Dear Group Leader:

We are very excited to have your group come to the Howell Conference and Nature Center. We look forward to seeing you. In order to make your experience the best it can be, we have created a packet of information that will help us to serve you better. Please look over the following information, and return required information by the date requested.

Included in this packet is a program list to aid in selecting activities. Please fill out all contract information carefully (note that schedules will be sent to you via e-mail, please include an e-mail address). Also there is the more streamlined menu. Please note that you will no longer have to select meals. We do ask that your catered school group menu form be returned to us at least a month prior to your visit. Added as well are participation forms to be signed by the students and their parents for our higher risk activities including challenge programs, and all environmental education activities. Both students and a parent/guardian of those students need to sign the waivers. In addition, any adult chaperones or teachers need to sign the Adult Assumption of Risk waiver. The waivers do not have to be sent in ahead of time, but must be signed and turned in to our staff upon arrival. We appreciate your time and value your appropriate response. Additionally, we have included a chaperone help list for your convenience. Please copy and pass out to the adults accompanying your group. We highly recommend that a background check be run on all chaperones accompanying your group. If you would like more information on this, please contact us.

Just a reminder, in order to make your arrival and departure run as smoothly as possible, please note our arrival time policy. Arrival time on Monday can be as early as 10:00 am., however, groups arriving mid-week will have an arrival time between 10:45 and 11:00 am. Setting these times will help with the transition of schools coming and going and will beneficial to all. Your programs will start after your lunch and orientation. On your last day lunch will be served, followed by a departure time of 1:00 pm. We know there may be groups that need to make special arrangements for arrival times and departures. We will do our best to work with you, however we will try to adhere to this policy as much as possible. We also ask that you assign at least one adult chaperone to each activity group.

When you arrive at camp, there may be other schools here or groups that will be arriving on your last day, some of these groups might be checking into your buildings. On your last day your group will need to be packed up, with things out of their bunkrooms before breakfast. This is so that housekeeping can clean for the next group. This could also be a day that you have to eat lunch in a different building.

Again, we are excited that you are coming and look forward to a great experience. Thank you for your flexibility, we are sure that this will help during your stay with us. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call at (517)546-3056 or e-mail at randym@howellnaturecenter.org. We will see you soon.

Thank you,

Randy Mannor

Program Director, Howell Conference and Nature Center

 

Teacher Trip Packets/Downloads

Please check and make sure that you have completed the following
forms and return the ones that are due before the arrival of camp. You will find all of the forms in PDF format. These can be printed for your use.

ü      School group meal form:  Please fill out the bottom of this form with your total numbers of people eating and any food allergies or special food needs. This form needs to be filled out and retuned to us four weeks before arrival.    School Group Meal Form
 

ü      Class Selection List:  This form should be filled out and mailed back to us. If your group comes out in the spring we should receive this list no later than February 26th. If your group comes to camp in the fall we should have this list no later than June 30th. When filling out this list, please pick classes by the number of days you will be at camp. On this form you will find directions to help you figure out how many classes to pick. All classes are subject to change and availability depends on when you return this form.
Class Selection List
 

ü      Agreement to Participate For Minors:  This is our waiver that must be filled out by everyone that attends camp. Please make a copy for each student that will be coming to camp and send it home for parents to read over and sign. You will also notice that the campers must sign where it says participant’s signature. Please check these forms when they are returned making sure that the campers have signed them, this will save time when arriving at camp. These forms do not need to be mailed in. Please bring them to camp and turn them in to your host upon arrival.
 Agreement to Participate - Minors
 

ü      Adult waiver form:  This form should be filled out by any adults that will be attending camp. This form can also be brought to camp and turned in upon arrival.  Agreement to Participate - Adults
 

ü      Heath History Form:  You will only need to use this form if you are planning on using our Camp Health Officer. There will be an extra charge of 125.00 a day. This form must be sent home and filled out by Parent/Guardian. This form does not need to be mailed in but turned in upon arrival at camp. School Group Health form
 

ü      Chaperone Information: Chaperones are an important factor in the camping experience. We would like to recommend to you, for the safety of your students and our other guests, that a background check be done on all of your volunteer chaperones. This background check is free through the State Police for all non-profit organizations. More and more schools are requiring background checks even for parent volunteers in the school and classrooms. At this time it is not mandatory to do this but is highly recommended to do for chaperones that will be staying the night in the cabins with the campers. Please print off a copy of our Chaperone information and make copies for all chaperones that will be attending camp. This should be done prior to attending camp. Chaperone Information
 

