NOTE: Registration is not yet open. We are working on it. We plan to open registration by May 15. Thank you for your patience!
Dear SJC Community,
Thanks to all of you who participated in the survey we posted last month. Based on the responses we are excited to announce that we are proceeding with in-person SJC 2021 this AUG 8 – 14. Jami Chung will be returning for her 4th year as program Director, and SJC alum Christine Cha, a registered nurse and Zoe Tam’s Mom, will be our camp health officer.
Here are the major provisions for SJC 2021:
Things may change
The following is based on our best knowledge given current information. Hopefully things will improve as more people get vaccinated and conditions improve. We’re sure that we will have to improvise and be creative to make SJC 2021 work, however, as always we keep the health and safety of the campers and staff our first priority.
State of Michigan Dept. of Health and ACA guidelines
Specific health rules and protocols will conform with the State of Michigan Dept. of Health and American Camp Association (ACA) guidelines. Our host, Camp Westminster operates under these rules and we will too.
Pods
Camp will consist of “pods” that will eat, sleep, play, work, attend activities together and as much as possible remain socially distant and separate from each other from the start of camp til the end. Pods will be roughly 8 – 12 people including counselors.
Smaller 2021 camp size
We anticipate having fewer spaces for campers this year. So if you are planning to attend we suggest you register as soon as possible. We hope that conditions improve so we can have more people on campus, but we’ll have to see.
Dining and Bathroom Facilities
Pods will eat at separate tables on the camp green (where we hold our Korean BBQ ). Large canopy tents on the green and the back porch of the dining hall will be used in case of rain. Bathroom and shower facilities will be shared by pods, but we’ll stagger the times to keep pods separate.
Minimum age for Campers this year
Minimum age for campers at SJC 2021 of 10 years old or going into 4th grade.
Cancelled events for this year
Unfortunately, this summer we will not have
- Visitor’s Day or the family Korean BBQ
- Social dance
- Large, loud group singing outdoors or inside to keep possibility of droplets spreading down
- Group photo
COVID-19 vaccinations not required of campers and staff
As of this writing, COVID-19 vaccine will likely not be available for children by this summer thus, we will not require staff or campers to be vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to coming to camp. However, we strongly encourage all staff and campers to get vaccinated if it becomes available.
We will require staff and campers to provide a negative COVID-19 test result by email or text no more than 72 hours prior to arrival at camp. We understand that home COVID-19 tests will be widely available for $25-$35 soon and results are available in less than an hour. We will also require that staff and campers isolate as much as possible 7 days before camp and associate as much as possible only with their immediate family.
Enhanced safety and hygiene protocols
At camp we will take temps, oxygen sat reading, ask about health history in the past 7 – 10 days for all campers and staff. This will be done at check in. We will likely repeat this later during camp. We will also require masks, social distancing outside the pod, and hand washing.
Enhanced program and activity rotation
As much as possible activities will be planned so pods are kept separate, teachers will circulate pods for morning classes, and afternoon electives will be the same for the entire pod. Evening programs will likewise have pods circulate from station to station, but will not compete/play in real time with each other.
Enhanced supervision
We’re planning on having 2 -3 counselors per pod so we can keep the campers properly supervised at all times, and allow counselors to run errands and do what they need to away from their campers.
Mandatory vaccinations – required by July 8, 2021.
Regular (non-COVID-19) vaccinations (which we required in 2019) will be required this year, completed and documented at least 30 days before camp. NO exceptions. Also this year we will also require meningitis vaccinations for campers 16 + and staff too. Required NON COVID-19 vaccinations include the following:
For campers younger than 11 years old:
- Tdap a combination vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough)
- MMR (Mumps, measles, rubella)
- IPV (Polio) b)
For campers 11 years old and older
- Tdap a combination vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough)
- Bexsero or Trumenba to prevent meningitis caused by meningococcal serogroup B (age 16 yrs and older)
- Menactra to prevent infection caused by meningococcal bacteria serogroups A/C/W/Y (given at age 12 and 16yr)
Additionally: we require all SJC staff under age 26 to have:
- Tdap a combination vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough)
- Bexsero or Trumemba to prevent meningitis caused by meningococcal serogroup B
- Menactra to prevent infection caused by meningococcal bacteria serogroups A/C/W/Y
Rapid COVID-19 tests available
We will keep rapid COVID-19 tests at camp, have an isolation room to keep positive and/or symptomatic campers until parents pick them up, and have a protocol for positive campers and staff.
COVID-19 waiver
All parents of campers and staff will have to sign a waiver holding Camp Westminster Staff, SJC and it’s staff harmless and free from liability stemming from any illness, etc. caused by COVID-19 caught at camp. This waiver will be included in the registration process.
Registration fees
- New campers and Returning campers registered by June 10: $575
- Returning campers registered on June 11 or later: $625
- Additional siblings are $20 less per child.
High school seniors can be campers
Students graduating high school in 2021 are welcome to return for SJC 2021 as campers.
Campers in the senior class of 2022 and beyond are still required to take a gap year the summer after graduating high school. The earliest that a 2022 high school graduate may apply to be on staff is for the summer of 2023. A “gap year” means a summer NOT attending SJC. The have this policy to allow time for staffers to gain perspective on their camp experience
Financial aid available
We have some financial aid available to campers and their families. Please contact us @ info@ SaeJongCamp.org to find out more. As always, all correspondence and communications will be kept confidential.
Thanks,
The Sae Jong Camp Team
Contact us for any questions