Our annual visit to Carey Park Camp was in Week 8, luckily COVID stayed away and camp went ahead. Camp was an amazing experience for the students who got to challenge themselves by participating in a range of excellent activities like archery, trolley carts, the flying fox and raft building to name a few. The burma trial triggered a wide range of emotions and reactions; fear, laughter, screaming, giggling, excitement and once completed...relief! (thanks to the Dads/goblins for the strange noises they created).

“This is the beginning of Camp. I arrived at Milford School in excitement. I started skipping to my classroom. Then I saw crowded classrooms filled with happy people, I heard everyone laughing and singing, I felt a great vibe come up in my spin … This is the feeling of me going to camp”. Lindsay Room 3.

“The whole year group got split into 10 groups. Each group had team points and at the end of camp when we had finished all of our activities the team who had the most points would win! We had a lot of activities to go through everyday. We did about 3 activities per group so the teachers and helpers were very busy organising all of them. There were alot of cool activities that were very risky, but in a fun way. One of the activities was kayaking, which was at the watehole. The waterhole was very cold and it had eels in it. Some people jumped off into the waterhole while they were kayaking." - Sophia T.C Room 1

“Woosh” the ice cold water hit me like a tsunami as my Dad turned on the jet powered hose. A bone chilling shiver ran down my spine as I took a long run up and “zoom”. I sped down the slip and slide as fast as a penguin. Then suddenly, I started turning and slid off the whole slip and slide. Yuck wet, muddy grass spread all over my face. I slowly got up and walked back to the end of the line. That was awesome!! - Sam Room 2

As I ran across the field, I was nervous if I was going to get hit by the sponges. I only had my last colour left and I got sponged by Brent (Sam’s Dad). I had to then run across to the other side of the field trying to get my purple colour back. Then the horn blew and I felt annoyed because I didn’t make it. Rainbow tag was definitely the best activity for me! - Georges Room 2

For some of the students, staying away from home was a huge achievement on its own. A challenge that these students accepted and defeated. The pride that these students showed in themselves was amazing. Seeing children overcome their fear of heights by climbing on top of milk crates, reaching up to the ceiling was a rewarding experience, along with other activities that created anxiety filled challenges.

“We started to make our cabins feel like home: Putting our sleeping bags out, Teddy bears, chatting with friends and last but not least making our cabin look tidy. “This started to look like home “. It was time for activities, this is just the beginning of a big adventure”. Lindsay Room 3.

The students were able to show independence by setting up their cabins and getting themselves ready for each activity. They showed great self-management by coming prepared for all the challenges. They showed great personal Grit, teamwork, they encouraged each other and consoled each other when needed. It was excellent to witness the comradery created by spending a week at camp together. We have noticed changes within our classes since we have returned.

Students also had opportunities to show how helpful they are by setting and packing up the dining hall for each meal, vacuuming the hall after meals, even cleaning showers and toilets. So, parents you should be able to utilize these new skills at home!

Camp was an amazing experience. We have noticed the positive change in attitudes and behaviours now that we are back at school. It is also a popular conversation topic amongst the students before, during and after school.