Spring is here and summer will be here before we know it! The 4-H Camp Overlook Team is looking forward to all our campers arriving at the red gates for a week (or multiple weeks) filled with camp fun. Last year we shifted to a drive-thru registration to protect all of us from COVID-19. The drive-thru style had many great aspects that we would like to keep this year. Each camper will receive a staggered Sunday arrival time between 12:30pm and 3:00pm. During this time, staff members will be masked until all guests have left and all campers have finished their COVID-19 rapid tests.

As you arrive a staff member will help your camper complete a rapid COVID-19 test. We received tests for the summer from… Once your camper’s test is finished, they will head over to meet with our Camp Registrar, Teresa, and our Summer Camp Director, Zac. The camper will sign in and receive their name tag that includes their cabin for the week and class schedule that was chosen online during registration.

If your camper will be staying in Running Deer, Kanentiio, Saksare, Onondoga, Seneca, Minnehaha, or Tuscarora the next stop will be to drop all your things off at the cabin. At the cabin you will meet other campers you will be spending the week with and your cabin counselors! The cabin counselors will complete a lice check at the picnic tables here and you can take a moment to choose your bed and set up anything with your adults help before heading over to the Nurse’s Station. All campers will stop at the Nurse’s Station which will be set up outside the Infirmary and Great Hall. If your camper has any meds, this is where they will go, we will also make sure we have all the health-related information needed for a successful week at camp. After stopping at the nurse’s station, campers should return to their cabins to be with their counselors until the registration time frame is complete. If your camper will be staying in Big Moose Down, Big Moose Up, Cayuga, Little Moose, or Oneida the next stop will be the Nurse’s Station first and then you may head to your cabins.

We do ask that when adults dropping off their campers are done the registration process, that they do not linger to long at camp so that there are no unnecessary traffic congestions. But we also would like you to know that this summer we will have a much more robust camp store at camp! The Camp Store will be located outside the Nature Center. At this time, we can only accept cash or check, but the camp store will be open during the registration time frame and during pick up. New inventory will include crewneck sweatshirts, new t-shirt designs, the beloved sunglasses and baseball caps, and so much more!

In past years campers would head to the beach for a swim test, this year campers who have not attended camp in previous year will complete their test during free time. Campers who have attended in previous years will have their swim level already on their name tag. If they would like to retest as they feel that they have made significant progress since last summer, they will have the opportunity to retest in their Monday swim class. All swimmers must have a designated level by someone who is Red Cross WSI trained.

The 4-H Camp Overlook Team wants to ensure that everyone enjoying camp this summer is happy, safe, and healthy. While we know that the situation is constantly evolving, we believe that this registration format will keep all our families, campers, and staff feeling ready for the summer of 2022. We are happy to provide a camp format that allows campers to choose the classes that they’d like to take throughout the week, while still staying attentive to sanitation, continuing our tradition of family style meals outside, and following the registration changes above. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out at campoverlook@cornell.edu.

We still have a few positions open for the summer of 2022, if you are interested in joining us check out those positions here: https://4hcampoverlook.org/employment/

If you are ready to register your camper, head over here: https://4hcampoverlook.org/summer2022/online-camp-registration/

Respectfully,

The 4-H Camp Overlook Team