Every year our school attends the Boys Brigade Camp
site also known as Waipara Adventure Centre. As a decile three school we want every child to
attend at a reasonable price. We are very lucky that we only charge $70 for
three day which also includes meals. It takes a lot of support and funding from
Southern Trust and other individuals. This year we had a group of 102- only two
children didn't attend. This was the highest number of students we had ever
taken on camp.
Even for $70 our children do as much probably even
more than others schools do. There days were filled with activities which
include archery, abseiling and the big swing!
So why is camp so important?
Spending their time being physically active
Children spend more time glued to an electronic
device then they do moving.
- one in nine children (aged 2–14 years) were obese
- 15% of Māori
children were obese
- 30% of Pacific children were obese
Camp gets them moving! I wore
my Fitbit during camp and as an adult averaged over 20,000 steps a day so I can
imagine the students did twice that!
Success and becoming confident
Camp builds self-confidence and
self-esteem. You see students in another light. Those who don’t necessary achieve
academically can shine in this environment. But it also takes away the
non-competitive side that students can often see in a school environment. The
best place to see this is watching the year 6’s abseil. It’s amazing how so
many of them were terrified at the start of it and then suddenly once they
achieve it are so ecstatic about their success.
Unplug form technology
We are in a world of technology and although positive, there are times when it is good to ‘unplug’.
When students take a break from technological devices, they remember what it
was like to play and engage in the real world. A simple game that used golf balls and a table entertained our students for hours! They reconnected with
trampolines and even learnt how to walk on stilts. There was always something to
do to keep them entertained!
Gain resiliency
For most of our students, everything at camp is new therefore a little frightening but also WAY out of their comfort zone. Wendy Mogel mentions this in her book ‘The blessing of a Skinned Knee’ where she points out that “ parents are so busy protecting their children that they don’t give them the chance to learn how to maneuver on their own outside home or school’ (Wendy Mogel 2008).
We as teachers are their to give them encouragement and nurture the students. But we are there for them when it doesn’t always go right.
One of my own students on the second day wasn’t confident enough to attempt abseiling. We respected that but also said (another teacher was with me) we’d try tomorrow and the other teacher would abseil down with them. The next day she did it! But it was seeing her face once she landed that was priceless. She had overcome a fear that she had and was absolutely over the moon about it. The great things was I was able to share this with her mother straight away on Seesaw!
One of my own students on the second day wasn’t confident enough to attempt abseiling. We respected that but also said (another teacher was with me) we’d try tomorrow and the other teacher would abseil down with them. The next day she did it! But it was seeing her face once she landed that was priceless. She had overcome a fear that she had and was absolutely over the moon about it. The great things was I was able to share this with her mother straight away on Seesaw!
Become more independent
Children need to do things for themselves!
It is one place where as teachers you realize how much parents do for their own
children! Even with the parents who come on camp! I was the perfect example of
this as I was the teacher/parent on camp this year. It was hard but my reason
for being there was as a teacher so my parent hat wasn’t even on. Camp allowed our students to manage themselves in a caring environment. Simple things as making
their beds, getting ready for the day and night time routines,
AS a teacher it allowed me to see students in a different light. Those quiet individuals who thrived in this environment and were confident and independent. Students who normally didn't excel academically suddenly shone in this environment. But you also saw students become more independent, take on responsibilities and show a side of themselves we sometimes don't always see in the classroom.
