April 30 Update
Dear Hayground Families,
It is April 30. After today, deposits will no longer be refundable. Our goal is not monetary. Our goal is to identify those families who are committed to a summer at Hayground from those who are not so we can open up registration to the 184 campers on our waitlist.
On Saturday, the CDC released its Camp Guidelines for Summer 2021. These guidelines are not direct rules for us. They are federal guidelines that the State of New York and the Suffolk County Health Department now need to consider in order to create their guidelines for us.
The Suffolk County Health Department Guidelines are our rules. And we will be following them to a tee.
Some of what the CDC guidelines outline are optimistic. They do not suggest we limit our number of campers. Some were less so. They suggest that all staff and campers, regardless of vaccination, wear masks at all times, inside and out. As you know, we are working hard to design COVID protocols that balance COVID safety with social/emotional well-being. And while we absolutely agree that campers and counselors wear masks when they are in, say, cooking (which is indoors), it may not be necessary for campers and counselors to wear masks when playing soccer on a windy field. There can be nuance to this.
We want to reiterate that if the Suffolk County Health Department tells us that we have to wear masks at all times, we will absolutely do that.
On Tuesday, the CDC announced a relaxation in the guidelines for masks outdoors. We have a camp parent who has a direct line to the Governor’s office and is doing his best to share with us the inside scoop on the thinking in Albany. He believes that the Suffolk County Camp Guidelines, when they come out, will not require masking at all times. But we must be patient.
We also want to update you on our staff preparedness. We have 181 staff members. 34 of them are not eligible to receive the vaccine as they are 14 and 15 (one must be 16 to get the vaccine). Of the 147 staff members who are eligible to receive the vaccine, 131 are vaccinated so far. That is 90.97%. There are three members of our staff who have medical exemptions. And the other 13 are working on getting vaccinated. (Some are away at boarding school or college and just don’t have access yet.)
We will likely have 98% of our vaccine-eligible staff vaccinated by summer. A vaccinated adult has a significantly reduced risk of contracting COVID, a significantly reduced risk of carrying COVID and, therefore, a significantly reduced risk of passing COVID on to someone else.
None of the precautions we ultimately decide to take are foolproof. Let’s be clear about that. Stepping out of your home and joining a group of people carries risk. But we believe—and we think you do, too—that if we can reduce the risk significantly with reasonable precautions, that the rewards of running barefoot, laughing with friends, and connecting with great role models far outweigh the risk.
Please see our updated protocols in progress on the Camp Website.
If you choose to pull out of Hayground Camp this summer because we could not give you definite protocols by today, we understand and wish you the best. If you choose to move forward with us, we hope it is because you trust us to communicate clearly and transparently, and know that we are thinking deeply about how to balance the science and safety of COVID with the social/emotional well-being of your children and ours. It is going to take all of us to make this work.
Thank you for your continued support and concern. We pledge to continue to do our absolute best to do what is right for our children.
With Love,
Doug, Daniella and the Whole Hayground Camp Team