{"id":4929,"date":"2021-06-03T13:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T02:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/sceggs\/?post_type=article&p=4929"},"modified":"2021-06-03T13:00:18","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T02:00:18","slug":"year-5-camp","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.thebuzz.net.au\/sceggs\/article\/year-5-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Year 5 Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.\u00a0 Despite being only 9 degrees, all managed to arrive on time to set off bright and early on our big adventure!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The girls were accompanied by classroom teachers Ms Tennant and Ms Williams, RE teacher Ms Wallace and Mrs Dempsey.\u00a0\u00a0 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. \u00a0The first job for the day groups was to organise their team name, their team chant and team flag.\u00a0\u00a0 The deciding names were: The Waves, Cool Koalas and The Kangaroos – how exciting!<\/p>\n

One of the main objectives of the camp was to develop the girls\u2019 teamwork and perseverance.\u00a0 They were given several new challenges as a group, learning the importance of supporting each other and solving issues thoughtfully.\u00a0 The OEG staff spoke to the girls about moving from the \u201ccomfort zone\u201d to the \u201cchallenge zone\u201d.<\/p>\n

One of the major ways girls grew both their collaborative skills and perseverance was through the raft-building activity.\u00a0 The girls\u2019 navigation skills were placed in the Learning Pit as they had to follow a map to find the resources they needed for their rafts.\u00a0 Once found, the job had only just begun as girls thought collaboratively about how to approach building a raft.\u00a0 After a bit of trial and error, most groups managed to build a floatable raft.\u00a0\u00a0 While most ended up swimming in the chilly water \u2013 it was a pleasure to see their teamwork and persistence develop immensely!<\/p>\n

Another highlight of the camp was the bush skills. Girls learned to cook potato and sausages on an outdoor campfire for their lunch.\u00a0 After food was sorted, girls learned about the essentiality of shelter in the wild.\u00a0 Girls raced to complete setting up a tent and practised driving in tent pegs \u2013 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.\u00a0 It was a pleasure to see the girls grow in their understanding of bush survival!<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite activity was the one where \u200bwe 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.\u201d – Saskia Sostaric, 5W<\/em><\/p>\n

Other activities included a bushwalk where girls tried the “squeezy-squeeze” (ask them what that means) and saw bouncy kangaroos in their natural habitat.\u00a0\u00a0 Besides this, many girls moved into the \u201cchallenge zone\u201d in the high ropes course.\u00a0 It was here that the girls furthered their appreciation for courage and teamwork.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favourite activity was the high ropes because\u200b 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.\u200b\u201d – Isabelle Stylianou, 5W<\/em><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 With a beautiful sky full of stars encompassing us, girls smiled and rejoiced in all the fun of camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n