PARENT TRANSPORTATION

If parents are providing transportation for their camper(s) and not using Early Care, they may arrive no earlier than 8:50 a.m. Please see First Day Check-In for further details. Camp ends at 4 p.m. each day. For the safety of each camper, the person picking up the camper must walk to the camper’s assigned group and sign the child out with the child’s counselor. Every person picking up a child must show a photo ID.

During bus arrival (approx. 8:40 - 9:00 a.m.) and dismissal (approx. 3:50 - 4:10 p.m.), the Black Point Road entrance will be closed to through traffic. Please enter and exit through the Spurwink Road entrance. When the Black Point Road entrance is closed to parents there will be a rope across the entrance attended by a staff member. There will also be traffic cones by the entrance to the Spurwink Road parking lot attended by a staff member at these times. Please observe these measures to keep all children safe at Camp Ketcha.

FIRST DAY CHECK-IN

On the first day at camp for the summer season, you must check-in at the table outside (inside if it is raining) anytime beginning at 8:30 a.m. This is only required for your camper’s first day of the summer. If your camper is a part-time camper or is absent on Monday, then you will need to check in at the main office with the registrar. You will save time if you have completed all necessary paperwork prior to the start of the session (Registration Form, Health History Form and Equine Warning Form - horse campers only) and if you have paid in full for the camp sessions that are due. Please see the payment schedule for full details.

BE PREPARED FOR THE FOLLOWING AT CHECK-IN:

FORMS:

In order for your camper to remain at Camp Ketcha, all required forms must be on file.

EXPRESS CHECK-IN:

Your name will appear on this posted list if all forms are on file in the camp office AND your balance due is paid in full.

NON_EXPRESS CHECK-IN:

If your name does not appear on the Express Check-In List, you must come into the main office and wait to speak with the registrar. Required forms will be obtained if that is what you are missing. If your payments are not up to date, full payment and a $25 late fee must be paid. After this, you will be issued a pass to give to your child’s counselor showing that they may now accept your camper.

BUS SERVICE

Three buses provide service from convenient locations around Greater Portland (see the schedule below.) Each bus has two Camp Ketcha staff monitors with cellular phone access. Qualified drivers from Custom Coach of Portland operate our buses.

Cost: $50 per week

You MUST arrive at the bus stop 15 minutes prior to the listed time. Buses can NOT wait at these stops. If you are late you may catch the bus as the next stop. In the evening, your child will be returned to Camp Ketcha if you have not caught up to the bus by the last stop, resulting in an additional charge of $50. The times listed below indicate when the bus leaves the stop.

2008 BUS SCHEDULE

LATE ARRIVALS / EARLY PICK-UP

If you know in advance that your child will be arriving late or be picked up early, please send a note or call camp. For early pick-up it is very important that you call first, since children can be some distance from the camp office. Early pick-ups between 3:15 to 3:45 p.m. are the most difficult for staff to manage, so please notify us as soon as possible.

DISMISSAL POLICY

PARENT AUTHORIZATION

Your child will only be dismissed to the people you have listed on your summer camp registration form. We will not release your child to anyone else unless we have written authorization from you. If a non-custodial parent has been denied access to a child by a court order, you must submit documentation to that effect and we will comply with it accordingly.

SIGN-OUT PROCEDURE

All parents or person picking up your child must check-out with your child’s counselor. You will be asked to produce I.D. We kindly ask all parents to cooperate with us during this time in order to make dismissal as smooth as possible. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SIGN OUT WITH YOUR CHILD’S COUNSELOR.

LATE PICK-UP

Camp closes promptly at 6:00 p.m. Any participant picked up after 6:05 p.m. will be charged a $15 late fee. You will be charged another $15 late fee if your child is not picked up by 6:15 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., we follow Failure to Pick-Up Child procedures. In case of an emergency please notify us immediately.

FAILURE TO PICK UP CHILD

If the parent or authorized person(s) fails to pick-up the child at the time of the camp’s closing, the center will ensure that:

The child is supervised at all times;

Staff members attempt to contact the parent or authorized person(s); and

A ½ hour or more after closing time, and provided that other arrangements for releasing the child to the parent or authorized person(s) have failed, and the staff member(s) cannot continue to supervise the child at camp, the staff member will call the Department of Health & Human Services 24 hour Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline at 1-800-452-1999 to seek assistance in caring for the child until an authorized person is able to pick-up the child.