Q. When will the 6th graders be going to Outdoor Ed?
A. We will be leaving first thing on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 and returning around lunch time on Friday, November 7, 2014. Students must be signed out of school upon return and must go home with an adult. Students will be exhausted and will not be allowed to walk or bike home. The front office will be apprised of our progress during the return trip and an estimated arrival time will be published on the school web site.
Q. How much will Outdoor Ed cost? A. This year, the total cost for Outdoor Ed is estimated to be $270.. This includes food, lodging, activities and the bus.
Q. What if my child has special dietary or medical needs? A. If your child has any special medical, behavioral, or dietary needs, please be sure that the teacher knows. We will inform the camp about all members of the group with special needs via the Student Registration form and personal communication. We need the registration forms as soon as possible in order to provide the camp with timely information. Please have the form to your child’s teacher no later than October 17, 2014.
Q. What forms will I need to fill out? A. In October, you will be asked to fill out two forms for the camp, and one for the district. You will receive a bus permission slip, much like you complete for any field trip, that must be signed in order for us to take your student on the bus. There will be two forms for the camp: A Student Registration Form and a Medication Form. The IUSD field trip permission form and the Thousand Pines Student Registration Form must be completed for all students. The medication form is only for those who will be sending prescription or over the counter medications to camp.
Q. What do I do if I need to send medication to camp with my child? A. Complete the top portion of the medication form. Have your physician complete the rest. Over the counter medications MUST be in the original bottle and appropriate for your child’s age. Prescription medications must be in a bottle with a valid current prescription label attached. You can get a copy of the medication form from Mrs. Weyer, or download one from the camp web site. Parents must deliver medications, do not send them with your child.
Please see the Notes from the Nurse for specific information about medications for our trip.
Q. Can I send my child a letter? A. Children love to receive mail. Nothing is better than receiving an old fashioned, Post Office mailed letter during a stay at outdoor camp. We will deliver all letters (no packages) on a daily basis, generally at dinner. Letters should be sent at least 2-3 days in advance. Letters arriving before your students' stay at camp will be kept until they arrive. Letters arriving after students leave will be marked Return To Sender and placed back into the mail system, or forwarded to the school. Address the letter to:
Student Name Brywood Elementary P.O. Box 3288 Crestline, CA 92325
Q. What will happen the morning you leave? A. On the morning we leave, children should come to school at 7:50. There will be an area marked in front of the school for bags. Remember to place each bag in a large trash bag labeled with your child’s name. Children should wait on the playground without running around. At 8:00, teachers will let students into the room and begin taking temperatures. At the same time, parent volunteers will be loading the bags on the buses. By 8:30, we should be ready to board the buses.
Q. What, and how, should I pack? A. The camp provides a very thorough packing list of do’s and don’ts. Please stick to the list. We would like to add that extra socks and shoes are very helpful in case of inclement weather. Your child will be our hiking in any type of weather and keeping their feet as dry as possible will keep them more comfortable. We also cannot stress enough how important it is for your child to stay hydrated. They should have a water bottle with them at all times and plenty of Chapstick or lip balm to keep their lips from drying out. The packing list can be found on the Thousand Pines web site:
Students are asked to pack two separate bags. One bag will be for their clothing and personal effects such as hygiene products. The other bag will be for their bedding which will include a sleeping bag and pillow, or sheets, blanket and pillow. If students choose to bring a small stuffed animal, that would go in the bag with the bedding. Both bags are to be placed inside of a large plastic trash bag. Place a piece of masking tape on each bag and write the student’s full name in permanent marker.
The trash bags are important as bags are unloaded onto the ground while students are being organized. If the weather has been wet, bags and bedding could end up soaked before the students can gather them. The trash bags will keep everything dry for your child. As all bags will look the same and will not be organized by class, we recommend that you do something to your child’s bags to make them easily identifiable. A piece of brightly colored ribbon tied around it, or bright duct tape on the bag will help your child to find his or her bags more easily when we arrive. These same bags can be used for wet or dirty laundry for our return trip.
Q. What is the bus trip like? A. We request buses with reclining seats, and have traditionally been able to get them. These buses are very comfortable. We will provide a movie on each bus to help the students pass the time and keep their excitement in check. The trip itself takes approximately an hour to an hour and a half depending upon traffic. The first portion of the trip is fairly level with only a moderate incline until we reach the base of the mountain. We will then have a steeper incline as we circle up the mountain to camp. We will provide students with gum or hard candy to help their ears adjust to the change in altitude. We will also encourage students to hydrate as we go up the mountain as it also helps students adjust to the higher altitude.