Homesickness at math summer camp for gifted middle school students

1. What % of participants " get homesick" and leave early? I suppose my biggest concern is 12-14 year olds so far from home (we are from Austin, TX) for a month.: A. Zero percent. Yet, this is, perhaps, the most important concern of parents. There are two reasons for homesickness being not a problem at this camp. First, it being a four-week gathering place of the very gifted who qualified on their own to attend, the students find in the camp what they are hungering for - others just like themselves and experiencing the fun and excitement of meeting new math concepts. Second, the students are mostly in grades 7 or 8 at the time of application. The sixth graders who qualify have to be even better at math because they have to qualify exactly the same way as the older students. While the parent's enthusiasm for the camp is one reason for sending the student to camp, please ensure that you do not push an unwilling child to go to MathPath even if he/she qualifies.
2. Mike has never been away from home for more than a day. My wife and I are concerned about him being away for a month. Any thoughts?: A. The following will take care of homesickness. (a) If the student has not been to a residential camp before, send off the youngster a few weeks prior to camp to a relative or on a trip with friends or to a short camp, with overnight stay of one or two nights but without the parents. (b) Telephone the student for few minutes at about 10 pm during the first week of the MathPath program; the student will have a telephone in the room. The student's camp advisor will ensure that the student will telephone the parent at about 10 pm on the first night of the camp and provide this room telephone number.
3. Some parents are wary about the camp being so far away. (D. Phair, math teacher): A. Parents naturally would worry about sending the youngsters so far away. However, the Unaccompanied Minor option for air travel, travelling in a group with other students, and our fine-tuned airport pickup arrangement combine to ensure a safe passage for the students -- See getting there. Just ensure not to book on the last flight of the day, although even that would not be an issue for students travelling in a group.