May Parents News

Hey Island Lake Families! Wow, how did May sneak up on us so quickly? With spring in the air, excitement is building and summer 2016 is right around the corner! Yay! As of May 30th, all correspondence should go directly to our summer address at camp.

If your child is enrolled for summer 2016 at Island Lake, please be sure to fill out their Profile and Transportation Forms right here on our website. All forms were due on May 1st. If you haven’t yet taken care of these forms (whoopsie!), please do so right now. Just click the “CampMinder Login” on our homepage and enter your email address and password. If you have not yet created a CampMinder account, click “First Time Users- Create Account” and follow the directions.

It is imperative that we have a Medical Form on file for every child attending Island Lake this summer. The Medical Form cannot be filled out online so please be sure to fill out the form mailed to your home and return it to us as soon as possible. If misplaced, click the following link for a copy: http://www.islandlake.com/pdf/2016/2016_Medical_Form.pdf.  The form is located on our website under “Island Lake Families” then “Forms & Mailings.” As a reminder, you can mail it to our NY winter office until the end of May. After May 25th please mail your Medical Form to our summer address at camp.

Attention all new Island Lake families! By now you should have received your “Spring Mailing” in the postal mail. Enclosed in this mailing are your Parent Handbook, Camper Handbook, Activities Handbook, Medication Policy letter, travel itinerary form, as well as a flyer about our online photos, videos, & emails. For all returning ILC families, these handbooks and flyers are available for you on our website under “Island Lake Families” and “Forms & Mailings.” Whether you are returning or are new to the Island Lake family, please make sure you and your children take a few minutes to sit down and read this spring mailing thoroughly, as we always add new information.

Are you a returning parent who has not yet signed up your child for this upcoming summer at ILC? If so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some of our bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers! It’s very difficult for us when forced to do so each and every year. Please don’t let that happen to your child. If you don’t have a registration form handy, click “Island Lake Families” at the top of the page, then click “Forms & Mailings” and print the “2016 Enrollment Form.” You can mail or fax it directly to our NY office until the end of May, after which it can be sent to our summer address at camp. For faster enrollment, you can simply scan/email the registration form to us at info@islandlake.com.

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2016 with your children!!! To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060 (after May 30th contact us at 570-798-2550). And last but not least, to one and all…. ILC U THERE! (very very soon!)

Important Camp Forms

Spring is in the air and with that, summer will be here before we know it! We hope you are all getting as excited as we are! With that said, we know that our camp parents have a long “to do” list, which includes some very important Island Lake forms. All summer 2016 ILC families should have received details in the mail regarding filling out our Medical, Profile, and Transportation Forms. These forms help prepare camp and your child for a successful camp experience.

Please take some time to fill out and submit/return these required forms. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of filling out the forms in a detailed, timely manner. Profile, Medical, and Transportation Forms must be submitted by May 1st. These forms are necessary for us to finalize plans for the summer.

The Medical Form must be filled out by hand whereas the Profile and Transportation Forms can be submitted via your CampMinder account. You should have received a Medical Form in the mail with your March newsletter. If you misplaced it, you can print out a new one here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and “Forms & Mailings.” Both a parent and a physician, as required by Pennsylvania law, must complete the Medical Form. Please note that incomplete Medical Forms will be returned to you. The form must have your complete insurance information and a credit card number for any out of camp medical expenses. Every Medical Form needs to be signed by both a parent and a doctor.

You can fill out your Profile and Transportation forms using our online system with CampMinder. If you have not already done so, go to our homepage and click on “CampMinder Login”. You will be prompted to enter your email address and password. If this is your first time using the CampMinder system, just click on “First Time Users – Create Account.”

The Profile Form helps us guide your child when choosing his/her activities and putting together his/her schedule. This form provides us with extensive feedback regarding your child so that our staff can have thorough, accurate knowledge about each camper in order to provide him or her with a safe and successful summer.

The Transportation Form lets us know which bus your child will take to camp. If we do not receive the Transportation Form in our office by May 1st, we will have to assign a bus to your child. In June, we will send you detailed information on the bus locations, along with luggage tags that you will use to mark your child’s bags.

If you have any questions or need help filling out your forms, you can always give us a call in the winter office at 914-769-6060. We’re here for you and happy to help you! ILC U THERE!

