Spring News
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April, 2008
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Dear Parents,
Greetings all! June 22 is fast approaching and we have lots of info here for you to digest. I will try to anticipate some of your questions if I can!
Required forms are posted on the camp web page, www.camptecumseh.net under the Parent Heading and the Forms link. I will give a brief description of each one, though they are pretty self-explanatory. If you have trouble downloading them, give me a call or email. If you would like a hard copy or any of these forms let me know.
1, 2, 3. Medical Forms– There are three forms, so please complete all three attachments. For your son to participate in camp activities these forms must all be in our hands and signed where indicated. Be sure physical exams are no more than 2 years old and all information is current. Records are kept in the infirmary and all medications are dispensed by the camp R.N. We need all the insurance information. We recommend a booster for whooping cough if your physician recommends it. Whooping cough has made a comeback lately. Ellie Smith is our R.N. and her husband, John is our Certified Athletic Trainer. We are so lucky to have them! They have infirmary hours ½ hour before each meal, right next to the Dining Hall. Ellie dispenses medicines at meal times, unless there is a special arrangement you make with her for an alternate time. We respect all privacy issues!
4.Information sheet for campers - this form allows your son to set some goals for the summer and allows us to work with him to reach those goals. Your son’s counselor will call your home the week before camp opens to introduce himself. At that time your son will learn his cabin assignment. He may not call until a night or two before the 22nd, so don’t panic if you haven’t heard from him until then! Counselors arrive between June 15 and 18 at camp for orientation and training. All our counselors have been screened with background checks and are known to the Director personally. We’re fortunate to have so many alumni who want to come back as counselors each summer. Alums make up close to 80% of our staff!
5.Transportation Form - Two chartered buses (with VCRs and bathrooms!) will depart from Episcopal Academy (in Merion on 376 N. Latches Lane) on Sunday, June 22 at 8 a.m. sharp, but you should have your son in the Episcopal parking lot by 7:30 a.m. Tecumseh counselors are on board and will check your sons in. It is a chance for new campers to make instant friends. It is also an eight- hour day! You should pack a brown bag lunch for him. He can bring a carry-on bag, a small portable radio or a small CD player, with ear phones, but his trunk and duffel should be sent either by UPS or camp truck. See the transportation form for details on this. Please put a combination lock on his trunk and have your son memorize the combo. If we have enough requests for second session campers, we will arrange for a bus to leave from Philadelphia the morning of July 17 and stop along the way, as the June 22 buses do. At this point we are not anticipating a second session bus.
The truck for duffels and trunks will load from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at Episcopal Academy, Saturday, June 14. If enough families request this service we will try to make arrangements for another pick-up along the way, but at this point we are not anticipating any stops. We will not be sending a truck up with duffels for the second session; please arrange for UPS to deliver in advance of your son’s arrival July 17 if you are a second session family. Of course, you may bring his stuff up in a car if you’re driving him to camp.
If your son is flying to camp, please note the details on the transportation form regarding flights. We will provide you with the name of the counselor meeting your son’s flight if that is your arrangement with us. Minors traveling alone must have the name of the counselor meeting them at the gate. We will make the same arrangements if he is flying home. We will transport him to the airport and we will take him to the gate and remain there until the plane leaves.
If you plan to drive him up, please try to arrive after lunch on 6/22, or 7/17 if you are a second session family. If you are arriving any other time, please let us know when to expect you. When dropping your son off by car, please use the front entrance to camp, park on the lawn opposite the office and register at the office. We will take your son’s bags to his cabin and ask you not to drive on camp roads to keep our campers safe. Your son’s counselor will meet you and give you a tour of the campus. Try to arrive between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. if possible.
When picking your son up, please use the same driving and parking pattern. We will bring your son and his belongings to the top of the hill so you can load the car there.
6. Packing List – see the link “What to Bring”. In order to return laundry to the rightful owner, all clothes must be marked!! Mark all athletic items, also. Use a good permanent marking pen, an iron-on or sew names on. Anything that will last!!! Note the info on the transportation sheet for sending up trunks and duffels. (We recommend one of each.) The list is for seven weeks, so adjust to the length of your son’s stay.
7. Spending money- Please read the form carefully and attach a separate check to open your son’s account. We make the campus as cash- free as possible by having campers debit their accounts. The Creamery is popular so factor in $10/week for that! Again, make the check payable to: Camp Tecumseh and note “spending account” on the check. Adjust the amount you send for the length of your sons stay.
8. If you are interested in setting up an email account with Bunk1 folks, go to the link on the Tecumseh web site and set up an account. If you had an account last year you can use your old username and password. This account allows you to send one email a day that will be delivered to your son with the rest of the regular mail. We will give you your son’s cabin name the week before opening so you can have it delivered to the right cabin. The Bunk1 info # is 800-216-9472 or bunk1.com/contact.asp.
