Each summer, Camp Cathedral offers programs for kids from the ages of kindergarten through ninth grade. The camps take place on the Hill, with some outdoors and others taking place inside. The camps are typically seven weeks long, but will be six weeks this year because there will be no programs during the week of Fourth of July.

Despite challenges due to coronavirus, Camp Cathedral is expected to have a significant enrollment again this year. “The projection of current registrants shows a great number of (participants),” said Mr. Anthony Ernst, director of summer programs. Often siblings of students come to the camps, and families will enroll all their children, Ernst said.

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the adventure camps will not be offered this year. “Since those camps leave campus, we don’t know the cleaning protocols of other places, so it is safest for the kids to stay on campus,” Ernst said.

On the other hand, there is a significant number of camps that will still be offered, including new camps. “Civil Air Patrol is putting on a flight engineering and aviation camp this year,” said Ernst. There will also be a new coding camp, along with two more advanced craft camps called I-Craft and I-Craft Junior.

Because of coronavirus still being a concern, safety protocols will be implemented, such as wearing masks, keeping social distancing and avoiding overloading spaces. Ernst said. “Some indoor camps will have caps on registry, but Cathedral is known for their small camps and prides itself on keeping numbers small enough for good individual attention.”

The indoor camps will operate out of Loretto Hall this year due to construction. “We also try to keep the camper population separate from the student population that is on campus for summer school,” said Ernst said. This allows for summer school students to be able to remain focused on their classes as campers participate in their activities.

“Camp Cathedral will always be looking for ways to provide kids to grow, have fun and learn,” said Ernst. Overall, the camps provide opportunities for kids to spend their summers doing camps of their choice. He added, “It doesn’t matter if they’re playing sports or having enrichment camps, the kids are having fun.”

Camp Cathedral is still taking registrations for this summer.