Years 7 and 8 Camp
HSIE Teacher | Tutor | Service Learning Coordinator| Acting Year 7 Coordinator
Last week, Years 7 and 8 embarked on their annual camp experience at the Colo River and returned more connected to one another, independent in their abilities and responsible. Each Year 7 and 8 Tutor group was accompanied by either their Tutor, Head of House, or an experienced teacher, who helped guide them in their activities throughout the week.
Each of the camp programs focused on building and strengthening the connection of the students to their Tutor group and to Emanuel School, which was facilitated by the Year 11 Madatzim (young leaders) who joined a group each. The Madatzim had the opportunity to run Peulot for students on multiple occasions. Their programs – a combination of games and activities – were structured to allow the Year 7 and 8 students to bond with their Tutor groups and grow as individuals. In turn, the Madatzim were able to develop their skills of leadership, teamwork, communication, and organisation.
For Year 7, activities that took place across the course of the week included kayaking, wandering through the lagoon, aiming for bullseyes in archery, burrowing through the dark muddy wombat hole, and sliding down mud slides before swimming in the Colo River. These swims were especially well appreciated on the hotter days of the week. Nights were spent around the campfire followed by sleeping in tents that students had to set up themselves.
Year 8 camp presented a more physically challenging camp for students, in which the perseverance through long hikes and canoe journeys in either the humidity or rain showed the depths of Year 8s individual determination and is a testament to their character and resilience.
Challenges experienced for both Year 7 and 8 students during camp were used as chances for learning and development. For some students, participating in cooking activities on camp was their first experience at being in a ‘kitchen’. Skills developed during camp, such as those including cooking, cleaning, pitching tents, and overcoming discomfort (especially in the heat and rain), demonstrated a sense of responsibility, teamwork, and dedication to contributing positively to the camp experience for each of our students.
Year 7 and 8 Camp saw students find themselves and become more independent within their Tutor groups, with the result seeing the students feel settled into the High School environment and their connections within their Tutor group.
Nava Weiss – Year 7
Claudia Hochroth – Year 7
Our recount of Camp Somerset 2024
Our favourite activities at camp were either the Wombat Hole, because we enjoyed finding our way through the maze and getting muddy, or the night activities on the last night, when we made our own dinner, sat around the campfire and had Cafe D. More fun activities included archery, the initiatives course, raft building, milk crate stacking, damper making and kayaking. The most challenging activities were either the walk, when there were lots of the bull ants and fire ants, or walking back from the milk crate stack because it was really hot outside.
We had so much fun at camp and shared some funny stories like the riddles that Gemma and Arya did, which stumped us all, and the small talent show when we all performed and laughed. We played endless games of Edamame which was super fun. Rabin also adopted a pet, Cricket Dave, who followed us everywhere. Sadly, we had to leave him behind but we made so many memories with him.
We learned from camp that we can be away from home for five days, while being dirty, wet and hot. It was really nice to learn more about everyone else in Rabin and it felt like we all connected over the duration of camp. The Madatzim helped us out at camp by making sure our chicken was cooked – it was also really nice to just chat and laugh with them! They also helped us become more comfortable in the camp environment by running fun activities.
Thank you Ms Korotkov, Tia (our camp instructor) and all the Madatzim for making this camp unforgettable and so much fun!