Aloha Beach Camp Summer Camp Blog 2023

What does Aloha Beach Camp look like when completely set-up for camp during the summer?   Lifeguard boats patrol the beach and supervise swimmers from the water.  Camp counselor lifeguards stand with backs toward the ocean forming a boundry kids swimming, surfing and boogie board can't pass.  (Boogie boardings, swimming and surfing take place in respective designated areas.) Additional counselor/lifeguards stand on the wet sand supervising campers in the ocean.   Large orange cones and colored canopies designate Aloha Beach Camp's campsite on the sand where campers play games and congregate with counselors and other kids. Additional safety and supervision is provided by a single L.A. County lifeguard in Tower 7, at least five additional lifeguards in Zuma Beach Lifeguard Headquarters building, and several law enforcement officers at from the L.A. County Sherrif's station.   Restrooms and  snack bar  are  positioned just steps from our campsite. Campers never visit the restroom without a  counselor.

Attending a beach camp, kids spend  the balance of their day outside.   We play lots of games on the sand and  enjoy many activities in the water. When on the beach,  campers  are shaded by large tents and canopies.

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE SUNDAY, MARCH 15 GROUP INTERVIEW for a summer job at Aloha Beach Camp this year.

• The Aloha Beach Camp interview will be held at Taxco Trails park located at 23367 Ingomar St., West Hills, CA 91304
• The interview date is Sunday, March 15, 2022
• The interview will start at 9:00AM SHARP

 
What Should I Wear to the Interview?

Please dress casually. Shorts and tennis shoes are fine. T-shirts are fine. Whatever you feel comfortable wearing is fine.

What Should I Bring? How Should I Prepare?

Please prepare a game, skit, or song to teach to the group, as if the group were children. If you need any equipment for your activity (such as ball if you're teaching a game involving a ball, or props if you are teaching a skit), please bring it with you. Please limit your activity to 7 minutes or less because we expect a large turnout for this Group Interview and only have a limited amount of time for everyone to teach their skits or activities.

How Many Positions are Available?

Good question. The short answer is, we're not sure yet, mostly because we have many returning staff members from last summer and still waiting to hear from several others about their status for this summer. But we can tell you this: if you are interested in working as a camp counselor at Aloha Beach Camp this summer, it's probably worth your time to attend this interview as we anticipate having at least a few (if not more) spots open for camp counselor positions this year.

What if it Rains?

Depending on the severity of the rain, we may need to cancel the interview. If rain is predicted (or it's actually raining) the morning of March 15, please check your email for an update.

What if I Can't Make the Group Interview?

If you're interested in working at Aloha Beach Camp, please do your best to make Sunday's Group Interview. If you can't make it, let us know and we may be able to set up another time to meet you, but this Sunday, March 15, is FAR preferable.

Will There be More Interviews?

If we can fill all available positions on or before March 15, there will be no further interviews. Should we be unable to fill them, we may have additional interviews. In any case, if you want to work at Aloha Beach Camp this summer, YOU ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE TO ATTEND THE MARCH 15 GROUP INTERVIEW.

Questions?

Email us here and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

RSVP

IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND THIS COMING SUNDAY'S INTERVIEW, PLEASE REPLY TO THIS EMAIL WITH THE WORDS "RSVP to March 15 Interview" (without quotes) IN THE SUBJECT LINE, AND WE'LL GET BACK TO YOU WITH A CONFIRMATION.
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Meanwhile, we hope to see you Sunday, March 15 at 9:00 AM.

Every camper, on their first day of camp, is given a swim assessment by our staff. The purpose of the assessment is to gauge the child's comfort and experience level in the ocean and assign them safe and specific swimming boundaries.  Campers are given color-coded wristbands (based on the outcome of their swimming assessment) designating how deep we'll allow them to go in the ocean. No child is allowed deeper than their waist with feet firmly set on the ocean floor. Campers get a new wristband each day and love collecting them day-after-day as souvenirs of their time at camp.

As many families know by now, we had to postpone our Sunday, March 20 Aloha Beach Camp Open House scheduled to take place at Zuma Beach.

The LA Marathon and nighttime rain created problems, so we rescheduled the event. The new date is Sunday, April 24.

This is an  in-person event!

Grab your free tickets here.

We'll see you at Zuma on Sunday, April 24 starting at 1:30 pm for our next Open House!

[FREE OPEN HOUSE TICKETS]


Regards,
Eric Naftulin
Aloha Beach Camp

We have made the difficult decision to cancel this Sunday's March 20, 2022 Open House scheduled to take place at Zuma Beach.

