WELCOME TO RIPPLES 2012

Ripples Families need no longer come to Reily and wait in line to register your child!  We’ve described the new and easy process below for your convenience.

Ripples Priority Registration & Payment will now be Online beginning March 1^st at 8am

1.       Click here to begin the registration process!

2.       The new Online Registration Form now allows parents/guardians to create and log into a personal account, add multiple children, and make additional changes to their child’s information.

3.       Parents will now register their children online.  Online VISA, MasterCard, Tulane Payroll Deduction and Electronic Transfer of Fund (EFT) payments will be accepted. Up to 4 monthly deduction options available.

4.       Children will not be enrolled until payments are submitted online.

5.       Computer access for registration is also available in the Reily Member Services Office.

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A Letter from the Ripples Camp Director

The 2012 Ripples experience will continue to create a "World of Good" that will warm the hearts of youngsters, their parents and our staff as we continue to strive beyond excellence to provide children's summer programming as only Ripples and Tulane University's Reily Student Recreation Center can.

This summer we will create an awe-inspiring life changing experience for the hundreds of campers, parents and the highly dedicated, motivated and energetic staff who are employed in our two, four week session summer camp experience. Whether campers are enrolled in one session or two, noticeable achievements are reached as children and young adults are provided with opportunities that allow them to believe in themselves through successful achievement in recreational/social and/or athletic areas. For some of our campers, this experiential learning will be the first time that they are able to fully explore the possibilities and challenges of learning new sports or achieving their personal best.

We continue to observe the residual benefits of instilled confidence and the strength of bonds that are created within our campers and staff as evidenced by the campers desire to carry the spirit of  the Ripples family throughout the academic year.  The foundation of the Ripples family grows within each of us year after year, as evidenced by the retention rate of our campers and our staff. We are very proud and honored to be part of your children's lives and over the years we have started to work with campers whose parents were once Ripples campers! We are now a part of intergenerational growth within our camp families which is a source of tremendous pride for us.

Our philosophy has always been that we work in partnership with our parents whose trust we are given each and every day to ensure the physical and psychological well being of their children. We are open to suggestions and the thoughts of our parents at all times. Parents may visit the Reily Student Recreation Center at any time to observe their child's activities. We communicate with our parents through personal conversations, as well as weekly, monthly and at times daily written communications to reassure them of their children's exact whereabouts and the fun their children are having. All communications are also posted online.

Our progressive heartfelt programming features mature, certified and seasoned staff, many of whom are accredited teachers or who are pursuing specialized certifications in teaching, nursing or counseling fields. In 2012, we are proud to announce that 100% of our staff are returning staff members and many are former Ripples' campers.

Ripples provides children with a "World of Good!" through a varied and structured schedule of age appropriate cultural, social, artistic and physically challenging daily activities. Programming includes traditional team and individual sports, cooking, American Red Cross Swim Instruction, weekly field trips, theme days, cycling, gymnastics, aerobic training, archery, racquetball, tennis, canoeing, horseback riding, rock-climbing, drama, arts and crafts, and professional in-house performances.

Our staff further instills confidence and enhances camper  self-esteem through our character education program and specialized programs such as our sport specific "Mini-Camps", Ripples Color War, Carnival, Game Shows, and the culminating Musical Theatre Performance in which every child has the opportunity to participate either individually or as a member of their group.

Just as importantly, our highly trained staff is also a sensitive one. It is quite humbling and refreshing for me to lead a wholesome group of young professionals as they pull together and work as a team. Each staff member, will at one time or another, reach out to their campers both on and off the field of play to reassure them or provide them with the added encouragement that may be needed. A simple gesture of reassurance can at times be just what is needed to support a child as they try something new.

This summer we will provide an opportunity for our oldest campers, aged 12-15 to culminate their summer with a fun filled and adventure packed trip to Orlando to visit the theme parks of Universal and Disney. 

Campers between the ages of 4-15 are eligible to enroll in Ripples. Our staff will continue to provide a 5:1 camper to staff ratio with our oldest campers and 4:1 camper to staff ratio to our youngest campers. Campers are grouped according to chronological age and gender.  Camp begins at 9am and dismisses at 4pm daily. Before and After Care is now included in all registration fees and is available as early as 7:30am-and as late at 5:30pm. Professionally prepared, great tasting, and nutritionally balanced lunches and afternoon fresh fruit snacks are provided as part of our daily routine and are provided by our certified university's culinary staff.

All the best,

Coach Bruce

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Please familiarize yourself with the American Camping Association website at www.acacamps.org for further information regarding what Ripples ACA accreditation means to you as a parent and to your child. We have met more than 355 standards as set by the American Camping Association for accreditation and provided camping experts an open-door policy which allows them to visit onsite and monitor staff trainings, archery procedures, canoeing procedures, climbing wall procedures, program design, safety precautions, our medical procedures, our culinary procedures, our certifications of our staff, age requirements of staff, hiring practices, camper to staff ratio, aquatics programming, athletic instruction and design, transportation safety procedures and equipment, cultural and community involvement, camper and parental feedback...and so much more to insure the extraordinary strength of our programming. Our last visit from the ACA was in July of 2010, and since 1998 our initial year of accreditation, we have met all standards of compliance with 100% accuracy. 

For further information please contact us at 504.865.5375 or Bruce Bershad at bbersha@tulane.edu

"Our staff of caring educators create a family atmosphere where camper self-esteem and parental trust are our first priorities."