Summer Camp FAQs

Drop off procedures:

• The drop-off window is 8:00-8:20am.

• Park and walk your child to the gate of the After School playground (see the star on the campus map). Staff will help guide you there as you get acclimated to campus.

• Following check-in, campers will be directed to their camp location by staff.

• Parents dropping off late must ring the bell outside the After School playground. A staff member will come out to help check in your child(ren).

Pick-up procedures

• The official pick up windows are as follows:

  • 12:00-12:15pm

  • 3:00-3:15pm

  • 4:00-4:15pm

  • 5:15-5:30pm

  • Pick ups occurring after the pick up window will be charged a late fee. See our Policies and Procedures page for details.

• Park and walk to the bell outside the After School playground (see the star on the campus map). Ring the bell to notify staff of your arrival.

• Wait for your child either to walk to you or be accompanied by an MSD staff member.

• If no one responds to the bell, you may call the school at 919-489-9045.

• If a child must be picked up early, a parent/guardian must notify Eliza Hudson, Director of Auxiliary Programs, by email (eliza@msdurham.org) at least 24 hours in advance to make arrangements. If the situation is unexpected, with no time for advanced notice, call MSD’s main office at (919) 489-9045.

We require all parents/guardians to provide a dismissal authorization list of individuals who may pick up their child(ren) prior to the start of camp. Only individuals with government issued identification that matches a name on this dismissal authorization list will be allowed to leave campus with the child they are here to pick up. All individuals must provide their I.D. in order to pick up a child. If an I.D. is not available, the child(ren) will not be released. Please notify any individual who comes to pick up a child from our campus to carry their I.D. with them. If an individual arrives and is NOT on the dismissal authorization list, MSD will contact the parent and request that they authorize the individual in writing. MSD will not release a child unless a parent grants written permission to do so. 

All absences must be reported by email to Eliza@msdurham.org or by a phone call to the office at 919-489-9045. Any families who have not reported an absence, and have not arrived at camp will receive an email and/or phone call from an administrator to inquire as to the reasons for the child's absence and to determine whether the child needs a COVID-19 rapid test or a doctor's note to return.

• If the staff determines that your child is too sick to continue to participate in activities, you will be notified immediately and you will be responsible for picking up your child within a reasonable period of time. If you are unable to pick up your sick child, you will be asked to contact someone from your authorized pick up list to do so for you and inform the office as to who that person will be.

• If your child is experiencing symptoms that may be COVID-19, you must communicate with the office (office@msdurham.org and Eliza@msdurham.org) and follow the guidance for return.

  • All children and staff who meet any of the criteria below will be denied entry or will be sent home. (We understand that this may be inconvenient but is necessary to minimize exposure and spread of COVID-19):

    • Temperature of 100.4°F or above. Children and staff are not allowed to come to campus if medications were used to lower their temperature.

    • Any of the following symptoms, if the symptom is of greater intensity or frequency than what is normally experienced:  chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting or diarrhea, and skin rashes.

    • or is under investigation for COVID-19

• Contact the office to determine the timeline for return following COVID-19 symptoms, diagnosis, or exposure during Summer Camp.

• Keep an ill child at home until fever-free for 24 hours without suppression. (Do not send a child back to school on fever-reducing medication.)

• Keep the child at home until 24 hours after the cessation of vomiting or diarrhea.

• Keep the child at home until no longer contagious.

• Keep the child at home until 24 hours have elapsed since administering the first dose of prescribed antibiotics.

• Keep the child at home until the results of a throat culture are known (Strep).

• Keep the child at home until nit-free (Head Lice) and at a minimum until the next school day.

• We understand a doctor may say a child may return to school without the knowledge of the severity and length of a particular outbreak, but the school reserves the right to request that the ill child remain home longer than 24 hours fever-free.