April Parent News

Hey ILC families!  Wow, how did April sneak up on us so quickly? With spring in the air, excitement is building and summer 2016 is right around the corner. As of April 1st, we have only 86 days until camp begins! Woohoo!!! We will be moving our offices up to camp over Memorial Weekend so as of May 30th, all correspondence should go directly to our summer address in Starrucca, PA.

If your child is already enrolled for summer 2016, please be sure to fill out your Profile and Transportation Forms here on our website. Just click the “CampMinder Login” link on our homepage and you will be prompted to enter your email address and password. First time users can click “First Time Users – Create Account” below the login link. If your child is a returning camper, we suggest you use the same password that you use to access our summer photos and send emails to your child. You will then have access to the Profile and Transportation Forms. The Medical Form is not in CampMinder so please be sure to fill out and complete the form that was enclosed with your March newsletter last month. You can also download our Medical Form here by clicking “Island Lake Families” at the top of this website and then “Forms & Mailings” on the left side of the page. We have many important forms there for you to print out and use as a guide for packing and what not.

Have you registered your child for this upcoming summer? If not and you plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers and it’s very difficult for us when forced to do so each and every year. Please don’t let that happen to your child. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form and send it in to our NY office. If you don’t have one handy, click “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings” to the left of the page and print the “2016 Enrollment Form”.

As a reminder to all of our summer 2016 families, please be sure to read our monthly newsletters. The newsletters provide lots of information important to your child’s upcoming summer.  Our newsletter link is located right here on our website (“Island Lake Families” and then “ILC News”), and you will also receive your very own hard copy of our newsletter at the start of each month in the mail.

In early May we will be sending you our big spring mailing. This will include a camper handbook, parent handbook, activities handbook, our medication policy, information about emailing your child, viewing photos and videos on the web, and lots of other important camp information. Please be sure to read through this packet, as there will be tons of important info enclosed for you, the parents, as well as your child.

Well, that’s about it for now. Enjoy your navigation through our site checking out all of our fun-filled activities and smiling faces. Island Lake Camp offers a program that furthers your child’s growth, independence, and sense of decision-making while simultaneously giving them the responsibility to create their own exciting summer. To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2016 with your children. To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, to all,…ILC U THERE!

Canada Teen Trip!

Hey teenagers! Are you ready for another exciting 3rd session trip? That’s right, this summer our adventures take us to Montreal and Quebec Canada!

There are only 3 requirements for you to join us on this 4 day/3 night trip: 1. You must be entering 9th grade or higher (CIT’s included). 2. You must be registered for 3rd session. 3. You must be prepared to have tons of fun!

We recently sent out a mailing to all families with campers entering 9th grade and older. That mailing included a trip enrollment form along with other important details.

If you are not currently registered for the 3rd session but would like to go on the trip, please have your parents contact us to add the session. Keep in mind that there’s limited space on this teen trip and many families sign their children up as soon as they receive the mailing.

Some highlights of this awesome trip to Canada include Parc Olympic, Old Montreal, The Montreal Science Center, La Ronde Amusement Park, Old Quebec, Jet Boating on the Lachine Rapids, and much, much more!

We are looking forward to a fantastic trip to Montreal and Quebec and we hope you can all join us!

March Parents News

Happy March! Our summer 2016 countdown has kicked into gear and lucky for us, summer, and for that matter camp, will approach before we know it. 116 more days as of March 1st! Wow, we’re almost at the double digit mark!

Any day now all summer 2016 families should receive a letter regarding camp forms, a Medical Form, as well as your monthly newsletter. The enclosed Medical Form must be completed by both a parent and a physician as required by Pennsylvania law. On our website we have TONS of information to prepare you and your children for this summer. There are forms online that we request you fill out promptly via your CampMinder account. The Profile Form helps us guide your children when they choose their activities and put together their schedules. The Transportation Form lets us know which bus your children will be taking to camp. If we do not receive the Transportation Form in our office by May 1st, we will have to assign a bus to your children. In June, we will send you detailed information on the bus locations, along with luggage tags that you will use to mark your children’s bags. You can access all of our other forms on our website at islandlake.com and then clicking “Island Lake Families,” and “Forms & Mailings.”

A reminder to our summer ‘15 and ’16 families, don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters. You can access them here on our website or at the start of every month in your mailbox in hard copy form. The newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.

Speaking of enrollment, if you haven’t yet registered your child for summer 2016 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers and it’s very difficult for us when forced to do so every year. Don’t let that happen to your child. Some bunks are already full! It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise! If you don’t have one handy, click “Island Lake Families”, “Forms & Mailings” and then print the “2016 Enrollment Form”.