ü      Program Descriptions: Here is a copy of the classes that we offer. This sheet will give you an idea of what to expect when you choose a class and will help with making choices of classes.
Class Descriptions
 

ü      Needs Assessment form:  This form should be filled out and mailed to us at least two weeks before your visit. This form helps us find out what needs you have and things that would be helpful for our staff to know when working with your group. This is especially important if you are participating in any kind of challenge program. Needs Assessment.
 

ü      Driving Directions: Here is a copy of a map and directions to the HCNC to give to anyone that might be driving to camp on their own.
Driving Directions to the HCNC
 

ü      Program Evaluation: On the last morning of your stay you will be given an evaluation form to fill out. This form will let us know how your stay was and what we can do to make your trip better. We will also be giving this evaluation to any chaperones that would like to fill them out. If by chance you did not get one and would like to fill one out, you can use the form further down this page.
Program Evaluation Form
 

ü      Camp Store Flyer:  If you wish, you can make a time slot for your campers to visit our camp store. Campers always love to stop by and purchase a souvenir for remembering their camp experience. If you wish to visit the camp store while at camp, please let us know so that we can work it into your schedule.  Camp Store
 

What to bring to camp.pdf

Other Camp Information

Reservations for camp:

It is the policy of the HCNC to give a group one week to again reserve the dates that they attended for the following year. With the demand for specific dates, it is our policy to try to retain your relative dates from the previous year. Sometimes however, dates need to remain flexible due to holiday fluctuations, calendar changes or adjustments in camp. We will always attempt to find a similar date for you as in the previous year. If you wish to change your date, you will have to wait until all the groups have had a chance to reserve for the following year. Wednesday through Friday dates are becoming more popular and harder to find for groups. Most groups that have Wednesday through Friday reserved will continue to reserve those dates. This may make it more difficult to find those dates for new groups or groups that want to change days. If you would like to find another date, other than the one you have, we would like to suggest that you choose a winter camp, where we can be more flexible.

Billing

A 10%, non-refundable deposit is required to hold your reservation date. The balance will be invoiced to your school three days after the program has ended and is due ten days following your camp program.

Teachers and Chaperones

To manage our building space, for every 25 students in a group, one classroom teacher can attend camp free of charge. For every eight students that attend camp one chaperone will be charged ½ price. For every chaperone that attends camp that is over the one to eight camper ratio, there will be a full price charge. Please remember that space is limited and if you go over the number of beds that we have available, some will have to sleep on the floor with mattresses.

Pricing

Our goal at the HCNC is to provide the best programs possible while continuing to serve our mission. As a not-for-profit organization, our rates for schools groups are established based on a balance between meeting our financial obligations and continuing the growth of the HCNC. We want to continue making the program affordable and charge a fee that keeps on track with other camping programs and the cost of living expense.

Travel Groups

Travel group size will be determined by the number of students you have each year and will range between 15-20 students. You will be notified by the HCNC staff on how many travel groups to divide your group into.

Behavior

The HCNC staff, teachers and chaperones will partner in dealing with difficult behaviors. The HCNC staff will intervene in any minor situation that arises during programs. The school is responsible for behavior situations that are deemed beyond minor as this is still a school function. The HCNC holds the right to request unruly campers to be removed from camp.

Supervision

It will be the responsibility of the school to provide chaperones to accompany each travel group. It is the police of the HCNC that our staff can and will not be left alone with any travel group without a chaperone or teacher from the school. In the case of chaperones coming and leaving and a travel group is left with no adult from the school, the activity will have to cease until someone arrives to accompany the group.

Health and Safety

The school is responsible for taking care of all health related services (i.e. medications, first aid, transportation to medical facilities, etc.). All school policies that are in place at school also apply at camp when determining if a sick camper should be sent home. For the health of the entire camp, staff, and other guests, we will ask anyone with a temperature or vomiting to go home..  We do not have an infirmary on site and it will be the responsibility of the school to isolate the sick student  Many of our staff are trained in CPR and first aid and can assist in any situation. We also have a Health Officer available for groups for a charge of 125.00 a day.