Clubhouse Day Camp strives to be a place that kids can call their own! To be this kind of place, we regularly remind the group to RESPECT our simple guidelines: We respect each other - Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and kindly in a safe environment. We need to always consider our actions and take responsibility when necessary. We respect ourselves - Everyone is valued and loved for who they are. If anyone ever feels otherwise, a leader is always available to listen. We respect our space - We will show care for the space that we are in and around us so that others can enjoy their time as well. We should aways respect the space regardless of who it belongs to. We believe discipline begins with positive reinforcement. However, at times we may need to take corrective actions. We strive to be fair, consistent, and restorative. Our child protection policy outlines what our team can (5 R's) and cannot do (abuse): RECOGNIZE the children when they are doing well and celebrate their wins together. REMIND the children what they are supposed to be doing rather than just focusing on the negative behaviour. REDIRECT the children to another activity if the problem continues. REMOVE the children from the situation and ask them to reflect on the situation before discussing with a leader how they can improve. Repetitive behaviours may require a conversation with parents for suggestions. RETURN the children to the parents if all actions have been exhausted. Our goal is to ensure this never happens.

At Clubhouse Day Camps, we will not tolerate bullying. However, we understand that different people have different definitions and tolerance levels for bullying. Thus, we have adopted the following definition, provided by Simon Fraser University* and StopBullying.gov**: "Bullying is any type of unwanted physical, verbal, social or psychological behaviour that results in humiliation or intimidation while cyberbullying is bullying electronically. In order to be considered bullying, the behaviour must include an imbalance of power and be repeated over time. Some common examples of bullying include: Physical Bullying: Hitting, poking, pinching, chasing, shoving, destroying or stealing belongings, etc. Verbal Bullying: Name-calling, spreading rumours, threatening, making negative references about someone, etc. Social Bullying: Scapegoating, excluding others, humiliating others, etc. Cyber Bullying: Using the internet, apps, or text messages to intimidate, put down, spread rumours, or make fun of someone, etc." When bullying is reported, we will take the following steps: Staff will have a conversation with all parties involved to understand the situation. We will explain to the child displaying unacceptable behaviour how and why bullying is intolerable. The child will be asked to apologize genuinely. The incident will be recorded in the staff notebook. This will help establish possible patterns. Parents will be notified if there is a pattern. Repetitive negative behaviour with minimal signs of improvement may require a further conversation with parents about additional steps to take. As a last resort, we may have to remove the child displaying unacceptable behaviour from the program. *http://www.sfu.ca/camps/CampInfo/camp-rules.html **https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying

While our origins are rooted in Christianity, we are a values-based program focusing on personal growth and development. We may use biblical stories, alongside other non-fictional and fictional works, to reinforce our themes. Above all, we teach the children to value everyone regardless of differences and to carry a positive attitude in everything we do. Our staff team consists of people of all backgrounds and faith. We ask our staff not to talk about their faith unless the children explicitly ask them. Lastly, while we do rent church facilities to run our programs, we are not affiliated with any particular church or religious organization.

At Clubhouse, we value diversity and respect people of all backgrounds and situations. We strive to provide an inclusive camp experience for all campers. However, because we rent our facilities, we may be unable to accommodate all requests. We will work with parents to ensure their child(ren) has the most barrier-free experience possible. Due to our limitations, we are unable to provide one-on-one support. We can accommodate support workers, but we may charge extra fees to cover their expenses (such as transportation and field trip fees). Please feel free to call or email us before you register to discuss specific needs. By providing us with information about your child’s medical diagnosis, disability, sensitivities, learning style, etc., before the start of camp, we can work together to ensure your child has a positive camp experience. Any information shared with us through our accessibility form will only be shared with senior staff and your child’s primary camp leader. Information will be limited to the specific condition, sensitivities, and strategies for working with your child. Once we have determined that we are able to meet your child’s needs, you can then complete the online registration form and we will send you the intake form to detail your child’s specific needs.

We are aware that there are various food allergies with some allergies being life-threatening to children. We will always ensure our cooking activities are safe with alternatives provided, as necessary. We do strive to be nut-free; however, we cannot guarantee that other camp participants or the public will not bring nuts or traces of nuts into our facilities. Thus, we ask all families to avoid giving their children any nut products in their snacks and lunches. If a child brings food that contains nuts, we will require them to eat their food in a separate area away from the rest of the group. All staff are appropriately trained on how to help a child administer their EpiPen.

Clubhouse Kids (Thriving Kids Care Society) is committed to maintaining the confidentiality, privacy, and accuracy of personal information that it collects, uses and discloses. We collect, use, and disclose personal data to meet your needs better, ensure the safety of children in our care, collect statistical data, satisfy government and regulatory obligations, and inform you about the program in which you are registered. We may contact you periodically to tell you about other programs, services, and opportunities that may be of interest and benefit you but we will not sell or give your information freely to a third party. You will always have the option to unsubscribe from our camp newsletter.

We believe that a healthy amount of screen time can be beneficial for various reasons. However, we understand parents’ concerns about too much screen time for their children. In order to be transparent with parents, this is our screen policy: Campers can choose between various stations during our free play sessions before 10:00AM and after 3:30PM. During this time, we have computer stations and a Nintendo Wii station where the campers can play with friends to develop various skills. Due to the limited stations, we rotate the children approximately every 15 minutes. Campers can have a maximum of one timeslot before and after camp, assuming they are dropped off and picked up on time and can get their names on the sign-up list. The only exception is campers in extended care. They may be permitted more screen time since there would be fewer names on the sign-up list. Our kids’ program has no scheduled activities with screen time aside from our pre-scheduled group movie activity (see weekly schedule). Due to the nature of our preteens’ program, preteen campers will experience more screen time as their group projects may include coding/programming, photo and video editing, animation design, etc., depending on the week. Parents can discuss with our leaders if they would prefer to minimize their child’s screen time during the camp. We will do our best to honour your requests.