Parent's Role and Information

Thank you very much for allowing your child to attend Camp Highland. Our most important priority at camp is safety, and your help with all of the information below will assist us with this greatly. If you have any questions about the program or our policies, please contact your school's teachers. We look forward to providing a safe and enriching experience for your child.

You are a very important part of the Camp Highland community. Without your support we would not be here. It is the students who make Camp Highland what it is (and a little bit the amazing Instructors) and it is the parents who make the students.

We also rely heavily on the parents of each student who comes here and you have certain responsibilities which help us to run smoothly and ensure that we can take the best care of your child possible. We also understand that you may be sending your student away to an unknown place and entrusting them to total strangers. This brings up a lot of questions. Check out our Parent's FAQ page for some of the answers to your questions or, after going to your son or daughter's teachers, feel free to contact us with any of your questions, comments, feedback or concerns.

Here you will find some of the responsibilities you have as the parent of a student attending Camp Highland. By following these guidelines we hope to alleviate some of your fears as well as allow us to create the most positive possible experience for your child.

Your child will be supervised 24 hours a day by our Cabin and Field Instructors. All of our instructors are trained in CPR and First Aid. We also have a full time Medic, with advanced First Aid training available at camp 24 hours a day. The Medic is limited to giving oral medication only and cannot give your student an injection. If your child needs to have injections daily, they must be able to give the injections themselves.

If your son or daughter does develop an illness or injury while at camp, the Medic will assess and decide the best course of treatment/action. This may include being taken to the Emergency Room, being treated or sequestered in our Infirmary, or being sent home. Often home is the best place for a child to get the rest and care they need. You will be informed immediately of any incident or situation where your child's health is concerned. It is a Camp Highland policy that any child with a temperature of over 100 degrees which does not quickly subside will be sent home. Please, do not send your child to Camp with a temperature above 100 degrees. It puts the rest of the students and staff at risk.

The Camp Highland Medic is in charge of the students' safety, medications and paperwork during their stay at Camp. Your help with these things are appreciated greatly. Please fill out the necessary paperwork completely, paying particular attention to the Medication Form, and acquire all of the necessary signatures. If your child arrives to Camp Highland with a prescription medication without the proper Doctor's signature and we are unable to get them by the first night your child will not be permitted to remain at Camp! Furthermore, please DO NOT pack any medications in your child's luggage. All medications should be handed to the teachers in a labeled ziploc bag with the proper paperwork and signatures.

If there are any problems with the paperwork or if we have any questions about your child's health history the Medic will call you directly to clear up any issues. For example, if your child has an allergy, the Medic will contact you to discern the extent of that allergy. Explaining all allergies and reactions on the paperwork will speed up the process immensely.

At Camp Highland we try to allow kids to be kids, creating a positive, comfortable and fun atmosphere where they are able to learn and experience new things. We find that this also helps us to cut off most discipline and behavioral issues. When behavior issues do arise, we utilize a Three Strike Policy which is explained more in full on the Parent's FAQ page. If your child receives two strikes you can expect a call from one of the Directors to inform you of the situation and speak with you about anything which might aid us in helping your child make some better choices during his/her stay at with us.

While we aim to provide each and every student with the full Camp Highland experience, there are the rare occasions where a student's choices force us to dismiss him from Camp. This includes receiving three Strikes and/or any act which violates the safety, physically or emotionally, of any student, Instructor, or teacher, including fighting and threats. When this occurs it becomes the responsibility of the parents to pick up or arrange transportation from camp.

A major component of the Camp Highland experience is gaining confidence in being away from home for a few days. In order to facilitate this growth, we do not allow you to visit the camp during your child's stay and your child is not allowed to call home during camp (unless there is an emergency). We encourage mail from home and it is distributed each evening after dinner. It is a good idea to send any mail for your child at least a week in advance to ensure that they receive it during their visit. Please send mail to:

You can also e-mail your child at mykid@camphighland.net. Please put your child's name and school in the subject line of the email and please limit your emails to one per day.

We understand that your child is entering a strange place, sleeping in a strange room, in a strange bed, with people they have never met before, away from the comforts of home, possibly for the first time. This can be a trying and challenging time for many students, but also a very rewarding experience.

However, being away from home and family, many students do get a bit homesick. At Camp Highland, we believe in the power of this experience and in challenging our students to expand their comfort zones, gaining confidence in theirselves and trying new experiences. We will work with your child to ensure that their experience is a full and positive one. Nothing is more fulfilling than working with that child who is homesick on the first night, wishing to go home, then seeing their face light up for the rest of the week because he or she was able to make it through the entire week and have the time of his or her life!

Some students, however, may require some assistance from home. You may receive a call from Camp Highland informing you of how your child is coping and possibly asking for some advice in helping them remain to have the full experience with the rest of their classmates. Occasionally, we will have you speak with your child. All we ask is that you try to support Camp Highland in challenging your child to make the most of the experience and let them know how powerful it can be to overcome such a challenge, while at the same time providing the comfort and support your child is looking for. If your child continues to be homesick or if any of us feel that keeping them at Camp will become a negative experience we may ask you to pick up or arrange transportation home. Your child's growth and welfare is our number one priority.