Last week the Year 7s were lucky enough to see their camp dreams come true. With the cancellation of Canberra earlier this year, then the cancellation of the rescheduled trip in term 3 it was a disappointed group of students. This being said all students responded to this news with resilience and optimism.
It may not have been Canberra, but our Year 7s had a fantastic time during their 3 days at Mylor. The grounds were stunning, with a new cafeteria area and dorms for half of us, and the weather divine. The activities, chosen by the students, were a whole lot of fun. Activities such as raft making in the pool saw the students having to create a raft from bits of rope, tyre tubes and planks. Hilarious inventions, big smiles and some excellent team work. The giant swing was not for the faint hearted and the squeals of delight made the trek to the top of the hill well worth it. Archery was a hit with many finding the target and bouldering sorting the nimble from the rest around a bouldering wall and table challenge. The challenge course, was a favourite of many and saw some overcome their fear of MUD! And there was a lot of it! In the hair, in the shoes, everywhere. The outdoor showers helped to keep our rooms clean. The challenge course was one of the favourites where they needed to complete physical and mental challenges with rope carry bucket throw relay (with lots of water going anywhere but the bucket), puzzle making and of course the mud run (actually a crawl through the mud). The flying fox was a hoot with the long run down to the base had some of the students doing gravity defying rolls until they reached the end. The favourite, of the teachers at least, was the bridge building. This required the students to work together in teams to construct a ‘bridge’ across the Onkaparinga River. They had only 3 crates, some rope and planks. All team members needed to get across each plank to reach the platform, with no feet in the water. At night we all gathered to watch a movie on the first night and then the annual Year 7 quiz night. This was a night of fun, prizes, some tough questions, some not so tough ones and a few laughs. The parents gave the students a run for their money and won the night.
Over the three days we were at camp the Year 7s displayed teamwork, ingenuity, high resilience, excellent manners and a fantastic sense of fun. The staff from Mylor congratulated us on their behaviour, they should be proud of how they conducted themselves and because of this the camp was even more enjoyable.
We would like to thank the parents who came along to help. Thank you Chris M, Fiona D, Sam S and Rommy A for giving us your time. Without the help of parents camps such as this cannot happen. We would also like to thank the parents of all Year 7 students for being patient with us and allowing their children to attend the camp. It may not be Canberra but it was a whole lot of fun.
