COVID-19

In Person, Social Distanced COVID-19 Updates for Summer of 2022

Camp Captivate and Science Smart Kids Inc. take the safety and health of our community very seriously. As the COVID-19 situation is constantly evolving and policies change regularly, we will announce the latest direction once you have registered for a camp or workshop.

Updates on January 1, 2024:

Please refer to the Santa Clara County Public Health Deparatment’s COVID information at https://publichealthproviders.sccgov.org/diseases/covid-19.

If your child has symptoms, please keep your child home. If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please keep your child home for 5 days. If your child becomes sick at camp, we will contact the parent and provide a face mask for your child to wear and will isolate the child with the director until the child can be picked up.

The following guidance is given from the California Department of Public Health:

Recommended Actions:

Updates on November 1, 2023:

Per the Santa Clara County Office of Education and the California Department of Public Health, all participants of Camp Captivate Summer Camps are recommended, but not required, to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

As of September 22, 2023 here are the updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  1. All participants, regardless of vaccination history, are strongly encouraged to get the appropriate updated vaccination based on their age.
  2. All volunteers and staff of Science Smart Kids Incl, including Camp Captivate, are recommended to be vaccinated for COVID-19. This includes the original series OR the new 2023-2024 vaccination dose(s).

Updates on May 24, 2023

Masking, Daily Health Checks and Social Distancing are no longer required. Stay home if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and take a COVID-19 home test. If you test positive, the current recommendation is:

  • Isolate and stay home for at least 5 days.
  • Isolation can end after day 5 if symptoms are not present or are mild and improving and you are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication).1
  • If fever is present on day 5, isolation should be continued until 24 hours after fever resolves.
  • If symptoms, other than fever, are not resolving on day 5, continue to isolate until symptoms are improving or until after day 10.
  • Wear a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days1, especially in indoor settings.

Updated on May 15, 2022

In the summer of 2023, we are not requiring masks indoors or outdoors, although we welcome campers to wear a mask if that makes them feel more comfortable.

Furthermore, in the summer of 2023, we will no longer require the pre-camp health screening form nor the daily health check form.

If your child misses camp due to a COVID quarantine, Camp Captivate will abide by the following policy. You can …

  1. request to transfer to another week of camp after the required quarantine time of 5 days (should there be availability)
  2. get a 50 percent credit for future camps

Updated on May 15, 2022

Due to recent up-tick in COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County, and the concern of parents about
enrollment or losing out on the camp and missing up to 5 days of instruction with a positive COVID-19
diagnosis, we have updated and modified our refund policy on 5-15-22. Should a child test positive for
COVID-19 and show documentation of a positive COVID test (either PCR or rapid antigen) and be under
mandatory quarantine (5 days), the parent can choose the following options:

  • request to transfer to another week of camp after the required quarantine time of 5 days (should there be availability)
  • get a 50 percent credit for future camps
  • enroll in a modified online version of the camp

Quarantine

5 days for a positive test. The CDC has updated its quarantine guidelines to 5 days; read more details
about quarantine and isolation guidelines here.

Vaccinations

  • 100 percent of our staff is fully vaccinated
  • Children 5-12 are recommended, but not required, to be vaccinated

Home Testing

Staff and campers are encouraged to take a home COVID-19 rapid antigen test the Saturday or Sunday
before camp.

Daily Health Screening

Staff and campers are required to fill out a self assessment google form (QR code) regarding symptoms
each morning (Monday – Friday) as part of the sign in process.

Masking

  • We require staff to wear masks indoors, and campers will be highly encouraged to wear masks indoors.
  • Masks are optional for staff and students outdoors.
  • We recommend packing extra masks for your child in a labeled ziplock bag.

Hand Sanitizer/Hand Washing

  • Routine Hand washing or sanitizer times will be put into the daily schedule
  • Students are encouraged to pack hand sanitizer in the lunch box
  • Staff will carry hand sanitizer in their backpack/fanny pack
  • Sanitizer will be available in each classroom

Small Camp with pods

We are a small camp, making our camp very desirable in the pandemic. Our total camp size will not
exceed 50 campers, and each classroom will have a maximum of 20 students. Students stay with their
“pod” by age group.

Good ventilation

  • Classroom doors will be open as much as possible
  • We will increase the amount of time spent outdoors, and some classes will take place outdoors.

Temperature Check

Please touch your child’s forehead each morning. If the child feels warm to the touch, please take the
temperature at home. Should a child show symptoms of illness at camp, we will take the child’s
temperature at camp and inform the parent in the event of a fever.

Social Distancing

We encourage “personal space” and ask that students stay 3 feet apart when eating/drinking or other
times when masks are off.

