FAQs
Pine Grove Day Camp is both Licensed by the State of New Jersey and Accredited by the American Camp Association. In addition to all local and state regulations, Pine Grove adheres to the over 300 National Standards established by the American Camp Association for Summer Camps. During our last Accreditation, we scored a perfect 100% on every single National Standard. ACA Standards cover all facets of camp operation including staffing, safety, facility maintenance, program areas and pool operation.
In addition to reference checks, Pine Grove Day Camp performs a National Criminal Background Check and National Sex Offender Registry Check on ALL staff over the age of 18. While this is neither a state nor an ACA requirement, we feel that the safety of your child is our primary concern. Any staff member who is unwilling to sign the release for the check is not eligible for employment.
Create an experience so exceptional that it creates campers for life! Meaning, the lessons and experiences you have here will last you a lifetime.
At Pine Grove, our staff follow 3 basic Prime Directives:
- Ensure the Physical and Emotional Safety of all campers.
- Recognize that the programs exist to create Success Opportunities for our campers and make sure they are active participants in that Success.
- Staff must be positive Role Models! All staff must be aware of the tremendous responsibility they carry as Role Models to young children.
In order for everyone to have a safe, successful and happy summer, all campers must follow the basic rules of safety and respect for the feelings of others. At Pine Grove, we use a 3-step discipline procedure.
- The Counselors are trained to deal with basic behavior issues.
- The Division Leaders (Supervisors) intervene if the behavior doesn’t improve.
- We partner with parents to help find ways to get campers to Succeed at Pine Grove.
The following items are strictly prohibited from camp at all times;
Alcohol, drugs, all tobacco products, fireworks and weapons of any type.
Campers may not bring cell phone, electronics or pets to camp at any time.
The camp owner, Jonathan Gold, has over 40 years experience in camping and 20 years as Director? In addition, he holds an M.B.A. and Ph.D. Jonathan wrote his Dissertation on “Creating Quality Management Systems for Summer Camps.” He has also been the Program Director of the Tri-State Camp Conference, the largest professional camp conference in the country and worked at camps all over the country.
The Camp Director, Gary Maser, has worked with Jonathan for over 25 years as a Counselor, Division Leader and now Director. Before joining Pine Grove, Gary was a middle school teacher in the Bronx and a Special Education teacher in North Jersey.
The Pine Grove administrative staff is a combination of full-time camping professionals and professional educators who work during the Summer to ensure the best possible experience for your child.
Pine Grove provides a Daily Hot Lunch Program for our campers. A different hot entrée is provided every day as well as alternatives for those campers who may not like what is being served. Pine Grove will accommodate any and all dietary requirements your child may have.
At Pine Grove, trips start in our Senior Division (entering 5th & 6th Grades). The Seniors go on 2 trips over the course of the Summer. Our Teen Division (entering 7th, 8th and 9th Grades) leave camp 2 or 3 times a week and have the option of going on one overnight trip a Summer.
At Pine Grove, we use professional drivers and yellow Air-Conditioned school buses. Each driver has a cell phone in the case of an emergency and we are beginning to equip our fleet with GPS tracking devices so that we know the exact location of our buses at any time.
YES! We have 2 Registered Nurses on-site at all times who are certified to administer medication as needed. Our Pool and Leadership Staff are trained in First Aid and in the use of Automatic External Defibrillator.
Absolutely! All campers, Pre-K through 6th Grade, participate in Morning Swim Lessons. The campers are grouped into swim classes based on their individual level. We use the Red Cross Learn to Swim Program along with Red Cross Certified Instructors to ensure that all campers, regardless of their level, improve their swimming ability. One of the many benefits of our facility is that our pools vary in depth and are heated, so all campers can become adjusted to the water in a pool where they can stand, and then, when they are comfortable, progress into deeper water.
If you anticipate not being home on a regular basis, we offer both Before Care and After Care at Pine Grove. This means that you can drop your camper as early as 7:30AM and pick them up at camp by 6:00pm.
But, maybe one day, you are simply running a little late. Prior to the start of the Summer, you will receive your Bus Driver’s phone number so if you are running late you can contact your driver directly.
Campers will not be left home alone unless they have written permission to do so. If the driver is at your house and no one is home, we will try to contact you. In the event that we are unable to reach you, the camper will be returned to camp.
Our campers under the age of the 6 get the full camp experience with the exception of Archery, Mountain Biking, BMX and Skateboarding. There is no nap time for pre-schoolers.
Pine Grove has over 25,000 Square Feet of Air Conditioned Indoor Space and other tented areas which are used for activities in the case of rain. On very Hot Days, we have over 10,000 Square Feet of Pool Space that allows us to double up on swim time in addition to using our Air Conditioned Indoor Space.
Yes, there are a number of After Camp Programs available at Pine Grove. We offer an After Care Program, which allows parents to pick-up their campers as late as 6:00PM. We provide an additional swim with our lifeguards, snack and time to play some of our most popular camp games. We also offer Private Lessons including Swim and Tennis. Please contact the Camp Office to schedule these lessons and find out what the other offerings are.
Camper entering the 2nd grade have 1 Period a day which we call Club. This period enables campers to participate in an activity of their Choice during that period for 1 Week. Every Wednesday, they are able to choose again for the following week.
In addition, halfway through each summer every group schedule is completely rewritten by our Program Director. The group is encouraged to provide feedback on which activities they would like to see in their schedule more often and which they would like to change.