"We appreciate your desire to assist us in training Nick's conscience and character.  Your work at Camp Stanislaus is deeply appreciated here. Nick has memories he will never forget.”
Mr. Bruce Kennedy, Baton Rouge, LA

Camp History
Camp Stanislaus is a traditional resident and day camp for boys and has been conducted in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart since 1928.  Camp operated until the early 1960's at which time it was discontinued so the Brothers could attend college classes to further their personal education.  Then, in the summer of 1968, Brother Noel Lemmon, SC, resumed the tradition of Camp Stanislaus by re-opening the camp with 60 boys.  Brother Noel guided Camp Stanislaus for over thirty years and turned it into a truly rewarding experience shared by thousands of boys.  Brother Noel retired after completing the 1998 camp session.  Since that time, the camp has been under the direction of "lay" personnel, all of whom have a vast amount of experience and have been trained under the direction of Brother Noel for many years.

A Brief History Of St. Stanislaus College
Founded January 5, 1854, by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, St. Stanislaus College is the oldest institution of learning on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Chartered in 1870 as Saint Stanislaus College, it became college preparatory in 1923.  For over 150 years the Brothers and lay faculties at St. Stanislaus have trained over 10,000 young men in the principles of Christian doctrine and education.  These young men upon leaving Saint Stanislaus have taken their place in the world as true Men of Character.

Location And Facilities
Camp Stanislaus is located in the city of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, only one hour from New Orleans, Louisiana and one and a half hours from Mobile, Alabama.  Situated on the beautiful beaches of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the facilities are the same as those used by St. Stanislaus College Prep.  These include two gyms, three tennis courts, a swimming pool, football stadium, baseball stadium, one thousand foot pier, recreational and TV rooms, dining hall, dormitory, class rooms, computer labs, weight room, art room, rifle range, athletic fields, beach volleyball court, ski camp, health center, and unlimited sandy beaches. The camp has three buses, a suburbans, and two trucks to transport campers to various off-campus activities.  In addition, there are numerous sailboats, ski boats, and boats for fishing off the coast of Bay St. Louis near the barrier islands and salt marshes.

Campers
Boys from the ages of eight to fifteen are eligible to attend Camp Stanislaus.  According to age, the campers are divided into four main groups, the “Shrimps,” “Stingrays,” “Dolphins,” and “Sharks”. There are 144 resident campers for each session in addition to 48 day campers.

Camper Development
A carefully supervised and structured environment enables a boy to succeed daily in a variety of recreational and academic pursuits, resulting in a fun, active, safe, and growth-filled summer.  Campers have the opportunity to acquire new skills and improve old ones.  These challenges enhance the camper's individual character formation by focusing on his social skills, confidence, discipline, spirituality, teamwork, and leadership.

Camp Stanislaus provides a non-competitive environment for the campers.  The campers compete with themselves at the different activities.  However, there are a few competitive activities such as basketball, soccer, and football that encourage good sportsmanship and team spirit.  The boys understand that the most important thing about competition is effort.  The boys like to win, but no one can win all the time.  If each camper does his best, he is a winner every time he competes.

Through participation in all of the activities at camp, each camper will experience some personal growth and development.  This will not only be the improved skills in various activities, but the camper will develop an appreciation, respect, and love for himself, his environment, his family, and others.  This is further enhanced by his improved self-confidence, self-discipline, level of cooperation, and team spirit.  The growth and development of each camper is a recurring daily theme with the staff.

“Thanks for taking care of our son, Collin.  He had a great three weeks at camp.  His counselor, Chris, was such a great influence.  He really did a great job with Collin, and I want you to know how pleased we were with him. Thanks and we hope to see you next year!”
Mrs. Jan Rost, Slidell, LA

Awards, Certificates and Closing Ceremony
All parents are invited to the awards ceremonies at the end of each three week session. The awards ceremony begins at 10:00 AM and lasts about one hour.

All of the awards at Camp Stanislaus are given not only as a recognition of excellence, but also as a promoter of enthusiasm, fair competition, and sportsmanship.  Each camper, in all four groups, is eligible to receive any of his group's awards.

Awards are given at Camp Stanislaus for those activities for which campers have been given instruction and opportunity for improvement.  Awards are given for excellence in a given area as determined by a vote of counselors and instructors.  At the end of each three week session, awards, plaques, certificates are distributed to deserving campers in all of the major camp activities.  Awards are distributed at the camp closing ceremonies, and all parents and friends are invited to attend.

All awards presented each year by Camp Stanislaus are made possible through a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Bonura, Sr., in memory of their son, Henry F. Bonura, Jr.


Character Cup
The highest award given to the outstanding camper in each group at Camp Stanislaus is the Brother Noel Character Cup.  This is the most prestigious award given at Camp Stanislaus.  The Character Cup is awarded to the camper who, by vote of the counselors, has shown to an outstanding degree the qualities of cooperation, respect, sincerity, dependability, and willingness to participate whole-heartedly in all of the activities of Camp Stanislaus.

Health And Safety
Dedication to training, prevention, and supervision provides Camp Stanislaus with an excellent health and safety record over the years.  The staff in the Camp Health Center cares for minor medical problems.  The services of Hancock Medical Center in Bay St. Louis are utilized for problems of a more severe nature.  In serious cases not demanding immediate attention, parents are notified to make the decisions regarding their son's care.  If several days of bed rest are required, parents may be asked to take their son home for that period of recovery.

