Activities — pier, sailing, and Gulf Coast waterfront
Camp has a private 1,000-foot fishing pier that goes out into the Gulf of Mexico. This is where our sailing and fishing activities take place. At the pier, campers are taught the basics of sailing — including sailing a straight line, tacking, coming about, jibbing, and righting a flipped boat — and can enjoy rides on our catamarans. Other pier activities include paddle boarding, beach volleyball, swimming, and fishing.
Community and belonging — fresh slate, noncompetitive
At Camp Stanislaus, our motto is 'a lifetime of memories and friendships.' Many of our campers and counselors come to camp knowing very few people, if anyone at all, and leave with friends for life. At camp, our campers have the ability to start with a fresh slate. There is no 'he is the bad kid' or 'that's the student who always acts up in class.' Every camper is free to be his or her own self. Camp is a non-competitive environment.
Daily life — non-stop, centralized, no downtime for homesickness
We are a centralized camp which means every day is planned out. We feel that this gives our campers the best opportunity to try activities that they may not have tried otherwise. Every day campers enjoy two long activity sessions and an elective period. There's not much down time and that's just how we like it. It gives campers more time to try new things and not miss home so much.
Camp Stanislaus is located in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, along the beautiful Gulf Coast. Founded in 1928, Camp Stanislaus operates in conjunction with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, a religious order of teaching brothers who have operated Saint Stanislaus since 1854. Both a day and resident camp, it is open to boys and girls ages eight to fifteen. The camp's main goal is to provide campers a good time and an opportunity to create new friendships, learn independence, improve social skills, encourage one another, and work hard to achieve their goals.
Activities — special events including 4th of July and magic show
Camp plans a few special activities over the course of the summer. The Olympics divides the entire camp into 16 different countries to play an array of fun games. For over 25 years, Mr. Joe Harrison, Br. Lee, and others have entertained campers with a great show of both stage and close-up magic. The 4th of July celebration includes a cookout on the front lawn, beach games, tug-of-war, a hot-dog eating contest, s'mores, watermelon, and fireworks.
Camp history — founded 1928, nearly a century of tradition
Camp Stanislaus was founded in 1928 by Brother Peter Basso who incorporated fun with character formation. In 1960, Br. Ramon Daunis introduced water-skiing to Camp, which is still a favorite activity to this day. In 2013, the camp accepted girl campers for the first time. The camp continues to provide campers the opportunity to create new friendships, learn independence, improve social skills, and build character.
"At camp I feel like I can be more bold and confident."
— Madeline, Baton Rouge, LA
"Camp Stanislaus is a place I wait for all year to have fun and express who I am. It's the best place in the world."
— Court, Natchitoches, LA
Counselor training — communication, leadership, self-starters
Our counselors look after their campers and are there to assist in their growth. They approach every day and every week of camp as one to create learning opportunities and new ways to bring out positive attributes in their campers. They understand their responsibility to assist each camper in his character growth and life skill development, which is why our rigorous training creates counselors who are good communicators, leaders, and self-starters.
Every afternoon the entire camp gets together for the War Oar challenge. Each day has a theme — Music Mondays, Tuneless Tuesdays, Dance Off Wednesdays, Theme Thursdays, Freestyle Fridays — and the group who performs the best obtains possession of the War Oar until the next challenge. The group who wins the War Oar the most during the week wins the right to pie the counselor of their choice that Friday.
Our Water Sport operations are conducted at our ski camp on the Jourdan River, approximately a 15-minute bus ride from our campus. Our instructors will work with campers to learn or improve their skills in water skiing, slalom skiing, knee-boarding, and wake-boarding. For new skiers, our instructors begin with the basics of putting on the skis while in the water and adjusting to the life jacket. Our pole boats allow counselors to work closely with first-time skiers to quickly get them behind the boat.
Snacks are permitted but not necessary. If snacks are brought they must be in a closed plastic container. Snacks with nuts are not allowed because of the possibility of fellow campers being allergic. If they bring snacks with nuts they will be confiscated.
Medical care — nurse, dispensary, and hospital protocol
There is a fully functioning dispensary on the first floor of the residence hall. The nurse may contact you if she feels she needs more information and to discuss the health of your camper. If she feels it is necessary to take the camper to the doctor, their guardian will be notified. We do our best to contact you, the parent, before we take a camper to the hospital to double-check the medical information. If we cannot get in touch with you, we will take the camper with his health form and call when we get back.
You can communicate with your camper during the summer via email, mail, or Bunk One. Telephone communication is only allowed under extreme circumstances and is strongly discouraged. Campers will not be allowed to have their phones during camp. You can always contact the camp office and ask to speak to the nurse if you have any questions or concerns.
"I can say unequivocally that Camp Stanislaus helped our son realize what we as parents continuously emphasize, that there is more to life than video games and television."
— Rob Picou, Wasilla, AK
