• Wayland Bonds Elementary School 
      Camp Classen Information 
       
       
      CAMP CLASSEN DATES:  
      2023-2024 School Year
      November 13-17 2023
       
       
       
       
      Thank you for checking this website for important Camp Classen information. Below you will find general Camp Classen information. This information is not all inclusive and will be updated periodically as more information has been given to me. PDF copies of all camp forms that have been/will be sent home can be found at the bottom of this webpage. Please feel free to print your own copies to get a jump start on this paperwork. Please plan to visit this section of my website frequently as we prepare for our Camp Classen trip.
       
      If you have any questions, please contact me. I am here to help.
       
      Thank you,
      Camp Director
      405-735-4502
       
     
    What is Camp Classen?
     

    The Outdoor School at YMCA CAMP CLASSEN is the most unique program of its kind. It is both easily accessible from main highways and a reasonable distance for many schools in Oklahoma and Texas and covers 2,400 extraordinary acres in the Arbuckle Mountains. The camp’s facilities are designed to accommodate multiple student ages and needs at the same time.Our ecological diversity is a treasure in itself. Between its lakes, mountain tops, streams, fields, and waterfalls - the Eastern forest biome interlaces with that of the Western plains. This diversity and natural beauty make it ideally suited for hands-on, place-based learning. Its facilities are not only tuned to complement and support academic programs, but to promote and encourage leadership, teamwork, value training, trust, self worth and understanding for students.

    CAMP CLASSEN's Outdoor School offers outdoor education programs for schools from Oklahoma and Texas. Teachers can take their classes on guided interpretive hikes focusing on geology, ecology, biomes, natural cycles, and fossils. Our place-based education programs include a ready-for-use curriculum for teachers, including geology, ecology, adaptation, water, predator prey studies, fresh water labs, fossil labs, orienteering and so much more!

    Our Outdoor School empowers teachers to take their classroom outside, allowing them to connect with their students and create memories to last a lifetime. Activities are hands-on and place-based, so students are not only learning key concepts, but relating it to very specific events of the real world.

    We believe that the teacher is an essential building block in the acquisition of knowledge. It’s their presence within the Outdoor School’s instruction that connect school concepts - to life learning - to retained knowledge. For this, we provide great facilities with a comprehensive range of curriculum and program support for you and a pricing scale that cannot be matched! 

    Whether you call it environmental education, experiential education, outdoor education, hands on learning, place-based studies or just camp - our goals are the same:

    1. To help you promote the greatest retention of knowledge possible 
    2. For students to enjoy learning and become lifelong learners 
    3. To give students concrete examples that apply to classroom learning 
    4. To promote sustainable, responsible stewardship of the environment / to make environmental decisions based on the big picture & the good of our civilization. 
    5. To help students value themselves, others, and their environment 

     
    When will Camp Classen be?
     
    2023 - 2024 School Year

    November 13-17, 2023

     
    How much is Camp Classen?
     
    Tuition for Camp Classen will be $275.00 per student. This price will cover your lodging, meals, activities, and transportation to and from camp for the FULL week. The kids will be fed a total of 12 meals while at camp. We will also provide each student with snacks each day between meals. I know that this sounds like a large price to pay. However, this price is very comparable to the other schools in our district.  Start saving now! If you put back a little at a time, this can be very manageable. Payments can begin being made immediately. Every dollar paid will be used for Camp Classen.
    Any person or business wishing to donate money for students in financial hardship to attend camp, please make payments to Wayland Bonds and notate the payment as a "donation" to Camp Classen fees on the check/envelope. All donations will go to Camp Classen fees.
     
    Who will be attending Camp Classen?
     
    Wayland Bonds Elementary would like to take ALL 5th graders, if possible. This will be a great opportunity for your child to relax, yet still learn, and a chance to be with all of their friends. As our students enter 6th grade, we want them to grow and mature together, before their last year as a Bronco and venturing on to Jr. Highl
     
    Will parent chaperones be needed at camp?
     
    Absolutely!! We will need at least two counselors per cabin. This means that we will need anywhere from 16-20 parents/guardians/aunts/uncles/grandparents (male and female) to attend camp with us. When we speak with counselors that have attended in the past, they always tell us they loved the camp experience just as much as their child. We have even had aunts/uncles/grandparents join us at camp. Counselor tuition is $225.00. This pays for your food and lodging for the week of camp. Please consider joining us at camp. We need you there with us! 
     
    Parent Night Information:
     
    Incoming 5th Grade Parent Meeting (Spring 2023)
    Spring 2023 * April 18, 2023 @ 6:00pm Bonds Cafeteria
     
    5th Grade Parent Meeting (Fall 2023)
    Fall 2023 * TBD @ 5:30pm Bonds Cafeteria
     
      

    April 18, 2023 6:00pm                                 1st Camp Meeting  
                Wayland Bonds Cafeteria

    Fall 2023, 5:30pm-TBA               2nd Camp Meeting
                Wayland Bonds Cafeteria

    September 29, 2023                          Deadline for Parent/Counselor Applications

    October 11,  2023                             Parent Counselors selected and notified

    October, TBA, 6:00pm                    Final Parent-Counselor Meeting

                                                                 All Counselors MUST attend. You will meet your cabin partner(s).

                                                                 Wayland Bonds Media Center

    November 3, 2023                      All Camp forms & tuition due  

    November 13-17, 2023                  Students at Camp Classen

    Unsupported image type.Camp Cost: $275.00

    Counselor Fee: $225.00

     

    November 13, 2023         LEAVE FOR CAMP!
    Meet in the gym at 9:00am to check in.
    Parents who are counselors come at 8:45am

    November 17, 2023         Students arrive back at Bonds around 1:00.

     
     
    CAMP FORMS:
    **Click links below to load forms** 
     
    All forms below will need to be fully completed and returned on time before your child can attend Camp Classen. Late forms will not be accepted and could result in your child not attending Camp Classen.
     
    **Needs to be completed by Thursday, September 29, 2023. 
     
    Student Enrollment Forms (updated 5/4/23)
    **This is the enrollment form for your child to attend Camp Classen 
    **Enrollment forms due by November 3, 2023
     
    Parent-Doctor Medication Consent Form (coming soon)
    **If your child takes daily medication, this form will need to be signed by BOTH you and your child's doctor.
    **Medication must be in the original container WITH the correct label
    ** Medication will need to be dropped off & picked up by the parent the day we leave/return from camp
     
    Parent Application to Attend Camp Classen (update 5/4/23)
    **Any parent interested in attending camp will need to complete this form.
    **Background Checks will need to be completed on or near October 17th.
    **Background Check fee to be paid by the school.
     
    YMCA Camp Classen Participation Waivers (Updates 5/4/23)
    **ALL camp waivers must be completed ONLINE only through the YMCA Camp Classen portal by ALL students attending and ALL parents attending.
    **Click link above to access waiver instructions.  
     
    Parents interested in attending camp must complete this form. I have included it in the Parent Application above too.
    **Background Checks will need to be completed before October 17th. Earlier the better!
    **The school will pay for your background check
     
    Student Packing List (updated 5/4/23)
     **Try to use what you have already.
    **Items do not have to be new; borrow from family and friends. 
     
    **Please read and familiarize yourself with bed bugs and how to prevent them.