What a great start to Term 2! On Thursday 3 May, all the Year 6 students from both campuses joined together to experience an awesome overnight camp at Southern Hills Christian College. Students were put into groups and engaged in fun activities to challenge themselves, and some students were surprised just how much they enjoyed the activities. They had a go at archery (I think I saw some Robin Hoods among our students) and the giant swing, where they rose to ten metres and flew like the birds, as well as abseiling – ten metres of putting their faith in God (and Mr Pleysier). Every student gave these activities their best shot (excuse the pun).
Not only did students have a great time conquering fears and enjoying the above activities, they also learnt how to set up a tent and pack it away.
Before the camp students were given a budget to ensure they had the correct ingredients with them, as they needed to collaborate in their groups to make their own dinners. It was a great learning experience for them to do some cooking for themselves. Some students were heard saying that they didn’t realise how hard it was to make dinner, and that they appreciated their mums a bit more.
After dinner, they all played an action-packed game of Capture the Flag. The Wilson girls and Kenwick boys were one team, and the Kenwick girls and Wilson boys made up the other. Mr Norman and Mr Peletier were the captains of the teams and they communicated with some walkie talkies.
After the awesome game, everyone calmed down with a mug of hot chocolate and a donut that they sprayed with blue whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles and some chocolate syrup. Then they went to get ready for bed. Everyone slept in the tents that they had put up earlier with the help of Mr Pleysier.
Developing friendships, collaborating and encouraging each other during the activities, and showing a servant’s heart in washing up, cleaning up and picking up rubbish was a beautiful thing to see. This was the first time some of our students had been camping or stayed in a tent.
Overall, we had an awesome time over the two days and everyone went home tired, since we had gone to sleep at 11 o’clock the night before. Students had a great time getting to know the people from the other campus. We are all so thankful that we go to a school that organisers camps with lots of fun activities!
Student Reflections
“I liked how in the giant swing we all cooperated in our group and worked as a team to help one of our teammates go up. We all encouraged each other and it was rally really nice. I also met new friends from Kenwick, that was good!” – Aberly
“I thought camp was a great time of bonding and getting to know different people. I really enjoyed doing the activities with Mr Pleysier because it was something I had never done before. All the teachers and staff made me feel safe and helped us when we needed it. At dinnertime, we had to cook our own food and that was a new experience for me, although it was a little chaotic” – Keisha
“At camp, I really liked how nice Mr Pleysier and Tallie were, and how they made me feel comfortable. I enjoyed having the responsibility of trying to make my own food, although I wouldn’t want to do it all the time. I liked how Mr Norman got us to ask questions about someone who we had never met, because I had a new friend. I also liked when Mr Butson took us around the school and told us a funny story. I also really liked the giant swing because I went really high up, and the Absailing to. The scariest bit for me was going of the edge of the Absailing tower. Over all, I really enjoyed it, except for how sometimes when we had to do group discussions, people would just take over” – Karianne
“Capture the Flag was really fun. I wish we could have played it longer. It was awesome getting in a group and making dinner. Having Milo and marshmallows at night was a great idea” – Zena
