My child is “X” years old and loves “X”. Why can't he/she be put in that program when there is obviously space? Our programs are aimed at specific ages based on the complexity of the activities the students will be undertaking. Students younger than age 5 and 6 also have unique bathroom needs that not all sites are set up for.

My child is worried they will be the only girl, or only boy in a camp. We do not ask or keep records on children’s gender for any camp themes. If it is important for your child to attend with a certain number of students of a particular gender, we encourage you to coordinate with their friends to attend together.

Why can't I apply on a Friday for camp that starts on Monday when I went online and saw that there was still space in the camp I want?" Camp applications close on the Thursday before camp starts so that we can prepare camp attendance, medical and support documents and distribute them to all sites. Shirts and consumable inventory are also prepped at this time. NO camp applications are accepted after the system closes Thursday evening. Camp applications are open from January to the summer. There is lots of opportunity to sign up in advance.

Can I add people to the pickup list? It is best to add everyone to your pickup list before the Thursday prior to the start of your camp in your CampBrain account so that your records are consistent between head office and the site. You can write in additional people midweek onsite if needed.

My 5 year old wants to go to camp. Sites that are offering our new Kinder Engineers camp are accepting 5 year olds.

My child’s birthday is in the summer. Can they attend the camp even though they turn the minimum age later this summer? Yes, if they are turning the minimum age in the summer or even in September they can join us for camp. Contact us for details to get an exemption (director@brickworksacademy.com).

Can I sign up for just a few days of the week? Sorry camps are only sold in full week sessions, due to budgeting.

Why am I not getting camp correspondence? Parent One is your primary contact for your account. They will receive all email correspondence. Please be sure to share these correspondences with other parents and grandparents who will be involved in the drop off and pick up of your children during the summer. Also please ensure you have correspondence from the brickworksacademy.com domain whitelisted so that it does not go to your spam folder.

I didn’t get an email with details of the camp. Why? Within minutes of completing your camp application, Parent One will be emailed a confirmation email with a statement of accounts. If you do not get this, please check your CampBrain account to confirm you entered your email address correctly. Email addresses must be correct - all correspondence is via automated emails. We do not get informed if your email bounced due to an error in entering your email address. If you do not receive your confirmation email, please contact us (admin@brickworksacademy.com) to investigate which email address is being used. Please also confirm that our emails are not going into your spam folder. It is advisable to create an email rule that emails from brickworksacademy.com always go to your inbox. Here is an article on how to white list an email address to ensure it gets to you.

Can I put myself as the emergency contact? In an emergency, Parent One will be the first to be contacted. An emergency contact should be a secondary person we can reach out to in the event the parent(s) cannot be reached.

Can I change the T-shirt size? Please email admin@brickworksacademy.com before June 1st to update your child’s t-shirt size. Changing shirt sizes after this date cannot always be accommodated.

What size should I select for my child’s t-shirt? Please click here for a sizing chart as a guide when selecting your child’s t-shirt size.

Can my child be in the same group as their friend? Campers signed up for the same theme, week and location will be sharing the same space. Please be sure to confirm these details with the friend’s family and double check that you have signed up for the correct location, theme, and week. You are sent a camp confirmation on completing the application. It is your responsibility to confirm you have completed this accurately and they match your child’s friend’s details. Parents do make errors on these and unfortunately once camps are full, we are unable to make transfers to correct such errors. If students want to be partners within a camp theme, they can let the instructor know on the first day.

Why is my child required to wash their hands? We practice good hygiene at camp to help protect all participants from illness. With play based learning there is a lot of touching shared equipment. It is important to wash ones hands before consuming food after handling equipment. We also ask students to wash their hands after eating to reduce equipment contamination to protect our students with food based allergies. Our technology can also be damaged by food so we also ask for hand washing after meals and snacks to keep the equipment working properly. In addition to meal and snack time students are also required to wash their hands after using the restroom. The Public Health Units promote hand washing for the above reasons.
Click here to read more on hand washing in preventing infection.
Click here to read more on the Public Health Units guidance on hand washing in child care settings.

What are the hours of the day? Most sites have the following hours:

• Standard drop off 8:30 AM to 9 AM

• Camp 9 AM to 4 PM

• Standard pick up 4 PM to 5 PM

• Please note extended care outside of 8:30am to 5pm is unavailable during 2024.

