Dear Parent and Teen Leader,
Liberty Lake Day Camp teaches young people the skills of life by providing safe summers filled with memorable experiences.
The success of our program is based, in part on:
- High standards of care for your children
- High expectations of ourselves and our staff
- Boundaries are clearly defined for campers and staff
- A value system explained to staff and parents, and taught to campers, encompassing our Star Points: Integrity, Teamwork, Friendship, Independence and Aspiration.
Liberty Lake is a community and a family. The well-being of your children, both physically as well as emotionally, is our number one priority. In order for us to be successful in what we are doing, we will be referencing the observations and experiences from this past year. Some children (not all) have been negatively influenced by song lyrics, sexually provocative television programming, movies, computer games, the Internet, social media, and pornography. Our society puts sexuality and violence at the forefront- especially with young people, both of which idealize the use of drugs and alcohol. Our young people cannot avoid seeing, hearing, and absorbing that which they are experiencing, even in small doses. While we at Liberty Lake make no judgment on the manner in which camp families choose to raise their children, the care and safety of our campers is of paramount importance to us.
Liberty Lake teaches campers:
- To recognize that they have responsibility for themselves and those around them.
- To learn to make choices, which are good for themselves and others, and to take responsibility for the choices they make.
- To respect oneself and others, regardless of differences.
- To accept that they are accountable for their actions, both positive and negative.
It is essential that parents and teen leaders understand that Liberty Lake will not accept any unsafe behaviors that are potentially harmful to oneself or others. Behaviors such as bullying (including cyber-bullying and sexting), violence, possession of weapons, repeated profanity, disrespect, bigotry, homophobic comments, inappropriate sexual behavior, drug and alcohol use, or inappropriate use of electronic devices (before, during, or after camp) including hurtful use of Social Media, cell phone, or instant messaging will not be tolerated. They must clearly understand that a consequence of their behavior can mean the loss of participation in this program.
Our goal is to offer only pleasant memories for every participant in our program. We do not intend to exclude any child, however, that need may arise. It is important to discuss in detail your expectations of your child(ren) and that parents and camp administration are in total agreement.
A child or children asked to leave camp because of behaviors deemed detrimental to the camp or him/herself may not be permitted to return in future summers, and will not be entitled to a refund of any tuition.
Another area of concern is children who have been sent to camp with issues we have not been made aware of. Specifically, children who have fit some of the categories detailed below:
- Campers with psychiatric problems including suicidal gestures or ideation.
- Campers with serious medical problems.
- Campers with organic problems who are off medication for the summer
- Campers who were hospitalized for physical or emotional reasons since last summer
- Campers experiencing traumatic reactions to family issues such as divorce, illness, or death.
In fairness to our counselors, staff, and your child, we need to make informed decisions about how we care for all of the young people in our community and family. Please make sure to give us thorough health information, both physical and emotional, so that we may be better able to serve each child, and keep all children safe.
The directors of Liberty Lake reserve the right to ask that a child at risk to oneself or the community be removed from camp immediately. There may be a circumstance where we have agreed to accept a child with full knowledge of his or her issues and have attempted to take all the necessary steps of making the experience successful, but find that we are unable to do so. For the good of the child and/or the community, the child will have to leave.
The Liberty Lake staff are all "mandated reporters" and have the responsibility of reporting any indication of abuse to the state registry. The regulations are specific in that “seeing, hearing about, or suspected abuse” must be reported immediately- even when campers are involved with other campers; we are not permitted to do our own investigation.
As caretakers of child(ren) we take the responsibility of partnering with you seriously and ask for your full cooperation. As always, please contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to an amazing summer!