Al-Taqwa College Year 8 Boys Camp Blog

On a sunny Monday afternoon, the school of Al-Taqwa College came through the gates of The Summit. Quickly settled into their accommodation, they were welcomed into the room where the coaches Spinks, Adam, and Sam explained the Five Keys to a successful camp (Have Fun, Play All In, Make Mistakes, Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable and Don’t Go Home Wondering 'What If') From there we made our way down to the barbecue shelter where the groups were divided into 2…The Suu Bois and the Team Zackies. The two activities run during the day were the Leap of Faith and the Snowy River Challenge to finish the day. They were lastly being told about free time areas as well as GMICs, which stands for Great Moments in Camp.

Day two rolled around and the students were eager to get going we started our day with an intention session run by Spinks where we focused on the analogy ‘putting a jacket on’ which means choosing to be; brave, confident, supportive etc… From there the students learned the value of goal setting and talking about how morning intentions will set them up for a better more productive day. Straight down to the BBQ shelter where we played a quick game of Jockeys to get our bodies moving. The first two rotations completed were Cave and Summit Window. Window is getting from A to B focusing on nothing but the next step up the tower and Cave is choosing to embrace the dark and the unknown and use their senses to feel their way forward. Just before lunch a new rotation started, we did Laser Skirmish and Orienteering. For Laser Skirmish playing all in and finding the fun stood out the most, the more you put into the activity the better it was. For Orienteering, the task was to locate all of the markers as fast as possible in a short period and solve waddles and riddles along the way. After lunch, they were out to get changed for the Monster Course to get ready to get head-to-toe wet and muddy.  After completing one more rotation and then we were off, the first lap of the Monster was a head-to-head battle between both Suu Bois and Team Zackies. Little did they know that times were important but not in the way they thought. That there was a second lap, and the team that won was the team with the biggest improvement time, from their first lap. This is all about resilience, who do you show up as when you're pushed to your limit and someone asks more of you, proving that you are physically and mentally stronger than you think. Well done, both teams combined, what a heroic effort.

Day three, we’re on our final day. We started with a gratitude session with Adam. The three categories were friends, animals, and family. Remembering who we are grateful to, we challenged the students to think of more categories in their lives to be grateful. Down to the BBQ shelter we went where we completed our two final rotations of Rock Wall and Giant Swing, and students were asked to vote for someone in their team who embodied the Five Keys the most consistently throughout camp..

It's safe to say it’s been a crazy three days. On behalf of Adam, Sam, myself (Spinks), and The Summit, we would like to say thank you for coming and playing hard and having all the fun. We look forward to seeing your school next time. Best of luck with all future endeavours.☺️