of Tuesday, May 26 (after Memorial weekend).

RETURNING TO WORK
As parents are permitted to return to work outside of the home and/or required to work from home, we understand that there is an increased need for child care and we are prepared to meet it. It’s because of the generous support of our families that Happy Hall is in a position to welcome you back. If you find yourself in need of child care prior to June 8, you can sign up for School-Age Camp.
Our number one priority continues to be the health and safety of the staff and children. We have had to make several adaptations to our Summer Camp program to make our school-age programs as safe as possible. Below are the updated policies and procedures, based on current local, state, and CDC guidelines. We will continue to evaluate the latest information and best practices and make changes as needed.

HYGIENE & SANITATION POLICIES
 

DAILY HEALTH SCREENING

• Each day, all staff and children will have their temperatures taken prior to entering campus.

• Each day, all staff and families will complete a digital questionnaire prior to entering campus.

FACE COVERINGS

• All staff must wear face coverings at all times, with the exception of breaks, which are to be taken away from children and at least 6 feet apart from other adults.

• All adults dropping off and picking up children must wear a face covering.

HANDWASHING - All staff and children are required to wash hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds for ALL, but not limited to the activities listed below. Additional handwashing stations will be made available.

• Arrival to campus and after breaks

• Before and after preparing food or drinks

• Before and after eating or handling food

• After using the toilet or helping a child use the bathroom

• After playing outdoors

• After blowing one’s nose, coughing, or sneezing

• Before coming in contact with any child 

• After touching or cleaning surfaces that may be contaminated

• After using shared equipment like toys, computer keyboards, mouse, scissors, pens. etc.

CLEANING - Before, during, and after camp, surfaces will be cleaned with disinfectant. Frequently used surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized after every use.

TESTING - We are working with our health insurance provider to have all staff take the COVID-19 antibodies test (any staff member that tests positive for the COVID-19 antibodies will still adhere to all current policies and procedures).

ITEMS FROM HOME - Children are only permitted to bring a light jacket, hat, and water bottle to camp. Lunch and sunscreen will be provided at no additional fee! 

WATER - All staff and children are required to bring a refillable water bottle from home. The use of water fountains will be restricted. 

SUNSCREEN - Happy Hall will use Rocky Mountain Sunscreen SPF 50 KIDS Spray Mist to apply sunscreen to children. Please do not bring sunscreen from home unless your child has a doctor’s note verifying an allergy or skin condition that requires an alternative brand.

FREE LUNCH - We have decided to make the lunch program FREE to all children. We would like to discourage families from bringing their own lunch to limit items from home entering camp, as well as decrease the need for staff to assist children with opening thermoses and other items from home. We understand that our lunch program may not be suitable for children with special diets. Please see our Camp Sandwich Bar for more details.

PHYSICAL DISTANCING POLICIES 
The following policies have been put in place to limit person-to-person interaction.

LIMITED ACCESS TO CAMP
Access to our Camp will be limited to staff, children, and business-essential personnel.
Parents are not permitted to enter Cabins (classrooms).
Administrative staff will continue to work remotely as much as possible.
Parents are encouraged to utilize phone and email for parent-teacher communication (depending on the matter).

SOCIAL DISTANCING OUTSIDE OF CAMP - Staff will have limited interaction with the public during work shifts; including lunch breaks, and we require all employees to comply with all local health authority guidelines and regulations.

SOCIAL DISTANCING - Child-to-child, staff-to-staff, and staff-to-child distancing will be practiced as much as possible. All activities will be set up in a way that will allow for as much distance as possible.

CONTACTLESS SIGN-IN/OUT - If you have access to our Parent Portal, you are encouraged to download the 1CORE Family app for contactless sign in/out. A QR code will be posted outside of your child’s cabin. If you do not have the app, you can request a teacher to sign your child in or out.

GROUP SIZES - Children will be placed in groups of 12 or less. Grouping of children and staff will be as consistent as possible for each week from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. AM Camp (7:00-9:00 AM) and PM Camp (4:00-6:00 PM) are available and groups will be consistent within those programs.

CONTACTLESS ACTIVITIES - Our curriculum staff has been hard at work adapting ALL activities to be contactless activities. There are several fun experiments and projects that can be accomplished without sharing germs.

SUPPLY CADDIES - Each child will get their own supply caddy filled with supplies and labeled with their name to use at camp. Supply caddies and supplies will be regularly disinfected.

