Common Questions and Answers
- What does 'accredited member' mean?
- Will my child be safe? Will he eat proper meals? Will he be well-supervised?
- How is the food at camp?
- Does the Camp have medical staff on the Camp site?
- What about Visitors' Days?
- What about homesickness?
- How is the Camp Nominingue Canoe Tripping program set up?
- We have a family cottage. Why would we consider sending our son to a residential summer camp?
- Is there a laundry service at the camp?
What does 'accredited member' mean?
You have probably noticed our statement that we are an Accredited Member of the Canadian Camping Association (CCA), the Quebec Camps Association (ACQ) and the Ontario Camps Association (OCA).
These associations are the only bodies which set overall standards for children's camps in Canada and monitor the application of these standards. Our camp receives an official standards review every three or four years to ensure the ongoing quality of our facility, staffing and program. We are proud to have earned our accreditation and work hard to maintain these standards.
Beside the standards inspections by the camping associations, our kitchen and dining hall are inspected annually by the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ); our facilities are expected every two years by the Quebec Tourism Industry Corporation (CITQ); and the Ministère de développement durable, environnement et parcs du Québec (MDDEP) tests the lake water in our swimming areas twice each summer and our drinking water every two weeks.
Will my child be safe? Will he eat proper meals? Will he be well-supervised?
At Nominingue, we have a 1:3, staff to camper ratio. This ratio is part of the effort we make to ensure that your son's experience at Nominingue is safe and happy. For our youngest campers and frequently for campers up to 12 years of age, each tent group of 5 campers will be supervised by a counsellor and a junior counsellor. Most of our counsellors have previously been campers or staff at Nominingue. They know the Nominingue program and we have gotten to know them quite well. All of our senior staff must also complete a police background check, as a further measure to ensure the safety of your son.
In our dining room, most of the campers sit with their tent group and their counsellors. Each camper is served by a staff member at their table. When a camper is not eating, his counsellor is the first to know. One task for the counsellor is to encourage each camper to eat a balanced diet.
An accredited camp has been thoroughly examined by an experienced person, using an extensive set of standards and requirements. Camp Nominingue receives this accreditation from both the Quebec and Ontario Associations. This accreditation is just another way that Nominingue works to ensure the safety of your son while he is in our care.
How is the food at Camp?
Great! Although institutional cooking can never be the same as home cooking, we receive many compliments from the boys on the quality and quantity of the food we serve. There are usually second helpings of everything on the table. Fresh fruit is served at meal-times on a daily basis. At mid-morning each day, we also offer a fruit snack to the campers. Vegetables are included at every lunch and supper.
Our menus have been approved by a licensed dietician. Our kitchen staff are carefully chosen and supervised by our experienced head chef.
Does the Camp have medical staff on the Camp site?
Our well-equipped infirmary is open 24-hours-day and is staffed by two caring first-aiders. Usually, there is a doctor on site throughout the summer while there are campers at camp. Clinics are held three times a day for medication dispensing. A general hospital with an emergency room is located a 15 minute drive away.
What about Visitors' Days?
There are two Saturday visitors' days, one in each 23-day session. Please see the calendar for these important dates.
What about homesickness?
Our experienced camp staff is trained at both detecting cases of homesickness and to follow certain procedures with any camper who they feel might be suffering from even mild homesickness: making them feel welcome and included; getting them "excited" about camp and the fun to come; keeping them active and busy; providing support throughout the camp experience; and the teaching of "coping" strategies.
Statistics say that more than 95% of all campers report having some homesick feelings on at least one day of their camp stay. Campers and parents need to understand that this is normal! Only a small percent experience any kind of symptoms of depression or anxiety along with their homesick feelings.
There are a few things that you can do to help your son with feelings of homesickness and to ensure a successful stay at camp:
- Help prepare your child prior to the summer: Watch the camp video; talk with the camp director; attend a camp information night; talk with other parents or other campers
- Ensure that any issues that might be worrying to your son have been addressed, in consultation with the camp staff and director, prior to his arrival at camp
- Avoid providing an easy out for your son, for example promising that he can phone home or come home if things go badly
- Keep in touch by mail and e-mail. Keep the communication positive, focused on what is going on at camp
Overcoming feelings of homesickness can contribute greatly to your son's self-reliance, his ability to handle change and the development of his self-esteem, which is what camp and life are all about!
How is the Camp Nominingue Canoe Tripping program set up?
