The opportunity to learn outside of a classroom has a long tradition at Peter Moyes Anglican Community School and our annual Camps for each year level provide a fabulous opportunity to do just that! Three camps in the last three weeks of school, either side of the Term Three break, saw our Year 8 and two groups of Year 9 students attend camps to further develop their self and inter-personal skills.
Our Year 8 students went, for the first time, to Swan Valley Adventure Centre, a change from the traditional trip to Nanga Bush Camp, and the weather did not disappoint! In contrast to last year’s weather, the sun shone on all camps with the exception of drizzle for one hour at Mornington. Our Year 9 students attended Camp in their teams, with 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3 once again visiting the PCYC Camp at Mornington and 9.4, 9.5 & 9.6 returning to Forest Edge Camp at Waroona, which was devastatingly burnt to the ground in the Yarloop/Waroona bushfire of January 2016. Newly rebuilt facilities gave us a sense of déjà vu, looking identical to the ones we remembered from three years ago.
The camping experience gives students many opportunities to try new things, including challenging themselves with activities that cause them to move well and truly out of their comfort zone; be it a high ropes course, abseiling, the flying fox over a valley or performing in a talent contest. For some students, their successes lie at the top of a climbing rope, abseiling tower or hitting the cans in the shooting alley, rather than inside a classroom. Our Camps also give students on opportunity to sample some activities that may be offered as part of the Outdoor Education programme that is optional from Year 10 onwards.
Students must work together and further develop the relationships they have in school. Camps also have an element of being a ‘rite of passage’, and I think the Year 9’s had a sense of that as we continue their journey towards the end of their time in the Middle School.
The beautifully peaceful locations of all three camps enabled students an opportunity to ‘switch off’, unplug from their technology and simply be outside in nature. From feeding the animals at Mornington to admiring the early morning kangaroos at Forest Edge, nature was abound in helping to promote positive mental and physical wellbeing of students.
I would like to thank the Year 8 and Year 9 Team Leaders and staff who worked incredibly hard to provide the students with these memorable opportunities. I would also like to thank the parent volunteers who once again gave so willingly of their time to accompany their children to Camp. For some it is their fourth, fifth or tenth time as they have journeyed with us through their children’s time in Middle School and for this, we are truly grateful.
Written by Alison Grey, Associate Principal – Middle School