Summer 2021 COVID-19 Updates:

We are so excited for camp this summer and can't wait to see all of our campers and staff laughing and playing together making the life-changing memories that make a week at CRS so special!  On this page we will post the details of the current plans for summer 2021. CRS is committed to follow best practices and planning safeguards that will allow us to run camp safely this summer.  

The majority of our camp facilities are full of fresh air which allows us to safely enjoy so many of the activities we love about camp.  We are looking forward to giving our campers a fun, active time to make friends and grow in the Lord.

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Here are a few measures we are preparing to implement for summer 2021:  

As Summer 2021 gets closer, we will continue to be in communication with you about camp plans. CRS is committed to providing our campers a fun and safe camp experience in person this summer. We are working closely with the American Camp Association and our camp medical team to make this a safe, healthy, and fun-filled summer. We will follow all health and safety guidelines so that parents can be confident that their child will be well cared for during his or her week of camp. 

These plans reflect the measures we believe are necessary in light of current case counts and local and national guidelines. These plans are subject to change as we get closer to summer, depending on how the situation with COVID 19 evolves and future regulations. Decisions on testing and face coverings will be made once we are able to assess the current situation as well as know current guidelines and regulations.  Camp is definitely happening this summer, and we cannot wait to see you driving back up the hill!

 

Pre-Camp Screening:

• A pre-camp “health check” questionnaire will be sent out the week before your camper’s session.
• Campers are asked to reduce risk for 7 days prior to arrival at camp. For the week prior to their arrival, campers should stay home, separate themselves from others outside of their family and monitor their health for any signs of illness.  Doing this will help reduce the risk that any camper would unknowingly come to camp with the virus. 
• Take temperature for 7 days prior to arrival at camp.
• Complete screening questions about exposure, testing, infection

 We recommend these campers not attend:

• Families who are not comfortable with an increased risk of contracting Covid-19.
• Campers from immune-compromised or vulnerable groups, or those living with people from vulnerable groups.
• Those who choose not to meet the risk reduction guidelines for the week prior to arrival noted on the health-screening form.
• Families who cannot make arrangements to pick up their camper within 8 hours of receiving a call from camp. It can be someone the parent designates who has permission to pick up.
• A camper (or someone in his immediate family) who is in quarantine on Opening Day for being Covid positive or a close contact.

 

Arriving at Camp:

This year we will be implementing a drive through check-in—to reduce the risk of spreading infection, we’re encouraging you to limit the number of people coming to drop-off your camper and for everyone but the camper to stay in the car. Don’t worry, making kids feel at home at camp is what we do!

• Each family will be assigned a check-in time. Please arrive during your assigned timeslot as this will help us minimize wait times. This will be emailed to you during the week prior to your session.
• Upon arriving at camp, you’ll be greeted by a CRS chief who will direct you through the check-in process.

Have all your health history and confidential forms submitted BEFORE you get to camp. We are trying to make check-in as quick and contactless as possible—having all forms in advance is critical. 

• Have medications and the health screening form easily accessible in hand to give to our healthcare staff at check-in.
• Each camper will receive a “health screening”.  This will consist of our usual health check with the addition of a few COVID-19 specific items. 
  • Should a camper present a fever of 100.0 or higher on the initial check, their car  will be asked to visit a secondary screening area. Confirmed presence of a fever of 100.0 or higher will necessitate cancellation or rescheduling of a camper’s visit to later in the summer.   
  • Questions about COVID-19 exposure and symptoms
• Be sure to let staff know of any updates to your child’s health history. 

 Daily Health Screening in Cabin:

• Document on cabin form:  daily temperature check and symptom questions:
• How are you feeling today?
• Checking for specific COVID-19 symptoms such as loss of smell or taste.

 

Reducing Contact at Camp:  

Limiting the contact between groups of people has been proven to be an effective way to fight the spread of COVID-19.  We plan to do this in several ways at camp this summer:

• CREATING A BUBBLE:  To limit potential for spread, no late arrivals can be accommodated, nor we will allow campers to leave during camp for outside events.  Visitors will not be allowed.
• REDUCING CAPACITY:  We have reduced the number of campers for each session.  This will allow us to keep our campers spread out and cut down on contact between groups of campers.
• COHORTS:  Campers will be placed in a two-cabin group called a “Color Team”.  This group will have the least amount of restrictions and even if face coverings are required at times, any time campers are with their color team they will not be required to wear one.  Campers will participate in activities, meals, nighttime events, and games with their color team. Color teams will not mix with other color teams.
• GET OUTSIDE!  CRS has always been about engaging hands-on with nature.  The majority of our camp facilities are full of fresh air which allows us to safely enjoy so many of the activities we love about camp.  We will do all-camp events such as worship outside—spreading out as color teams and make use of all the green space available at camp!
• TIME TO EAT: Mealtimes will be divided into appropriately sized groups per meal to maintain spacing between groups.  More picnic style meals will also be served and no self-service bars. Campers will eat with their cabin groups and be physically distanced from other cabin groups.

