Opening Day
Opening Day is one of the most exciting days of camp!
The first day of camp is like Christmas morning, and it is always a wonderful experience for both parents and campers. We will greet you at your car, tell your daughter her cabin number, and carry her luggage to the cabin for you. Your daughter will then meet her counselor(s) and cabinmates!
Quick links for Opening Day:
- Read up on how you will arrive at camp and find your Opening Day arrival time. Make sure we know how you are arriving, by plane or car, and you’ll want to use our back staff entrance for arrivals.
- Learn about luggage (including the number of bags you can bring) and how we will send your luggage tags.
- Make sure you know what to do with your medications before Opening Day.
- Read up on sister arrivals with our assigned drop off times. You can arrive anytime between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. if a better time suits your family due to traveling.
- Find out how your daughter will exit the car to then meet her counselor and cabinmates. On your way out, you can drop off letters at our one last stop for parents.
- Get excited for the rest of our Opening Day schedule that is filled with fun cabin activities, a head check, and a swim check.
Arrivals
We have staggered drop-off times between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. for each age group during your session.
When you arrive at camp, you will wait in one of our car lanes until we can process your car. Parents and campers will stay in the vehicle. When you reach the front of your car lane, we will send a team of staffers to your car to greet you and welcome you to camp. We will tell you your cabin number and ask you a few medical questions.
We plan to complete all of the necessary Opening Day check-in procedures in less than 3 minutes once we reach your car. It will be a quick process! Because we have to move quickly to process all cars, we will not have time to answer specific questions (about medical issues or other concerns) when we are processing your car. Please reach out before your daughter’s session if you have any questions or concerns.
Parents will stay in their car during our check-in process, but can hop out of the car to give your camper a hug before we take her to her cabin. Don’t linger - this makes the separation harder! On Closing Day, parents will be able to walk into camp and tour our camp property.
Luggage and Tags
We will be sending luggage tags (with details on how to attach them) three weeks prior to your session so that your luggage can already be tagged on Opening Day. We are asking that Junior and August campers only bring 2 large pieces of luggage with them to camp, and June and Main Campers only bring up to 3 large pieces of luggage. We know that our campers love to “bring it all,” but please limit the extras!
Medications
Please read our Medication information before you arrive, as all daily medicines need to be packaged by a pharmacy prior to Opening Day.
Exiting the Car
Once you are checked in, your camper will exit the car. She can carry a backpack, or small bag, and her pillow (which she will carry to her cabin herself). After we process your car, we will take your daughter to meet the Group Leaders, and a Group Leader will take her to her cabin to meet her counselor(s) and her cabinmates.
After She Leaves the Car
Once your daughter exits the car and is escorted to her cabin, the fun really begins! Her counselor(s) will be ready to greet her with a big hug and her nametag. Campers will find their bunks and can start getting settled. Luggage will begin arriving right away, and our staff will bring your daughter’s trunk and duffel to her cabin. Once your daughter has her luggage, the counselors will help her unpack, make her bed, and settle into her space.
As You Leave
After dropping off your daughter, on your way out of camp, we will have one more stop for parents. You will pick up some Opening Day information, and if you would like to write any pre-written letters, you can drop these at the same time (dropping letters is optional; feel free to send letters through the mail). For these dropped-off letters, please make sure that they have your camper’s first and last name clearly written on each envelope as well as the day they should be delivered (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, etc.). Then, please put all letters in a Ziploc bag before dropping them off. If you have a birthday girl during the session, feel free to leave your daughter’s birthday gift at this last parent stop as well. We will send a birthday label for this birthday package three weeks before your session begins.
We will be sharing cabin details with you after you leave (including information about your daughter’s counselor(s) and her fellow cabinmates).
Traveling to Camp
We know that many of you will be traveling from far distances to bring your daughter to camp. We have staggered drop-off times for each age group between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.; however, you can drop your daughter off anytime between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m., even if you miss your drop-off window if that helps with your travel plans. You do not need to let us know, unless you will miss the 11:30 a.m. cut off; in that case, please call our office. If your daughter is flying by herself to camp, she does not need to arrive during her assigned arrival time, but please check our airplane arrival details to see flight arrival times.
Sister Arrival
If you have more than one camper that you are dropping off at camp, you can choose which of the drop off times suits your family. Our recommendation is to choose the later drop off time (so that one of your girls isn’t waiting for her friends to arrive for a long period of time) or to consider dropping off each camper in the originally assigned drop off time. We plan to process your car very quickly, so coming through the line again will not take long.
Arrival Times
Below you will find the arrival times for each session.
We are asking all campers to arrive between 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. You can come anytime in your daughter’s assigned arrival time window for her particular grade. If you are running late and will miss your arrival time, do not worry! Just come when you can, and we will be ready to greet you when you arrive. The only exception is if you will miss our 11:30 a.m. cut-off time; if you will not make it to camp by 11:30 a.m., please call our office and let us know.
Arrival times will be posted in the spring for summer 2024.
The Rest of Opening Day
After your daughter unpacks with her counselor(s), the cabin will take a camp tour and stop to get a head check, where we will make sure your daughter is lice-free. The cabin group will then stop by our Kitchen table for an Opening Day scone! Girls will continue settling in throughout the morning and then will enjoy a picnic lunch with their cabin group.
After lunch, we will have our first Rest Hour, but this is a more relaxed time, as girls will meet their Group Leader, go over cabin details, and play some get-to-know-you games. After Rest Hour, we will welcome all campers with our first camp assembly! The afternoon will be filled with some of our normal Opening Day activities including the swim check, cabin photo, and activity finalizing. We will then enjoy our first dinner together (spaghetti, of course!) and then all gather for our first Evening Program of the summer. It will be a fun-filled day at Greystone!
Swim Check
Junior Camp
Campers must jump in the pool, tread water for two minutes, and swim one length of the pool. We will work with campers who do not pass the first time; these girls will still be allowed to participate in Waterpark (as campers are wearing life jackets).
June, Main, and August Camp
Girls will need to swim one length of the pool, tread water for 2 minutes, and do a pencil dive off the diving board. If your daughter has trouble completing any of these, we will help her sign up for swim lessons, and she can retake the test to participate in some of our water activities. Campers who do not initially pass can still participate in Waterpark (as girls are wearing life jackets).
Car or Airplane Arrival?
We need to know how your daughter will arrive on Opening Day through her Travel Forms (to be completed in the spring), which you can fill out through her online Account or through the Campanion app. If you will be driving into camp to drop her off (either by car from your home or by renting a car after you’ve arrived by plane), your daughter is considered a CAR arrival. Only girls who are flying to camp and need a Greystone counselor to pick them up from the airport are considered an airplane arrival.