FAQs / Parent Info
All of our adult staff participate in the Virtus training offered by the Archdiocese of Boston.
All of our counselor staff have been selected for their ability to care for the safety and well-being of the campers. They also know how to work together as a team and give great example. Our goal is for each camper to enjoy an awesome week, a week filled with fun and interesting activities in an atmosphere of faith, friendship and good cheer. Our counselors know that this depends largely on them, on the tone they set and the care and leadership they give the boys.
Yes. During the camp we plan to provide regular updates, along with pictures. More details to follow as we get closer to the start date.
- Campers should arrive at the camp on Sunday, June 18 between 2:00 and 3:30 PM.
- We will have an introductory talk and take the camp photo at 3:30 PM. There will be no Mass for families on that day.
- Families are welcome to join us for Mass at 9:00 AM on the day of departure, Saturday, June 24.
- Following Mass we will have a quick cabin clean-up and our awards ceremony.
- The camp will disband at the end of the awards ceremony, around 11:00 AM.
All accepted counselors are expected to attend the Counselor/Staff training session right before the camp begins, from June 16-18. CITs will not attend the camp or training beforehand, but can instead participate in The Launch program.
The camp will take place at Camp H. A. Moses, 310 Birch Hill Rd, Russell, MA 01071.
Sunday, June 18 – Saturday, June 24, 2023.
Please mail a check for any balance due on your son’s camp fee by May 22 to
Sebago Leadership Camp
481 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
If there is an emergency and you need to contact your son, please call camp director Andy O’Meara at 617-755-4644 or assistant director Raymond Le Grand at 972-904-1002. Because the camp is very large, you will probably need to leave a message, since chances are he could be at any one of a number of venues at any given time. We will regularly check email at sebagoleadershipcamp@gmail.com for messages from home.
Dr. John Barravecchio will be joining us again for the full week of the camp. For emergencies, the nearest hospital is just 15 minutes away in Westfield, MA. We notify parents immediately of any significant health concern.
Yes, we offer a $50 discount off the regular price to families for every additional son attending the camp.
We begin accepting camper applications in early January. Families will receive an email confirming their application has been received. We will notify you by email if the camp is full and your son has been placed on the wait-list within two weeks of their application. A final notice, along with directions, information about camp arrival and departure times, contact information, as well as what to bring and what not to bring to camp, goes out in mid-June about a week before the start of the camp.
We make every effort to build cabins that have a balance of boys from different grades and backgrounds. One of the best experiences the camp offers is the chance to grow in self-confidence by making new friends. That said, we will do our best to accommodate reasonable cabin requests.
Over the years the number of campers has grown from 32 to 84. While we hope to accept everyone who wants to come, this summer our maximum number of campers will be 80. The camp is divided into cabins of about ten campers, each cabin with a senior counselor and a junior counselor.
We have found that often it is the parents who have the hardest time. Your son will take his cues from you – your confidence about his ability to make new friends and learn from new experiences should be enough to help him manage any anxiety he may have. A few actions you can take to help prepare him for a great camp experience include:
- Explain to him ahead of time that some homesickness is perfectly normal, especially if it’s his first time away from home. This is especially true during the first couple of nights. We normally don’t allow phone calls home, since in our experience these calls can trigger home sickness even in a boy who is having a great time.
- Encourage him to see camp as a chance to build his self-confidence and healthy sense of independence.
- Help him focus on the great opportunities for fun and learning that the camp offers, and the chance to make many new friends. Most boys are so engaged in the activities they don’t have time to feel homesick.
- Guide him away from the idea that leaving early is an option if he does not like camp after a day or two.
- If possible, have him meet some of the other boys going on the camp ahead of time, or one of the counselors.
We also recommend you speak with one of our returning parents, who can offer encouragement and their own positive experience.
We accept boys entering fifth through eighth grades as campers.
Although for the first several years of the camp we did not encourage applications for entering fifth graders, we did accept a few boys that age who had older brothers on the camp. Because this experience was very positive, in 2013 we began to officially welcome applications for entering fifth graders. We encourage any parent who is concerned about whether your entering fifth grader is ready for an overnight camp to contact us for a personal conversation. If your son expresses interest and has a brother or friend on the camp, then he will most likely have a great time.
The best way to learn more about the Sebago Leadership Camp is to speak with one of our staff. If you send an email to sebegoleadershipcamp.com asking us to contact you by telephone or email, we will be happy to answer any questions you have.
The camp is one of a number of activities offered from the Chestnut Hill Center, a center of Opus Dei located in Newton, MA. There is more information about the center at our website at www.chestnuthillcenter.org.
