Day camps

Campers will be screened for symptoms upon arrival, which will be recorded on the sign-in sheet and kept on record for purposes of contact tracing. The sign-in process will take place outside and physical distancing will be enforced. Families will be assigned a drop-off time and pick-up time, and will be required to adhere to their assigned times in order to avoid mixing with other camper groups.

Staff will be keeping daily records of anyone (e.g., camp participants, staff and essential visitors) entering the program setting who stays for 15 minutes or longer to allow for contact tracing in the event of a confirmed COVID-19 case or outbreak.

Staff will be required to complete a daily health screening and will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), as required by guidelines. Physical distancing within camper groups will be enforced to the greatest extent possible, with the exception of staff interventions for behaviour management and issuing first aid. 

Per guidance from the Middlesex London Health Unit and in alignment with local school boards and child care providers, all campers must wear masks when indoors. Younger campers (JK to grade 3), those with respiratory conditions, or campers with special needs who may experience difficulty wearing a mask for extended periods, may be exempt from this. Masks are strongly encouraged but not mandatory for this population.

There will be a maximum of 32 campers per location, with some smaller sites accepting fewer campers.

Many other strategies will be in effect to meet provincial guidelines and public health regulations. The safety measures listed above are just the general considerations for camp programming.

Protocols will be in place if a camp participant begins to show symptoms of COVID-19 while in camp, including immediate notification to the parent or guardian and the need for immediate pick-up. The camp participant will await in an isolation area, with a staff member, until pick-up. A parent or guardian or emergency contact will be required to pick up their ill camper within one hour of receiving notification.​​​​​​

Core program hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with assigned parent or guardian pick-up and drop-off times. Families will be assigned a 15-minute drop-off time between the hours of 8 to 9 a.m. and a 15-minute pick-up time of between the hours of 4 and  5 p.m., and will be notified of their designated time via email one week prior to camp begins. No extended care will be offered this year.

NOTE: All campers must be dropped off and picked up by a parent or guardian who can attest to the camper’s health. Campers will not be allowed to sign themselves in or out.

The week prior to your camper attending camp, you will receive an email from a Camp Coordinator with forms you will need to fill out, instructions on our drop-off and pick-up procedure, other camp procedures and guidelines that you and your camper need to be aware of and general information about the program. If you still have questions after reading through the information, the email will include an option to have a phone conversation with the Coordinator prior to camp. As our staff are busy with preparations and training, we ask that you wait to ask questions until you receive this email.

NOTE: Please ensure your Play Your Way Online registration account includes an email address you check frequently. 

Our staffing model will be two Camp Counsellors for each group of eight children, with additional staff present for planning, oversight, coordination and cleaning. Siblings and members of the same household will be included in the same camper group as much as possible.

Campers aged 12 to 21 attending Holiday Surprise will be supported by a 1:3 ratio. As in years past, if youth require support with feeding, changing, toileting or require 1:1 support due to behaviour, they must bring their own support worker.

There will be limited 1:1 spots for ages 4 to 12 at North London Optimist Community Centre and Kinsmen Recreation Centre. For intake, please follow these steps:

1. Starting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17, call Customer Service to be connected with the appropriate Recreation Supervisor. Be prepared to answering the following questions:
   1. Camper’s name and age
   2. Desired camp location(s) and week(s)* *Each camper may be provided a maximum of one session of 1:1 support from a City of London staff
   3. The type of assistance the camper requires throughout a day at camp (e.g., toileting, behavioural support, communication support, etc.)
   4. The level of support they usually have at school (e.g., full time EA, partial support, etc.)
   5. If families prefer to send their own support worker with the camper instead of having a City of London staff support them.
2. A Recreation Supervisor will respond to requests in the order correspondence is received, and will not respond to any communication that is received prior to 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17.
3. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis and once spots are filled, a Recreation Supervisor will notify families that they are on a waitlist in the event a space becomes available.
4. Once a Recreation Supervisor confirms the camper’s week(s) and camp location, they will instruct families on how to register and pay for camp.

Urgent questions can be forwarded to recreation@london.ca. We will reply as soon as possible.