Overnight Summer French Camps & Immersion Trips

At Camp Tournesol, we want all children to have fun and have an opportunity to learn. In order to achieve that, it is important that each camper conduct himself or herself in a respectful and appropriate way. Parents and Campers should review our guidelines together and ensure that your child understand them. Our code of conduct is based on the following 3 principles:

• Don’t physically endanger anybody.
• Don’t tease/put people down, even a little bit.
• Don’t do anything illegal, or that would horrify your parents.

More specifically, at Camp Tournesol safe, respectful and appropriate behavior does NOT include:

• Leaving an area without permission AND without a counselor for children under 6 years old or a buddy.
• Standing on tables or chairs.
• Climbing trees or breaking branches.
• Carrying or throwing sticks, stones or sand.
• Being disrespectful to counselors or other campers.
• Disregarding counselor’s instructions.
• Water fights or throwing water.
• Hitting, kicking, biting, wrestling moves or violence.
• Swearing or explicit and violent language.
• Stealing.
• Consistent use of English / no efforts made to use French (for the French campers)
• Putting arms or heads out of the bus window as well as standing or kneeling on the bus.

Here are the behaviors that ARE acceptable:

• Making efforts to express yourself in French all day and try to use English as rarely as possible.
• Obtain permission prior to leaving an area where your group is
• Always use proper language (no swear words or violent words)
• Follow instructions as given by counselors
• Be respectful towards all the counselors and your peers.

Any person found violating this code will be dealt with according to the following procedure:

• Warning / discussion by their lead counselor and appropriate consequences depending on the gravity of the behavior (sitting out an activity etc.).
• Meet with the Camp Coordinator and phone call to parent to identify a potentially successful strategy to improve the situation.
• After consultation with the Camp Director, parent will be asked to pick up their child from the camp for that day and discuss the issue with their child.
• Note that there is a possibility that the child will be asked not to accompany us during our field trip on Thursdays if we feel that his behavior precludes us from ensuring his safety and that of the other campers.
• Expulsion from the camp.

All of our overnight trips are supervised by an experienced teacher who acts as a “Chef de mission”. She or he is assisted by experienced Tournesol counsellors of both genders. Their goal is to encourage your child to speak French in a fun and safe environment. As for all Tournesol French camps, all counsellors must submit a police background check and be trained for CPR and first aid. Campers are in gender-specific rooms. Counsellors are in rooms adjacent to the campers or in the same cabin depending on the cabin’s configuration.

Parents regularly ask if we will provide close supervison for children with allergies or other medical issues.

Of course! Every camper’s safety is our utmost concern.

All of our staff are trained for first aid, CPR and administering an EpiPen. In addition, we have 2 qualified teachers onsite who provide support and supervision at each campus.

Do not hesitate to discuss your concerns with our staff at the office or onsite. In all cases, we count on parents to partner with us to make safety a priority. Help us with this process by providing as much details as possible when completing the medical forms!

Should you child be bringing any medication to camp, please let us know by completing this medication form and discussing it with your child’s counsellor on the first day of camp.

In mid-May, campers will receive a package which includes a detailed itinerary, address of accommodation, and a list of things to bring. Any further questions can be directed to us once you have reviewed the package.