PLEASE NOTE: These weeks are full and waitlisted.
Urban Adventure Squad is proud to partner with the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Woodley Park for our programs July 12-16 and July 19-23. This historic hotel is located right on Rock Creek Park, where we will spend the majority of our days hiking, exploring, picnicking, and playing.
WHO: rising 2nd-rising 8th grade students
WHEN: July 12-16, July 19-23, 9:00am-4:00pm *Registration for each week is separate, you can register for one or both weeks
WHERE: The Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street NW
COST: $450 per student per week, $100 nonrefundable deposit (15% sibling discount)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
The Omni Shoreham Hotel is providing us with:
- a dropoff and pickup location separate from the main entrance and lobby,
- bathroom access (bathrooms are available to other hotel guests and will be fully sanitized daily),
- access to the sprawling hotel patio and grounds,
- emergency shelter if needed; this means in the event of lightning, air quality warnings, or another emergency, we'll have a hotel ballroom to ourselves where we can spread out for part of our day. Please note: If the emergency in question allows us to, we have a door to the patio we can open to keep the ballroom as ventilated as possible.
UAS has been working with the Omni Shoreham Hotel's team to plan for our July weeks, including a thorough review of their detailed Safe and Clean COVID Protocols. We believe their amenities are as safe as can be during a pandemic and we trust in their practices to keep Urban Adventure Squad well taken care of during our time at the hotel. If you have specific questions about their practices, please email us.
These are fully masked, small group, outdoor programs.
We're only opening space for 12 Squad members per week: 6 in rising 2nd-4th grade, and 6 in rising 5th-8th grade, reserving some wiggle room in that age split based on demand for each particular week. We will give preference to siblings when we're able to and expand the program to create a third group if we have staff available and can safely do so. Each UAS educator--called Squad leaders--will have 6 or 7 Squad members in their group. The groups will remain separate for almost the entirety of the programs, but these are not cohorts and there will be some mixing of groups at certain points during the day and the week. Our priorities are masking and distance, and we will continue to follow evolving local and federal guidance.
NOTE: We have expanded these programs with a third educator, who will lead a third group of 6 students.
*If you are new to UAS, you should prepare ahead of time by creating a new account in our registration system, which is powered by UltraCamp.
Please note: Now that we're in a new calendar year, our registration system asks for your student's grade "in fall of 2021." Summer registration generally goes by the "rising" grade, or the student's grade in fall of the next school year. When asked for your child's grade in fall of 2021, you would (for example) select 4th grade for your current 3rd grade student. This would let the system know they are currently in 3rd grade and UltraCamp will automatically graduate them in June to 4th grade. This allows you to register your current 3rd grader for school year programs open to 3rd grade students and summer programs open to 4th grade students.
We have run fully masked, small group, outdoor programs 3-5 times each week since September 2020 in green spaces throughout D.C. We've learned what works and what doesn't, and we're looking forward to expanding the length of our program days this summer thanks to the reliability of morning and afternoon bathrooms breaks as well as emergency shelter. Once you've read through this page and our COVID-19 Precautions and Protocol webpage, if you still have questions, please do not hesitate to email us. We can email you back or call you to talk through your questions and concerns.
PLEASE CONSIDER THE NATURE OF AN ALL OUTDOORS SUMMER PROGRAM WITH UAS. Unlike our traditional summer programs of the past, these programs are entirely outdoors except for our bathroom breaks. Please consider your Squad member's personality and zest for the outdoors carefully before registering them for a summer week. D.C. summers get HOT and seven hours outside all week is too much for some kiddos. Each day we hike between 1 and 4 miles, and we'll take extra water breaks and rest our legs whenever we need to. We're going to get creative and find ways to stay cool throughout the day, but we will not be relying on starting and ending our days in air conditioning like we used to. We'll take bathrooms breaks at the Omni Shoreham Hotel toward the start and end of each day, but your Squad member should be prepared to use nature's bathroom if necessary during the middle few hours of the day. These programs are designed for educators and Squad members who are flexible, resilient, and excited to be OUTSIDE all week long!
