Push it to the Limit: Camp with the Year 8’s

A group of students and teachers will be heading off next week for an overnight camp. Each year 8 class will spend a day hiking along 15km track. With all their clothes and equipment packed on their shoulders, they will then set up their tent site after the hike and spend the night sleeping underneath the stars. A number of our Core Values will come into play on this camp.

Perseverance is a personal quality that will be focused on during the hike. Students will get tired; they will want to give up and they will want to stop. It’s only through pushing through these emotional and physical barriers, and persevering when the going gets tough, that students will be able to complete this hike. They will need to be the best versions of themselves. Being the best version of yourself is what we would describe as our Core Value of Excellence. We want all our students to be the best version of themselves with everything they do here at the College.

It will not be a surprise to you when I say there will be different levels of abilities on this hike. Some students will not find it as hard as others. This is where our next Core Value is represented. Each group that travels together is a team. It will be up to the team to ensure the whole group makes the trip successfully. The team cannot allow even one member of the group to fail. They will have to work out how to support each other, practically and through encouragement, to get the whole team through. We would define this as our Core Value of Community. Community, in this context, is caring, supporting, and ensuring others in the group reach their goals.

Our camp program is such an important program that shapes our students on who they will be after they leave this College. We want our students to leave us being the best version of themselves who care for those around them.

Derek Bendall, Head of Secondary