Welcome to Band Camp Central!

Everything you need to know about band camp.

Next Date: TBA – Gull Lake Centre

This is mostly a parent’s guide because it’s the students who get to go and experience it, but if you are a parent chaperone, or you just like to know how this works, this is the place for you.

Band Camp is Special For a Few Reasons

• It creates camaraderie among the students.
• It allows the students to feel more included within the band community as a whole – friendships between different grades start to develop at band camp.
• It’s just plain fun.

But most importantly, it gives the students an opportunity to improve their instrument playing and musicality.

As you’ll see in the schedule, not only do students have clinics with Mr. Basaraba and a guest conductor, but Mr. B brings in University of Alberta Masters students to do individual instrument clinics! For example, the Grade 9 flutes will get to spend time in a flute clinic with a masters student who will work with them on just the flute!

It’s a wonderful opportunity that they just wouldn’t get at the school alone. In the past, the guest conductors/clinicians have been university professors. This is a high quality learning opportunity for our students and it’s one of the reasons that our Band Program and Band Director are THE BEST.

Where is Band Camp?

Band Camp is held at the Gull Lake Centre in Central Alberta. It is nestled in the woods along the shores of Gull Lake and is set up with cabins, a cafeteria, gym, games room, outdoor hockey rink and many lounging areas for students. There is also Memorial Hall, which turns into the “concert hall” for clinics, general gathering and instrument storage.

• Directions to Gull Lake Centre: Link to Gull Lake Centre

• Driving from Edmonton: From southbound on Highway 2, turn WEST on Highway 53 (Rimbey Exit) and drive for 20 km to Junction 792 (Lincoln Road). There is a school and gas station on this corner. Turn SOUTH (left) and drive for 19 km to McLaurin Lane. Turn right and follow the signs!

The food is catered and is delicious! There is open access to water, coffee, tea and hot chocolate, as well as a tuck shop set up by AMPS and manned by the parents so kids have an opportunity to pick up some snacks and drinks at low prices.

Fees

Band Camp fees show up as a part of school fees on the EIPS Parent Portal. If you would like to use your student’s individual band account to pay for Band Camp – partially or fully, please contact the AMPS Treasurer, Jen Heaton, at ardrossanmusicaparents@gmail.com to arrange it. If fees are prohibiting your student from attending Band Camp, please reach out to Mr. Basaraba or Jen to see if there is a way for AMPS to help with the fees. It will be dealt with in strict confidence.

AMPS tries their best to give the students ample opportunity to bolster their Student Band Accounts. See our Fundraising Page for what we’re working on right now.

Security

In order to be a parent chaperone, parents are required to have an RCMP check prior to leaving for band camp. Contact Mr. Basaraba, Mr. Leatherdale or the AJS Office for a form for the check itself, and a form that will exempt you from paying the fee.

The check must be conducted every year, so if you already had clearance previously, you may need to update it.

Communication

Leading up to Band Camp and pretty much until we get settled once we’re there, it’s quite hectic. In an effort to be organized and helpful to Mr. Basaraba, the chaperones can take charge of a few areas. More organization on the front end helps tremendously once we’re there.

A parent who has been to Band Camp before should be a “lead contact” for asking questions and possibly assigning duties like leading team building or getting supplies.

• Parent contact: TBA
• Cell: TBA

We will set up a temporary What’s App group chat so we can ask questions about camp or things like “where’s that roll of tape?” The purpose is also to take some of the pressure off Mr. Basaraba.

Transportation

• Buses leave the school at TBA
• Meeting point is at the school’s band doors.
• Parent Chaperones going on the buses are to park their vehicles behind the school in the back parking lot – let the office know your license plate number.
• If you are driving down with instruments, park in visitor parking in front of the school as we will load from the band room.
• Students are transported via school bus with their respective grade.
• Assigned parents will ride the buses as chaperones.
• Parents that agreed to, will bring larger vehicles/covered trailers to bring the instruments.
• Buses will leave first and then the parent vehicles with instruments will follow.
• Upon arrival parents with instruments will park in the camp’s main building parking lot.
• Departing the camp: TBA

Accommodations

• The centre has cabins for sleeping.
  • The bunk beds have single, wipeable mattresses.
  • The students will be assigned cabins by grade/gender. 
  • Parents will be grouped by gender and placed together in one cabin. 
  • Each cabin has bunk beds (upstairs and downstairs), a bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower, as well as a sink outside of the bathroom and a few storage cubbies. 
  • The cabins are quite new and nice. 
  • They do get rather hot though.
  • There are a few electrical outlets throughout where you can charge your phone, etc.
  • There is a no shoe policy past the front door in the cabins.
• The main building has a cafeteria, games room, and a full size gym and access to the equipment room. 
• The event is catered while we are there and provides meals at scheduled times and the food tends to be delicious!
• Snacks/drinks outside of meal times will be provided by AMPS – there will be a small fee, students and parents can pay with tap or cash. 
• The band activities will be held in Memorial Hall, across from the main building, as well in cabins for clinics. 
• Group building activities will be held throughout the property.
• There is a fire pit that will be manned by parents.

What to Bring

Students will be given their own packing lists from Mr. Basaraba.

Chaperones will spend a fair amount of time outside with the students, so bring appropriate outdoor clothing based on the weather. 

• Bring a light sleeping bag or sheets and blanket
• Pillow
• Change of clothes
• Pajamas
• Toiletries
• Personal fan (a quiet one!)
• Charger
• Slippers or slip-on shoes for inside the main building as all footwear must be removed at the doors to all buildings.

Schedule

• Day 1:
  • Arrival
  • Unloading of vehicles
  • Introductions and information presented by Mr. B
  • Assigning cabins and unpacking
  • Band rehearsals
  • Dinner
  • Group band rehearsal
  • movie/campfire/free time/karaoke???
• Day 2:
  • Typically on the second day, the students spend the day in clinics, either with their band, or their instrument group by grade. 
  • If they aren’t in a clinic, they are either having free time OR they are having a scheduled group building activity.
  • In the past, we have opened up the gym and allowed the kids to play sports as their group building activity, however not all kids are sport-minded kids, so they play unenthusiastically, or they sit out, which is the opposite of group building. The parents have been challenged to come up with group building activities that are more inclusive for ALL the students. See the section about Ideas for Group Building Activities later on this page.
  • The schedule below is an example schedule of day 2