A camp health form is mailed to each applicant in April and must be returned prior to arriving at camp.  All medication is stored in the Camp Health Center and distributed by trained staff.  Parents are responsible for any medical expenses incurred beyond the scope of the services of our Camp Health Center.  Camp Stanislaus provides an accident insurance policy to assist families with medical expenses.  However, this policy is secondary to a family's primary health insurance policy.

“All camp personnel were extremely pleasant and helpful to us throughout the six weeks. This was amazing considering the enormous responsibility and constant activity level.  Vincent still talks a great deal about Br. Lee and Elliot.  Br. Harold is also included in his conversations as well as many others.”
Mr. & Mrs. Harold and Gail Cox, New Orleans, LA

What do we do with our son’s medications?
All medications must be labeled and delivered to the Camp Health Center by the parent.  Campers are not permitted to have medication on their person, in their luggage, or in the dorm at any time.

What Is The Camp Health Center Policy?
The staff of the Camp’s Health Center does an excellent job of monitoring the health of all campers.  If at any time the staff feels that your son needs to see a doctor or needs emergency care, the nurse in charge of the Camp’s Health Center will call you to make the necessary arrangements.  If your son needs a doctor’s care, you are always welcome to pick him up at camp and take him to your family physician.  

The nurse is also able to make an appointment with a local doctor or utilize the services of the emergency room at Hancock Medical Center.  She is happy to make arrangements for medical care, send your health insurance information, and provide transportation for your son to see a doctor.  However, all financial obligations must be worked out between you and the doctor’s office or the hospital before treatment is given.  The nurse will give you the phone number of the doctor’s office so that you can call to make the necessary arrangements over the phone before your son arrives for treatment.  Since most doctors or clinics require payment with each visit, you may need to provide the doctor’s office with a credit card number to charge the bill on your credit card account.

Similarly, the nurse can make arrangements with a local pharmacy to fill prescriptions that are needed due to an unexpected illness or accident.  Again, the financial arrangements for prescriptions are between you and the pharmacy.  The nurse will notify you if a local doctor prescribes any medication.  If you would like the staff in the Camp’s Health Center to have a prescription filled, it will be necessary for you to call the pharmacy and arrange payment.  Until you make satisfactory arrangements with the pharmacy for payment, the prescription cannot be filled.  All prescriptions for maintenance medications for allergies, ADHD or any chronic conditions are to be filled at your local pharmacy and brought or mailed to the nurse in the Camp Health Center.

You can understand why Camp Stanislaus cannot be the financial guarantors of your son’s medical bills.  Since the health and well being of your son is a major concern, Camp Stanislaus needs to have in place an effective means of providing appropriate medical services.  Please be assured that in the case of a genuine emergency, the Camp Director will take whatever steps are necessary to see that your son gets the best medical treatment available.  Camp Stanislaus is committed to assuring you that quality care is always available to your son.

Emergency Closing Procedures
In the event of the necessity of an emergency closing of camp for any reason, you will be notified as quickly as possible.  This will be accomplished by a telephone call to you reminding you which option you have chosen for your son's transportation home.  If this option has changed, you are to inform the camp representative at that time.  This information will be relayed to the proper individual.  Please do not call the camp, since we will be busy on the phone trying to contact you and the many other families.  

We will post information on our web site (www.campstanislaus.com) under the “What’s New” section to inform our families.  For those of you in the WWL Radio Station (870 AM) broadcast area, please tune-in for announcements concerning the closing and reopening of Camp Stanislaus.

To assist families and to ensure each camper's safety, Camp Stanislaus will send one bus to New Orleans and a second to Baton Rouge.  The Baton Rouge bus will stop in Covington.

Camp Interruption / Cancellation Policy
Natural disasters (primarily hurricanes) are an inevitable risk of operating any camp, particularly one like Camp Stanislaus, where so many activities are outdoors.  The Camp Director has the primary responsibility for determining whether camp must be interrupted or canceled due to natural disasters.  Camp Stanislaus will make every effort to insure that any necessary disruptions are minimized.  However, the camp’s primary concern is the safety of our campers.

The cost of operating camp is largely fixed by the time camp begins.  Even though natural disasters may interrupt camp, the expenses continue.  Therefore, camp cannot guarantee refunds for interruptions of camp caused by uncontrollable forces.  Nonetheless, Camp Stanislaus is conscious of the sacrifices made by parents and relatives to send their boys to camp.  Therefore, we will make every effort to refund camp fees.  This will be done after considering our fixed financial obligations and any losses not covered by insurance.

Spirituality and Religious Services
Campers are provided with opportunities for Mass, reception of the Sacraments, and regular prayer.  All campers, regardless of their religious affiliation, are expected to attend all group spiritual activities.  Daily, there is a short camp meeting where all of the campers gather to hear a character talk. Also, before going to bed, each group will meet for prayer and a brief talk on the day’s activities, including campers' success stories and problems.

“I am writing to thank you for providing such a marvelous, fun, and spiritual filled summer experience for our son, Marc.  We are so pleased to see how our son has matured over the summer.  His self-confidence is remarkable.  Camp Stanislaus provided him with the opportunity to experience things he could not have experienced in Kentucky. Most importantly though, he was surrounded by motivation to try his best, and he saw first hand the rewards for his efforts. While at first we were concerned with the distance, we soon found that our son was able to deal with dorm life and could do very well in the camp environment.  He still excitedly tells his friends the impact the counselors and Brothers had on him and speaks highly of the many new friends he made at camp.  We know that our decision to send Marc to Camp Stanislaus was one of the best parenting decisions we have made.  Once again, thank you for a job well done! Marc is eagerly looking forward to spending next summer at Camp Stanislaus.”
Mrs. Cathy Craft, Madisonville, KY