When the Year 4 students and teachers from Elsternwick Primary School rolled through The Summit gates on a bright Monday afternoon, they brought a wave of excitement that not even the chilly winter air could cool down.
After a quick tour of their cabins, everyone gathered in the Lodge where Coach Spinks introduced the coaching team and revealed The Summit’s “secret recipe” for an epic camp, the Five Keys:
The Five Keys
- Have Fun
- Play All In
- Make Lots of Mistakes
- Get Uncomfortable
- Don’t Go Home Wondering ‘What If’
Milena and Enis followed up with a helmet, harness demo, and Coach Adam shared the Target → Stretch → Super Stretch goal-setting strategy to help everyone push past comfort zones in bite-size steps.
Day 1 , First Adventures & GMICs
Initiative warm-up: a team-puzzle that had tribes collaborating from the get-go.
Activity Rotations
- Rotation 1: Flying Fox · Tribe Identity · Rock Wall · Bush Challenge · Cave
- Rotation 2: High Wire · Leap of Faith · Tash’s Ladder · Inflatables · Snake & Nails
From soaring through the tree-tops to squeezing through shadowy caves, the students tackled every challenge with bravery and team spirit. That evening they discovered a favourite Summit tradition: GMICs ( Great Moments In Camp ), where everyone writes down cool things they noticed others doing. Kind words = big smiles!
Day Two: Intentions and the Monster Course
After breakfast, the crew returned to the Lodge for an Intentions Session with Calarnee, where they learned The morning kicked off with an Intention Session: focus on what you can control, your attitude, effort, and how you treat others. A round of Hucklebuck got hearts pumping before three more rotations.
After lunch the tribes unleashed their creativity in Mystical Creatures, then revved up for the legendary Monster Course. Mud, tyres, teamwork, and surprise, because the real winner is the tribe that improves most on the second lap! Every group shaved 10 minutes or more off their first-lap time, outstanding resilience.
Day Three: Reflection and Farewell
Final morning vibes: more GMICs and a Gratitude Session to remember the people, moments, and tiny details that make life awesome. Tribes showed off their custom flags, taught the coaches a dance to “Stargazing,” and joined Spinks in a call-and-response energiser: “Big Star, Little Star!”
Two last activity rotations flew by, and then each tribe voted for the teammate who lived the Five Keys the brightest. The reward? A hot lap in The Summit’s WWII-era Army Tank, engine roaring, classmates cheering!
And the Values Winners Are:
- Cheeky Cherubs , Summer
- We couldn’t decide , Lockie Y
- Bob Crows , Orla
- Popping Popcorns , Chalie
- Furbies , Florence
Competition Results
Bush Challenge:
- 33:09 , Furbies
- 37:02 , Popping Popcorns
- 38:21 , Bob Crows
- 38:49 , We couldn’t decide
- 41:06 , Cheeky Cherubs
Magical Creatures:
- 130 , We couldn’t decide
- 126 , Bob Crows & Popping Popcorns
- 76 , Furbies
- 74 , Cheeky Cherubs
Monster Course Improvement Times:
- +14:39 , Popping Popcorns
- +13:27 , We couldn’t decide
- +12:22 , Furbies
- +11:41 , Bob Crows
- +10:43 , Cheeky Cherubs
Thank You, Elsternwick!
To every student, teacher, and helper, thank you for playing all in, supporting one another, and turning mistakes into milestones. The Summit crew had a blast watching you grow, laugh, and leap beyond your “what ifs.”
Have an amazing rest of the year, Year 4. Keep the Five Keys close and adventure will always be around the corner!
, Coaches Spinks, Adam, Milena, Enis, Simon, Cal & Sam
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