Camp Handbook

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July 2008
M	T	W	T	F
30	1	2	3	4
7	8	9	10	11
14	15	16	17	18
21	22	23	24	25
28	29	30	31	1

August 2008
M	T	W	T	F
4	5	6	7	8
11	12	13	14	15

Holidays - NO CAMP

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The information on this page is also contained
in our Registration Handbook (PDF).

Our Guarantee

If your child does not absolutely love their first day at camp, we will give you a full refund, no questions asked.

Swim Safety

We have a perfect safety record at our daily swimming locations. We are careful to plan our swims with safety as our primary concern. All children must complete a swim test every day at the pool regardless of ability. Every camper from pure beginners to seasoned veterans must swim approximately 10 meters unassisted (our staff are in the water). If a camper struggles or needs help, we will assist them and make sure they put on a lifejacket.

The pool staff is aware that we are coming and are prepared with extra lifeguards. Our counselors are in the pool with the children. There is a wading pool at both the Beaverbrook Pool and Walter Baker Pool. At the wave pool, all children under the age of eight (without exception) must wear a lifejacket at all times. Should there be an injury of any kind, our staff are certified in Emergency First Aid and CPR.

Determing Swim Levels

Please be sure to add YOUR CHILD'S SWIM LEVEL to their registration according to the descriptions below. This helps us in ensure a safe swim experience for all campers.

Swimmer 1: These beginners will become comfortable jumping into water with and without a Personal Flotation Device. They’ll learn to open their eyes and exhale underwater, and gain the skills to confidently get objects off the bottom. They’ll work on floats and moving through the water on their front and back.

Swimmer 2: These advanced beginners will jump into deeper water, and learn to be comfortable falling sideways into the water wearing a Personal Flotation Device. They’ll be able to support themselves at the surface without an aid, learn whip kick, and swim 10-15m on their front and back.

Swimmer 3: These junior swimmers will cannonball, dive and roll into the water. Their new bag of tricks includes treading water, handstands, in-water somersaults and swimming underwater. They’ll work on front crawl and back crawl over short distances, and endurance swims of 25 to 50m.

Swimmer 4: These intermediate swimmers will refine dives and stride entries. They’ll wrestle with eggbeater kick, and master foot-first surface dives, and in-water back somersaults. They’ll learn to scull and swim lengths of front, back crawl, whip kick, and breaststroke arms with breathing. They’ll cap it all off with endurance swims of 50-100m.

Swimmer 5: These swimmers will master shallow dive entries, eggbeater kicks, and foot-first sculling. Surface dives will take them down to underwater swims. They’ll refine their front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke over 50m swims of each. Then they’ll pick up the pace in 25m sprints and endurance swims of 100-200m.

Swimmer 6: These advanced swimmers will rise to the challenge of sophisticated aquatic skills like compact jump entries, and eggbeater kick for 1 min. while changing directions. They’ll develop strength and power in head-up front crawl or breaststroke over 25m. They’ll easily swim 100m front crawl, back crawl, and breaststroke, and complain about the 4 x 25m sprints in interval training. The 200 to 300m endurance swim will be a piece of cake.

Age Groups

Campers are divided by age (not gender) into the following Cabin Groups:

Freshman	5, 6 year olds
Sophomore	7, 8 year olds
Junior	9, 10 year olds
Senior	11, 12 year olds

There is always at least one Senior Staff or Returning Staff with each Cabin Group.

Friend Requests

We can accommodate requests for siblings and friends to be in the same Cabin Group as long as they are fairly close in age. Obviously, we can not group a 5 year old with an 11 year old during sports time. Campers do spend a fair bit of time together at our afternoon activities. Please provide friend requests on your registration form.

Pre and Post Camp Care

There is no fee for our pre and post camp care hours.

Pre-camp hours:	7:30 to 8:45am
Camp hours:	8:45 to 4:30pm (many off-site camps leave our locations at 9:00am sharp)
Post-camp hours:	4:30 to 5:30pm.

If you plan to pick your child up early from camp, be sure to communicate this to the Camp Director so he/she can tell you where campers will be at your desired pick up time.

Sign-In, Sign-Out

YOU MUST PRESENT PHOTO IDENTIFICATION EVERY DAY when picking up your child. We realize that this is a bit of a hassle, but we want to ensure the safety of your child. You are asked to sign your child in and out each day. This allows us to track your child's attendance and for security reasons to make sure that we know who is picking them up at the end of the day.

