Weather
We are required to shut down all high ropes and water activities when lightning is at what distance away?
Within 10 miles of camp
A camper reports an unknown insect bite. They are experiencing pain and redness around the bite, with minor local swelling, about the size of a quarter. What do you do?
1) Ask the child what area they were in when the sting or bite happened (near a wasp nest, by an ant pile, doing aquatics??) to help narrow down what may have caused it.
2) Inspect the area for any obvious stingers
3) Offer the child topical treatment like calagel (topical diphenhydramine), or insect bite cream
4) Monitor the child for any signs of progression like increased swelling, hives, trouble breathing. Notify their parent or teacher about the bite or sting.
You are about to send a student down the zipline when you realize you forgot to assess the 5h's. What do you do?
Pause - before you send them, check those 5H's. Once all are good, reclear for send (on zip?) and safely send the student on the line.
You are at a campsite when you hear children screaming excitedly about a dog. When you investigate, you see there is a loose dog wandering the campsite, it looks mangy and is baring its teeth at approaching campers. What do you do?
Firmly instruct all campers to move away from the animal and indoors. Contact leadership via radio, using clear details about the animal's behavior and its location.
Keep campers away from the area until the animal leaves or is removed.
A student in your group is continually making inappropriate jokes and references. How do you respond?
A simple "that isn't appropriate conversation" should hopefully suffice. If the student continues or the comments they are making are concerning, notify their group leader about the behavior.
You are leading a canoeing session and receive a lightning alert from weatherbug on your phone - it's 7 miles away. What are your next steps?
Immediately remove all participants from the water and move to an indoor location. Notify other staff members via groupme and/or radio channels.
There are 3 locations at camp that have an AED. Where are the locations, and what is the AED used for?
Locations: The Pavilion, the Bishop Doyle Center, and the Conference Center lobby.
An AED (Automated External Defibrillator) is a portable, life-saving medical device that automatically analyzes a person's heart rhythm and delivers an electric shock to restore a normal heartbeat during a sudden cardiac arrest.
A participant's harness appears to be improperly adjusted mid-climb. What steps do you take?
Instruct them to pause. Assess from the ground the extent of the adjustment issue. If it poses immediate danger, prioritize getting them down safely. Alert other staff members to assist if necessary. Readjust the harness as soon as possible and double check it again.
Describe the proper response for:
- An indoor fire alarm sounding (unknown cause)
- A confirmed indoor fire
- A wildfire
I'm not typin allat, I'll tell you if you're right
You are leading an activity when you realize you are a camper short. No one has seen little Timmy for the past several minutes. What do you do?
If it is an emergency, pause the class and take all of the students to the restroom (closest being CS3B).
1) Conduct immediate headcount
2) Assign staff to supervise unaffected campers and have someone stay at the missing camper's last known location. Search this area and nearby locations.
3) If near water, check water immediately. If camper is missing for more than 5-10 minutes, notify leadership to begin a more thorough search.
Explain the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. Describe how you would notify camp staff via the radio of a tornado warning.
Watch - The conditions for a tornado are present but have not yet created one.
Warning - tornadoes have been spotted in the area.
“This is [Name] to Camp Allen Staff, Code Yellow [warning or watch] has been issues for the property until [time]. Repeating, Code Yellow [warning or watch] has been issued for the property until [time].”
It is a hot day and you've been doing a lot of physical activities with your group. One student is dragging behind and complaining of headache and dizziness. They appear pale and clammy and are sweating excessively. What do you identify this as and what are your next steps?
Heat exhaustion. Move them to a cooler place (shade or indoors) to rest and drink water. Have them remove any unnecessary items like backpacks or extra layers. If possible, offer them a sports drink or electrolytes. Continue to monitor them to look for signs of progression to heat stroke.
You are harnessing participants for a high ropes course (think adventure summit, giant swing, or zipline) when you notice a participant that appears to be well over the safe weight limit. What is the max weight limit for these elements, and how do you approach the situation?
The maximum weight limit for all of our ropes courses is 250 lbs.
Remind all guests in a general statement of a few of the safety rules you ideally already went over, restating the weight limit. Try not to single anyone out, but highlight that participating when over the weight limit can cause bodily harm or injury.
You notice a suspicious person on the property who is not a part of the group you are working with and they are givin ya wEIRD!!! vibes. What should you do?
Notify leadership via radio or private message so as not to alarm guests. Observe the person from a safe distance. If their behavior is concerning or progresses (ex they are following your group, acting strung out, or you suspect they could have a weapon) do not engage.
Ensure campers are moved to a safe location and contact leadership or front desk to call authorities or send male staff members until authorities arrive.
During the start of a night activity, you hear over the radio that a camper was left behind at the campsite alone. What steps should you take?
1) Notify leadership immediately if they have not already responded on the radio.
2) Maintain safeguarding. Ensure the proper amount of adults are left with the group and that more than one adult is sent to retrieve the camper who is alone.
3) Conduct a headcount of the rest of the group to ensure no one else was left or forgotten. Remember next time to take head counts before leaving!
You are facilitating a high ropes activity when you notice the weather looks a little iffy. You haven't received any lightning alerts or messages from leadership, but the weather radar shows some storms 15 miles away moving your direction. What is your response?
Contact leadership and keep an eye on the weather. Be prepared to shut down the activity if there is lightning within 10 miles!