MSD's COVID-19 policies and procedures work to mitigate COVID-19 related risks at MSD programs. These plans are fluid and will be evolving over time at MSD’s discretion, while considering national, state, and local government agencies' recommendations and requirements. These agencies include the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), and the ABC Science Collective. We also work closely with the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools (NCAIS) and their member Heads of Schools around the state to arrive at policies and safety practices specific to our areas of operation. The school reserves the right to modify, at any time, any of the policies described or privileges granted.

• Please be sure that your child (2 years-old and above) has a mask with them for school. Wearing a mask is optional indoors and outdoors but all students should have a spare mask on campus. 
• Parents/Guardians must report to the MSD office when their child is experiencing symptoms that may be COVID-19 or if they have been exposed. Signs and symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, nasal congestion or rhinorrhea, vomiting or diarrhea, and skin rashes. Communicate with the office to determine the timeline for return following COVID-19 symptoms or diagnosis during Summer Camp.
• If COVID-19 symptoms begin while at school, the child must be sent home as soon as possible. Sick children will be kept separate from well children, and staff contact will be limited as much as reasonably possible, while ensuring the safety and supervision of the child until they leave. If a child is sick, they will need to be picked up promptly (as soon as reasonably possible). Thus, we ask that parents ensure that either a parent or an emergency contact is readily available to come get a child if necessary on any given day. This means if a parent is out of town for any reason, the emergency contact should be notified ahead of time and made aware of their responsibility to be available to pick up an ill child as promptly as possible.
• COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters are encouraged for those eligible as they help protect from contracting COVID-19, limit the spread of COVID-19, and prevent from serious illness, hospitalization, or death due to COVID-19
• The administrative office will communicate with you directly should there be any updates on the COVID-19 situation that might have a direct impact on MSD's operations. All updates and plans will be communicated via email. MSD will coordinate with the Durham County Department of Public Health to determine when and how to inform families, students, faculty, and staff as appropriate and maintain privacy and confidentiality as required by law. MSD may also decide to issue notifications above and beyond what public health notification guidelines call for.

If your child needs any  form of medication during the day, including cough drops or ‘natural’ and/or prescribed medication, you will need to fill out the Permission to Administer Medication form in the office, and leave the medication and form with a administrative staff member. Absolutely no medications should be sent in your child's belongings. Please provide only those doses that are needed during the day, and keep evening doses at home.

• Minor incidents and injuries receive the prompt and careful attention of staff members who are trained in First Aid and CPR. Parents are notified with an incident/injury report.

• In the event of a serious accident, parents (or your Emergency contacts) are notified at once. In cases of emergency, a staff member will call 911 to dispatch an ambulance, and parents (or your Emergency contacts) will be notified immediately.

• We will notify Summer Camp parents of time-sensitive changes in schedules or emergencies via an Emergency Alert system that sends email, voicemails, and texts . 

• Please note that during severe weather or an emergency, the priority of the instructors and the administrative staff is to ensure the safety of the campers and staff. Communication during an emergency situation between staff and parents may be limited, however, the administrative staff will endeavor to notify parents with any relevant updates as soon as it is safe to do so. 

• A weather radio alerts us automatically to Weather Service bulletins. We will immediately go to the shelters when there is a tornado warning (different than a tornado watch) for our area. The children have safe places to go in interior rooms in the buildings.

  • The National Weather Service and the American Red Cross recommend that “children are safer at school than in a bus or car” and that “many people are injured or killed when remaining in their vehicles.” Should there be a tornado warning in effect when you arrive to pick up your child, please come inside to an interior of one of our buildings. We encourage you to join us, for your own safety, until the danger passes. Children will not be released if we are in the middle of a tornado warning.

• Regardless of age, we do not allow the use of electronic devices, including phones, tablets, games, and mp3 players. Please do not send these devices with your child(ren) to camp.

• Parents that need to reach their camper during the day should call the MSD Main Office at (919) 489-9045. The Main Office is able to reach any camp instructor.

