By the time this gets to the newsletter we have already had 2-4 camps underway and are safely back to school. Camps are done differently at Middleton Grange. We tent, we hike, we play games, work as teams to problem solve challenges, we cook but the students do this all themselves and are led by highly skilled Year 13's. The point of difference is we want to grow the students in character, connect them with each other and most important, connect them with our Creator. On a creation note, D.O.C have done a great job with pest control and for the first time in many years we heard the NZ famous Morepork, watched Kea's and Fantails fly, the many South Island Robin and heard the Bellbird. Besides caving, hiking through mountain rivers, standing under a freezing cold waterfall, eating tonnes of delicious baking, beautiful views, cooking meals in the great outdoors, eating breakfast while watching the sunrise, laughing a lot, singing and just hanging out, there is always a good Dad joke somewhere. On a student note, the children come back tired but filled with life. On camp 9Li, the Year 13's got 9Li to focus on Unity and had made a precious Taonga for pupils to wear (made by one of the Year 13's) which became important throughout the camp. The Year 13's who lead all the activities are nothing short of amazing and love hanging out with the Year 9's. They are amazing role models and are totally committed to making the Year 9's feel they belong at Middleton Grange School. They work hard at uniting the pupils. They make the time special not just because it's a camp, but they deeply understand the importance of instilling God good things into your child's life. Don't you wish you were in Year 9 again? I wish I was, it's a whole lot of meaningful fun.

Mr Liebert