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What A Camper Learns
Technology Policy
With more and more children using the internet, cell phones and other technology at younger ages, we ask you as parents to partner with us to ensure that your daughter has the safest and happiest experience as a part of Camp Nicolet as possible. Some technologies pose real challenges to the health and safety of our camp community. Please review and share with your daughter the following camp policies regarding the Internet, social networking sites, and exchanging contact information with our staff. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns about these issues.
Cell Phones
As you know, we have a “no cell phone” policy at camp. Aside from the fact that cell phones are expensive and can get lost or stolen and that the physical camp environment is not kind to such items, there is a fundamental problem with campers having cell phones at camp, and that is trust. When children come to camp they—and you—are making a leap of faith, temporarily transferring their primary care from you as their parents to us and their counselors. This is one of the growth-producing, yet challenging aspects of camp. As children learn to trust other caring adults, they grow and learn, little by little, to solve some of their own challenges. We believe this emerging independence is one of the greatest benefits of camp. It is one important way your child develops greater resilience. Contacting you by phone essentially means they have not made this transition. It prevents us from getting to problems that may arise and addressing them quickly. Sending a cell phone to camp is like saying to your child that you as the parent haven’t truly come to peace with the notion of them being away from you and in our care.
Digital Photographs
Another drawback of having cell phones at camp is many of them have built-in cameras. It has happened at some camps around the country that children have secretly taken photographs of other campers or staff during changing or showering times and later uploaded those images onto the internet. (If you belong to a health club, chances are it has “no cell phone” policy). We take photographs during the summer, which are available for viewing on our website. Please help us maintain a safe environment by explaining this to your child. You should know that any camper that takes a compromising photograph of another camper or staff member and uploads it on the internet or makes it public in any way may be subject to dismissal from camp or may not be allowed to return. If the law is broken, the appropriate authorities will be notified.
Cyber-Bullying and Harassment
It has also happened at camps around the country that a few campers have sent rude, demeaning, intimidating or vulgar e-mails or IMs to other campers or have created false screen names to harass members of the camp community or spread false and damaging information about them. To be sure, most Internet communication is fun, positive and one important way campers stay in touch with their friends. We will not condone or tolerate any cyber-bullying or harassment on the part of our campers – again, camp and the camp off-season should be a safe environment for all campers and staff.
Your Daughter and Our Staff after Camp
Our pledge is to put your children in the company of the most trustworthy and capable young adults we can hire—counselors who are well suited to the task of caring for campers. The effort we put into screening and selecting our staff is part of that pledge. Our staff works with your children in the context of a visible, well-scrutinized environment that has many built-in checks and balances. Counselors are supervised by administrative staff guided by clear, firm policies regarding behavior. Their actions are also visible to co-workers and campers.
We discourage our staff from having contact with your children after camp since we cannot supervise it. We hire our staff for the camp season. We do not take responsibility for their behavior off-season. As a parent you are, of course, free to make your own choice in this matter. While we cannot keep you from allowing your child to visit with one of our staff members, in so doing you take full responsibility. We also know that many children exchange contact information (e.g., e-mail address, profile names, cell phone numbers) with counselors without our or your specific awareness or permission. We recommend that you as the parent supervise your child’s online activities just as you do other aspects of their life in your home, and oversee any off-season contact our staff members and your child. You take full responsibility to oversee any contact that results.
Camp is meant to be a fun and safe place for everyone. We need the cooperation of parents, campers, and staff to keep the way that our camp family communicates with one another positive and in the spirit of Nicolet!
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