LOGISTICS/WHAT TO BRING
Dear July 8-12 UAS families,
This webpage covers logistics and what to bring to our Brain Week program. Please read the dropoff/pickup information carefully. And to hear more juicy details about all the fun activities for the week, have a look below at the letter for your Squad member.
Safety is paramount at the Squad; please help reinforce our safety and conduct rules by sharing the Squad letter with your children. As we tell our Squad members, we don’t make rules for the sake of making rules-- we make them so that we stay safe as we criss-cross the city and look out for each other. We really appreciate your support.
Program location: Ely Center at Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
Hours: 8:30-4:15
Trouble finding your Squad? Christy cell: 401-323-8633, Elana cell: 202-494-4928
DROPOFF: Dropoff begins at 8:30am and ends at 9:00am by the bison statue that's in front of the Field House. When you enter the main campus entrance on Florida Ave. NE, drive past the security kiosk and bear right. You'll see us near the bison statue. We will do brief unloading and checking in from your car. If you see a long line of cars and UAS staff, please go around and pull up in front of them. The last thing we want to do is block campus traffic. We'll do our very best to get you in and out quickly and safely.
PICKUP: Pickup begins at 4:15 and ends at 4:30 in the same place. Please be on time; we are contractually obligated to clean up and vacate our space, and if we’re delayed, we’ll have to pass costs on to late families.
AFTERCARE AVAILABLE: Regular pickup runs 4:15-4:30pm; aftercare extends the day until 5:30 and costs $50 per child per week. We polled registered families at the end of February and this week had enough interest for us to be able to schedule the staff to support aftercare. To confirm your child's place in aftercare, please go to our Pay for a Program page (password: UASprograms), click on "Pay for UAS Summer 2018," and scroll down to select the aftercare product(s) you would like.
Please note: Aftercare staffing is based on the number of registered children, so your advance registration for aftercare allows us to plan accordingly. Although we welcome your aftercare registrations through the Wednesday before your program begins (e.g., aftercare registration for the July 8-12 week ends on Wed., July 3), we cannot guarantee a spot for your child given our staffing and administrative limitations. If we have space remaining, we'd love to welcome more children for aftercare.
PICK-UP AUTHORIZATION: We will not release your child to anyone—including another UAS parent—unless we have permission from a parent or legal guardian. If you let us know in advance, we’ll include the info on our printed rosters. Otherwise, if someone other than the morning dropoff adult is picking up your child, please let us know when we see you so we can note it on our rosters.
WHAT SQUAD MEMBERS SHOULD BRING
--A bag lunch that minimizes trash and has reusable containers whenever possible. We often eat in the woods or at green spaces that don't have trash cans, so we take all our trash with us. We provide morning and afternoon snacks (e.g., fresh fruit, bars, cheesesticks) to keep brains and bodies fueled for adventure.
--A refillable water bottle, minimum 16-ounce size (please make sure it doesn’t leak).
--A lightweight backpack to hold the lunch, water bottle, and any extra layers/rain jacket, if necessary.
--Weather-appropriate clothes, hats, and comfortable shoes for hiking and walking. We do lots of walking! Comfortable, prepared kids = maximum adventure. **We visit spray parks each week in the summer. If you pack a swimsuit and small towel on Monday, your Squad member can leave it at our rental space all week and only pack it for an adventure when necessary.
--For younger children, if relevant: a change of clothes in a plastic bag, in case your child sometimes wets or soils him/herself. We get muddy and have spills, but we generally only need to change clothes if a child has an accident.
**ALLERGY PROTOCOL** If your child has an allergy that might require intervention (e.g., Benadryl, EpiPen), please email me with the protocol that staff should follow in case of an allergic reaction. I am happy to discuss this, too, but written documentation ensures that we're on the same page, and that I can easily pass this info to our Squad leaders.
Snacks. None of our snacks contain nuts, but some carry a disclaimer saying the product may contain traces of nuts. If you don't serve snacks with these labels at home, please let us know and send extra snacks with your child. Squad members and Squad leaders DO bring lunches that carry nut products; we discourage food sharing and encourage hand-washing after meals, but we are not a nut-free environment.
Sunscreen and bug spray. Please be sure to apply sunscreen & bug spray to your Squad members before they arrive. Though we have some on hand to help Squad members reapply later in the day, we can get out on our adventures sooner if everyone has it applied before arriving at the program.
Tick checks. Squad leaders will do basic tick checks upon returning from the woods or tall grass, but please keep in mind that it's always best to do a full body check at home that evening. You'll know ahead of time when we're hiking, in which case please use your best judgement for what you'd like your Squad member(s) to wear. For ultimate tick safety, dress your Squad member in light colored, lightweight, long pants and long sleeves and braid or tie up long hair. On our website, we have now published our own UAS Tick Protocol, which will provide more information for how we will work to keep your Squad members safe this summer. Other detailed guidelines can be found here.
STAFF BIOS can be found here.
Thanks and please don't forget to share the Squad letter below!
SQUAD LETTER
Dear Squad members,
Welcome to Surfin' the Waves: Brain Week! Urban Adventure Squad members will explore mechanical and electromagnetic waves all week long! We'll kick off the week by making hand-held spectroscopes and a candy wave machine. Learning how the brain reacts to exercise and play, we'll visit the future site of Alethia Tanner Park with NoMa Parks Foundation and create artwork inspired by the murals along the Metropolitan Branch Trail honoring famous scientists you probably haven't heard of who discovered and invented some amazing things! Squad members will also explore water waves by learning about the mussel restoration project with Anacostia Watershed Society at Kingman and Heritage Islands. Through the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail Stewards Program which is funded by a partnership between our friends from Living Classrooms and the National Parks Service, we'll go on a boat ride focused on D.C.'s role in the War of 1812. STEAM learning on the high seas--err, river! We can't wait to see you!
For maximum fun and adventure, we need to keep a few things in mind.
- Follow our safety rules! This is important for our safety and for our enjoyment:
- If a Squad leader calls your name, stop and answer right away.
- No running ahead of our group or hiding.
- Stay in the white lines when crossing the street.
- Eat a good breakfast and stay hydrated-- you need to take care of your brain and your body for a great day with the Squad.
- Check the weather to make sure you’re wearing comfortable, appropriate clothes and shoes. We do lots of walking!
- Don’t be nervous. We’re a friendly, welcoming Squad, and we’re all in this together!