FAQ

Somers Camp is for children in Grade 3 and above. Grade 3 - Year 9 aged students attend as campers. Year 10 students attend as slushies. Students in Year 11 & beyond are invited to apply to become a leader.

Year 10 students are the camp slushies. This slushie year is designed to become an introduction to leadership. The slushies are responsible for helping to prepare, serve and run mealtimes with the support of their leaders, and help maintain the camps operations behind the scenes - a very important role! It's not without plenty of fun and leadership development training.

All Somers Camp leaders are specially trained volunteers. They go through an application and screening process and all leaders hold a valid Working With Children's Check. Prior to camp, all leaders attend a Leaders' Conference which prepares them for planning activities, develops their skills in team work and communication, sees them complete a Child Safety course and much more. Our team are the most caring, dedicated individuals, many of which attended Somers Camp as campers themselves.

Campers - $320 Slushies - $320 Leaders - $190 Somers Camp is a social enterprise - our fees cover our costs and we do not operate to generate any profits.

Somers Camp is a winter activity - please prepare to rug up. A detailed packing list will be provided with your camper acceptance letter, but to keep the cold out we always recommend bringing lots of spare socks, a weather proof jacket and lots of layers!! At any time throughout camp a chid requires additional clothes, a bag of spares is kept with our Executive Hut leaders.

We ask that no electronic devices or valuables are brought on camp with your child. We encourage and engage the campers in lots of indoor and outdoor games and do not allocate any screen time throughout camp.

Yes, please bring your own bedding - no bedding is provided by the camp. We suggest bringing a pillow, a fitted sheet, sleeping bag and an extra blanket.

Camp huts (sleeping dorms) are categorised by year level age group and gender. For example, Year 7 girls will be in the same hut. Some activities are completed in these huts groups and others are completed in study groups. Study groups are usually made up of 1 child from each hut, encouraging children to make new connections.

Drop off on Monday is 1:30pm. Pick up on Friday is 11:00am.

We're incredibly lucky to have a Camp Nurse on site throughout the week at Somers Camp. Our Camp Nurse is a Registered Nurse who manages all our first aid and medical requirements at camp. If your child becomes unwell at anytime, they will be cared for onsite and care givers will be notified. Due to the nature of the dorms the children stay in, if your child is believed to have a contagious illness you will be contacted to collect them immediately. If a minor injury occurs on camp, they will be treated accordingly. For more severe injuries, it is at the leaders and Camp Nurse's discretion to seek medical and emergency attention if it's deemed necessary.

For the health and safety of all camp participants we ask that anyone who is unwell does not attend camp. If you child has been unwell but recovered, they are welcome to attend camp once they have been symptom free for 48 hours.

Please be sure to fill out you child's registration form with as much detail as you can provide around their condition/s. At registration and drop off, please take time to go and speak to our Camp Nurse who will be happy to discuss any questions you have.

All medications are securely stored in a locked room and kept logged with our Camp Nurse for the duration of the week. Camp Nurse is a qualified Registered Nurse and administers/provide medications to children as necessary. Please be sure to fill out you child's registration form with as much detail as you can provide around their condition/s and associated medications. At registration and drop off, please take time to go and speak to our Camp Nurse to provide the medication to them, at which time you are welcome to ask any questions you might have.

Somers Camp is full of caring and compassionate leaders who will always be ready to talk through tricky moments with your child and support them however they need. We are very lucky to have a Camp Mum who specialises in TLC and will happily support our campers through being away from home.

All food is prepared on site by our volunteer cooks. These cooks have been preparing our camp food for over 15 years - they're VERY good at it. All kitchen staff hold current Food Handlers' Certificates.

Absolutely not! Every camper is offered breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. If campers complain of being hungry, we will always provide food for them.

No need! For the health and safety of our campers and leaders we ask that food from home is not provided as allergens may be present in the food that can be harmful to those around us.

We are definitely able to cater for your dietary requirements. Please be sure to outline these clearly and in depth in your child's registration form so we can make the necessary preparations and notify the kitchen.

Kids will be kids! The most important thing for us is to know what to expect and to know what you consider their 'normal' eating habits. If you know that their are causes for a low appetite or abnormal eating habits please outline these clearly in your child's registration for so our leadership team are aware of how to best cater for your child.