We want our Camper Families to know that we are here for you during camp to answer any of your questions. Please feel free to contact the Camp Office:

Camp Office Phone: 845-373-8111

Email: campoffice@kildonan.org

All Camp Forms should be completed and uploaded to CampSite by Friday, June 20th

All Tuition Fees must be paid in full before the start of camp.

Gail Burger - Business Office: 845-373-2001

Email: gburger@kildonan.org

We invite campers to join us for a virtual Meet & Greet, a great opportunity to get to know some fellow campers before the summer begins! You’ll also meet a few of your counselors, activity instructors, and camp administrators who will be there to answer any questions you may have about life at Camp Dunnabeck.

Click the link below to register. Once you’re registered, we’ll send you the Zoom link.

We can’t wait to see you there!

BOYS

MEET AND GREET

Saturday, June 21st

11:00 am EST

GIRLS

MEET AND GREET

Saturday, June 21st

12:30 am EST

Please log in to the CampSite Parent Dashboard to update your camper's profile and access Camp Forms. All campers must complete the following forms to attend camp and participate in activities on and off campus.

1. Activity Survey
2. Photo/Media Release
3. Activity Release and Hold Harmless Agreement
4. Camp Trip Release* 
5. Health Forms
6. Prescription Form CT 2025
7. E&R Laundry** (required for all Boarding Campers)

*Day campers are welcome to join weekend trips for the additional trip cost and the Executive Director's approval. A signed Camp Trips form must be on file.

**E&R Laundry - In addition to laundry service, you may want to sign up with Camp Dunnabeck for additional bed/bath linen and/or blanket rentals for your camper. Campers who choose not to use the bed/bath linen and/or blanket rental option must plan to bring their own linens and towels or purchase them locally upon arrival. Laundry fees are payable to Camp Dunnabeck.

For your information, and available for download on CampSite:

A. Camper/Parent Handbook

B. Packing List / Day Camper Info

C. The Psychology of Preparing for Camp

D. NEW! Daily Camp Schedule

E. Camp Calendar (printable)

F. Copy of Camp Trips

Before we know it, Camp Dunnabeck 2025 will be underway. Even if it’s not the first time your camper is going to overnight camp, or even if your camper’s siblings have gone to camp, you may find that you, your camper, or both of you are experiencing some worry about homesickness. To help ease your concerns and lead to a great experience for you and your camper, I am happy to share this guide for preparing for camp. These concepts come from Dr. Chis Thurber, a world-renowned expert on all aspects of camp.

My name is Kim Effron, and I am the Director of Language Training for Camp Dunnabeck. I am a Certified Orton-Gillingham Practitioner and Structured Literacy specialist. I work with Kathleern Stewart, Maria Acordia, Fellows of the Orton Gillingham Academy.

Before coming to Camp Dunnabeck, I taught at the Carroll School in Lincoln and Wayland, Massachusetts, and the Boston North Children’s Dyslexia Center in Massachusetts. I continue to support students with dyslexia and language-based differences in my private practice in Vermont. Previously, I studied science and taught students in Massachusetts. I trained as a research scientist specializing in immunology. In my free time, I enjoy my dog, "Honey," rowing, and biking.

One of the tenets of the Orton-Gillingham approach to language remediation is diagnostic and prescriptive for each student. For our tutors to craft the most meaningful and productive sessions for their students, we must begin camp with a series of assessments for each student. The assessments are spread out over the first week of camp to ease test anxiety and testing fatigue.

On Monday, June 30, we will administer five sub-tests of the Kaufman Achievement Test relating to single-word reading, nonsense words, reading, spelling, reading vocabulary, and reading comprehension. This testing will likely be completed within a single tutoring session, if not within a second.

On Tuesday, July 1, campers will have their first session with their OG tutor. Tutors will begin administering a series of criterion-referenced assessments, which may include the Gallistel-Ellis Test of Coding Skills, the Phonological Awareness Screening Test, and the Oral Reading Fluency tests, to establish benchmarks and inform their teaching. 

On Family Day Weekend, Saturday, July 19, Parents can sign up for an in-person 15-minute conference with their child’s tutor to see some of their child’s work and learn more about what their child is learning, or they can schedule a Zoom conference with their child’s tutor at a mutually convenient time. 

On Monday, August 4, tutors will re-administer criterion-referenced assessments to measure progress. 

After camp ends on August 9, parents will receive a full O-G report from their child’s tutor documenting all skills covered and progress made. Parents will also receive a separate testing report with test scores and an explanation of the tests administered.

During camp, tutors send a weekly email updating parents on what their child is working on and how things are progressing.

If you have any questions, please email Kim Effron, the Director of Language Training, at keffron@dunnabeck.org. Also, if you would like a phone call back, please provide the day, time range, and preferred phone number.

I look forward to a productive and happy camp experience.

Kim Effron

Director of Language Training

Once you have completed all the necessary forms in CampSite, families are invited to visit the Camper Family Portal available on our website:

www.Dunnabeck.org

The Camper Family Portal is a private, password-secure page for families to get a glimpse of their child at camp.

The password is DBK2025

Make sure to check out:



"What's Happening at Camp?"

• Weekly Bulletin
• Camp menus
• Weekend Trips
• and other schedules

"Family Links"

• Camp photos on SmugMug
• Camper/Parent Handbook
• E&R Laundry
• and other helpful links

"Camp Contacts"

• to access camp staff and administrators, and

"After Camp?"

• considerations after camp

New items have been added this year, so visit our exclusive Camp Dunnabeck Swag Store, where you can order your favorite logos and designs on clothing, swag, and more. Pack for Camp offers high-quality products and competitive, fair prices while giving camp families a seamless and hassle-free shopping experience. They offer free shipping on orders over $150.

Over the years, our address has changed, our students/campers have changed, and the staff has changed. Yet, our mission remains the same:

To reveal and illuminate the strengths of individuals with dyslexia or language-based learning differences.

Our story began in 1955 when our founder, Diana Hanbury King, established Camp Dunnabeck in the foothills of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, until its move to the small hamlet of Amenia, NY, in 1980. In 2021, it moved to the quaint little town of Kent, Connecticut, on the Marvelwood School's beautiful campus on top of Skiff Mountain. It is here that Camp Dunnabeck will celebrate its 70th year, helping dyslexic students and students with language-based differences achieve academic success.

Kildonan's Camp Dunnabeck is the oldest residential program of its kind that balances dedicated language remediation with outstanding recreational activities. We pair every camper with an Orton-Gillingham tutor for a one-to-one, one-hour Language Training session every day, Monday - Friday. Each camper completes tutoring-based assignments during a 45-minute study hall. When they're not studying, campers can choose from a wide array of fun camp activities and weekend excursions that tap into the campus's natural resources and the beauty of the surrounding area. When campers return to school in the fall, they discover they're rested, relaxed, and ready for success; that is the magic of Kildonan's Camp Dunnabeck!

Help keep the Magic in Kildonan's Camp Dunnabeck!

Your contributions help today's students and everyone's future.

We can't do it without YOU!

Kildonan's Camp Dunnabeck

A place of laughter, love, and deep learning!