FAQs

Where will my child live? How are room and hall assignments made? Campers and staff live in dorms and are grouped into “halls” with rooms and halls based on grade and gender. Dorm buildings are divided up by units/grades. Counselors live on each hall to supervise, mentor and engage their campers throughout the day, both in the dorm and during activities. Each hall is staffed by counselors who live on the hall and travel with their campers to meals and other hall or dorm-based activities throughout the day. Rooms are mostly doubles or triples, with a few very large quad rooms. Roommate assignments are based on camper grades, mutual interests, and mutual roommate requests (if possible). Roommate assignments are made personally by our Camper Care team after thoroughly reviewing all camper documents, not by a machine!

My child is transgender/nonbinary/not cisgender. Where will they live? Our goal is to place every camper in housing that affirms their identities and/or allows them to experience a sense of belonging in our camp community. To that end, transgender and nonbinary campers and staff members are housed in the space that affirms their gender identity and/or where they feel most comfortable. There is space during the camper application to expand more around your camper’s gender regarding housing. Please reach out to the main office with questions at scitech@urj.org!

Can my child request to be with another camper? As long as they are in the same grade and dorm, we do our best to accommodate at least one mutual roommate request per camper. A housing info and roommate request form is included in the camper paperwork released in the spring, where you can put this request.

Will my child need lots of special STEM equipment from home? We will provide all equipment necessary for all camp activities, including STEM and recreational activities. Campers may bring non-electronic games and sports equipment (such as their tennis racket), but we encourage you to leave anything expensive at home. Please also see our Personal Technology Policy for more information on personal electronics at camp.

How can I get a 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy t-shirt for my child? All campers will receive a 6 Points Sci-Tech t-shirt at camp. Additional shirts and camp clothing and gear can be purchased at our online camp store.

How will my child’s laundry get done? Campers will have their laundry sent out to a local wash-and-fold service about halfway through each session. Campers staying multiple sessions will also have their laundry done during intersession. Please label each article of clothing to help ensure everything makes it home!

How’s the food? Amazing! The food service is provided by The Governor’s Academy in their air-conditioned dining hall. The dining services staff are year-round professional employees of the school who are highly skilled in preparing tasty, nutritious meals for kids. Most meals are served buffet-style with multiple options. For more information about food service, see our Facilities and Food page.

What if my child’s birthday occurs during camp? We love birthdays at camp! It is a special day for a camper, and we celebrate as a community by singing happy birthday in the dining hall and giving the camper a special birthday treat to enjoy with their hallmates. During the Boker Big Bang that morning, the camper participates in the morning experiment. Counselors make a camper’s birthday special by decorating their door or hall. Our birthday campers also get their own star named after them in the Sci-Tech Star Registry! We know that birthdays are a difficult time for campers to be away from their families, so we also schedule a special phone call so that you can wish them a happy birthday, too!

My camper takes medications and/or over-the-counter medications/vitamins/supplements. How do I get those to camp? To ensure the best possible quality of care in our Health Center, we require all campers who take prescriptions, supplements, vitamins, melatonin, and/or over-the-counter medications (OTC’s) to enroll in our pre-packaged pharmacy service. We will not accept any medication, vitamins, supplements, or over-the-counter medications on Opening Day. For Summer 2024, we will use a pharmacy service to help pre-package all camper medications.

Enrolled families will receive a Camp Pharmacy FAQs packet in their CampInTouch accounts in the Spring closer to the beginning of camp.

What if my child has allergies? We strive to accommodate all allergies at camp so that all campers can participate in our program. Our professional dining services team has experience dealing with many allergies, like gluten/wheat, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, sesame, and fish. We can accommodate most dietary needs – if your camper’s allergies are not on the list, please do not hesitate to inquire. Campers who need medication to manage environmental allergies will receive their medication from our nurses at mealtimes or before bed. We have Epi-pens in the dining hall and health center. Our entire staff is trained in the use of Epi-pens.

How do you select, train, and supervise your staff? What is the staff-to-camper ratio? Our counselors are more than supervisors – they are near-peer mentors and role models! Counselors are selected based on their experience working with children, their dedication to our Jewish values, and their passion for inspiring a love of science and technology. All staff members undergo a rigorous staff orientation before the first day of camp, which features child care and child development training, informal Jewish and scientific education, and camper safety. Our staff who run STEM programming begin prepping months ahead in partnership with our STEM advisors and education consultants! We maintain at least a 5-to-1 camper-to-staff ratio.

Will my child be safe while at camp? URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy complies with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health regulations and is licensed by the local board of health and certified by the American Camp Association.

Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of your child, both physically and emotionally. The following mechanisms are in place to ensure that your child remains safe while at camp:

• The Governor’s Academy has a 24/7 professional security presence on campus. They regularly patrol the facility and work closely with us to ensure our safety.
• All our staff members undergo mandatory safety training, which includes procedures for various safety situations, such as medical and weather emergencies.
• All of our staff members are trained in First Aid and CPR. Leadership team members also carry cell phones or walkie-talkies to ensure a fast emergency response time.

We have camp nurses on campus and on-call 24/7 to respond to medical problems. We work with a local doctor, a local hospital, and an urgent care center to provide additional care when needed.

What kind of clothing should my child bring to camp? Campers at URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy will be outside and moving around for much of the day, so we recommend comfortable clothes such as shorts and t-shirts. Closed-toed shoes are required (no sandals, flip-flops, or Crocs). For Shabbat, many choose to dress a little nicer (such as khakis, polo shirts, and skirts), and we request that all campers wear a white top to bring our community together as one kehilah kedoshah (holy community). A full packing list is provided closer to the beginning of camp. If you’d like to see the packing list from previous years before registering, please reach out to the camp office.

