Visiting Day Announcement
Shalom Full Session Parents, We know this will be disappointing for many families, but after much deliberation and thought we have decided to cancel in person Visiting Day this summer. We will be utilizing “virtual” visits similar to last year. We will send instructions on how to sign up later this week. We will also plan great intersession programs for the campers and shower them with love. I believe there are valid arguments on both sides of this decision and I understand that this announcement will be difficult for some of our parents and campers who are looking forward to this day.Here is our current thinking: We don’t want parents to unwittingly infect their campers nor do we want our campers to infect their parents. We do not know what the COVID levels in camp will be at the end of first session but we are hopeful that they will be trending down. Although we think it is extremely unlikely that there will be no COVID in camp second session, we think that this move, along with a few others (outlined in the letter below that we sent to second session families), will make it more likely that the number of COVID cases in camp will be much more manageable. Our goal is to keep our numbers low enough that all campers who contract COVID will be able to stay in camp and participate in our “COVID Camp” activities (which the campers like). We also don’t want our full session campers to miss any of the end-of-camp rituals and traditions. I fully understand that even with these precautions it is possible that some campers with COVID may need to go home to recuperate. However, I think that it is worth canceling Visiting Day to increase the chances that we will not have to send campers home during second session. For those families who have first and full session campers or second and full session campers whose travel, pickup and luggage plans would change because of Visiting Day going virtual, Marggi will work with you to figure out the details. Please contact her at Marggi@campramahne.org by Thursday, July 14, noon, concerning your change in plans. Click here to read the letter we sent to second session parents which outlines some of our mitigation efforts.Todah Rabbah, Rabbi Ed Gelb (He/Him/His)CEO, Ramah New England