Multiple Choice
"Glueless Volcano": Ricardo is in the science room facilitating a volcano activity with his group, and they have run out of glue. Ricardo remembers that there's tons of extra glue in the creative arts classroom next door. What is Ricardo’s next move, or possible move(s)?
A) Because the Creative Arts Room is 10 seconds away, and he can still audibly supervise, it's ok if Ricardo pops in quickly to grab some glue and take it back to his room, so that his campers can continue programming.
B) Ricardo should stop everyone from working on their volcanos and take all 10 of his campers with him to the creative arts room to grab the glue, then return to their room to finish the craft.
C) Ricardo should call a floater and ask them if they could grab the glue
B) & C)
“On the Bus”:
Ruthie is leading her camper group onto the swim bus. What is the very first thing Ruthie should do as her campers are getting on the bus, and once they are seated? And how should they be seated knowing that there are and will be other camper groups getting on the bus?
Head count! & Campers seated by age
“The Transitional Challenge”:
It is Monday afternoon. Michelle has brand new group of junior campers this week, who are full of energy! Programming was challenging all morning, as the group has not been listening to instructions. It is now the afternoon, and Michell is trying to transition the group from the field, across the parking lot, to the school gym. By the time they reached the parking lot, half of the group had dispersed. Although Michelle could technically still see everyone within her viewpoint – 2 campers were trailing far behind – distracted in conversation, another camper has run ahead to catch a paper airplane they just threw, and 2 more campers were off to the side, following the group, but more focused on kicking a soccer ball back and forth. Is the following statement True or False? - “Because Michelle is outdoors, and can still see every camper, she can continue to the front doors while keeping them in sight, then wait there for the dispersed campers to catch up before entering the school”.
False
"No....you didn't...":
Jose just got back to the tent with his Kinder OE group after frog catching at the pond. It's time for the campers to have lunch. The other Kinder OE group is already at the tent with their counsellor Amy and just started digging into their lunch. As Jose’s campers begin opening their lunch bags, 5-year-old Charlie goes up to Jose and tells him that he's left his entire backpack with his lunch down at the pond. The pond is a good 7 min walk away. What is Jose’s next move or possible move(s)?
A) No lunch for Charlie, he’ll just have to skip it today, maybe tomorrow he’ll remember to bring his backpack up with him from the pond.
B) Because another counsellor (Amy) is there in the same area, Jose can go to the pond and grab Charlie's lunch bag, so long as he has clearly communicated this with Amy, and Amy has agreed to supervise his campers alongside hers until he returns
C) Jose should look for a Floater or Lead staff and ask them if they can either grab the lunch bag or watch the group while you run down to the pond to quickly grab it.
D) Give Charlie half your sandwich- or better yet, his sister is in the group, so he can eat half of her lunch for today!
C)
“Double Trouble”:
David is in the pool, supervising his senior camper group in a specific area of the shallow end. As David is doing a head count of his group, he notices 2 campers laughing. They are having fun, horse playing around and pulling each other's heads under water. 1 of the campers is in David’s group, but the other camper is a part of another counsellor (Khaled’s) group. David sees Khaled supervising his group at the other end of the pool in the deep end. What should Davids next 2 moves be? And in what order should he make those 2 moves?
First move: Immediately approach the 2 campers and stop them from rough housing – Make it clear that they cannot do that in the water.
Second move: Notify the Sr staff member on deck – about the situation, and about the camper who is not in your group
“If you gotta go, you gotta go”:
Emily is a multi-sport Counsellor at a private school day camp location- (the YMCA should be the only people on site- it is not a public location). Emily just got to the soccer field after doing a washroom break with the group. As Emily starts to set up a soccer drill, 8-year-old Jacy runs up to her and says she needs to go to the washroom. When Emily asks Jacey why she didn't go when they were just there 15 minutes ago, she says she forgot. Emily waits for 1 minute to see if a floater would come by soon, but there is no floater around, so she starts heading back to the washroom with her whole group. As they are getting closer to the washrooms, and Emily has a clear view of the washroom door, Jacey starts to bolt ahead of her because she's really got to go. How should Emily proceed?
A) Emily should have all her Campers including Jacey wait outside in the hallway, so she can go in and make sure the space is safe before letting the campers in.
B) Emily should call out to Jacey to wait at the door where she can see her, then hurry the camper group along to match Jacey's pace and catch up to her sooner. Emily can then go in with her full camper group and quickly check the stalls before letting Campers use them again.
C) Emily should have waited on the field until a Floater came by – As the field is so far out from the washrooms, taking the whole group would mean everyone would miss out on a significant amount of programming time.
D) If you gotta go you gotta go – Emily should let Jacey go into the washroom ahead of them. Once Emily arrives with the rest of the Camper group, she should just let them go ahead and use the stalls without checking - Jacey went in and used the stalls before a washroom check and was fine. Plus, they were just there 15 minutes ago, so there's no need to check.
B)
“The Drumming Dilemma”:
Sadie is bucket drumming with her camper group and notices, out of the corner of her eye, that two campers are having a disagreement over who should use the last pair of muted drumsticks. She decides to let it go, hoping they will resolve it quickly. A minute later, one of the campers bolts out of the room and runs far away. What is Sadie’s next move? And which of the 3 methods of supervision did Sadie fail to apply?
Sadie’s next move is to call Sr staff or a floater right away, to go after the camper
→ Sadie failed to supervise verbally – To intervene and address an altercation between campers before it escalated
“Nail to the heart”:
Johanna is facilitating nail art with her camper group. As the campers are nailing away, 11 year old Jason makes an inappropriate joke / comment about another camper, calling him “a stupid idiot”. What is Johannas next move?
A) Shut it down immediately. State right then and there that the comment made was inappropriate, untrue, and is unacceptable to use at camp. At the end of the session, before leaving the space, Johanna should pull Jason to the side and have a follow up conversation to ensure he understands, and apologizes to the camper. Johanna should document and report the situation to Sr staff before the end of the day, so they can communicate with the guardians of both campers. This approach is reasonable, and not excessive for a situation like this.
B) This is the first time Jason has ever used this word, and he certainly didn’t mean it in a mean way. He was just trying to be funny like every other 11-year-old. Johanna should lightly nudge Jason and say “heyyyy stop that” in a playful tone. There is no need to mention anything else unless it comes up again. Because this behavior was so minor, and had no ill intent, escalating it in any way would only have a negative impact on the positive connections Johanna has built with her whole camper group. If the situation were to arise for the second time, it would then require more serious steps.
C) Do not address the situation in the moment. It is important to avoid assuming or suggesting ill intent, particularly in a case like this where Jason may have been acting playfully. This type of conversation is best handled by senior staff, as the YMCA must be mindful of the language used when speaking with Jason to ensure that no unintended accusations are made and that both Jason and his guardian do not take offense during end-of-day communication. Johanna should wait and report the situation to senior staff at the earliest opportunity so they can speak with Jason, document the incident, and follow up with his guardian at sign-out.
A) A) Shut it down immediately. State right then and there that the comment made was inappropriate, untrue, and is unacceptable to use at camp. At the end of the session, before leaving the space, Johanna should pull Jason to the side and have a follow up conversation to ensure he understands, and apologizes to the camper. Johanna should document and report the situation to Sr staff before the end of the day, so they can communicate with the guardians of both campers. This approach is reasonable, and not excessive for a situation like this.
“Changerooms” :
What is the minimum number of staff that should be in a gender specific changeroom at all times? And in what cases do we allow campers to use private stalls to change?
What is...2 staff at minimum & Always allow the option of private stalls to change.