Us In The Media
Certified Teachers as Camp Counselors
Ottawa Citizen: 2002
In 2002 Jennifer Caughill, B.Ed., M.Sc., B.PHE., owner/director of Winners Day Camps and former co-owner of the Free To Be Me Day Camp, celebrates eleven years of running camps in the Ottawa area. Caughill reflects on the improvements made at her camp over the past eleven years with a major emphasis on the switch to hiring fully certified teachers as counselors. “Years ago I hired younger staff members to work at my camp and although they did a good job, they simply didn’t have the experience and professionalism to handle everyday camper situations in a positive manner and with a pro-active approach”, says Caughill. For the last five years Caughill has hired only certified teachers as her head counselors at the camp with the occasional younger staff member helping out as a co-counselor. “I like to hire some University students each summer to give them the experience of learning from the teachers as well as to train them to work with us when they are certified. The majority of my staff are certified teachers and the difference in the delivery of the quality program is unbeatable. Because they work with large numbers of children in their classrooms during the year, when they come to camp and have groups of only ten children, they can really draw on their professional qualifications and focus on our main core concepts of teaching children to work well with others, building self esteem and having fun. The ratio is small enough that staff can easily give each camper plenty of positive attention and stay on top of any conflicts that may arise.”
Winners Day Camps offers two locations in the Ottawa area open to the general public with half and full day options. Winners also operates a Corporate Employee Program providing on-site camp programs for children of employees of various companies, including Nortel Networks.
For over a decade, Caughill’s camp philosophy has allowed campers to "be themselves", work together toward common goals and help each other succeed. Caughill believes that to boost children's self esteem, we must help them find and develop talent in themselves. This will lead to developed confidence in their abilities and faith in themselves. Counselors at Winners take advantage of ample time with campers to foster these traits. By providing children with positive reinforcement, they will feel better about themselves. Further, by helping children look for "highlights" or "positive things in their day", Winners has taught over 5000 campers in the past eleven years to enjoy and appreciate the good things in life.