Camp Captivate’s 2022 day camp programs implement the best practices to be safe during the
COVID-19 pandemic. We successfully operated safe, in-person camps in 2021 and did not report a single
case of COVID-19 at our camps. We follow rigorous procedures and training which are based on
recommendations of the American Camp Association, Center of Disease Control and the Santa Clara
County Public Health Department. The State of California has updated its mask mandates for Education
and Childcare. Masks are not mandated, but masks are highly recommended at California public and
private schools and summer camps. Wearing a properly fitted mask is still strongly recommended indoors,
with good ventilation, and we support all those who choose to continue to wear a mask. Summer camps
must follow the California Public Health guidelines outlined here. As of 5-15-22, Santa Clara County has
recently been recategorized as medium risk (from low risk), and as of 4-29-22, the CDC COVID-19 data
tracker (tracker link) categorized Santa Clara County’s community level as low risk. As of 4-29-2022, 85.6
percent of Santa Clara County residents have been vaccinated. Children 5-17 are eligible to be
vaccinated, but vaccination is not a requirement for participation in our camps.

It is critical that all staff and campers stay home if sick and report symptoms to the camp administration.

Children or staff members with these COVID-19 symptoms should stay home. Children or staff who have
symptoms at camp will be isolated from others (while supervised) and then sent home. The sick person
may not return to camp unless there is proof of a negative COVID test and the person is symptom free.
Positive COVID tests MUST be reported to Camp Captivate, and Camp Captivate will report this to the
Santa Clara County Health Department.The COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Repeated shaking with chills
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • New loss of taste or smell

Updated on April 29, 2022

Camp Captivate’s 2022 day camp programs implement the best practices to be safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. We successfully operated safe, in-person camps in 2021 and did not report a single case of COVID-19 at our camps. We follow rigorous procedures and training which are based on recommendations of the American Camp Association, Center of Disease Control and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. The State of California has updated its mask mandates for Education and Childcare. Masks are not mandated, but masks are highly recommended at California public and private schools and summer camps. Wearing a properly fitted mask is still strongly recommended indoors, with good ventilation, and we support all those who choose to continue to wear a mask. Summer camps must follow the California Public Health guidelines outlined here. The CDC COVID-19 data tracker categorizes Santa Clara County’s community level as low risk. As of April 29,2022, 85.6 percent of Santa Clara County residents have been vaccinated. Children 5-17 are eligible to be vaccinated, but vaccination is not a requirement for participation in our camps.

It is critical that all staff and campers stay home if sick and report symptoms to the camp administration.

Children or staff members with these COVID-19 symptoms should stay home. Children or staff who have symptoms at camp will be isolated from others (while supervised) and then sent home. The sick person may not return to camp unless there is proof of a negative COVID test and the person is symptom free. Positive COVID tests MUST be reported to Camp Captivate, and Camp Captivate will report this to the Santa Clara County Health Department.

The COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • Fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Repeated shaking with chills
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • New loss of taste or smell

Updated on November 27, 2021

At Camp Captivate, safety is our number one priority! We plan on offering in-person, socially-distanced camps for the summer of 2022 in classroom/school settings. For now, we are retiring the virtual camp option because we feel that students are “digitally fatigued” and schools have been successfully functioning in-person throughout the 2021-2022 school year. We successfully ran both virtual and in-person camps in the summer of 2021, and we feel confident in running in-person camps for the summer of 2022. In-person day camp programs implement best practices to be as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. We follow rigorous procedures and training which are based on recommendations of the American Camp Association, Center of Disease Control and the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. This document is evolving as new recommendations get released.

Covid-19 Protocols for Socially-Distanced, In-Person Camps (updated on 11/27/21)*

This document was updated on 11-27-21 and utilizes recommendations by the CDC and Santa Clara County Health Department. The COVID pandemic and the emergence of variants is rapidly evolving, and thus this document is a fluid document subject to change. The California Department of Public Health issued a recommendation for schools and programs for the 2021-2022 school year which you can read about here. The Santa Clara County Health department published “Coronavirus and Education Programs” which you can read here. The guidance for Child Care Providers and Programs can be found here.

Here are the highlights of the safety measures we are implementing for the summer of 2022 based on federal and local health department recommendations.