EQUITY AND FAIR PROCESS. We strive to make our processes as smooth and fair as possible. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis; families are not judged on their ability to pay. Equitable outdoor learning is important to UAS, so as part of our registration process, families can select no-questions-asked scholarships. We do not ask for financial documentation or make families wait for approval. Some families use scholarships all the time, while others pay for programs sometimes and use scholarships other times. The benefits of playing, hiking, and learning outdoors can be life changing and we want families across the city to have access to the joy of outdoor learning.
WAITING LISTS. We will run 2 simultaneous groups per session. Each group will consist of 6-7 students with 1-2 UAS educators called Squad leaders. This means we have about 12 spots available per session, for students in rising 2nd-8th grade. If a session you're interested in is full, there is an option to add your student to the waiting list. You'll find programs for which you can add your Squad member to the waiting list by scrolling to the bottom of the list of available programs. If space becomes available, you'll receive an email offering you a spot, which will be held for just 48 hours. Please be sure to check your spam filters. Emails often land in them, and we can't be responsible for emails that land in spam folders.
PREFERRED PAIRINGS. We will do our best to place siblings and friends in the same group whenever possible. If you'd like to request a pairing, please email us when you register to notify us of your request. Click here to email us. We will email detailed program info as it gets closer to summer and ask about pairing requests. We will not create our two or three groups of 6-7 Squad members based solely on age--we will factor in requests for siblings and friends to be together, regardless of age.
COST AND REFUND POLICY. Our program fees are higher this summer and our refund policy is stricter. We believe in order to ensure the safety of all educators and children, we must keep our groups small. To cover space rental fees, payroll, and our bare minimum supplies, we must charge more than we previously have for summer programs. Along with this, $100 of your program fee is nonrefundable. We can issue a refund or accept cancellations until April 1. After April 1, refunds will be issued only if a family has been exposed to or tests positive for COVID-19. With a doctor's note, we will issue your refund for the week. If UAS must cancel the entire week due to extreme weather, political unrest, or staff illness, we will offer the option for a credit on your account or a refund.
WEATHER CANCELLATIONS. If there is relentless rain and lightning throughout all or part of the day, we may have to shorten or cancel that day's program. We will only use the ballroom emergency shelter for brief periods during the day. We will not spend an entire day indoors this summer due to COVID-19 safety concerns.
WHAT WILL MY CHILD BE DOING EACH DAY? We're firming up details over the coming months, and will share more as it gets closer to summer, but every day will include hiking, playing, exploring, and creating in Rock Creek Park and on the grounds and patio space at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. At Urban Adventure Squad, we strongly believe that outdoor learning is an essential part of a child’s healthy physical, social, mental, and emotional growth. Squad members, who come from over 80 schools in the Washington area, explore the natural world, build confidence in themselves, make new friends, discover new passions, become environmental advocates, and connect with their communities. See examples of what we've been doing in our weekday programs all schoolyear by checking us out on instagram, facebook, and twitter @UrbanAdvSquad, or visiting our Outdoor Programs webpage.
All travel will be done on foot. We are not taking Metrobus or Metrorail this summer.
WHAT TO BRING. We will send an email at the start of summer as well as the week before your program to give you all the details for that week. Most important is a well-fitting mask. The mask should cover your Squad member's nose and mouth and fit the contours of their face. Please pack a backup in their backpack. Squad leaders will carry kid-sized disposable medical masks if needed in a pinch.
We recommend light, breathable layers in the summer. Light color layers and tall socks help for tick prevention. For UAS tick protocol, click here. A hat and comfortable hiking shoes are a must! NO CROCS OR FLIP FLOPS. Please send your Squad member in the morning with a base layer or sunscreen and insect repellent. We'll remind Squad members to reapply throughout the day. Squad members should bring a comfortable backpack packed with a lunch and snacks, as well as a large water bottle to keep your Squad member hydrated. We do not recommend drawstring backpacks--the strings can create rope burn on exposed shoulders and even through t-shirts.
If it's a rainy day, a waterproof layer or poncho is helpful. UAS educators are well stocked with supplies to keep Squad members safe, dry, and cool thanks to our wonderful Squad community who purchases these supplies from our amazon wish list and donates other items. This means we have things like disposable ponchos, disposable kid-sized medical masks, and extra socks.