Contacting Us Before Camp

School Year Office Hours
Monday- Friday	9:00am-5:00pm

Office Number: (925) 283-6311

Email Julie the Business Director: admin@siennaranch.net

Contacting Us During Camp

We always have a staff person in the office during camp hours. If you need to get a message to your camper or their instructor, please call the office on (925) 283-6311.  If you receive the voice mail, please leave a message and we will call you back ASAP. You can also call our emergency number (925-378-5359) if you have an emergency and need to get a hold of us during camp hours.

Please review each of the following topics prior to the start of program:

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What to Bring

• FOOD: Camps will have one to two snack breaks and a lunch break throughout the day. We do not provide food, please pack enough food for your camper
• WATER: A refillable water bottle labeled with your camper’s name
• WARM LAYERS/RAIN PROTECTION: We run program rain or shine. Check the weather report each morning and dress accordingly.
• BACKPACK: A simple daypack works great and allows for hands-free hiking
• RANCH-FRIENDLY CLOTHES: We play in the mud, climb trees, make messy art and get dirty!

What to Leave At Home

• TOYS
• JEWELRY
• CANDY / SODA / CHEWING GUM
• ELECTRONICS including phones
• MONEY
• ANYTHING THAT CREATES MICRO-TRASH like straw-wrappers, stickers, or excessive food packaging

Health Note! Senna Ranch kindly requests that items that create micro-trash like drinks with straw wrappers either be unwrapped at home or are left out of lunches since they often blow away from the group and into our animal pens, making our ranch friends very sick.  Thanks for your help keeping our herd healthy!‘

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Behavioral Expectations

Every Ranch program has the same set of expectations for all participants. These are explained in circle on the first day. We request that families review these expectations before the first day of program:

1. Stay with the group– You should be able to see and hear your instructor, and your instructor should be able to see and hear you, without shouting. Groups will not be mixing. 
2. Wait at the gates – Any time you get to a gate, wait there for your instructor to lead you to the next activity. Instructors will be the only ones touching gate handles.
3. Respect– Be kind to yourself, to each other, to the animals, and to the Ranch. We listen to and follow directions from our instructor. 
   1. This means not touching our friends. 
   2. We will always cover our mouth if we cough or sneeze
   3. We will never share food unless the instructor is serving it. 
   4. Our instructor may ask us to sit or walk at an arm’s length distance from them..
4. Have fun!– Be prepared for the day, (see ‘What to Bring’ above) ready to participate, and ready to make good choices. 

In addition to these expectations, instructors will present rules around specific activities. If you are ever unsure of a rule, or if you feel uncomfortable or upset about something please let your instructor or another adult at the Ranch know. We want all our participants to have a positive and safe experience at the Ranch!

Behavioral Accountability

Instructors utilize a variety of approaches to support students in meeting our behavioral expectations. These may include:

• Verbal reminders to the group or to individuals
• Agreements – By making agreements, we offer positive choices as an alternative to negative behaviors.
• Requests – Instructors may make behavioral requests of participants, such as giving personal space or taking time away from the group to re-center and refocus. 
• Support from Ranch Administration– If there is a safety concern or if an individual’s behavior is significantly impacting the group, the instructor will seek support from a Ranch administrator. At this time we will usually call the contact phone number to discuss how to best support the participant moving forward, and determine whether they can rejoin the group. 

Our behavioral expectations keep us safe at Sienna Ranch. If there are specific ways in which we can support your child in following these expectations, please let us know. Participants who are consistently unable to meet the behavioral expectations may not be able to return to Sienna Ranch programming.

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Parent Communication

Parent/Guardian Reports and Calling Home A parent/guardian report is a means for instructors to communicate significant first aid, behavioral or emotional incidents. You will receive them either via email before the end of the day.

