The Horizons Challenge

Last Thursday and Friday our Year 7 akonga, as part of the William Pike Challenge Programme, braved the elements with wind and stifling heat on Thursday followed by pouting rain on Friday to complete the Horizons Challenge of Giant Ladder, Orienteering and Team Challenges

What a bunch of resilient people. Many of them were afraid to step out of their comfort zone and with the support of those around them, they have to dig deep and challenged themselves to overcome fears. 

As apart of the Year 7 William Pike Challenge Students are encouraged to achieve 5 Outdoor Activities that allow them to step outside their comfort zones. By stepping outside their comfort zone, students will develop a bank of experiences under their belt. This will help them build a big reserve of resilience, confidence and connectedness so they are prepared for whatever is around the corner in life. Outdoor Activities are often quoted by students as their most significant experience during their WPC and so Outdoor Activities are key to students overall WPC experience.
OUTCOMES

Intended outcomes of Outdoor Activities are to show increased:

• sense of achievement and satisfaction by overcoming challenge
• leadership skills
• ability to work as part of a team
• understanding of group dynamics, the participant’s own role and the role of others in a team
• ability to make real decisions and accept real consequences
• self-reliance and independence
• appreciation of the great outdoors and how to stay safe
• sense of belonging and connectedness to home, school and community
• student focus and direction while in a formative stage of life
• health and wellbeing