Opening Day Procedures: July 25th, 2023
Kayitz 2023 Opening Day Testing: Every camper must take an Antigen rapid test on opening day before departing home. If your child tests positive, do not come to camp; please call our summer office for further instructions.
Table of Contents
Driving to Camp
Our primary goal for Opening Day is to safely welcome our campers upon their arrival to camp. All of our policies are designed to make sure we are focused on welcoming our campers and providing the best possible care as they transition into our camp community.
This section provides detailed instructions for campers arriving on July 25, 2023 for Second Session & Mini Aleph. For Mini Bet families, we anticipate that your arrival window on Tuesday, August 8th will be between 11am-noon; we will send an update as we get closer.
We have found that campers’ transition into camp works best when families drop their children off at the front of camp, have a chance to say goodbye and then depart. This allows a clear handoff to our staff, who then can focus on the campers and their experience.
Having assigned time slots for drop off allows for a more efficient process and helps manage traffic around camp. Families will need to sign up for their drop-off time slot using an online portal that will open on Tuesday, July 18th at 7:00pm EST. We will be limiting the number of cars per time slot so that we can safely and efficiently process each car. Time slots will be available on a first come first served basis. Here is an outline of the process:
- Drop-off time slots will be 11:00am, 11:20am, and 11:40am.
- We will process sixty cars during each 20-minute time slot.
- Upon entering camp, you will be directed to park alongside the road on A-side. Please stay by your cars until a staff member checks you in.
- After we have processed each car, campers will say goodbye to their parents and their counselors will lead them to the bunk area. Activities will begin and campers will settle into camp.
- After your car has been processed, we will facilitate you leaving the parking area in a safe manner.
Busing to Camp
Please pack a dairy lunch, water bottle and snacks for your camper(s). Do not pack any peanuts or tree nuts; the buses must be completely nut-free.
There will be bathrooms on the buses.
Campers may bring their phones; they will hand them in to our staff when they arrive at camp.
DC Bus Information
- Location: B’nai Israel Congregation, 6301 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852
- Begin loading buses: 6:30am
- Depart: 7:00am
- Estimated Arrival at Camp: 3:00pm
Flying to Camp
We will send out an updated staff name for unaccompanied minor pick-up approximately one week before opening day. You can then update your airline reservation to include the correct name.
If you haven’t already told our registrar, Rutie Mackenzie-Margulies, that your camper is flying unaccompanied and will need to be picked up at the gate, please let her know.
We will contact you directly with specific pickup instructions in the days right before the flight. If you are flying with your camper, we will let you know where to meet our staff for the shuttle.