Year 7 Camp in review
The Year 7 students travelled to Kenilworth Homestead for their annual camp last week. Luckily, the predicted wet weather didn’t eventuate and the camp took place under blue skies. The students worked in ten groups divided according to Houses with the five House groups each divided into two. This was the first opportunity students have had to work with students in their House who are all in the same year level, so it was an ideal opportunity for the students to come together and share experiences within their year level.
The students engaged in archery, mountain biking, raft building, hiking and an overnight camp out. There was plenty of opportunity for team building through both physical and strategic problem solving. The focus of the camp is to build relationships through shared experiences. The activities are set up to create discussion through shared planning and then to encourage both individual and group reflection at the conclusion of the activity. All the students must work together and so they become responsible to each other for either the success or failure of the exercise. Whether there is success or not becomes secondary to the process the students go through. This is extremely important in teaching our children to have the courage to try new things and the resilience to take ownership of difficulties and not see this as weakness. It is all about the growth through trying new things.
The camp was a tremendous success in this regard. While students were challenged, they met these challenges and came through them. Whether the students return raving about the fun they have had or complaining about various aspects of their camp experience, it doesn’t matter; each individual child has been challenged in some way and have learnt through these new experiences. Each child has shared situations that will remain with them throughout their entire school journey. Together, they have all been enriched by the challenges they have faced and are now a more tightly knit year group as a result. Camp is difficult for some students, for others it is the best three days of the year, regardless of where a child sits on this spectrum, camp is a wonderful opportunity for growth and a tremendously important aspect of each child’s school experience.
Mr Cameron Howes
Head of Middle Schooling (Pastoral)