As the state of California and the County of Santa Clara continue to modify and update procedures and policies regarding health and safety, Camp Captivate continues to update our health and safety policies. From the latest updates from the CDPH, day camps and other supervised youth activities must follow specific portions of the K-12 schools guidance. Under this guidance, Camp Captivate:

  • Will allow for participants to sign up for 1 or more weeks, and weeks need not be consecutive. Quarantines are not required between different camp or school programs.
  • Will restrict physical distancing between campers and staff/counselors to a minimum of 6 feet, and between campers to a minimum to 3 feet (but will still strive for 6 feet when possible)

Vaccinations

100% of our in-person camp staff are fully vaccinated. Children 5 -12 are now available to be vaccinated, although we expect the camper community to be a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

Good Ventilation

One of the most critical preventative safety measures during COVID is good ventilation. Camps will be held outdoors 66-75 percent of the time for the safest option. When indoors, doors will be open. Good ventilation is key!

Stable Pods

Each camp Program (ie: Explorers, STEAM Jr., STEAM Plus) will essentially operate as a stable group or “pod” for that week, The restrictions of pod size are not necessary at this time. Our maximum ratios are set: (1:12, 1:14, 1:16) based on camp programs. The Explorer pod will be assigned a stable teacher for the entire week. Siblings in the same grade band in the same camp theme will be placed in the same stable pod. The STEAM Jr. and STEAM plus programs will have subject matter teachers who move between the two groups. Campers may sign up for one week or all 4 weeks of Camp Captivate. As per Santa Clara County Public Health guidelines, it is recommended (not required) that a child will attend a different camp program once every three weeks. (Two weeks between camp programs). This change was updated on the CC waiver on 5.26.21.

Physical Distancing

Campers, parents, and staff will maintain at least three feet of distance from each other as much as possible. All camp activities and breaks are set up with this in mind. (Note: Although the CDC has reduced the limit to 3 feet social distance (April 24, 2021), Camp Captivate will attempt to keep the 6 foot spacing most of the time to exceed the CDC recommendations.

Face Coverings

All Children are required to wear face coverings while under direct adult supervision, unless they are eating, drinking, or exercising, in which case they should still keep their face mask with them to put back on later.

Directors, Leaders, other Staff and all Campers must wear a face covering at all times while attending the camp, unless they are eating, drinking, or actively exercising, in which case they should still keep their face mask with them to put back on when done.

Six feet distancing will be in place during eating/drinking, when masks are removed.

Face coverings are not required for anyone if it is medically inadvisable for a person to wear one.
A clean face covering should be worn each day.

Shared Supplies/Equipment

Art and Science Supplies will be shared in 2022, and shared materials will be wiped down regularly.

The individual kits are no longer necessary (as in 2020 and 2021).

All shared equipment will be sanitized between uses by different camp programs.

PE or playground equipment- one “set” per camp program (pod).

“Children’s programs may use shared equipment for sports and recreational activities within each stable group of children.”

Hygiene, Cleaning, and Other Measures

As many camp activities as possible will take place outdoors with shade and water refill stations (by Staff only) provided. “Programs should conduct as many Program activities as possible in outdoor spaces.”

Each child is given a personal basic art kit (one per summer) and personal science kit (one per weekly theme). All art supplies will be for individual use only and will be placed in the student’s labeled CC bags for the entire week. Any shared materials will be cleaned and disinfected after each Pod’s use and at the end of each day.

Programs shall minimize sharing of materials to the extent feasible, and any toys/materials used by multiple children should be cleaned between uses. Programs shall limit use of supplies and equipment to one group of children/youth at a time and clean and disinfect between uses pursuant to CDC guidance.

All surfaces and shared areas or equipment will be cleaned and disinfected after each Pod’s use and at the end of each day.

Bathrooms will be cleaned and disinfected daily.

Hand sanitizer and soap will be available, and we will have regular hand washing/sanitizer times.
Tables will be wiped down with bleach wipes or disinfectant spray several times throughout the day.

“At least daily, and more frequently if feasible, clean and disinfect frequently touched hard surfaces (e.g., tables, desks, chairs, door handles, light switches, phones, copy/fax machines, bathroom surfaces (toilets, countertops, faucets), drinking fountains, and playground equipment) and shared objects (toys, games, art supplies, books) pursuant to CDC guidance.”

Sick Children or Staff

Children or Staff with these COVID-19 symptoms should stay home. Children or staff who have symptoms at camp will be isolated from others (while supervised) and then sent home. The sick person may not return to camp unless there is proof of a negative COVID test and the person is symptom free. Positive COVID tests MUST be reported to Camp Captivate, and Camp Captivate will report this to the Santa Clara County Health Department.

The COVID-19 symptoms include:

  • fever
  • cough
  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • chills
  • repeated shaking with chills
  • fatigue
  • muscle pain
  • headache
  • sore throat
  • congestion or runny nose
  • nausea or vomiting
  • diarrhea
  • new loss of taste or smell

Daily Health Screening

Staff and families must complete a daily screening health check before camp. This is part of the sign in process. We will have a QR code linked to a brief daily google form.