Below are the health and safety protocols for 2020,
this document will be updated for summer 2021 

In preparation for a safe and healthy summer at CGI, we have updated our health and safety guidance in accordance with the CDC recommendations. These policies may change as new guidance from the CDC, the Governor’s office, or other authoritative entities become available.

Camper Arrival

Camper arrival times will be staggered in two shifts in order to help with social distancing. Shift 1 will be 9:55-10:05 AM; Shift 2 will be 10:05-10:15 Am. We will notify you of your drop off time before camp opens. Please be patient with our carpool line as following these enhanced health protocols may take longer than usual.  

  • Camp begins everyday at 10:00 AM at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. Drop-Off will be conducted with two ten-minute shifts. Shift 1 will run from 9:45-9:55 and Shift 2 will run from 9:55-10:05.

  • Drop-Off will be conducted on Forbes Avenue in front of the Chabad House. 

  • Please approach the Chabad House from Shady Ave. heading towards Beechwood Blvd. Pull over in front of Chabad. 

  • Directors will take the temperature of each camper in the car with a non-touch thermometer. The staff member will be wearing a mask, a face shield, and gloves.

  • The screener will also ask you questions about your child’s health (see screening questions below).   Please do not give your child any medicine to reduce fever or illness symptoms before coming to camp.  

  • Please keep your child home if they show any symptoms of being sick or anyone in your family shows symptoms of being sick.

  • If a child has a fever of 100. or higher, they will not be able to attend camp that day.

  • You will be asked if your child has the following symptoms:  dry cough, shortness of breath, chills, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, muscle aches, or rash.  If you reply that these symptoms are present, your child will not be able to come to camp.

  • If the screener detects any of these symptoms on a visual inspection, you will be asked to keep your child home for the day.

  • Once the campers in your car have been screened, they will receive a dated sticker saying “Screened.”  This shows your child is ready to come to camp.

  • Children will be given hand sanitizer outside of the camp building or they will be accompanied by a staff member to wash their hands at a sink inside.  After cleaning their hands, campers will be escorted by a counselor directly to their rooms or will remain outside within the procedures outlined below.

  • Each individual camp group will be assigned one color, with all children wearing a wristband each day corresponding to their group’s color. Wristbands will be provided by camp. This will help head staff send your child directly to the right group.

  • If your child is asked to wait before being ushered to their room, the procedure will be as follows: Colored flags will assign one area of Chabad’s front yard to each group. The areas will be set up to keep a large distance between children in different groups. Children will wait with a counselor by their bunk’s flag until it is a convenient time to walk to their group’s area for the day.

  • If all of the spots on Forbes in front of Chabad are taken when you approach, line up in the Forbes driveway of the Yeshiva Girls School (across the street from Chabad). As the spots open up in front of Chabad, circle back around and pull up in front of the building.

  • If you choose to come on foot, please approach from the direction of Beechwood. Please remain at a distance while staff conduct screening procedures.

  • No visitors, including parents, will be allowed on premises.

Social Distancing and a Healthy Environment

In order to reduce social exposure of campers and staff, all activities will be conducted within each group unit of 12 children or less. There will be no full-camp activities this summer. Enrollment will be capped at 40 children each week to allow for appropriate group sizes.

In order to protect the health of the campers and staff, we are limiting the number of people coming in contact with one another.  As such, no parents or guests will be permitted into camp. In addition, campers will remain with their camp group and their counselors throughout the day.  Camp staff will not be permitted to move from bunk to bunk; all activities will take place in the bunk room or outside. When instructors (such as art teachers and dance instructors) move between groups, they will thoroughly wash their hands. All instructors will wear masks when at CGI and maintain a social distance of at least 6 ft. from all campers.

Staff will receive a health screen when they arrive for work and will be thoroughly trained in our new policies.  In an effort to restrict the spread of any possible germs:

  • All staff will wear masks throughout the day.

  • Campers will not be required to wear a mask while in camp.

  • If you would like your child to wear a mask, please send your child in with a cloth mask every day.  We will send the mask home at the end of the day to be washed.  We will provide each camper with a paper bag to store their masks in when campers are eating or exercising. Junior Division campers will receive help from counselors to put their masks back on, making sure to face them the right way.

  • Please refrain from sending any items from home. Full changes of clothing for Junior Division will be stored in plastic Ziploc bags throughout the summer.

  • Rooms will be arranged to allow campers to spread out, and campers will be reminded to try to social distance themselves from each other.