What happens if my child gets sick while at camp? Our professional medical team, which includes nurses and local doctors, is here to help ensure your camper’s wellness! In most cases, sick campers stay in our Health Center until they can rejoin camp activities. In the event of an overnight stay, a hospital visit, or if our medical staff prescribes or changes any medication, the parents will be notified as soon as possible.

Where is the closest hospital? Anna Jacques Hospital, a full-service community hospital (including emergency medicine) in Newburyport, is less than 6 miles away.

Where can I find your Child Protection Policy? At the heart of our Reform Movement is our enduring commitment to shaping a more whole, just, and compassionate world. That holy work includes ensuring that each and every member of our camp community – especially our children – are protected and that their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and safety is our highest priority. You can read more about the URJ’s official Child Protection Policy here.

What is the URJ Vaccination policy? The Union for Reform Judaism requires that all camp and travel program participants, staff, and faculty must be immunized. We provide an updated Vaccine Policy every year. This vaccination information will be available as part of your camper forms when they are available in the Spring. For reference, please read the URJ Policy Statement on Vaccine Status for 2023 (updated 8/29/23).

Who provides medical guidance and advice to the URJ? The URJ Medical Advisory Team (MAT) is an advisory body to the URJ staff and program leaders. The six outstanding members of this group are all deeply connected with and committed to the success of our movement and our youth programs and experiences. You can read more about them here.

Is my child ready for overnight camp? We believe that all children are capable of having a rewarding overnight summer camp experience. Our two-week sessions are a great choice for families looking for a shorter experience. For young campers who are ready for overnight but not for the full two weeks, we also have a 5-day Taste of Camp program for rising 4th graders during the 3rd session! Our camp professionals are happy to discuss preparing your child for their first summer at camp to ensure it will be a successful experience!

Can we visit and tour the camp? Since Governor’s Academy operates year-round as a boarding school, we are not able to do regular tours. However, we will have an in-person open house sometime in March for prospective families! However, we still would love to meet you! Please visit our Virtual Info Session page for more information and to register today! Tour possibilities when camp is in session will be announced closer to the summer.

Can I talk directly with the camp directors?  Absolutely! We’d love to connect. Please contact our camp office today to schedule a chat!

As a science and technology camp, we are keenly aware of the many positives and some of the negatives that come along with the electronics and technology equipment that inundate our world. Camp is an opportunity for campers to unplug from their lives back home and explore their interests, passions, and identity in a safe, intentional, and inclusive environment. Our goal in crafting a Personal Technology Policy is to build a community capable of fulfilling our mission and exemplifying our values, where we use technology to connect and pursue our passions while also embedding ourselves in the “camp bubble” experience that makes overnight camps so special!

Campers may not bring to camp any device capable of playing video or video games, accessing email or social media apps, making phone calls, sending text messages or DMs, or any other form of communication with the world outside of camp. Families should carefully investigate the ereaders and mp3 devices they send to camp to make sure the device does not have any of the capabilities listed above. 

Read the complete policy here.

How are the different grades organized at camp? Grades at camp are determined by the grade a camper would be going into for the following school year (i.e. a camper who is currently in 4th grade would be a 5th grader at camp, also called a “rising” or “entering” 5th grader). Activities are generally divided into Upper Camp (grades 8-11) and Lower Camp (grades 4-7), by camp unit or grade, or by hall. Day-time activities, like Workshops, Chugim, Sababa, and Kinesthetic Sciences, are grouped by Upper Camp and Lower Camp. Meals and hall nights are grouped by dorm hall. Evening programs and special camp traditions/milestone moments are grouped by camp unit.

What are the different camp units? Our six units at camp are Kilobytes (Grades 5 – 6), Megabytes (Grade 7), Gigabytes (Grades 8 – 9), Terabytes (Grade 10), and two special 3rd session units: an 11th-grade unit called the Yottabytes and a 4th-grade “Taste of Camp” unit called Bytes. We also have a full-summer 12th-grade leadership and CIT program called Machon.

Do you have a shorter Taste of Camp Unit for young campers? Yes! We have a special, 3rd session-only Taste of Camp unit for rising 4th graders. Check out the Dates and Rates! This is called the BYTES. Bytes can only register for the Taste of Camp: Discovery Lab workshop, specifically designed to introduce young campers to the various workshops we offer at Sci-Tech. Outside the Discovery Lab workshop, Bytes participate in all other lower camp programming, including chugim and Sababa, and will experience a Shabbat at camp!

Is there an Israel trip specifically for Sci-Tech for rising 11th graders? Yes! There is a Sci-Tech Israel trip run by the Union for Judaism! It is run by Yallah! Israel. More information is available on their website!

Can 11th graders come to camp in Byfield, or can they only go on the Sci-Tech Israel trip? The Sci-Tech Israel program may not be accessible or desirable to everyone. We have a special, 3rd session-only unit specifically for rising 11th graders who are interested in other experiences outside of the Sci-Tech Israel trip. This is called the YOTTABYTES. Yottabytes must register for the Sci-Techkun Olam: Teen Leadership Incubator workshop, specifically designed for teens.

Can 11th graders who go on the Sci-Tech in Israel trip also come to camp as a Yottabyte during the 3rd session? Sometimes! The dates for Sci-Tech Israel (run by Yallah! Israel) sometimes don’t overlap with our third session. Depending on each individual year, it can be possible to attend both!

Can 12th graders who go on the Sci-Tech Israel trip attend the Machon Teen Leadership Program? No. Unfortunately, the Sci-Tech Israel trip overlaps with our Machon Teen Leadership program dates. Our Machon Program is a full-summer, immersive teen leadership experience, and it is impossible to start the program later in the summer.