KAWARTHA LAKES: The Boys and Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes (BGCKL) is developing plans to offer Licensed Childcare and in-person Summer Camp programs in accordance with the government guidelines. We have not confirmed the starting dates for Licensed Childcare at our Lindsay site (Kids in Motion) or our Little Britain site (Dr. George Hall Child Care). Summer Camps are scheduled to begin on June 29th. Both Licensed Child Care and Camp programs require Public Health approvals. “Everyone at the Club is eager to welcome children back to our facility,” says Amy Terrill, Executive Director. “We have been working hard behind the scenes, to clean and disinfect our facility and to develop procedures that meet health and safety guidelines, so that we can offer a high-quality experience while keeping everyone safe.” In keeping with government directives, BGCKL has adopted rules regarding safety: Groups, children and staff will be placed in groups of 10 or less day over day; a COVID-19 response plan is to be implemented if a child, parent or staff member/provider is exposed to COVID-19; all staff and children will be screened prior to entry. Anyone feeling unwell must stay home; Daily attendance records are always part of the program, and will be revised to support contact tracing by the Health Unit if needed; our facility has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, cleaning protocols will meet or exceed provincial standards; Drop-off and pick-up of children procedures will be designed to facilitate physical distancing. In addition, Outdoor programming will be encouraged as much as possible. Groups will have specific room and equipment assignments with no crossover. Supplies and equipment that cannot be easily disinfected will be removed. Children will be encouraged to maintain social distance. Hand hygiene will be encouraged and additional hand washing stations provided. Supervisors will be in place to monitor social distancing, safety, quality of programming, hand hygiene, and support staff and other related needs. For camps, face coverings (non-medical masks) will be used, if physical distancing of at least 2-metres cannot be maintained. Consideration will be given to participants when face coverings are not tolerated, due to by underlying health, behaviour issues or beliefs. Public use of the basketball courts has been discouraged throughout the pandemic. Camps will use the courts during the day, even still after 5 p.m. they may be used by the public, even though it is not encouraged. Unfortunately, given Public Health protocols, BGCKL will not be able to open the Splash Pad for public use at this time. “The capacity limits mandated by the province and health and safety requirements leave us no choice but to limit access to the Splash Pad to our summer camp groups and childcare programs,” added Terrill. “This is not an easy decision, as we know how much our visitors enjoyed the Splash Pad last year, but we encourage the public to access other alternatives.” Pending Public Heath approvals, BGCKL will offer one general summer camp, supporting children 5-12 years of age, broken into four groups at our Lindsay site. Summer camp registration will be open on Wednesday, June 17th @ noon. Requests for spaces should be communicated by email, at info@bgckl.com, or phone, at 705-324-4493, extension 200. Requests will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. All registration will be week-long and the cost will be $147.50/week for members. BGCKL will also offer a virtual summer camp with the support of the Jays Care Foundation. Details will follow. BGCKL also continues to, provide nutrition support to our most vulnerable families, virtually deliver Infant and Child Development, and offer various support services. Youth Leadership programs will also be offered through virtual means. Rentals of Club facilities will still not be available until further notice. We will continue to monitor government announcements for any applicable changes or updates.
Comments