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Jacobs Camp Opening Day 2019!

Shalom from Jacobs Camp!

Can you believe Opening Day is only days away? We could not be more excited to welcome you and your campers to HSJ on July 7th! We’re looking forward to having an incredible summer, and we’re so thrilled you’ll be here with us! Our primary goal for the first day of camp is to welcome you home to Jacobs Camp and to help your children quickly transition into the camp routine.

Important note for driving to camp:

Unlike in previous years, the bridge near camp is now open! However, there is a different road closure that will affect families driving from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Pensacola. For families that will be driving from these cities or otherwise using I-55 North, please follow the directions linked here.

Opening Day Schedule:
8:00 AM – 11:00 AM    Medical Check In begins in the JPAC
11:00 AM                      Gates Open!
11:00 AM -12:45 PM   Camper Drop Off at cabins
12:45 PM                      Parent Lunch in the JPAC
1:30 PM                        Parent Orientation in the JPAC

When you arrive…
Opening Day is an exciting time for campers and parents alike! We encourage families to arrive between 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM.  When you arrive, please spend some time ‘tailgating’ with our camp community on the road outside of camp!

Cars begin lining up as early as 7:30 AM, and it is a great opportunity for kids and parents to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. Our staff will be out and about to meet you and your camper, distribute snacks and water, and help you get excited for the big day. Plus, we’ll have a special alumni area for all our former campers!

If you’ve brought items to donate for our Opening Day drive supporting Operation G.R.I.T.S., this is when you will drop them off. You can read more about this social action/social justice project here on our blog.

Medical Check In:
We will begin medical check in at 8:00 AM.  When you arrive, park in the line and come directly to the JPAC, which is the first building right inside the camp gates. If you arrive before medical check in begins, please come to the JPAC at 8:00 AM. We ask that at least one parent accompany each camper through the medical check in process. Staff will be directing you to the JPAC and we will also have golf cart shuttles for those who need assistance.  All families will pass through four stations:

  1. Forms First we will verify that we have all your paperwork.
  2. Temperature and Lice Check Take temperature and check for lice.  Please see our lice policy below.
  3. Drop Off Medication  Please review our Medication Administration Form in your CampInTouch Account. We ask that you print this form and complete it, neatly detailing any medication (prescription and/or over-the-counter) that your child will take regularly at camp, including when, how much, and how often it is administered.
  4. SWAG Pick-up 2019 Merchandise aka ‘Swag’. You are done! Once you have passed through all the medical stations, your child will receive his or her 2019 HSJ bracelet, and you will receive a car magnet for your family. No cars or campers will be allowed through to their cabins without these two items.

Important notes about medical check in:

  • We are counting on you to help us start the summer with a healthy camp community! Please monitor your child in the week leading up to camp to be sure you aren’t bringing contagious illness with you on opening day. For more information, please take a moment to read through our Health & Wellness information, which you can find in the Jacobs Camp Essentials section of your CampInTouch Account, which is under Forms and Documents.
  • As we have in years past, step one in the medical check in will be a lice inspection. In order to prevent the spread of lice at camp, we are again working with staff from the Lice Clinics of America. Jacobs Camp will be covering the cost of every camper’s head-check; however, if lice is found, there will be two options for treatment:
    • The staff from Lice Clinics of America can provide treatment on-site. This is recommended, as over-the-counter medications are growing ineffective in treating the strains of lice we are seeing today. With this option, your camper can get settled into camp more quickly.
    • You can take your child home and provide treatment yourself.  We will need documentation from a doctor that they are nit- and lice-free before returning to camp.

Our goal is for you to get in and out of Medical Check In as quickly as possible, so you will have plenty of time to visit with friends, old and new, while still ensuring that all of our campers have arrived healthy and ready to start the session.

11:00 am – Gates Open!
All families who have completed medical check in will be able to drive through the gates. Members of our Leadership Team will be stationed on the road to check in your child and direct you to his or her summer home. We ask that you drive carefully (the speed limit is 5mph), as the camp will be filled with excited campers eager to get settled in their cabins!

Your child’s counselors will be available to help with unpacking the car and getting settled in the bunks, as well as to answer any final questions. Before you leave, you will receive an information sheet about your child’s cabin and unit. This will include all the contact information you need for the camp, the exact mailing address with your child’s cabin number. You will also receive a short bio of your child’s cabin counselors, so you can get to know the amazing staff members with whom your child will spend the summer.

A Note about Summer Bunking:
Our year-round team works hard to determine cabin and bunk assignments in a thoughtful way. We take a lot of factors into consideration: the age and grade of each camper, where he or she is from, medical concerns, and the friends that they have requested to be with.  When you arrive on Opening Day, you will find your child’s nametag hung on a bunk that the counselors and unit heads have assigned for them. We reserve bottom bunks for campers with medical needs, and our counselors assign campers throughout the cabin in a way that will allow them to create and sustain meaningful friendships with their cabin-mates. This system ensures a fair and positive start for all of our campers from the moment they walk into the cabin. We ask that parents model the positivity and cooperation we expect of our campers in a shared living space by moving campers into their assigned bunk.

Summer Begins!
At 12:45 PM, our campers will be going to lunch with their counselors and cabin-mates; we ask that you plan to say goodbye to your child by this time. The sooner the campers are immersed in camp activities, the quicker they will be having the summer of their lives!

Parent Lunch and Orientation:
We invite all of you to join us for a parents’ lunch at 12:45 PM and orientation at 1:30 PM in the JPAC! This will be a great opportunity for parents to continue meeting and mingling with each other and to hear from the fantastic Summer Leadership Team about their plans to create Jacobs Magic!

If you will not be arriving on July 7th between 8:00 – 11:00 AM, please contact me at aherman@urj.org to let us know of your exact arrival information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call our office at 601-885-6042. We are looking forward to a wonderful summer and can’t wait to welcome your children to their summer home!

Thank you for sharing your children with us!

Anna