Communicating with Your Upper School Student


Listed below you will find the options we suggest utilizing in order to communicate with your Upper School student. As a leadership-based program, one of the valuable lessons we foster throughout the summer is self-confidence. Living in a dorm/barracks setting provides students with the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and learn the necessary skills of independent living.

In order to best support your child as he/she gets acclimated to our residential summer camp program, students will not be able to make or receive phone calls for the first two weeks. This is crucial for establishing routines and being fully immersed in all that Culver has to offer here on campus. 
Bunk 1 (Optional Service)

Culver has partnered with Bunk 1 again this summer, however, we now have a new app to make using Bunk 1 even easier! Instructions on how to download the app are included below.

Returning families will be able to log in with their previous credentials and can reset account passwords if needed.

New families will be able to set up an account through the app or on the website.

The Bunk 1 Invitation Code for this summer is 1902CULVER. 

Please note that Bunk 1 features (photo gallery and Bunk Notes) will be available on both the app and web versions.

Stay in touch with your child all summer by viewing daily candid photos and writing one-way e-mail communications. Below are the optional services that Bunk 1 currently offers to families:

  • Photo Gallery- This summer our Bunk 1 photographers will be taking and posting photos every day while camp is in session.  Please keep in mind that we have nearly 600 students in Upper School, and we will try our best to capture as many photos of all students as often as we can!

  • Bunk Notes- If you are interested in sending Bunk Notes (a one-way communication to your camper), you can add an additional Bunk notes package onto the basic photo gallery package for an additional cost. Bunk Notes will be printed every morning Monday through Friday and delivered out to the unit mailboxes by lunchtime. Please note that Bunk Notes can be sent on Saturday and Sunday, however, they will not be received by campers until Monday. It is important to note that Bunk Notes sent prior to week 3 will be collected but not delivered until Monday, July 5. This allows time for the students to adjust to being away from home.
Sending Mail

If you would like to send your Upper School student mail or a care package while he/she is at camp, you are welcome to do so. Culver recommends sending letters, books, pictures, magazines, or other non-food items. The mailing address for your camper is as follows:
 
Upper School Student’s Name
Culver Upper School
Deck or Unit
1300 Academy Rd
Culver, IN 46511
United States

Your child's deck or unit assignment will be provided at registration.
Phone

Landline phones are available for students to use in hallways and common areas of their dorm/barrack. Students can make periodic outgoing calls during their free time. Calls within the United States and Canada no longer require a calling card; however, calling cards are available for purchase in the Campus Bookstore for calls to other countries. 
 
Please note that for the first two weeks of camp, to help your child adjust, students will not be able to make or receive phone calls. 
What is the “best practice” for communicating with your child while he/she is at Culver? We suggest the following: 

  • Discuss the communication avenues available during the summer with your child prior to leaving and provide some convenient times (preferably after the first two weeks) when they might reach you. From a student schedule standpoint, this is usually on Saturday or Sunday afternoons when they have free time. Evenings just before TAPS (lights out) is generally not a good time as counselors are making announcements, or settling their group down and ensuring their needs are met before lights out.

  • Out of consideration to others attempting to use the few phones available and to combat possible homesickness, please limit all calls to five to ten minutes.

  • Consider using Bunk1 to send family updates and communications. While this is a one-way communication from you to them, it allows them to maintain some connection to home when they have time to read the message. The Bunk 1 messages you send are not delivered immediately upon being sent but are typically distributed within 24-48 hours to the student (not delivered on Saturdays and Sundays). Therefore, any urgent or sensitive information should not be conveyed via Bunk 1.

  • For you to address some concerns you may have, we have a Parent Liason office for both domestic and international parents staffed by individuals who are bilingual. The contact phone number and email address for the Parent Liason will be provided at registration.
Please keep in mind...

While the counselors spend the majority of their time with the students, there are specific office email accounts and phone numbers should you need to reach them directly. Please understand, though, that they may not always be immediately available as each counselor has over 35 students under their supervision to attend to at all times. 


All counselor contact information will be provided both at registration and by email on registration day.