Summer Camps

Modified Summer Camps

Following safety measures provided by public health, the municipality will be offering modified summer day camps beginning July 13 through to August 28, 2020. Camps will be offered at select facilities during the following sessions:

Weekday Mornings Camp: one week of three-hour morning sessions from 9 a.m. to noon.

Weekday Afternoons Camp: one week of three-hour afternoon sessions from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The half-day camp option allows the municipality to maximize the number of participants while following public health protocol and ensuring safe physical distancing. All camps are $50 per week. Registrants are only able to attend one morning or one afternoon camp per week.

Camp Program Details

Summer Camp Registration

Modified Summer Camps will run for seven (7) weeks between July 13 and August 28, 2020.
Registration for July camps will take place on June 23, 2020.
Registration for August summer camps will begin on July 22, 2020.

Registration Start Times

9 a.m. registration: Dartmouth, Eastern Passage, Eastern Shore

11 a.m. registration: Halifax Peninsula

1 p.m. registration: Mainland North & South

3 p.m. registration: Bedford, Fall River, Sackville

Camp Locations

Modified summer camps will be offered in up to 12 locations throughout the municipality. Many camp activities will primarily be in an outside location with some inside. There are two sites where the majority of the activity stations will be held inside (Capt Spry Community Centre and Gordon R Snow Community Centre).

Camp Structure

Each child can be enrolled in either morning or afternoon sessions. A wait list will be available for consideration if space allows for additional placements.

Weekday Mornings Camp: will consist of one week of three-hour morning sessions (9 a.m. – 12 p.m.) offered at each site.
Weekday Afternoons Camp: will consist of one week of three-hour afternoon sessions (1:30 – 4:30 p.m.) offered at each site.
Staff to child ratio is planned for 7:1.
Children will stay in small groups with the camp leader for the duration of each session as they move through various activity stations.
Siblings will be assigned to the same small group when reasonable (i.e. siblings are within the same age range). Siblings are not required to physically distance from each other, even within the same small group.
Morning and afternoon camp activities will be identical, but each camp will have a different group of registrants.
Participants are only able to register for one camp per week, either mornings or afternoons.
Many camp activities will be provided in an outdoor setting. Please come to camp prepared for outdoor activities with appropriate dress, footwear, hat, water bottle, and previously applied sun screen.
Outdoor sun safety policies will be followed. Water stations for filling personal water bottles and additional sun screen will be provided during the camp.
Every effort will be made to provide inclusion support during the camps where necessary. Due to public health directives related to COVID-19, camp spaces and inclusion leaders will be limited to two per site. As such, it may not be possible to accommodate all inclusion requests however we will do our very best to accommodate as many requests as possible. Please use course code 00027543 to request one-to-one support during the seven weeks of modified summer day camps. Families/guardians will be contacted when inclusion supports are confirmed.

Planned Activities

Camp activities may include activities such as arts & crafts, dance & fitness, music & culture, loose parts play pop up, outdoor activities & nature, and sport drills.
Camps activities will vary each week as groups rotate through activity stations.

Participation

Camps are open to children between the ages six and 12 who are currently enrolled in school.
There will be virtual opportunities available for youth (aged 13-24) during the summer of 2020. These opportunities will include but are not limited to: employment skills (preparing your resumé), conversations on the environment, conversations on the upcoming municipal election, and youth services plan committee.
Camps for pre-school aged children are not being offered this summer due to difficulty enforcing Nova
Scotia Public Health physical distancing requirements for this age group.
Outdoor programming will be available for various age groups and families this summer. Please see
separate communication for further information on these programs.

Registration and Payments

$50.00 per camp week (five half-day sessions)

Register online at halifax.ca/myrec using your myREC account. Credit card payment preferred.
Register by phone by calling the Parks & Recreation Registration Line at 902.490.6666. Credit card payment preferred.
Register in person at one of the available recreation facilities using credit card, debit, or cheque (avoiding cash if possible). Please note that these sites will be open to the public for registration on July 22, 2020. The sites will open for regular operations further into the summer at a date yet to be determined.
- Chocolate Lake Rec Centre
- Captain William Spry Community Centre
- George Dixon Community Centre
- Dartmouth North Rec Centre

NOTE: If your child requires one-to-one inclusion support, please register your child under course code 00027543.

NOTE: Affordable Access Program (AAP) participants who were actively enrolled as of March 15, 2020 will have APP service extended until August 31, 2020 to ensure registration discounts are applied.

Cancellations

Should a cancellation be required, all registrants will be provided cancellation instructions in their summer day camp information package specific to each site location.
Children should not come to camp if sick. Pro-rated refunds will be provided for any days that a child cannot attend camp due to illness.
If there are cases of COVID-19 at the camp and the camp is cancelled, a pro-rated refund will be provided.
Families need to monitor their camper daily for any symptoms for COVID-19, as identified on the provincial 811 website. Parents/guardians will be asked daily to confirm that their camper has no symptoms and is not required to otherwise self isolate.
If a camp participant does not respect physical distancing restrictions and other public health directives, the participant may be withdrawn from the camp and a pro-rated refund provided.
All camps will be moved to indoor location in the event of rain.

Contact Information

Questions can be emailed to myrec@halifax.ca
A registration information package containing information on your weekly day camp will be forwarded to registrants in advance of the camp start date. The package will contain information that will require parent/guardian signature and must be returned prior to the day camp start date. Non receipt of signed forms and waivers may result in a withdrawal from the day camp.

Public Health and Safety

Physical distancing

All camps will operate according to Public Health Day Camp Guidelines. When possible and weather permitting, the bulk of camp activities, will be held outdoors. A two meter distance between each camp group (cohort) will be maintained.
Any group activities will allow for physical distancing and activities that cluster around an item or small area will be avoided.
The use of non-medical masks (cloth or home-made masks) within the day camp setting is not required where physical distancing is maintained. However, some children may choose to bring and wear a nonmedical mask while at camp.
Group sizes will not exceed the maximum gathering limits set out in the Health Protection Act Order (currently 10, including both campers and staff).
Some individuals are considered at a higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 (including those over 65 and those with compromised immune systems or underlying medical conditions) and parents/ guardians are encouraged to consult their health care provider if they have concerns about their child’s health, or the health of other household contacts.

Personal Hygiene and Protective Precautions

All camp spaces will have designated entrance and exit plans, and washroom use will be monitored to limit capacity within these spaces.
Frequent hand washing or hand sanitizing by campers and staff will be taught, reinforced and monitored.
Campers will be reminded to cover coughs and sneeze with a tissue. If a tissue isn’t available, cough or sneeze into elbows, not hands.
Campers will be encouraged to avoid touching their mouth, nose and eyes during the summer day camp.
Equipment and/or supplies will be managed and cleaned with appropriate disinfecting cleaner before and after use, and between use by different cohorts.

Illness

If a child develops symptoms while attending camp, the child will be isolated from other children and the parent/guardian will be notified to collect the child immediately.
If a child requires close contact and care, staff will continue to care for the child until the parent/guardian is able to pick them up.

Drop Off and Pick Up

Drop off and pick up procedures for each location will be implemented at the beginning and end of each session of morning or afternoon camps. These procedures will be specific to each site location and will be forwarded to camp registrants prior to the start date of the summer camps.
There should be no non-essential visitors at summer camps. Parents/guardians are asked to minimize any time spent at each location.
Hand sanitizer will be placed at all entrances and exits at each location for use by staff, parents/guardians, and other essential visitors.

To review available camps and register, visit halifax.ca/myREC. If your child requires one-to-one inclusion support, please register your child under course code 00027543.

Modified summer camp 2020 info sheet (PDF)