Ontario Children/Youth Camp

Children/Youth Camp is a great opportunity for children and youth ages 8-17 to sing and learn with others. They will sing in choir under an experienced director who will make it both educational and fun. Classes will help children read and understand music as they learned to read and understand words.

New for 2026: Children/Youth Camp age is determined by a child’s age on December 31, 2026.

Learning

Children/Youth Camp is Monday – Friday, 8:50 AM – 3:00 PM. In choir, students see the music, notes, rests, and rhythms. In class, they learn what those things mean and how they work together to form a song. The teachers work hard to customize material for each age level so it’s accessible and exciting.

Sharing

Camp is also a social experience. Lunches are provided, and everyone gets to eat together. Camp also includes chapel, recreation, snack and games – a welcome break from the mental work of classes and choir.

Singing

All the learning and singing during the week is building toward an end goal – performing at the Choral Festival, getting to share what they’ve been learning with family and other audience members. This is a highly satisfying chance to show what they did throughout the week.

Registration: March 2 @ 6:00 AM EST to July 15

Meet the 3 C’s of your learning experience:

Choir. Class. Choral Festival.

Treble Choir (Ages 8-10)
Treble Choir rehearses twice daily, Monday – Friday. Choir students also participate in Dress Rehearsal and the Choral Festival.
Conductor: Deana Swanson

Middle Choir (Ages 11-13)
Middle Choir rehearses twice daily, Monday – Friday. Choir students also participate in Dress Rehearsal and the Choral Festival.

Conductor: Rosemary Eberly

Youth Choir (Ages 14-17)

Youth Choir rehearses twice daily, Monday – Friday. Choir students also participate in Dress Rehearsal and the Choral Festival.

Conductor: Nolan Martin

When we first start school, we learn about letters, how letters form words, and how words form sentences. In musical skills class, we do the same thing – only with music. Students will learn about notes, rhythms, rests, pitches, and how they all fit together to form a song. Classes meet Monday – Friday. Class placement is by age.

Ages 8-9: Musical Skills I

Ages 10-11: Musical Skills II
Age 12-13: Musical Skills III
Ages 14-17: Sight-Singing

Instructors:

Deana Swanson

Natalie Martin

Dwilyn Beiler

Textbook: Sight-Singing textbook required for ages 14-17 ($20)

All students enrolled in choir sing in the Choral Festival, including the dress rehearsal on Saturday evening.

On Saturday, children will meet at Woodlawn Mennonite Fellowship for practice and the dress rehearsal at the times listed below. Children are not required to be in formal choir attire for this dress rehearsal. They should have supper before coming to practice:

Middle Choir students (ages 11-13) need to be in the Woodlawn auditorium by 5:00 PM
Youth Choir students (ages 14-17) need to be in the Woodlawn auditorium by 5:30 PM
Treble Choir students (ages 8-10) need to be in the Woodlawn auditorium by 6:00 PM

Treble and Youth Choir students arriving before their auditorium time will go to their designated room at Woodlawn until it is time for them to meet in the auditorium.

On Sunday, children should be at Wallenstein Bible Chapel by 2:00 PM, dressed in their formal choir attire.

Following the afternoon program, a light supper will be provided for all students at Wallenstein Bible Chapel.

Supervision will be provided between programs.

Schedules

	MONDAY-FRIDAY, JULY 20-24
	At Countryside Christian School
9:00	Chapel
9:25	Musical Skills/Crafts
10:05	Recreation/Snack
10:45	Choir
12:00	Lunch
12:30	Musical Skills/Crafts/Rec./Snack
2:00	Choir
3:00	Dismissal

	MONDAY-FRIDAY, JULY 20-24
	At Countryside Christian School
9:00	Choir
10:15	Chapel/Snack
10:50	Recreation/Crafts/Musical Skills
12:10	Lunch
12:40	Choir
1:45	Musical Skills/Crafts/Rec./Snack
3:00	Dismissal

	MONDAY-FRIDAY, JULY 20-24
	At Countryside Christian School
9:00	Chapel (with adults)
10:00	Sight Singing
11:10	Choir
12:20	Lunch
12:50	Recreation/Snack
1:50	Choir
3:00	Dismissal

	SATURDAY, JULY 25
	At Woodlawn Mennonite Fellowship
5:00	Choir Rehearsal
7:00	Dress Rehearsal

	SUNDAY, JULY 26
	At Wallenstein Bible Chapel
2:00	Choir Rehearsal
3:30	Choral Festival
5:15	Supper
6:15	Choir Rehearsal
7:00	Choral Festival

Dress Code

Please Do

Girls: Wear dresses or skirts that cover and extend well below the knee whether standing or sitting.
Boys: Wear denim or khaki pants.
All: Wear shoes or sandals.

Please Don’t

Girls: Wear shirts or blouses with low-cut necklines, that are tight-fitting, or that are sleeveless.
Boys: Wear sleeveless shirts or shorts.
All: Wear clothing with logos larger than 2” square.

Program Attire

Solid-colored black pants and white dress shirts (long or short sleeved) for boys.
Black dresses for girls. If black is unavailable, a dark solid is acceptable.

What ages are allowed in Children/Youth Camp?

Ages 8-17 are welcome to attend Children/Youth Camp.

New for 2026: Age is determined by your child’s age on Dec 31, 2026.

What are attendance expectations?

Children and youth are expected to attend all classes and choir rehearsals in the schedule. Please do not be absent without first communicating with administration.

Do my children need to wear concert attire at dress rehearsal?

No, their daily class attire will be fine.

What guidelines are in place at camp to ensure the safety of children and youth?

SCMC instructors and staff who teach or supervise students under age 18 at camp have completed abuse awareness and prevention training through Ministry Safe and have had a background check completed. In addition, they annually review and agree to follow the SCMC policies for the protection of minors.

Fees

The total cost for Children’s Camp (ages 8-13) is $185.