Lunch Plan

All food and snacks provided by Camps Canada are "NUT FREE".

We provide lunches at BOTH our Kanata and Barrhaven locations. Along with the main course, campers also receive a drink of juice and a dessert like pudding, jello, or cookies.

Monday	Pizza Pizza
Tuesday	Subway sandwiches
Wednesday	ALL-BEEF hotdogs
Thursday	Subway sandwiches
Friday	Pizza Pizza

Campers will be asked to choose the type and quantity of pizza, subway and hotdogs on their first day of camp each week.

Pizza choices are 1 or 2 slices: cheese only or cheese and pepperoni.

Subway choices are 6 inch or 12 inch on white bread: turkey or vegetarian (lettuce, tomato) or 3 meat (turkey, bologna, salami). Sandwich condiments include: cheese and lettuce only. Mayonnaise and mustard are provided on the side.

Adding Lunch to an Existing Registration

If you have not already done so, the deadline for adding the lunch plan to your existing registration is Friday, June 13, 2008. After this date, the lunch plan can not be added to an existing registration. If you are interested in adding the lunch plan to your registration, please send a quick email to matt@campscanada.com noting your child's name, which camp and which location they are signed up for. Please send a cheque for $29.00 per week made payable to Camps Canada to: 15 Bryant Street, Kanata, Ontario, K2K 3N4.

Nut Awareness

Camps Canada provides a nut free camp environment. We do not provide any foods that contain nuts and nut products and we strongly encourage families to refrain from sending foods with nut products to camp.

Staff training regarding life threatening allergies ensures a proactive approach to food safety. Our staff are CPR and First Aid trained so that they will respond appropriately should there be an anaphylactic reaction.

Ratios

Our counselor to camper ratio is always a minimum of 1:8. There is always at least one Senior Staff or Returning Staff with each Cabin Group.

Reluctant, First-Time Campers

For many children, attending camp is the highlight of their summer. For others, usually first-timers, preparing for camp can cause a great deal of anxiety. For them, a new environment, meeting new friends, and adjusting to a new counselor are events that may cause discomfort and apprehension. Not to worry. "I won't go" or "I don't want to go" are not unexpected responses. With care and positive exposure to camp, apprehension quickly disappears. As a suggestion, it may be a good idea to attend our Open House in June. This will give campers an opportunity to meet other children and to familiarize themselves with our great staff.

Driving Directions

Because the locations of our camps are sometimes subject to change, please visit our website in the week before your camp start date to get addresses, maps and driving directions to our various camp locations.

Managing Your Account

You can view and manage your account by signing in to your secure Camps Canada account using your PIN and Email. This will allow you to change information online, like your mailing address, telephone numbers, email, etc.

Typical Day

7:30 to 8:45am	Pre-Camp (children choose between supervised quiet time for reading and playing board games or sports activities and games in the gym)
8:45 to 9:30am	Start of Camp - Flagpole (camp news, jokes, songs, camp dance, attendance) Buses depart for off-site camp locations at 9:00am sharp
9:30 to 10:15am	Specialty Camp Time (as chosen weekly - Arts and Crafts, MultiSport, etc.)
10:15 to 10:30am	Snack (free Gatorade supplied, cash snack bar available)
10:30 to 12:00pm	Specialty Camp Time (as chosen weekly)
12:00 to 12:30pm	Lunch (lunch plan available for a fee) Buses return from off-site camp locations
12:30 to 1:00pm	Prepare for swim * twice per week, afternoon swims are replaced by field trips. (one to the wave pool and one to bowling)
1:00 to 3:15pm	Recreational Swim (no lessons provided)
3:15 to 3:30pm	Snack (free Gatorade supplied, cash snack bar available)
3:30 to 4:30pm	Whole Camp games (tag games, scavenger hunt, touchdown, capture the flag)(afternoon activities)
4:30 to 5:30pm	End of Camp - Post-Camp (children choose between supervised quiet time for reading and playing board games or sports activities and games in the gym)

Receipts

Did you know that receipts for camp are tax-deductible?

As soon as you complete registration, you will receive an official receipt. It will be sent by email along with your confirmation. If you misplace your receipt or wish to print it at any time, simply sign in to your secure Camps Canada account and print it from there.

Confirmation

As soon as you complete registration, you will receive confirmation. It will be sent by email along with your receipt. If you misplace your confirmation or forget what week(s) you signed up for, simply sign in to your secure Camps Canada account and view it from there. You will also receive an automated email reminder on the Friday before your chosen camp week.

