Frequenty asked questions from parents
Why should our family choose Fleur de Lis?
For over 90 years Fleur de Lis has been providing a wholesome summer experience that develops new skills, encourages independence, and creates lifelong friendships within a safe and nurturing community. Within our community we help each girl grow and stretch while providing her just the right amount of support to be successful and confident while delivering a program that embodies our core values of integrity, loyalty, and service.
Where will my daughter live at camp?
8-10 year olds are part of the Junior Unit and live in a cabin with limited electricity and a bathroom. They share their cabin with four to five other girls and at least one staff member and a counselor-in-training. 11-13 year olds are part of the Mid unit and live with 3-4 other girls their age with one counselor and a counselor-in-training. Younger Mids live in cabins with electricity and older Mids live in platform tents. Nearby is a bathhouse (known as a WOG at Fleur de Lis) with electricity, hot showers, and flushing toilets. Quickly these tents and cabins become a cozy home to campers. All Senior campers live in platform tents.
Will I be able to communicate with my daughter?
Along with your daughter we hope you learn to enjoy the lost art of letter writing. Six days a week after lunch, girls gather at the Barn to devour news from home. Each girl is required to write home at least once a week to share camp news. We are proud of our commitment to take a break and be unplugged from email, texting, and cell phones. The camp office is always available for phone calls if you feel the need to check in and speak to your daughter’s counselor or a member of the administrative team.
What are meals like?
Each week campers are assigned to a table where they sit with a counselor in a multiage setting. Good manners, shared conversation, nutritional meals, and traditional camp songs make the FdL dining experience something that is important to our camp community and culture. Campers and staff will tell you it is an opportunity to get to know the many members of our camp in a true family setting. Campers will also tell you that the food is great! Our chef, Heidi, has fine-tuned the menu according to campers’ tastes throughout the years. In addition to the main entree and side dishes, the Dining Hall offers a salad bar for lunch and dinner, a yogurt/oatmeal bar for breakfast, a pasta bar for lunch, as well as dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
Are campers allowed to have electronics at Fleur de Lis?
Fleur de Lis strives to have campers take a break from electronics. However, music is a big part of camp life and campers are allowed to bring MP3 players with all video removed. Older campers may listen to their MP3 players during quiet times and all campers may use them for music, talent, and skit events. Hand held games and cell phones are prohibited. Campers may, however, bring cameras to camp. All families are reminded that campers spend most of time outdoors and need to decide if such valuable devices should be brought to camp.
How does my daughter sign up for activities?
Upon arrival campers choose five activities in which to participate. A schedule is developed based on a 1-5 choice with their top pick being the activity they have most often. First time campers “try” each activity before signing up. Campers staying four weeks or longer may adjust their activities and sign up for new activities at the midpoint of their stay.
What does ACA mean?
For more than five decades Fleur de Lis Camp has been continuously accredited by the American Camp Association, complying with over 300 safety standards from staff qualifications to emergency management.
What is your cancellation policy?
A $500 deposit is required at time of registration for all Standard and Starter resident camp sessions, to be credited to tuition. Space in the program is not fully reserved until the deposit is received. The $500 deposit is refundable until January 15, 2021.
Tuition balances to be paid in three equal installments by January 15th, March 15th, and April 15th with the entire remainder plus any additional fees, including store credit (incidental account) due on April 15th. Tuition is refundable until April 15, 2021.
There are no tuition adjustments or refunds shall be made should your camper be required to leave camp before her session expires, except in the case of injury or illness incurred at camp. In that event, tuition will be prorated.
In the unlikely event, summer 2021 is suspended a full refund will be available.
The tuition rates DO NOT INCLUDE the cost for optional activities including horseback riding, the Senior trip, or other unusual out of camp trips. These charges will be added to the final tuition balance.
Do you recommend any boys camps?
Yes! We have two brother camps in the New England area.
Camp O-AT-KA
Fleur de Lis has a rich history with Camp O-AT-KA, a boys camp in Sebago, Maine founded in 1906. The property is gorgeous and their program runs similarly to Fleur de Lis Camp, starting their days with a Password and offering many activity options for their campers.
Learn more about Camp O-AT-KA!
William Lawrence
Fleur de Lis also has a brother camp on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire called William Lawrence.
Learn more about William Lawrence’s program!
Can my daughter bunk with a friend?
For returning campers: Sure! This request needs to be mutual, so a parent/guardian of each camper in the request needs to reach out to communicate the request.
For new campers: We can accommodate bunk requests, but we strongly encourage new campers to trust the science behind our bunk dynamics! We try to put new campers with one more new camper (so they can bond over being new) and with at least 1-2 returning campers (so they can show your camper the ropes). This balance has worked out really well for us, and we are incredibly deliberate in choosing the girls in each tent/cabin, and pairing bunks with staff who best fit the personalities in each cabin.
Why a 2-week session?
We know some prospective campers (and families!) may be hesitant initially to choose a longer stay at camp . Our 2-week sessions are for new campers (younger than the 7th grade) to experience the magic of camp for their first time! After their first year, campers must stay for 3.5 weeks or longer to get the fullest camp experience.
Campers get to experience an Open Activities Day to “try out” most activities before signing up to create their schedule. They will spend time with new friends, enjoy lots of special moments and make great memories.
It’s not unusual for 2-week campers to want to stay longer and the good news is they will have the option to extend for a longer stay! Campers in either 2-week session can extend their stay if there is a space available to enjoy the full experience of a 3.5 week session.
