We have not seen a drop in any of the three benchmark this week that were layed out by Governor Newsom last week. We are cancelling the week of July 20th and hope to see a drop next week so we can open soon.

Governor Newsom’s announced that LA County is on the California’s Watch list, and Monarch Camps will open after LA County is removed from the watch list. Three different factors trigger a county being placed on the list: 1.) elevated disease transmission 2.) increasing hospitalization and 3.) limited hospital capacity. When all three of these benchmarks are in decline, we will open.  We will continue to observe the three factors over the next two weeks. We will monitor this to ensure maximum safety for our kids, counsellors and families.

Here is our cancellation policy, https://monarchcamps.com/about/cancellation-change-policy/. Please reply back to the email with your request or any further question.

We are so very sorry about the inconvenience this may cause you and your family. We truly understand the need families have for childcare as more and more have to go back to work. We also understand how much children need to be active, with other kids and outdoors again. We are very thankful for your understanding during these unprecedented times. We have also appreciated the wonderful supportive emails, comments on social media and concerned phone calls we have gotten from so many families. We are so happy to have you in our tribe and to be of service to our community.

We have gotten new directives from LA County on operating day camps.

Here is the link: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/docs/protocols/Reopening_DayCamps.pdf

We will continue to monitor guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), LA County, and LA Valley College, and consult with medical experts and public health authorities. We will be making changes to our procedures to reduce the risk to our participants’ health, while also still ensuring our campers are able to experience healthy and positive interactions with others. We are planning on providing a much-needed camp experience for our campers’ while being safe with our trained staff.

Camp Changes to Mitigate Covid-19:

•     A reduced number of participants. We have unfortunately had to remove these specific camps: Baseball, Aquatics, All-Sports, and Glee Camp.
•     We have cancelled all off-campus field trips for the foreseeable future. We may bring them back later in the summer, depending on guidelines.
•     We are currently planning to have 10 different drop-off and pick-up locations for each group to help reduce unnecessary exposure to other participants, and to maintain the guidelines for social gatherings.

o   Drop-off and pick-up locations will be limited to 40 campers, plus staff, and will maintain the guidelines for social gatherings under 50.

o   The 40 campers will then be divided up into 4 groups of 10 campers for their individualized groups.

•     Groups will not interact with other groups.
•     Masks will be worn by all staff and campers, except while swimming, napping, eating/drinking, or engaging in solo physical exertion or solo play.
•     Sports that have close contact will be modified until the directives allow for them to resume. This includes modifications to Basketball Camp, Soccer Camp, and all sports and activities that do not allow for physical distancing.
•     We will not be allowing parents to leave their automobiles for pick-up or drop-off. Staff will escort campers’ to their automobiles. Keep in mind this may slow down drop-off and pick-up.
•     We will be swimming only once a day due to the guidelines for social gatherings in the same area.
•     We will be sanitizing indoor areas that are used by different groups after each use.
•     PPE equipment will be worn by instructors that interact with different groups, and will be changed before the next group arrives, such as in Arts & Crafts, Rockwall, and for the front of the Office staff.
•     We ask parents please pack their own campers basic Arts & Crafts supplies. We will supplement basic supplies with the project and with any additional supplies needed for projects that fall outside of your campers personal basic supplies (which will be either single use items, or sanitized between use).
•     The Absent Policy has changed to a Possible Sick Credit. We want to ensure parents are able to keep possibly ill children at home.

We know that some of these directives may feel contrary to the heart, soul, and spirit of Monarch Camps however we are doing it for the safety and well being of all.  We are confident we will open again soon, and look forward to welcoming you all back. We believe in the resilience and innovative spirit of our campers, families, and staff to create hope, fun, connection, and memories in even the most difficult of times. We do hope that as the health climate improves, we will be able to provide more experiences and improve on the adjustments we have made.

To all our friends and families – thank you again for your patience, comradery and support – and we hope you are all holding up well.