• Children must leave all toys (including Pokemon or other trading cards) at home. Any toys or trading cards brought to school will be collected by a staff member to hold until the child is picked up to go home.

• Please allow your child to dress in clothing that they can get in and out of independently.

• Straps, buckles, belts, and small buttons that may be difficult for a child to maneuver are discouraged. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, as children will spend a portion of their day on the playground, including in light rain. 

• Children’s clothing may get soiled while at camp, so please dress your child accordingly.

• Children usually enjoy picking out their own outfits. By giving them choices when dressing, it increases their independence and helps them become aware of appropriate seasonal dress.

• Children should come to camp in shoes that are comfortable and sensible for the child to take on and off independently. Please avoid flip-flops, rubber boots, and crocs as they are not suitable footwear for climbing structures on the playground. If children wear the aforementioned footwear, they will be asked to stay off the climbing structures for their own safety.

At MSD, we give children both freedom and responsibility. The Montessori environment is a rich and interesting place where children have the freedom to make choices, decisions, observations, and discoveries. They do their own work. They concentrate and create. They also interact with one another, cooperate, and share work, ideas, and excitement. At all times they are expected to demonstrate care and respect, and grace and courtesy.

The procedures and ground rules in the programs are structured to foster the growth of self-direction as well as self-discipline. The focus is not on the adult's power to control the child, but rather on the development of each child's power and will to make decisions, which brings success to the child and good to the community as well.

Specific expectations grow from the Montessori philosophy of respect:

• Respect for the materials, the room, and ultimately the world we share

• Every person’s respect for each person in the community

• The respect of each person for themself

Behavior will be followed by natural and logical consequences (see Children: The Challenge by Rudolph Dreikurs). If a child behaves inappropriately we do one or more of the following:

• Remind the child of the ground rules, using positive language

• Separate the child from the situation in one or more ways:

  • Ask the child to put away work that is being mishandled.

  • Ask the child to move to a different location (to a different table or away from the group the child was working with, or to a different area of the playground).

  • Ask the child to come and stay by the instructor (to watch someone else's lesson, perhaps).

• For chronic and/or more difficult behavior, we may have the child stay in a particular spot (at a table or in a chair). This is usually a spot where the child has full view and hearing of classroom or playground activity. The child is asked to stay there until they decide that they are ready to behave appropriately and the instructor can see that the child is ready to rejoin the activities.

• Occasionally, if the child's behavior is very disruptive to other children and/or the instructor, the child may be allowed to gain control of themself and/or do work in the school office. The instructor will accompany the child to the office and leave them with a staff member, returning to verify that the child is ready to rejoin the group and behave appropriately.

In all discipline situations we assume that the child is basically good. We use positive rather than negative language. We make it clear that our affection and respect for the child remains constant. Corporal punishment is never used.

As educators, we recognize that conflict, and learning to resolve conflict, is a natural part of social growth. Instructors mediate conflicts between children, guiding the students to use appropriate communication to resolve conflicts. Normal conflicts that arise between children at different developmental stages should not be confused with bullying. Should a pattern of conflict arise outside typical developmental expectations, the instructors will work with the children involved in a way that is developmentally appropriate for their ages and the role they played. Parents of the children involved will be informed of the incident and an action plan to prevent future inappropriate behavior will be presented to all parties.

Contact Eliza@msdurham.org to inquire about adding extended care for your child during summer camp. 

During registration, additional camp care is available as a session option until 3:00pm, 4:00pm, or 5:30pm. In this extended care, the children eat lunch, have quiet time (nap if needed), engage in arts and crafts, water play, and more. 

The additional cost per week for extended care for half day camps is:

• $140 for 12noon-3:00pm

• $185 for 12noon-4:00pm

• $245 for 12noon-5:30pm. 

The additional cost per week for extended care for full day camps is:

• $55 for 3:00-4:00pm 

• $115 for 3:00-5:30pm.