How much outdoor play do they receive in a day? Weather permitting approximately 1 hour of outdoor time per day minimum. This may be onsite or at a community park depending on the location. The drop off and pick up time will also be outside location and weather permitting, please pack a hat and sunscreen.

How much free time are they given?  Drop off and pick up times before core hours (9 to 4pm) are free time - colouring and games. Midday outdoor breaks are also free time where students can choose from structured games to free play.

How long are the eating breaks? Eating lunch is approximately 30 minutes. Students with morning or afternoon breaks are free to take 5 to 10 minutes for these breaks.

How long are they on screens? This varies depending on the camp theme chosen. Video Game Design and other gaming camps will require approximately 4 to 5 hours per day of screen time. Robotics camps break up the activities between computer programming, testing and building robots. This involves less screen time, but a few hours are still required.

Is there a time I can come in and see what my child has been working on? Open house visits have been suspended for 2024 due to Covid precautions.

How much does camp cost? Prices depend on the location attending. Click the site you are interested in from our summer camp menu to find the prices that apply to your location.

I can't afford your camp fee. Do you provide subsidies? What is the process? I’m sorry we don’t have financial aid available and do not qualify under the city administered subsidies programs.

Is there a discount for signing up multiple children or multiple weeks? Sorry we have priced the camps as low as we can keeping in mind the high cost of the equipment brought in for the programs. This doesn’t leave us any room for further discounting. Compared to other tech camps we feel the current pricing is excellent value.

Will there be last minute camp discounts to fill spaces? Sorry we don’t discount last minute spaces as it is unfair to families who have planned their summers in advance. Everyone pays the same fee to attend camp. Early bookings help the camp plan and hire.

Do you offer payment plans? Summer 2024 camps can be booked with a 25% deposit, final balance due May 1st.

Can I come after hours to pick up my child if I didn’t pay for extended care? The late fee is $10/10min. For example, 4 minutes late = $10, 12 minutes late = $20. Your credit card will automatically be charged for late fees. If your card is declined, you will need to pay the late fee in cash before attending the next day of camp. Summer 2024 extended care is not available.

Can I get Extended Care for one day? Extended care is not available.

I need to cancel camp. What is the process? To see the policy click here.

Can I transfer to a different camp week or theme before camp starts? - To see the policy click here.

Can my child be moved to another program if he or she doesn’t like their current one? This depends on enrolment. Many weeks, camp themes are full and can’t accommodate a transfer. Where possible, we will try to accommodate a theme change. A small transfer fee of $25 plus HST will be applied to your account as the space your child was signed up for has likely resulted in another family’s plans being impacted. * Transfer requests with or without sufficient notice may not be possible due to enrollment numbers.

Can I transfer our camp application to a friend? Sorry no transfers between families.

I will be taking my child out of camp for a day. Can I get a refund for the day? Sorry partial refunds for missed days are not possible. The camp still needs to pay the rent and the dedicated staff.

How do I get a tax receipt? You can use the Statement of Accounts as a tax receipt that is included with your confirmation email. You can also access your Statement of Accounts at any time through your CampBrain account. Log in as if signing up for camp.

Can they heat up their lunches?  Sorry we do not have access to microwaves for heating lunches. Please send a cold bag lunch or a thermos with a pre-warmed lunch. Students need to be able to eat their lunch independently so please do not make their lunch too complex. Waste packaging needs to be brought home with your child daily.

Where do they eat? Some sites eat picnic style in the park or in the onsite yard. Food is not compatible with our high-tech equipment, so it isn’t consumed in the classrooms.

How long are the eating breaks? Eating lunch is approximately 30 minutes. Students with morning or afternoon breaks are free to take 5 to 10 minutes for these breaks.

Do you have a Peanut policy? We are a nut aware environment. We ask families to not bring nut products to camp. Please see our full Allergy-and-Anaphylactic policy here.

Do you offer a lunch program? Sorry, we do not offer any lunch programs with third-party vendors. We ask all children to bring a packed lunch and snacks (without nuts).

