The inside scoop on the Bishop’s summer day camp
With school out for the summer, parents all over the townships find themselves with kids desperate for entertainment. This is why summer day camps like the one at Bishop’s University are so popular. After existing for only five years,
the Bishop’s day camp has received a tremendous amount of positive feedback as well as loyal campers and staff. According to Christopher Fowlis, the facility manager at the Bishop’s Sports Center, the camp was full in less than 30 minutes after the opening of online registration. “Currently, we are at 110 per cent capacity and are expecting about 200 to 300 students
every week,” said Fowlis.
So how is this bilingual summer camp expecting to function with the ongoing pandemic? Currently, to respect all Covid restrictions and ensure that the kids have a memorable summer, the camp has set up a bubble system. Each bubble is based on the age of the camper and the number of
weeks they are attending.
“We are aiming to keep our bubbles as stable as possible. We have a very good idea of how many kids are coming in each week, and we try to pair up kids who are coming for the same number of weeks altogether,” said Ryan Smith, the recreational coordinator who overseas of the camp.
After meeting with public health last week and with the upcoming news of becoming a green zone, restrictions have been loosened substantially. “With the green zone, bubbles will not have to socially distance amongst themselves and will be allowed to remove their masks outside as well as inside,” said Smith. But even if the kids get to take off their masks, it does not mean the animators will be removing theirs as well. Currently, the rule in place is that inside masks are mandatory at all times for animators aside from their designated workstation. Each workstation will be protected by a barrier and used by the animators to eat lunch and catch up on what they will do next. Additionally, animators will be allowed to take off their masks outside as long as they are two meters away from the kids.
Unlike other summers, due to Covid the camp will set up base in two different locations this year. “In past years, we have shared our spaces; one group uses a room in the morning and then another group in the afternoon. This year it’s not that easy; there are all the disinfecting procedures necessary,” said Fowlis. Therefore, they have decided that this year, the nine-to-14-year-olds will occupy the usual camp space on the BU campus, whereas the five-to-eight-year old’s will be staying in one of the eight rented rooms at LES, the local elementary school. “The two groups will stay on their designated campus,” said Fowlis, “the kids at LES will be able to use the city pool, and the kids here on campus will be using the BU outdoor pool,” he said. Furthermore, instead of the kids going on trips like they usually do, the camp has organized outside animation to come in every week depending on the current theme. For the first week of camp, June 28 to July 2, the theme will be myths, legends, and wizards, and so they will have a magician coming to do shows tailored to the audiences at the two locations.
According to Smith and Fowlis, the success of this camp throughout Covid is hugely due to their staff. Each animator, full or assistant, must complete an in-house training week that contains a first aid course and a test that they must pass. On top of that, a large portion of the staff are returning and have three to five years of experience with the camp. “We’re not big fans of hiring an animator, train them through our adapting programs and our Bishop’s training program just for them to stay one year,” said Smith. “So, a lot of our team is returning, which allows the kids and animators to have a relationship,” he said.
Furthermore, out of the 18 full-time animators on the Summer Day Camp team, 12 are currently in the education program at BU. “These animators are coming from practicums; they are coming from teaching up at Galt, LES, Richmond, North Hatley, etc. The knowledge and experience they hold cannot be replicated with any training camp, so we are very fortunate to have them a part of our team,” said Smith. Unlike other camps, Bishop’s does not believe in having a strict and set schedule. “We like to rely on the creativity of our staff to build a program that can come to a life a little bit and has room for last-minute adjustments,” said Smith. “You can plan the perfect day, but if the energy is not there, then there is a necessary change, and we expect our animators to come up with ideas. Yes, we always have a set activity, but we also always have the option a,b,c,d,e,f, and g, as backup,” he said.