During a low ropes activity, two students collided while on the whale watch, bumping their heads together with a lot of force. One student is holding the back of their head crying, while the other student has already begun to form a large goose egg on the front of their head (and is also crying, duh). The other students are still shuffling and griddying around the platform. What do you do?
Immediately freeze the activity, instructing students to safely step off the element one at a time. If you can, separate the rest of the group from the injured students so they don't crowd them, ensuring adults are with both groups. Examine both students for any open wounds. Contact leadership about the incident, as head injuries will require reports.
The nearest first aid is at the pavilion. Make sure both students have ice packs and monitor them for signs of concussion. If necessary, have an adult transport them back to the campsite for monitoring. If they display signs of concussion, ensure parents are contacted immediately.
A coworker who was complaining of light headedness earlier in the day is belaying when they lose their footing and fall over. They haven't let go of their brake hand and jump back up, claiming they are fine, but seem out of it. What do you do?
Tell them to take a break. If they are mid-belaying a participant and you are able to, assist them as a second brake until the participant is off of their rope, then take over for them. If you are not able to because you are also actively belaying, you may need to calmly instruct the participant to come back down or recruit another team member or adult to assist in braking.
Inform leadership to ask for backup if need be. If the coworker is having a medical episode, it is not safe for them to belay participants.
Two campers get into a physical fight with each other during an activity, and you are the only adult present. What do you do?
Radio leadership and nearby staff for assistance. "This is [name] to discovery, I have a camper situation at [location] and need backup immediately"
Use a firm voice to command both campers to stop. Do not physically intervene until help arrives unless necessary to prevent immediate harm, or if the children are itty bitty.
Separate campers and evaluate for physical injury. Treat any injuries and create a report of the incident. Inform teachers/parents of the incident as soon as possible.
One student consistently avoids group activities, sits quietly at meal times, and cries before bed. When asked if anything is wrong, they just say "I don't want to be here".
How do you distinguish between homesickness and something else, and what steps do you take?
*many correct answers, but generally: reassure, support, observe.
Homesickness indicators:
Mostly linked to missing family.
Improves over time with reassurance, fun, and routine.
No signs of distress when engaged in enjoyable activities.
Safeguarding concern indicators:
Child remains persistently withdrawn, even after settling-in time.
Expresses fear, anxiety, or reluctance beyond homesickness (e.g., “I don’t feel safe here” or “I don’t want to go home”).
Displays physical symptoms (not eating, nightmares, panic attacks).
Mentions worrying things about home life or other children/staff.
A bad hurricane warning (think Harvey) has been issued for our area, and the storm is expected to hit in 24hrs. What are three critical preparation steps to take?
1) Secure all outdoor equipment like canoes and garden trellises, move anything smaller like chairs and archery equipment indoors.
2) Make arrangements for animals if necessary, ensuring their safety onsite or offsite if need be.
3) Inventory and prepare emergency supplies.
You are playing a game of cities when a student runs up to you in distress, exclaiming their partner fell down and is shaking. When you run over, you realize the student is having an active seizure. What do you do?
Remain calm and immediately radio discovery staff to shut down the game and bring all other students and non-essential adults (most chaperones) back to the campsite, and ask leadership to respond to your location. Do not leave the student. Ask the chaperones or teachers if this student has a history of seizures or epilepsy (ideally would have been reported on forms but sometimes people omit things!)
Ensure there is nothing around the student that might harm them. Time the seizure. When possible and especially if they begin foaming or excessively salivating at the mouth, turn them onto their left side in a recovery position to keep their airway clear. Do not insert anything into their mouth.
If the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, or if the student does not regain consciousness after the seizure has ended or another seizure begins, call 911 or make a STAT call.
While facilitating a high ropes activity, there is an equipment malfunction that causes the participant to fall. You suspect a potential spinal injury. What are your steps?
1) Ensure the scene is safe - radio call to other available staff to secure the area and remove other participants from the scene.
2) Stabilize the head and neck
3) Assess ABCs: airway, breathing, circulation. Are they responsive? Look for any signs of bleeding or spinal fluid. Do not attempt to move the participant.
4) Make a STAT call if not already done. Remain with participant, keeping them safe and stable until help arrives. An incident must be filled out, take note of time, conditions, and cause.
You are at the CS1 septic field playing a game when a code blue is called over the radio. What is a code blue and what steps do you take?
Code blue is an active shooter scenario.
RUN: Evacuate the outdoor area.
HIDE:Calmly but urgently gather all of the students, moving them to a safe location to hide (like the grove lodge), taking a head count. Silence any phones, lock all doors and windows, and take students into the central most room, turning off all lights and sitting silently. Keep students calm and reassure them.
FIGHT: Remember: as a last resort, and only when life is in imminent danger, attempt to disarm or disrupt.
During your afternoon activities, you notice a student that was previously very engaged has suddenly become withdrawn. After fruitless attempts to get them to participate, you ask if anything happened to make them not want to do the activities. They inform you that during free time, another one of the students touched them inappropriately. What do you do?
Remain calm and reassure/thank the student for being honest with you. There are many correct ways to respond to this scenario, but generally you should:
- listen carefully and calmly
- take the report seriously
- inform management
- ensure safety (do not allow the other student to be near them and ensure no students are left unsupervised)
- document the incident
- maintain confidentiality