My child needs a 1-to-1 support person. Do you have a list we can access/do you provide 1-to-1 at no cost? While we are not currently able to offer one-on-one support for children with exceptionalities/special needs,  we do aspire to create a welcoming and inclusive camp opportunity for children of all abilities. In an effort to set your camper and our staff up for a safe and successful session: You are welcome to supply a support person to aid your child in participating in our workshops. Brick Works Academy does not have a list of 1-to-1 staff. 1-to-1 support would be provided by the parent at their expense. For the safety of all our campers all adults accompanying students to camp need to have a clear police background record check on file with the camp. Please provide a copy of the police background record check form to the camp site manager.

I don't want my child filmed, photographed, etc. What process do you have in place for this? Your child can ask to not be in photos or video if they see photos being taken. You can also put a label on their shirt saying no photos please. If we see this, we will try to avoid taking their photo, however, participating in Brick Works Academy programs requires you to agree to the photo waiver portion of the terms of service. We cannot guarantee your child will not be photographed as our students and staff use cameras as an integrated portion of the camps and these images are used in our social media and marketing. We do avoid posting photos to social media the week students are attending camp. Evening news crews do on occasion film at camp (this usually only happens once a year at one or two sites).

What happens to all of this confidential information after the camp season? All our printed reports with student data are shredded at the end of the season.

Why is the program at a church? Will this be okay if my children are Muslim, Jewish or of another faith? Churches and schools are used as common community spaces for summer day camps as they have large spaces available for rent. Our camp programs have no religious content, and all are welcome. Some camps are held in schools while some are in churches. There are no religious teachings in the camp programs so all faiths will feel welcome.

Do you teach religion? Can you cover up the crosses/effigies/crucifixes/statues, so my child doesn't see them? No, we do not teach any religion. Our programs are focused on the advertised themes and the principles of respect. We are guests in these spaces and unable to cover decor of the host space. We believe it is important for all to be respectful of others’ beliefs. Students of all faiths participate in Brick Works Academy programs.

Do you have Winter Holiday Break/March Break/PA day camps here? Our programs outside of summer programs are only offered at our Waterloo site.

Code of Conduct - removal from camp - if a child is removed due to breaking the code of conduct, future weeks will be canceled with no refund. If your child has a history of behaviour problems in school or running away from class, you may want to delay applying to Brick Works Academy until these issues are resolved to avoid losing your camp fees. The code of conduct focuses on behaviors that promote a fun experience for the entire group. Please click here to read the Code of Conduct.

Do the camps repeat content? Yes, a single camp theme has content that repeats from one week to the next allowing you to select any week to attend. If you wish to attend for more than one week, many camps have 1 to 2 weeks’ worth of content with some repetitive content. Our creative camps and gaming camps are able to be taken more than one week as students can tackle them with new creative ways each week.

I have a question not addressed here. Who do I contact? Before the start of the summer camp season you can email director@brickworksacademy.com. If you need to make a change to your camp applications, please email admin@brickworksacademy.com. During the summer if you need to let a site manager know you are running late or need to ask the site manager a specific question about your child’s time at camp, you can refer to the specific site manager’s contact information on the email you will have received on the Friday before camp starts. It is important to note that the site managers only monitor this number and email account during the summer. Staff also only monitor these communications channels during normal operating hours as per the Ontario's right-to-disconnect law, Bill 27.

What is your staff to student ratio? At Brick Works Academy we operate with a 1:10 ratio of instructional staff. Each site also has a site manager and a Health and Safety co-ordinator on site. This brings the overall ratio closer to 1:6 at most sites.

What are the class sizes? Most classes are capped at 10 or 20 students. In a couple of cases there are classes of 30. In each case there is a 1:10 ratio of staff to students. Therefore in classes of 10 there is one instructor, in classes of 20 there are 2 instructors and in classes of 30 there are 3 instructors.

Medications, My child takes medication with meals and snacks can you administer the medication? Our staff are trained in first aid. There are limits to what a first aid trained person is legally permitted to do related to medication. They can assist with the preparation of an inhaler or assist with the administration of an epi-pen. Administering medication outside of this is not permitted. You are welcome to visit the camp during meal times to administer medications to your child or if your child is old enough to take their own medication they can do so as long as you pack only the days amount in the original prescription bottle with proper labels and preferably with a doctors written instructions. In cases of emergency medications staff will call 911 and first responders will assess and administer medications accordingly.