there was a basic group of children that my children landed in camps with repeatedly - not all the same children at each camp, but there would be children throughout the years that my children would be in camp with and know from previous camps. Quite a large number of these children turned out to be the same kids who were in gifted classes/etc once they were in school. So I wouldn't assume your child is out there all in his own little lonely land just because he's intellectually gifted and the camp isn't teaching kids high-level stuff.
Yes, I agree with this also, and it's kind of what I was trying to get at.
So you aren't really going to teach your kid how to survive in elementary school by sending them to camp.
I think adjusting to camp is actually pretty applicable to adjusting to school. You have to meet and figure out how to hang out with new kids; you have to work with new authority figures; and there are new routines and experiences to adapt to. You're not expected to perform educationally or learn much, but in a way that just makes it easier to practice those "soft" school skills.