That’s it for the forms. Here is some further info for you:
Visitation and communication: Tecumseh does not have a formal parent-visiting program, but parents are welcome after the first three weeks of camp. Please call ahead if you plan to visit to make sure your son is not out of camp on an overnight. . If you do plan to visit, please make reservations ASAP. We recommend you call or email the Meredith Chamber of Commerce for lodging and restaurant info: 877-279-6121 or www.meredithcc.org. We also have some suggested lodgings and restaurants on our web site. We hope you will come a day or two prior to his departure and visit camp.
Those families departing after the first session on July 16th, should arrange for their sons to leave camp before noon. If we are to take him to the airport let us know, well in advance, about all flight plans. If at all possible use the Manchester airport. International campers will use Boston’s Logan airport.
Cell phones: campers are not permitted to use cell phones at camp. We understand you want to check on your son’s well-being, especially if he is traveling a long distance by himself to camp. We will call or email you when he does arrive safely. If you feel he must have a cell phone with him for travels, let us know and we will store it for him in a safe place and we will return it prior to his departure. Again, for your son’s maximum enjoyment at camp and for him to adjust to his new surroundings and friends he should not be communicating with anyone outside camp except by letter or postcard!
Business Office: Please send all payables to the Plymouth Meeting address and call there with any financial questions. After June 10 direct your calls up to camp at 603-253-4010. All balances are payable by June 1 to: Camp Tecumseh, 1906 Johnson Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462. Call 610-275-6634 if you need info on your balance due.
Homesickness: a certain amount of homesickness is normal, particularly for new campers. Here are a few tips to help prevent an abnormal amount: First, have him spend a night or two away from home at a friend’s house if he hasn’t ever been away from home. Second, be positive about your son’s coming to us. Resist the temptation to tell him how much he will be missed! We don’t allow phone calls from you or from him to you because the sound of a parent’s voice will make his homesickness worse if he is feeling homesick. Obviously, you may call us in case of an emergency, and if he is lucky enough to have a birthday during the season you may call after dinner that day. 7 p.m. is the best time. If he writes you the first week of camp and tells you he’s miserable and you have to come pick him up, just ignore that first letter. He will get better! Third, our counselor’s phone call is partly to make your son feel as though someone is waiting for him at camp! Lastly, write him old-fashioned letters. Make it newsy and tell him how lucky he is to be at camp and that nothing at all is happening at home!!!
As I did last year, I will send home emails on Sunday evenings reviewing the past week’s activities and previewing things to come! We will post some photos on the web site from time to time. Your sons will be writing home at least once a week. Camp office hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If there is an urgent need to contact camp after office hours, call the Director’s cottage at 603-253-3882. The office number is 603-253-4010. Please let me know if you have a summer address and telephone number where you can be reached if you are away from home. Cell numbers are helpful if you have one.
Clothing and Equipment: There are only three required clothing items for campers: two t-shirts (one blue and one gray), and a pair of blue shorts. AES sportswear, linked to our web page is our official clothes carrier. The Bunkline Company ( not to be confused with BunkOne) is also linked to our web page and carries all kinds of camping equipment: flashlights, trunks, etc. A percentage from each sale from AES and Bunkline go to the Blue/Gray Tecumseh Scholarship Program. Both companies are linked to our web site: www.camptecumseh.net and should be operating by May 1, if not sooner. Keep checking the web site.
Tutoring: Contact me and I will put you in touch with the Head of our tutoring program this summer.
Tennis lessons: Bill Aronson, our new Tennis Director, is willing to give private lessons at the rate of $25/half-hour and $50 per hour. Lessons would be given during a camper’s free time and not interfere with any planned activities. Contact the Director if you’re interested in lessons.
Special Dates: June 22- camp opens; July 16 end of the first session; July 17, beginning of the second session; Fri.., Aug 1 – Pemi Day (rain date, Aug 2): Aug. 4, Clinic begins; August 9, 10: closing weekend ceremonies: Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta, Fri. and Sat. nites at 8 p.m.; Awards Ceremony-Sun. Aug. 10, 9-10:30 a.m. After that they are all yours again!
We are looking forward eagerly to Tecumseh’s 106th summer! Once again we are fortunate to have an experienced staff and another outstanding group of campers!
Reminder: Mail all forms requiring checks to: Camp Tecumseh, 1906 Johnson Rd., Plymouth Meeting, PA. 19462. You may fax forms not requiring checks to: 610-275-6635.
After June 10 direct all communication to us at Camp: 603-253-4010 (office) or 603-253-3882 (Director’s cottage); Email the same: camptecumseh@comcast.net; mail address is: 975 Moultonboro Neck Road, Moultonboro, NH 03254. That is the UPS address also. Fax # at Camp, should be 603-253-4806.
Best to all,
Jim and Nina
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