  • Every bunk group will be assigned one bathroom for its own group’s exclusive use. Frequently touched bathroom surfaces will be disinfected between uses.

  • Campers will sit spaced apart from one another during lunch and snack time.

  • We recognize that it may not be possible to have young children maintain social distancing. We will do our best to distance the children, but not at the sacrifice of a warm and loving environment.

Lunch and Snack

Lunch and snacks will be served to each bunk in their bunk room, and we will not be serving any food family style. Each lunch will be packaged in its own paper bag that will be touched by only your child. If younger children need assistance, their counselors will help them with clean gloves and/or sanitized hands. Children will be spaced out at the table and will use paper plates, plastic cups, and plastic utensils that will be discarded after each use.  Staff will ensure that children do not share any food or drink during lunch.  All snacks will be purchased and provided in individual packages. 

Intensified Handwashing, Cleaning, and Disinfecting

In keeping with the CDC recommendations, we will implement intensified handwashing, cleaning, and disinfecting guidelines.

  • Upon entering the facility, every camper and staff member will wash their hands or use hand sanitizer with at least a 60% alcohol content.

  • Campers will be reminded to wash hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds

  • Hand washing will take place when staff and campers enter the classroom, before meals or snacks, after meals or snacks, after outside time, after going to the bathroom, after nose blowing or sneezing, and before leaving to go home.

  • All toys will be cleaned and sanitized at the end of the day.

  • Campers will be reminded to cough or sneeze into a tissue and then to wash hands.

  • Children’s books and paper based materials are not considered high risk items and do not require sanitizing as per the CDC.

  • Frequently touched surfaces will be cleaned and sanitized throughout the day, such as light switches, handrails, faucets, doorknobs, tables, phones, toilets, faucets, etc.

  • Playground equipment will be cleaned and sanitized between groups of children.

  • Each room will be cleaned and disinfected every night.

  • Each child will receive personal art supplies. Common supplies will be labeled and stored in individual bags for each child. Staff will wash their hands before distributing supplies.

Modified Illness Policy

If your child exhibits any symptoms of illness, keep your child home.  If your child becomes ill at camp, they will be taken to an isolation room with one staff member and you will be called.  You will be asked to pick up your child immediately.  We will try to make your child as comfortable as possible. Please respond to all camp phone calls in case it is important for us to reach you.  

  • A child will need to go home from camp if they exhibit any Covid 19 symptoms, such as a fever of 100.4 degrees fahrenheit or higher, dry cough, shortness of breath, chills, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, muscle aches, or rash.

  • Please call camp to inform us if anyone in your household becomes sick with the virus.

  • Please call camp if anyone in your family has been exposed to someone with the virus.

  • If a parent cannot be reached, your emergency contact will be called to pick up your child.

  • If your child has had a fever, they must be fever-free for 48 hours before they return.

  • In addition, in order for your child to return to camp, you must provide us with a signed doctor’s note stating they are healthy enough to return.

Camper Dismissal

Camper dismissal times will be staggered. Shift 1 will be from 1:55-2:05 PM; Shift 2 will be 2:05-2:15. We will notify you before camp of your assigned pick-up time. Please arrive within your assigned shift.

Please pull over on Forbes in front of Chabad and wait in the car for us to bring your child to you. Children belonging to “indoor” groups will be waiting by their colored flags on the grass; children in “outdoor” groups will wait in their tent. When you arrive, staff will use walkie-talkies to call your child to the car.

If picking up on foot, please approach Chabad from Beechwood Blvd. Please remain at a safe distance while we send your child to you.

As always, parents wishing to have their child released to anyone other than themselves or their designated substitute must make prior arrangement with the camp director.

Covid-19 Exposure

If a staff member or child in camp is diagnosed with Covid 19, we will immediately notify the Health Department, camp families, and staff.  We will not reveal the name of the individual who is sick in order to protect their privacy.  We will work with the Health Department to determine the necessary course of action in terms of closing a particular bunk room or the entire camp. 

All areas in camp used by the diagnosed staff member or camper will be cleaned and disinfected according to the CDC guidelines. 

If a staff member, child in camp, or the immediate family of a child in camp is in contact with someone who tests positive for Covid 19, they will be required to inform CGI and they will be asked to remain out of camp for 14 days. The CDC recommends that such individuals self-quarantine.  

Liability and other Waiver Forms

All parents and staff must sign an Acknowledgement Form prior to the first day of camp.