Post-Dated Cheques

You may pay your camp fees by post-dated cheque. However, please be advised that your child’s spot in camp for that week is not guaranteed until your cheque has been received in our office. In order to reserve your spot instantly, please complete our online registration form and make payment by credit card. Otherwise, you run the risk of having the camp fill up before your cheque has been received.

Cancel Registration

Requests for cancellation must be made using our Cancellation Form. Our deadline for cancellation is June 1, 2008. After this date, you have two options to choose from when cancelling a registration. Please note your choices below.

Option 1
Refund Cheque - You can receive a refund cheque for your full amount paid less a $50 cancellation fee.

Option 2
Credit Note - You can receive a credit note for your full amount paid with no cancellation fee. This credit note allows you to register in a Camps Canada camp at a future date this summer or next. It expires on Sept 1, 2009. Your camp credit is transferable to any person and may be used for any Camps Canada camp.

* We cannot put an amount back on your credit card as we do not save your credit card information. We will process your "Cancellation Form" once received in the office.

Change Registration

Change Requests must be made using our Change Form. Our deadline for changes to your registration is June 1, 2008. After this date, a change fee of $20 per change will be levied. We will provide confirmation by email of your change once we have received:
1. Your "Change Form" form by mail or fax
2. A cheque ($20 per change after June 1, 2008).

Extreme Heat Policy

A heat warning is automatically declared when Environment Canada forecasts a humidex of 40 or more for at least two consecutive days.
Our staff understand the damaging effects of overexposure to the sun's rays and so we have established some specific policies that protect our campers and still allow them to enjoy the outdoors. Our staff teach campers to protect themselves by asking them to do the following:
1. wear a hat
2. wear light coloured clothing
3. always wear sunscreen - water proof sunscreens are designed to last the entire day including up to an hour in the water. Sunscreen reminders are made several times throughout the day and campers are encouraged and assisted by counselors to re-apply during the day. Waterproof sunscreen should be applied at home prior to arriving at camp.
4. stay in the shade or in the pool as much as possible
5. take frequent breaks
6. increase fluid intake

Rain or Shine

All camps will operate rain or shine. However, as disappointing as it is, we reserve the right to hold back our off-site camps due to rain and especially forecasts of thudershowers and lightning. We will make decisions at camp on a case by case basis. Golf, Horseback and Swim Camps in particular will be affected. These campers will have a choice to join either our regularly scheduled indoor Arts and Crafts or MultiSport programs. Unfortunately, we do not offer refunds for inclement weather.

Administering Medication

Camps Canada will administer medication only after parents have completed a "REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATION OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION" form. This form provides permission to employees of Camps Canada to administer medication and/or emergency injections to campers during camp hours as per details provided on the form. Administration of medication will not be provided without this completed and signed form. The parent/guardian of a camper with a serious health concern is strongly encouraged to have proper identification on the student at all times (i.e., Medic Alert Bracelet) and is responsible for providing, in advance, medication/supplies for any treatment required in a life-threatening situation. These health concerns include, but are not limited to: severe allergies and anaphylactic shock, severe asthma, seizures and diabetes.

Epipens, Life-threatening Allergies

We have a perfect safety record in dealing with life-threatening allergies. In today's climate it's something that is quite common. Staff training regarding life threatening allergies ensures a proactive approach to safety. Our staff are CPR and First Aid trained so that they will respond appropriately should there be an anaphylactic reaction. Please be sure to complete a "REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATION OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION" form if your child carries an epipen. See "Administering Medication" above.

Please bring two (2) epipens and one (1) photo of your child to camp. Your child should keep an epipen on them at all times (in a fanny pack) and we will keep the other in our first aid kit, which is always close by. Sending a small photo of this camper is also very helpful.

Lost and Found

There are two laws of camp Lost and Found. First, more is lost than found. And second, if it can get lost, it will. On a regular basis we try to comb through the Lost and Found bin to reunite articles with their owners. To make the process easier, please label everything clearly.

Despite our best efforts to return lost articles to their owners during the summer, there are always, inevitably, several bags of Lost and Found at the end of the season. It continues to be our policy to make every attempt to return any labelled clothing at the end of the summer. Lost and Found is brought to our office in late August where it may be picked up. We will phone you and let you know that the found item is in the office.

After AUGUST 22, 2008, unclaimed lost and found is donated to a local charity.