camp counselor

Bayview Glen Day Camp

I was a camp counsellor at Bayview Glen in 2016. My day would begin at 7:30am, as I was a bus monitor, and end at 5:00pm when the bus would drop me off at my house. Unless, of course, it was one of the many days when we were required to stay late for some reason or another--be it a meeting or a camp event. We worked overtime on average twice a week, and on those days I would get home closer to 8:00pm or even 9:00pm--only to start the day over less than 12 hours later. We were not paid for overtime but would lose money if we did not attend. We also were required to call the parents of our campers before camp began and periodically over the summer for check-ins and updates and proved proof that we did so. For this work, spread out over two months (July  to August 2016) I received (as did the other people in my age group)  $750 --and that would have been $650 had I not received $100 extra for being a bus monitor ($50 extra a month). After deductions, my salary was $735, and we had to come in the day after the last day of camp and clean in order to receive our cheques. My understanding is this is legal as Bayview-Glen is a privately-operated camp. This should not be the case. As a 16 year-old at the time, I firmly believe this is an example of exploitative child-labour.

As a former Sports Specialist, it was a pleasant experience getting to work with different type of children.

One thing I learned for sure was making sure that you have patience and understand where they're coming from.

Management was literally everyone that knew each other. It was a clique and very saddened to see it evolved throughout my time there.

The workplace culture was very subpar as the camp played favouritism despite having certain children respect and love your programming.

The hardest part of the job was the gossiping as there was gossiping all over camp. In addition to that, it was hard getting promoted to unit head, or program head unless the other head staff liked you or were their friend.

The most enjoyable part of the job was coming to camp leaving a smile on most of the childrens faces and always saying Hi to me.

What's interesting is that the former directors left to start a new camp.

Overall, if you're looking for a start to work in the children & youth field, give this camp a try. 

Head staff played favorites and certainly did not do what was best for kids, felt like all about how much money they could snag. Pay was absolutely horrible, not even close to minimum hourly wage, lump sum at the end of 7 weeks, and if you did not complete the 7 weeks, you only received 50% of your final pay. The pay for specialists was not even close to compensating for how much work was done. Also claim to have an "inclusion program", nope, just a one-on-one counselor whose upper supervisor forces them to have their child with needs participate, even if it ends up in a bad tantrum OR another camper getting hurt by said child. Absolutely no "program" for these children put into place, even after feedback was given. Lunches are terrible, good luck having enough energy for the 8 hour day. Breaks are almost non-existent, you can take 15 once a day, but finding the time when you feel you can is simply not there, support from head staff isn't either. If this is your first job and you like kids, have fun, other counselors and making friends is the best part. Personally, would never go back. 

I don`t understand how it is legal however they pay you below minimum wage as others said around 10 dollars an hour before taxes. The pay is horrible, they give no benefits whatsoever besides a mini lunch which is high school cafeteria food. No breaks are provided and limited opportunities to take a day off or call in sick. Very stressful environment.  They also make you do before and after care for free, so you must stay before and after an hour or two and that's a free service you have to provide part of the contract

The workplace culture is horrible, the camp hires mostly high school students who lack the experience and basic respect. The environment was so toxic towards the campers and team members.  The camp does not value experienced workers and their aim is to hire the cheapest labour possible. The inclusion role is rewarding however there was so much stigma around it and the culture at the camp was negative. I would say the campers were the best part and getting to work with them and support them was great. Camp directors were good too.

It doesn't feel like you go to work at the camp. Sometimes it feels like you are a camper yourself with how overbearing and micromanaging your supervisors are. At the end of the day, you are really being paid less than minimum wage (comes to about $0.10/hour, depending on your AGE.) They pay based on age, not based on actual skill level or involvement. Most people who work here are students from rich families, sometimes there is drama between coworkers and some really nasty gossip will go around. A typical day at work will either be 7 or 9 hours, depending on whether or not you choose to go to work. There are also staff meetings held regularly that last until 9:30 or later. Hardest part of the job is waking up in the morning with high energy and leaving the place with high energy, or having to get along with coworkers that do not want to be there and do not bother to put in effort to interact with children at all. The most enjoyable part of the job was taking naps on the school bus.

Bayview Glen camps are super fun places to work. They keep you running from the time you get there until the time you leave but nobody really seems to mind. The day ends early enough for you to have a social life if you so desire and you'll make amazing friends. The management staff is really friendly and ready to help you with anything you need. Programs can get pretty hectic with all those kids running around but they're so cute you can't help but love them.

The only downside I can think of to this camp is the pay. Employees are paid one lump salary at the end of the summer which means hard going during work season. Salary is based on age and number of years worked at the camp. I personally think the salaries are ridiculously low for the amount of work done. The only people who could really survive on the money they make are high school student with parents to pay their bills.

Loved the job, got to develop great distinct relationships with each of my campers, while monitoring, teaching, and helping them learn on a daily basis. A typical day of work consisted of 2 periods of swimming each for one hour with the kids (both instructional and free), and then 6 other activities I got to do with them. The workplace culture was friendly, happy, and enjoyable to work in. I loved how all the staff were always so supportive and willing to help out whenever needed. The hardest part of the job was for sure dealing with misbehaving campers and having to discipline them, and the most enjoyable part of the job was watching the campers smile, laugh, and have fun with their friends while being active and doing things they love.

I worked here for the March break camp and let me tell you it was the worst experience I have ever had. It was highschool all over again.  I got trauma from working there because of how negative and toxic the environment became. It was so stressful dealing with this high school drama and stress from unqualified volunteers and staff. Lack of training was a big problem. The pay is below minimum wage, you don't get a break or any benefits. It is really just a starting job or if your very desperate not for an experienced worker. I think the camp has potential but alot of work needs to be done , alot of emphasis needs to be put on the workplace culture. I am not going to work here for the summer, I do not feel valued at all plus the pay is horrible 

If possible do not work here. They pay you based on age, so if you're under 18 they will pay you next to 50cents an hour. Staff are all horrible, lowkey a racist environment. They make you work long hours with hardly any breaks, kids are ill-mannered, so are other staff. If you are stuck with a co-counsellor that doesn't do any work.... good luck. Working as Speshilty you make more money, but you have to work so much harder. the head staff are all rude and play favourites. They require you to work a lot of extra hours, especially in the first and last few days. (most people just hide in the bathrooms, or in the basement.) All the counsellors are hooking up with one another and an overall bad environment. Need to pay for own shirts, the t-shirt is really soft and comfortable material. You do get free hot lunch and meet a friendly kid every once in a while.

My overall experience at Bayview Glen was fairly good. The staff were all very friends and seemed to have a passion for kids. However, alot of the kids were hard to heal with and my cocounselors were not very helpful with the more difficult children. I was also a bus counselor, but was placed on 4 different busses throughout my one month at the camp with no warning beforehand because people called in sick and they could not find another replacement. I have been called in the morning 10 minutes in advance that I have to be ready for a bus to pick me up a half hour earlier than usual. However, the staff in general were very understanding and supportive, and the unit heads always offered to help if there were difficult campers.

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