We are proud of our reputation and our expertise in the field of canoe tripping. We have carefully set up a program to challenge the campers but not to overstep the boundaries of health and safety. On three-day trips to nearby Parc Papineau-Labelle, campers are required to carry a 14 to 18 kg pack over two or three portages out and back. For this reason, our 7 to 9 year-old campers do their first "camping out" on our home lake, Petit Lac Nominingue. We have the use of a small private beach at the far end of the lake behind some uninhabited islands. It is a beautiful site, almost out of sight of the relatively few cottages on our lake.
We believe that it is important to keep the canoe trip group small in order to maximize a camper's appreciation of the wilderness experience. For this reason, most of our canoe trips include two staff members and five campers.
The 10 and 11 year-olds travel into Parc Papineau-Labelle for their first canoe trip: 10 year-olds to Lac du Sourd and 11 year-olds to Acapulco on Lac de Sept-Frères or the Falls on Lac St-Denis.
When a camper reaches 12 and 13 years of age, he is eligible for a 5 day trip in Parc Papineau-Labelle.
At 14 and 15 years, campers can sign up for a 7 or 8 day canoe trip in Parc la Vérendrye. These groups are driven 150 to 250 km north of the camp where they are dropped off at one of several starting points. They spend the entire trip in the park and are picked up at the end of their journey, many kilometres from their starting point.
When we have a group of enthusiastic and experienced 15 year-olds, we will organize a 10 day trip to the northern part of Parc de la Vérendrye, where fewer canoeists travel.
All of our tripping is done in wilderness country where there is little habitation and the lakes are clear and clean. Despite this, we purify all of our drinking water while out on a canoe trip. Every summer, many of our parties see wild moose, deer, beaver, muskrat and an occasional bear. Great blue herons and loons are seen and heard several times a day. It is a typical Canadian wilderness experience, where true adventure can still be found.
We feel that every camper should undertake a canoe trip. It is the essential Canadian experience! However, we also feel that it is important that campers make the choice and choose to go on a canoe trip. About 80-90% of our campers choose to sign up for a canoe trip.
As in all of our activities, safety is our first concern. Today's campers and staff benefit from the experiences handed down through over 85 years of canoe trips. Since 1925, we have recorded every one of our over 4000 canoe trips, all of have gone out and returned safely. Our staff is trained continuously in the techniques of safe and sensible canoe camping. Our staff members are required to have first aid certification, with many having a wilderness first aid course. Each canoe trip has a staff member trained in lifesaving with bronze cross certification. The staff:camper ratio on a canoe trip is 1:3 or better.
Besides today's campers, countless former-Nomininguers are enjoying this uniquely Canadian experience using the methods and knowledge they learned while canoe tripping at Nominingue.
We have a family cottage. Why would we consider sending our son to a residential summer camp?
There is no doubt that there are a lot more summer options for boys aged 7-16 in 2011 than existed in 1950 or 1990. We still believe that a traditional summer camp experience provides an essential experience that will contribute to a child's self-esteem and the growth of his sense of independence.
At Nominingue, campers live in tents. From their arrival to the time of their departure, campers are immersed in a beautiful natural setting. Cell phones, I-pods and computer screens get left at home for one, two, three weeks or more and campers have the opportunity to re-connect with nature and to forge friendships, without the interference of technology.
At Nominingue, we believe strongly that self-esteem and confidence grow as boys learn new skills and develop skills that have been learned previously. Our instruction program offers training in a number of outdoor, life skills. For every instruction, there are various levels that are age appropriate and tailored to the skills of the campers that come to Camp. Each camper has to choose their instructions each week, ensuring that boys are interested and excited about the instruction they take.
At Nominingue, we believe in the importance of choice in the development of independence among children. In addition to choosing their instructions, campers choose whether to go on a canoe trip. Frequently, campers will have also have a choice of afternoon or evening programs. Twice a day, at morning and afternoon free swims, campers will have a choice as to how they spend their free time: swimming, sailing, playing tennis, working on a project at the craftshop, playing a quiet game of chess in the tent line, a competitive game of tether ball or simply reading a good book.
It would be highly unusual for a family cottage to offer the wide variety of activities, games and canoe trips that one finds at Camp Nominingue. Life at Nominingue is unique in that it is a 24-hour-a-day program planned specifically for boys by our large professional and highly qualified staff.
Is there a laundry service at the camp?
Yes, it is included in the fees. The laundry is done once a week, returning in two or three days.