Cabin Life & Staffing 

SUMMER STAFF

Al-Gon-Quian staff are here to make sure your camper has the best experience possible! Our counselors have different skills, passions and personalities, but one thing is certain for everyone who works at Al-Gon-Quian: KIDS FIRST.

We spend the winter selecting our staff members through a competitive application and interview process. All our staff members attend at least one week of training specifically for Al-Gon-Quian staff, are put through state and national background screenings, receive certifications in first aid and CPR, and receive additional trainings in their specialty areas.

CABIN LIFE

Cabin groups are arranged by age, grade and cabin-mate requests. We do our best to ensure all cabin-mates are within one year or grade of each other. Your camper is expected to maintain an acceptable level of manners, behavior and attitude in this cabin group to create a living environment that is positive for all those involved. Basic requirements will include group responsibility for the cleanliness of the living area and respect for others’ personal items.

Your camper will also be involved in creating his or her own cabin’s code of conduct, a set of standards created and agreed upon by each camper in the cabin.

Living in a cabin group is like creating a new family: they’ll live together, they’ll clean their cabin every day, they’ll eat together, go on a camp-out together. As with any family, there may be conflicts, but our counselors will be there to help the campers work through any issues and learn lessons from them. Our cabin groups are designed to help build upon the social skills campers will use for the rest of their lives.

In addition to the portion of time your camper will spend with his or her own cabin group, there will be plenty of periods where he or she will be able to spend time with other campers at Camp, such as a sibling, friend or cousin who is in another cabin.

CABIN-MATE REQUESTS

Campers may request to be housed with a friend. The request must be mutual. Frequently, one camper requests another without discussing it first. If the request is not agreeable with both parties, it can create an unhappy situation in the cabin. Please communicate all requests in advance with other families to make sure everyone gets off to a good start on the first day of camp. Request chains and requests exceeding two campers may not be granted. When two campers of different ages request to bunk together, the older camper will be placed in the younger bunk if, in our opinion, the age differential is not too significant. Please remember that even if two campers are not in the same cabin, there are many opportunities for them to spend time together at camp.

Camp Al-Gon-Quian does not accept “anti-” cabin-mate requests. If there is pertinent background information about your child’s friendship dynamic or relationship history in general or with a specific camper, please share this with the Camp Director or Camp Registrar.  

Total session enrollment, grade level and age, cabin size and camp programming are all considered when assigning campers to cabins. Due to last minute enrollment changes, cabin assignments are done just before check-in day. Therefore, please do not call in advance to check on your cabin placement.

Once cabins are created, it is nearly impossible to change them, as the movement of one camper may initiate a whole chain of changes. Therefore, we recommend you finalize all cabin-mate requests one week before the session starts, make sure you confirm with other families, and if a request is not fulfilled we will be happy to explain why. There are many campers who come to camp without any cabin-mate requests and ultimately leave with strong camp friendships (“Just take it from us!” - Katie and Sofia). Please be open to these scenarios.

To make a cabin-mate request, please follow the steps listed here:

1. Login to your CampMinder account

2. Click 'Forms & Documents'

3. Click 'AGQ Cabin-Mate Requests'

4. Type in the names of the camper you would like to request

5. Submit