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Mathpath 2010
held at Macalester College
Saint Paul MN
June 27 – July 25
Parents are naturally worried about sending kids as young as 11 off by themselves to a camp far away. Will they get to camp without trouble? Will they find enough structure there to thrive and make friends?
In 2010, we asked parents in the anonymous post-camp survey for any words to future Mathpath families about these issues. Here is a selection of the answers.
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After talking to other parents of former MathPath students, I felt very comfortable sending my child off to camp. Those parents assured me as to the safety of the camp procedures. Those parenst assured me of the wonderful experience their child experienced. Those parents talked to me of the wonderful academic AND social expereiences the students have. I am now one of THOSE parents. I have absolutley no qualms about sending my child off to spend time with these wonderful math people!
The first year we were a bit nervous about entrusting our daughter to others for 4 weeks. The second year we had total trust. The organizers and counselors treat MathPath kids as they would their own children or their own brothers and sisters.
I've sent two children off to MathPath, and they did a great job of picking them up at the airport, staying in phone communication, and making sure all the connections worked smoothly with this young kid traveling on her own. There is no problem with having your child fly there if it's too far to drive, though it is great to take a kid there and see the opening events. (For my second daughter, the location was close enough to drive.)
The kids all seem to have a great time. My kids are not especially social, but at MathPath they were with member of their own tribe, and had a glorious time.
Having visited MathPath last year and observed, I am quite confident sending my child. I observed wonderful arrangements for airport pick up and departure as well as campus safety both years.
This is our first time to send our son to the international trip from Beijing, China to Saint Paul with unaccompanied minor status. We were worried at begining since he's not even gone on a short domestic trip by himself. But Mathpath gave out a lot of information on UM and well arranged kids hand over ahead of time that made us feel comfortable to let our son to experience the whole trip on his own.
I was impressed by how organized, yet flexible the camp is. The logistics is well thought over. MathPath allows kids to fly to the camp alone and it works great! The procedure of meeting kids at the airport works very smoothly and MathPath teachers make sure parents are always 100% informed of where their children are. A phone call from a happy kid who have met the group comes within 30 minutes of landing. Very safe. The camp itself has a great balance of structure and flexibility. There are a lot of activities to choose from, but the kids are always busy. Even the least sociable kids are never alone. There is always so much to do with the other kids and most importantly with teachers: extra math discussions, sports games, field trips, and just socializing. This is definitely a highlight of the summer.
The staff is very reliable, and also quite paranoid about the kids' safety and well-being - exactly what you want when your child is far away from home. Regarding travel: If your child travels the first time, I would encourage to book a direct flight. If you are sending your child as Unaccompanied Minor, please double-check with MathPath that your child is listed as "UM" in their paperwork. If you do that, then your child would get to MathPath without any problems and without any stress.
After the first week kids are so busy and engaged in the work and social life of the camp that they cry when they have to leave at the end of 4 weeks. Enroll your child for the full 4 weeks. They will be sad if they have to leave after only 2 weeks!
My 12 year old (who had never been away from home) had a great time. He handled the logistics of travel, accommodation and daily life with mature composure. We felt MathPath anticipated issues and prepared us well with their packing lists and detailed information about what to expect. An extremely organized and well run operation.
Our son is not a very organized person. He mostly dreams about something, always forget things and doesn't have good friends. So we worried a lot when we sent him to his first summer camp. But he did amazingly good. We were surprised that he enjoyed to be independent. He made friends and wanted to come back to the same camp next year. MathPath was the 3rd camp he attended and he liked it the most!
Sending a child far away for the first time is always a concern for parents; however, MathPath would be the perfect time for it. This is not your typical "Summer Camp" - Phd's are teaching your child and the counselors are highly intelligent college age students that attend some of the finest academic institutions in the country.
My son has no problem to live in the dorm and navigate the camp even though he is only 11 year old and this is the his first living out of home experience
MathPath does such a careful job of ensuring the safe travel for all of the campers that I felt comfortable sending my son off on a plane without me.
The camp was very responsive during the application process, and before the camp started. The camp sent us newsletter keeping us informed of camp activies in details. The airport pickup was well planned, and the kids are reminded to call home.
Since the names and contact info of the other students from our area were distributed prior to camp (thank you!), we got the kids together to meet before they flew on the same flight to MN. Our daughter flew out as an unaccompanied minor without incident. She had her 13th birthday at the camp, and was thrilled with the birthday cake for her and another couple of July birthday campers. She flew back as an adult: the MathPath counselors were great, helping her check her luggage, etc., for the return flight. In short, we did not worry at all -- the instructions for travel, packing, etc., were clear and complete; the counseling team was responsive. We were called when she arrived, and she called once she got settled into her room. Thereafter, she was too busy having fun, which is the best sign of a maturing teenager. She enjoyed the classes, and the special field trips seemed well planned, age appropriate and very enjoyable.
MathPath – "BRIGHT AND EARLY"
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Copyright © 2001– MathPath
Created August 26, 2010
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