Rain is predicted Saturday night, which means the sand conditions will not allow us to host this event to our usual standards. You will not get a true representation of the Aloha Beach Camp experience. No one wants to play in wet and heavy sand!

Further, the LA Marathon takes place Sunday, which will cause mass road closures and frustrating traffic from Dodger Stadium to Century City, including primary streets families will need to get to the beach. When we planned this event, we didn't know the dates coincided. 

We had an open house years ago the same day at the LA Marathon. This caused lots of frustration among families and prevented many families who wanted to attend the open house from enjoying the opportunity.

We are aware over 200+ families were planning on joining us this Sunday and signing up for camp. We will extend the Early Bird Discount through the end of this month as a make-good for canceling the open house.

You now have until March 31 to sign up for camp and still save money, however, based on high demand and very limited space, we highly advise against waiting that long.

Later this week, we will identify 3 new dates for in-person and virtual open houses and private site tours as well. Adding these new dates and events will ensure everyone who wanted to attend this Sunday gets the chance. We will email you in a few days with the new date options. If you sign up now and then decide after attending one of these events that camp isn't the right fit, we will refund your full deposit right away. 

Thank you for choosing Aloha Beach Camp. Bummer we can't be together this weekend, but we will reschedule everything soon.

All the best,
Eric Naftulin
Aloha Beach Camp

​Two summers ago, in 2020, we were unable to open camp due to COVID-19.

In 2021, we operated on a limited scale while still under the cloud of COVID.

 For instance, we had a blast at the beach, but were to unable visit Castaic Lake for boating, wakeboarding, tubing or jet skiing as part of our phased reopening plan while still dealing with COVID-19.

This summer, for 2022, we are hoping and planning for a return to normalcy while offering all the   usual activities and experiences campers love. 

At the same time, the Omicron variant is raging.  And as we all know, the only thing predictable about the coronavirus pandemic -- and what may happen next -- is unpredictability itself.

Accordingly, even though we are hoping to reimplement lake activities, and all the other events and locations campers have come to know and love about Aloha, it's prudent for all of us to move forward with a certain degree of educated skepticism that   COVID-19   is completely behind us, and   everything will be normal for summer 2022. 

So please consider this post a   friendly "heads-up."  While we always strive   to present the program and activities we plan for, COVID-19 might throw us a curveball. Activities, events, experiences and    other offerings may be modified, unavailable, subject to limited capacity, closure, or   cancellation depending   on evolving COVID-19 circumstances or other reasons without notice.

In the age of COVID, we're all used to this by now. We hope you will go with the flow and understand that no matter what happens, we will always error on the side of keeping campers, staff and the public    safe while presenting the best possible program for kids.

Can't wait to see you this summer. Aloha!!

We hope your family is healthy and safe and you are looking forward to a fantastic 2022 summer camp season. We are posting this message in late December 2021 and will update it as necessary going forward as summer 2022 draws near.  Meanwhile, we will take the following health and safety measures to   protect campers, staff, and families against the spread of COVD-19.

RELATED: How   COVID -19 may impact camp activities this summer

Limited Capacity:   In the past, we've hosted hundreds of kids at camp. In light of COVID-19, capacity is restricted to just 30 campers.

 Vaccination: Camp counselors and staff will be fully vaccinated. Eligible campers   are required to be fully  vaccinated prior to attending camp.   Campers who are inelligible  for vaccination much show proof of a negative PCR   COVID test  within 72 hours of arriving at camp.

​Physical Distancing:   Participants will be spaced apart  to the extent  feasible  while at camp.   Campers will generally partipcate in camp activities within their own camper  groups, separate from other groups.

Sanitation:  Campers and staff will  santize/wash their hands throughout the  day.  Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout the campsite. Toys and equipment will be sanitized  throughout the day with limited-to-no sharing among groups.   Camp vehicles  will be disinfected each day. Most meals will be  eaten outside.

Face coverings:  Campers and staff will wear masks when traveling in camp vehicles and while participating in indoor activites, except we do not anticipate mask-wearing will be required within cag bin groups since campers and staff will generally remain with their own groups separated from other groups.

Air Travel: Participants traveling to Hawaii must follow the rules and regulations outlined on the Hawaii Safe Travels website . These may include showing including proof of vaccination status and/or a negative COVID test from an approved facility within 72 hours of entering Hawaii and attending camp.

From singing songs on the beach to  learning to surf,   younger children ages   4 to 7 love  our Keiki Camp program.  Keiki Camp takes place at lifeguard tower 7 at Zuma Beach. It's the first beach day camp just for younger kids.  So many fun things to do!

Want to see something funny? Our counselors thought we were snapping a photo. But it was a VIDEO! LOL!