Year 5 Camp
At 7:30am on Wednesday of week 5, an excited group of Year 5s set off on their Outdoor Education Camp to Wombaroo, in the Southern Highlands. Despite being only 9 degrees, all managed to arrive on time to set off bright and early on our big adventure!
The girls were accompanied by classroom teachers Ms Tennant and Ms Williams, RE teacher Ms Wallace and Mrs Dempsey. After a short 90-minute drive we landed at our campsite. On arrival, we were met by our wonderful Camp Director, Georgia, and were allocated into one of three day groups. The first job for the day groups was to organise their team name, their team chant and team flag. The deciding names were: The Waves, Cool Koalas and The Kangaroos – how exciting!
One of the main objectives of the camp was to develop the girls’ teamwork and perseverance. They were given several new challenges as a group, learning the importance of supporting each other and solving issues thoughtfully. The OEG staff spoke to the girls about moving from the “comfort zone” to the “challenge zone”.
One of the major ways girls grew both their collaborative skills and perseverance was through the raft-building activity. The girls’ navigation skills were placed in the Learning Pit as they had to follow a map to find the resources they needed for their rafts. Once found, the job had only just begun as girls thought collaboratively about how to approach building a raft. After a bit of trial and error, most groups managed to build a floatable raft. While most ended up swimming in the chilly water – it was a pleasure to see their teamwork and persistence develop immensely!
Another highlight of the camp was the bush skills. Girls learned to cook potato and sausages on an outdoor campfire for their lunch. After food was sorted, girls learned about the essentiality of shelter in the wild. Girls raced to complete setting up a tent and practised driving in tent pegs – not an easy task! The girls shone in this task and quickly moved on to collecting rocks, sticks and plants to create shelters for toy animals. It was a pleasure to see the girls grow in their understanding of bush survival!
“My favourite activity was the one where we made our own tents and cooked our food and when we made a home for the little animals and how to start a camp fire. I liked that one because it makes you able to learn how to survive in the wild and how to leave no trace. I also liked it because it was really fun.” – Saskia Sostaric, 5W
Other activities included a bushwalk where girls tried the “squeezy-squeeze” (ask them what that means) and saw bouncy kangaroos in their natural habitat. Besides this, many girls moved into the “challenge zone” in the high ropes course. It was here that the girls furthered their appreciation for courage and teamwork.
“My favourite activity was the high ropes because it put me out of my comfort zone a bit and it made me feel nervous but exited. Also, it was really high and I found it hard to jump of when I was so high in the air, but the people in my group who were keeping me up helped me by cheering me on and telling me I could do it. Another reason that I liked the high ropes most was because it was really fun climbing it and knowing that when you jump off you won’t fall because your friends are holding you up by the ropes.” – Isabelle Stylianou, 5W
After a long two days, the girls settled down next to a warming campfire. Around the fire, girls reflected on their new-found skills and roasted yummy damper. With a beautiful sky full of stars encompassing us, girls smiled and rejoiced in all the fun of camp.
Overall, the girls were very supportive of each other, which made the time away from the comforts of home all the more meaningful. The girls should be commended for their willingness to try new things and persist in the Learning Pit. From the excitement and enthusiasm shown on this camp, I’m sure the girls are already counting down the days to Year 6 camp!
Jennifer Wallace
Primary RE Teacher