If there is an emergency or something that we need you to know about immediately we will always call you using the phone numbers on your family’s account.   Speaking with the Office or your Child’s Instructor

If parents wish to speak with instructors please:

1. Contact Admin requesting to speak with the instructor and provide reason for request.
2. Admin will arrange meetings between staff and parents between 3:30-4:45 in person or by phone call.

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Site Logistics : Parking

Due to limited space in our lot, we ask for your patience and understanding during congested drop off and pickup times.  Please be courteous to one another while parking and keep from blocking turn around zones.  Sienna Ranch requires adults to escort all participants through the lot for safety reasons and stay with campers until checked in with their main instructor.   During Camps our site-neighbors (ILM Tree) are on break, so you may park in any space.

Please: *Pull ALL the way forward into your space *Drive slowly *Respect the Keep Clear Zones *Park and exit patiently, our lot can get very crowded! *Carpool if possible *We are a no-idle zone

Site Logistics: Late Pickup Policy

Whilst we do appreciate a call or voicemail if you are running late, we will likely be away from the phone actively dismissing campers and may not receive your message immediately.  Thank you for being on time.

Early Pickups Policy: We strongly discourage early pick ups since it alters the flow of camp for everyone. If you would like to arrange an early pickup, let us know via email at least 24 hours in advance and check in with the office at drop off.

Early pickups without prior notification can take a very long time if your camper’s group is out hiking or in the middle of a messy project.

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Site Logistics: Lost and Found

Please be sure to label ALL of your child’s belongings. Lost and Found is collected whenever we find it, and placed in the plastic chest in the Pickup/Dropoff Zone outside the Green Yurt. Unclaimed items will be donated, made available in our seasonal clothing swaps, or added to our Used Gear Sale (proceeds go to our scholarship fund).   Return to List of Topics to Review

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Allergies and Special Concerns

In order to best support your child, we need to know about:

• PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS AND RECENT SIGNIFICANT INJURIES
• FOOD ALLERGIES
• LEARNING / BEHAVIORAL / EMOTIONAL EXCEPTIONALITIES

We collected basic health history during your initial registration. If you have any extra information you’ve not yet told us, please email the office at admin@siennaranch.net.

Lice

We take prevention of lice transmission seriously. If your child has an active case of head lice, please treat it before attending the Ranch. We may send untreated children home. 

Our riding program follows industry best practices as recommended by the EPA with regard to sharing helmets. Feel free to ask us for more information, or you can read more about lice, transmission and helmet sharing in the following places. 

*Head Lice and Helmets

*About Lice and Their Control (EPA)

*Head Lice FAQ’s (CDC)

Please note that the CDC recommends against the use of de-lousing products which contain pesticides, house-wide fumigation products, and prophylactically treating those who do not show evidence of lice.  

Ticks

Ticks, including Deer Ticks, do naturally exist year-round in the grasses of the oak savannah habitat that cover the Sienna Ranch property.  We encourage families to establish routine tick check into their day following all Sienna Ranch classes.  If you find a tick, gently remove with tweezers and then clean the area with soap and water.  Consult your physician if you wish to explore options to have the tick tested for Lyme Disease.

If a Sienna Ranch Instructor removes an attached tick during program, we will send the tick home in a baggie with your child so you may have it tested if you wish.  Consider talking with your children about ticks and let them know that while we do need to check for them each day, they live here as part of the natural habitat and are an important part of the healthy local food chain. Check out our Tick Information Sheet if you have more questions about ticks and feel free to reach out to the office with more questions.

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Order a T-Shirt from the Ranch Store

Want to sport a Sienna Ranch t-shirt, hat, sticker or pencil?  Use the online ranch store. Place your order before 9am on the second-to-last day of camp, and it will be ready at pick up time on the final day of camp.

Submit an order to the Sienna Ranch Online Store

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Absences

If you wish to report an absence (optional), please call the office and leave a voicemail noting the date of anticipated absence, your student(s)’ name and camp.  Unfortunately we are not able to offer any make ups for missed programming during Holiday camps.  Thanks for your understanding.

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