 

Safety Protocols:

• Cabins will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized prior to arrival.  Only those living in a cabin may enter it.
• Regular and methodical sanitization and cleaning processes will be conducted daily.
• Campers will sleep head-to-toe on bunks to maximize distance between heads/faces.
• All camp staff will be screened before entering camp. Summer staff will have been quarantined on property for a week prior to campers’ arrival and will be monitored daily for any symptoms of sickness.
• CRS has the ability to test any camper exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, perform contact tracing, and offers comfortable infirmary facilities to quarantine while waiting for parent pick up.
• Handwashing and sanitizing stations will be available around camp and in each building to help keep those hands clean!
• Training our staff and our campers is super important. We will train our staff on how to properly sanitize, wash hands, and how to monitor campers to prevent behaviors that spread illness. For our campers we’ll emphasize sneezing and coughing into their elbow, avoiding unnecessary physical contact, and not sharing personal items.
• Fun signs will be posted to remind us of important behaviors.
• Campers will not be expected to receive the vaccine prior to camp this summer. While we are encouraging Summer Staff to get the vaccine, it is not being required in 2021.   

Activities Are On! 

Activities at Camp of the Rising Son are the most looked forward to part of each day! As part of our effort to keep campers safe, we’re changing up the way we do activities this summer. As part of reducing contact between groups, campers will participate in activities with their color team rather than each camper having a custom schedule. This change will allow campers to experience more activities than ever plus some fun new activities for summer 2021!  Campers will always have the option to opt out of an activity if they are not comfortable.

Face Coverings and Testing

It is too soon to make a definitive policy on face coverings and testing, and we are working closely with our camp medical team to determine what is best for our campers this summer. It is possible that campers and staff may be required to wear a face covering at times this summer. We will follow applicable state and local guidance for this decision. If face coverings remain necessary, we have designed our weekly schedule to require them as little as possible and camper will receive a cool buff-style face covering they can easily pull up over their nose and mouth whenever necessary.  We feel these will be easiest to keep up with and quickest to use when we find them necessary. We will make ongoing assessments depending on the current COVID-19 situation and keep you updated. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility.

Leaving Camp

• To minimize contact, we will not have a closing ceremony. Each family will be assigned a time between Staggered times will also be assigned for camper pick-up. 
• We will not be able to have a closing ceremony but will direct parents to drive to their camper’s unit and bring their camper to them. 
• Camp staff will be on hand to load your camper’s luggage—you get to stay in the car! 

 After Camp

We advise that campers returning from an overnight camp should minimize in-person contact with any person 65 years of age or older, especially those with pre-existing health conditions, for a period of 10 days. This includes maintaining social distancing of at least 6 feet of separation from those individuals, wearing a face covering or mask, and avoiding sharing utensils or other common objects with those individuals.

If your camper develops symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19 within 10 days of arriving home from camp, please call the camp office to notify us. 

 

In the Event of a Suspected or Confirmed case of COVID-19 at Camp:  

CRS will keep camp families up to date on COVID-19 as it relates to this summer. Any confirmed cases as well as the camp’s response will be reported.

If a camper develops symptoms of COVID-19, he or she will be taken for evaluation by healthcare staff and quarantined from others. 

• If a diagnosis of COVID-19 is determined for a camper, we will call the parents and ask them (or someone they arrange) to pick up the camper within 12 hours.  We plan to have rapid testing available at camp to provide quick results and minimize risk. 

If a camper or staff tests positive for COVID-19, we will notify all parents or guardians of campers present at camp during that session. 

• Campers in the cabin and color team of a positive camper will be evaluated by the healthcare staff. 
• The parents or guardians of a child in the same cabin or color team of a positive case may decide to either pick up their child from the camp or leave the child in the camp and trust the camp to take appropriate safeguards.
• Because we are operating using a cohort strategy, we anticipate the non-symptomatic campers in that cabin and color team to be able to continue with a fun week of camp not mixing with other color teams.
• If multiple campers in one cabin are determined to be positive, we may choose to ask all the campers to go home.
• Staff who had direct contact with the positive case will be quarantined and tested. 
• If notification of a positive case comes after camp, families from the exposed color team should follow CDC guidelines for possible exposure of their camper.
• If a camper leaves due to COVID-19, we will offer a refund for the unused portion of their tuition.
• For a staff case of COVID-19, s/he will isolate or leave the property and be required to complete the recommended quarantine period prior to returning to camp duties.

If we make the decision to dismiss a camper or end camp early due to COVID-19 related concerns, we will communicate these plans with families and make appropriate prorated refunds.

While we are taking many steps to mitigate the potential of COVID-19 at camp, we are not able to guarantee that campers will avoid contracting any communicable disease. We understand that every family is being impacted differently by this pandemic and that you as a parent know what is best for your child.  Please contact our office if you have any further questions about how we are operating this summer.

We are so looking forward to seeing all of our campers after such a long absence!  How wonderful it will be to welcome you all to CRS this summer for a week of incredible fun!   

CRS is committed to following all health and safety guidelines so that our campers can enjoy a fun and healthy camp experience in person this summer.  As a licensed summer camp by the state of Mississippi, we will be required to follow all state mandates and restrictions. These plans reflect the measures we believe are necessary in light of current case counts and local and national guidelines. These plans are subject to change as we get closer to summer, depending on how the situation evolves and future regulations. This page will be updated throughout the spring as the current situation and guidelines become more clear.

 February 18, 2021 update