OUTDOOR ENRICHMENT - We will stagger outdoor enrichment to keep groups separate. Our teachers have created several contactless activities to get kids moving.

ILLNESS POLICY

• You must keep your child home if they have a temperature of 100.4 or any other flu-like symptoms (Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, runny nose, headaches, and fatigue).

• If your child is in our care and has a temperature of 100.4 or any other flu-like symptoms, you will be called and expected to pick up your child within one hour.

• Children must be symptom and medication-free for 72 hours prior to returning depending on the symptoms and severity of the symptoms.

• If a child or household member has symptoms that are consistent with Covid-19 or has been in close contact with a person with symptoms or diagnosed with COVID-19, you must notify us immediately. See our Pandemic Policy for more details.

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ONGOING CHANGES
These are challenging times and change seems to be happening at a rapid pace and though we so desperately want life to return to normal, we will partner with you to maintain a healthy and safe environment so we all can move forward together. As local guidelines change, we must adapt to meet the needs of the community, and therefore; our policies and procedures will need to change. We will keep you informed of such changes.

REGISTRATION & FEES
We understand that this is a time of uncertainty and making the decision to register can be tough. Please know that our cancelation policy is intended to allow our team of experienced professionals, to plan and implement a summer program that meets your family’s needs. This year, more than ever, it is important for us to prepare for the exact number of campers and ensure that we are staffed appropriately and can provide all the necessary training needed to care for your children.

NEW REGISTRATIONS - If you would like to register for Camp, please visit our website at www.camphappyhall.com. Please note, there are no refunds (deadline to cancel was May 1).

RE-REGISTRATIONS - We understand that many of you had to make the decision to cancel prior to the May 1 cancellation deadline; however, if you find that you need care this summer, we will apply your deposit to your registration.

LIMITED SPACE - After evaluating the number of campers currently registered, we have decided to decrease the number of total spaces available to ensure we have enough space to operate our camp in compliance with local health guidelines at the time of camp. We have rented additional space from the Millbrae School District for the limited number of spaces still available.

FREE LUNCH - Free lunch is not just Fridays anymore! All lunch fees will be credited to your account. Lunch fees have been changed to $0. Please register for lunch to indicate that your child will participate in our lunch program. 

AM & PM CAMP - We have extended the deadline to cancel AM Camp (7:00-9:00 AM) and PM Camp (4:00-6:00 PM). We are also looking at providing a few other AM and PM Camp options. Stay tuned for details.

Camp Happy Hall’s commitment to the health and safety of our campers and staff means we ensure camp administration and staff are extensively trained to uphold the highest standards in health and safety management, camp facility safety, and emergency response protocols.

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Camp Happy Hall health and safety guidelines are as follows: 

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Camper Health

• Health History information is collected for every camper & reviewed in advance of camp at the start of each week.

• To aid in the reduction of the spreading of illness or disease, we facilitate numerous regular times for handwashing, including; upon entering all facilities, after using the restroom, before and after snacks and mealtimes, and handling shared equipment or supplies (including outdoor recreational equipment).

• If a camper presents signs of illness, they must be symptom free (without the aid of medication) for a full 24 hours before returning to camp. 

• Shared surfaces (tables, counters, etc) are sanitized after each use.

• We ask parents to apply sunscreen for campers before arriving at camp every morning. Camp staff assists in helping reapply sunscreen after lunch.

• To minimize the risk to campers with food allergies, we are a nut-free camp. 

• Our administrative and teaching staff are pediatric CPR and First Aid certified.

Camper Safety

• Designated staff-to-camper ratios are always maintained. We maintain a strict ratios of 1:10 with the Explorers and 1:12 with Trailblazers

• 100% of Camp staff have been fingerprinted, trained on child safety standards, and taken California’s Mandated Reporting training, as required by CDSS (California Department of Social Services).

• Camp staff conduct regular headcounts and take role after each transition.

• Only individuals who are on the authorized pick-up list for each camper, and show photo ID, can pick-up campers.

• Outside/Visiting vendors have been thoroughly vetted by the Happy Hall administration.

• As we are a California licensed child care program, our staff adhere to all requirements regarding health and safety as put forth by Community Care Licensing.

Camp Facility Safety

• Multiple visual scans and walk-throughs of the camp are performed daily to ensure a physically safe environment for all campers.

• Monitor the impact heat may have and adjust camp activities appropriately. 

• Camp facilities are professionally cleaned every evening.