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2016 with your children. To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, to one and all…. ILC U THERE!

Why Working at Sleep Away Camp is the BEST JOB EVER!

Hi everyone!  We hope you all had a great Valentine’s Day.  For those of you in the northeast, we hope you stayed indoors and kept those fireplaces a-blazin’ with those chilly temps you endured.   This week’s blog is a link to a Buzzfeed article that everyone can enjoy, whether you’re a camper, a camp parent, a current or previous staff member, or an alumni.  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was written specifically for all of us at Island Lake!  It’s a short and fun read so check it out!

20 Reasons to Work at Sleep Away Camp

February Parent News

Happy February! As we sit here in our winter office looking at the snow outside of our windows, it feels as though summer 2015 was all a distant dream. However, our summer 2016 countdown has already kicked into gear and lucky for us, camp will sneak up on us before we know it. Less than 150 days to go! Our camp reunion on November 21st was a huge success. Check out our reunion photos posted right here on our website homepage!

We are busy preparing for 2 big trips we are now offering to all of our oldest campers and CITs this upcoming summer. First, we’re excited for our 2nd annual TEEN TOUR to all of our CIT-age kids entering 11th grade in the fall of 2016. This teen tour will include traveling around the west coast of the US of A, visiting cities in the states of California (San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles), Nevada, Arizona, and more! We guarantee that this is going to be a once in a lifetime experience for all of our CITs who take advantage of this amazing trip. For more information give us a call at our winter office and we’d be happy to answer your questions.

Our 2nd trip is our annual 4 day/3 night TEEN TRIP in our 3rd session. This summer’s trip is to Montreal and Quebec, Canada! This amazing trip will be offered to all campers entering 9th grade and higher. Check out more details about this fun-filled experience in the mailing we recently sent out to all who qualify to go. There is an enrollment form for you to fill out and return to us at our winter office. Not only will we be visiting Montreal, but we will also take a day trip to Quebec! So,…much,…FUN!!!

A reminder to our summer ‘15 and ’16 families; don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters. You can access them here on our website as well as in your postal mailbox at the start of every month. Our newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your child for summer 2016 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away loyal campers so let’s avoid that from happening. You can register your child with the registration form mailed to you with your newsletter or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings”. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise!

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2016 with your children. To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, to one and all,…ILC U THERE!

Island Lake in the Snow!

It’s finally starting to look a lot like winter up in Starrucca, PA! How beautiful is Island Lake in the snow? Imagine having winter camp with majors and minors in igloo building, snowball fights, and snowman building. Aahhh, we can all dream. Enjoy these photos below and ILCUTHERE!

January Parents News

Happy New Year! All of us at Island Lake hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with love, happiness, presents, and lots to reminiscence about your children’s wonderful memories of their 2015 ILC experiences. As we sit here in our winter office with the chill outside, it feels as though summer 2015 is a distant, yet fond, memory. Our countdown for summer 2016 has already kicked into gear and our opening day of camp will be here before we know it. Words cannot even describe our excitement for summer 2016 to get here already! 173 days until camp begins (as of January 4th)!

Our camp reunion on November 21st was a huge success! Screams of excitement filled the air as campers and staff embraced one another. We had a fantastic turnout, including children and counselors who flew in from other parts of the country just to see their camp friends. The reunion never seems to last long enough. Time flies when we’re having fun catching up with many of our Island Lakers. Check out our reunion photos posted right here on our website, on our Facebook page, as well as on our ILC App.

We’re busing planning for our annual 3rd session TEEN TRIP, which this summer will be to Montreal & Quebec, Canada. This Canada trip will be offered to all campers entering 9th grade and higher. Check out more details in your January newsletter and if you have any additional questions again, feel free to give us a call. The enrollment forms and more details for this trip will be mailed out shortly to all who are eligible to take advantage of this fun-filled experience.

A reminder to our summer ‘15 and ’16 families; don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters. You can access them here on our website, as well as in your postal mailbox at the start of every month. Our newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your child for summer 2016 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some of our bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away loyal campers, so let’s avoid that from happening. You can register your child with the registration form mailed to you with your newsletter or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings” (on the left-hand side of the page). It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise!

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2016 with your children. To all previous or prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, all of us here at Island Lake wish you, our campers, parents, and staff, a very Happy New Year!!! ILC U THERE (at camp this summer)!