The Bridge Center - Camp Info

playground

Summer Camp 2011

General Information & Schedule

Schedule: The summer season runs from June 27 - August 26, 2011, Mondays - Fridays from 9am-3pm. We are closed on Monday, July 4 in honor of the Independence Day holiday. Each of the camps offers unique session options, which are summarized in the chart below. For a detailed overview of each camp click here.

Camps Available	June 27 -July 1	July 5 - July 8	July 11 - July 15	July 18 - July 22	July 25 - July 29	Aug 1 - Aug 5	Aug 8 - Aug 12	Aug 15 - Aug 19	Aug 22 - Aug 26
Camp Connect	Full Session - 6 weeks (cost: $3750)						Lite Session - 3 wks. (cost: $1875)
Camp Summit	Session 1 (cost:$1150)			Session 2 (cost: $1150)			Session 3 (cost: $1725)
Camp Discover	Session 1 (cost:$990)		Session 2 (cost:$990)		Session 3 (cost:$990)		Session 4 (cost:$990)		Session 5 (cost:$495)
Horse Camp		Week 2 (cost: $600)	Week 3 (cost: $600)	Week 4 (cost: $600)	Week 5 (cost: $600)			Week 8 (cost: $600)	Week 9 (cost: $600)

We encourage campers to attend multiple sessions, as doing so provides your child increased consistency in his/her environment, peer and staff interactions, and depth of experience with leisure activities.

Activities: Campers participate in the following accessible activities with their groups of 6-8 campers:

Swimming
Horseback Riding (**a carriage driving lesson may be substituted for riding lesson for safety reasons)
Art
Music
Cooking
Archery
Paddleboats & Fishing
Low ropes course
Sports
Waterpark play
And more…!

Families often ask what we do if campers do not want to participate in an activity. The answer is that it depends on the activity, the camper, and the reason s/he doesn’t want to participate. Our staff is happy to talk with parents about individual goals and circumstances. If we agree that it is best for a camper to skip any activity, we will provide an alternative engaging activity.

Health and Safety: Campers’ health is our highest priority. Our counselor, activity and leadership staff have CPR/1^st Aid certification. Our specialized activity staff (lifeguards, riding instructors, archery leaders) is held to the highest standards in their respective fields. We have a nurse on-site during regular camp hours to dispense medications, provide regular medical treatments to campers, and respond to medical issues. Please share with us any and all information that will help us provide a safe and fun experience for your child.

Lunch and Snacks/What to Pack for Camp: Campers bring their own snacks and lunches to camp every day (we offer refrigeration for lunches). Typically, campers eat a small snack during a transition between activities in the morning. Some campers, especially if they’re enrolled in Extended Day, like an afternoon snack. Peanut products are permitted, and campers with severe peanut/nut allergies are provided a “nut-free zone” to eat in with other campers and staff .

Staff: Our camp staff is the key to our camps’ success! Every group of campers is assigned one Group Leader and one or more Counselors. All of our camp staff receives 35+ hours of training before camp begins as well as ongoing supervision and training throughout the summer from our camp leadership team and our year-round professional staff. Our Counselor and Group Leader staff includes students and professionals who have experience working with children with disabilities in a range of settings. Our camp leadership team brings great depth of experience from various settings. We are proud that a majority of our summer camp staff wishes to return for multiple summers. Read more about our year-round professional staff here.

Communication with Parents: We greatly value two-way communication with campers’ parents. Before camp, we ask you to provide information so we may most effectively plan for your child’s success. New participants are asked to attend an intake session to help with the planning process. Our staff looks for opportunities to help campers achieve goals that we’ve set through the registration process. During camp, we send short daily notes home to summarize campers’ days and progress toward goals. You can be assured that if any unusual concerns arise during the camp day or session, we will contact you to address them. At the end of your child’s session(s), we will provide you with a summary of the camp experience, including progress on goals we’ve set and details on supports we found to be effective.

Extended Day: We recognize that our camp hours of 9am-3pm leave some families unable to access our programs. For that reason, we offer an extended day session from 3pm-5pm on Mondays - Thursdays each week. The cost of extended day is $25/day. Activities include swimming, art, music, sports, and more! Please note that families must sign up for extended day in advance, as this allows us to schedule with staff in advance.

Additional Riding Lessons: Campers are scheduled to visit the riding center twice each week, one time for a riding (mounted) lesson and once for an un-mounted animal activity. Many families and campers are interested in additional riding lessons, which are available for $45 each, to be scheduled during the camp day or during extended day hours (at parents’ choice). Carriage driving lessons may be substituted for mounted riding lessons at your request and/or based on safety criteria.

Transportation: Our campus in Bridgewater is convenient to Route 24, and less than 30 miles from Boston. For many families, having bus transportation to camp provides their children access to programs. We aim to provide as much flexible transportation as possible, based on number of family requests/sign-ups. Bus/van pickup and dropoff is available at Plymouth Area, Dorchester, Randolph, Brockton, and Walpole for families to request. We will confirm all transportation and provide additional details by April 15, 2011. Transportation costs $70/week. We can offer buses/vans with wheelchair lifts on request.

If you are interested in forming a carpool, we will also put you in contact with other parents from your general area at your request.

Costs: Camp costs vary by program, with differences based on the availability of additional clinical support staff and interventions and activity/curriculum/materials cost (see program-specific information). Financial aid is available for all programs based on demonstrated need. We also offer unique financial assistance, such as volunteer and barter opportunities in exchange for tuition credits. To apply for any type of financial assistance, please submit registration paperwork and a scholarship assistance form.

Sibling discount: A 10% discount will be applied to each sibling enrolling in summer camp. Typically developing siblings are invited to attend camp at The Bridge Center, side-by-side with their sibling(s) with a disability, or in a different program

Registration: Registration is on a program fit and first-come, first-served basis. Campers new to our programs will be asked to attend a short intake session which will help us get to know you and your child, answer any questions you may have, and confirm your child’s registration in the program offering the best fit. The Bridge Center staff will make final determinations of fit for each program. Enrollment for camp is considered finalized once the parent receives a confirmation letter. Registration paperwork and specific instructions are available here.

Questions: Call us at 508-697-7557 x10 or email us at info@TheBridgeCtr.org.

The Bridge Center is accredited by the American Camp Association. This camp must comply with regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and be licensed by the local board of health.

Bridges to Independence

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