Cobden Technical School Camp Blog

I’ll begin by saying thank you, to each one of you who was able to join The Summit's camp experience, I truly had a fantastic time and I hope you did too.

On the 29Th of March, Simo drove a flashing minibus through The Summit's gates, where their camp leader Ella, could hear voices singing ‘I Want It That Way’ from miles away! From the moment Ella introduced herself, she knew this group was going to bring all the fun.

Camp started with the Cobden students settling into their tents and then heading down to The Stadium.

Ella put them straight to the test to see how willing they were to play all in and have fun, by playing a game of YEEHAW! Although Simo was SUPER enthusiastic, Taliyah came out on top and even beat Ella at her own game.

Although camp was already off to a great start, to ensure camp was going to stay great, we learned about The Summit's Five Keys:

1. Have Fun

2. Play All In

3. Make Lots of Mistakes

4. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

5. Don’t Go Home Wondering What If

The games didn’t stop all camp! We then played Ga Ga Ball before we headed to our first activity, the Bush Challenge. But before we could do anything, we needed a team name! That was when the WOCKETS were born!

The Bush Challenge consisted of multiple obstacles they had to get through together as a team; as the Wockets! This challenge put them to the test, but they exceeded expectations and passed with flying colors; they finished the course in 26 minutes. A real standout during this activity was Seth as he showed incredible leadership and shout out to Ewen for all the support holding his team across the wild wally.

Next, we headed to the Leap of Faith. This activity truly pushed many people outside of their comfort zones.

To help manage our goals we learned about setting a target (something you KNOW you can do), a stretch (something you THINK you can do), and a super stretch (something that SEEMS impossible). Shout out to Kaylee and Minka who pushed BEYOND their comfort zones and reached their super stretches, you both are so brave. Another shout out to Landon, as “NO REGRETS” became his motto and he achieved some epic things!

You all did amazing during our first two activities and it was made obvious when we read out the GMICs (great moments in camp) the next morning. We started the morning by watching a video of a man dancing like no one was watching while listening to Bon Jovi's 'Livin’ on A Prayer’. This video represented that we control the controllable; whether his team was winning or losing, it didn’t matter because he decided that he was going to have a wicked time either way! We then did something similar by deciding an intention for the day, for example, Seth said he was going to do his best, regardless of outside factors, and Trent said he was going to HAVE FUN, no matter what.

The first game of the day was called ‘Jockeys’, where Simo once again got to yell out “YEEHAW!” The game was a draw between pairs Trent / Brolley, and Marli / Olivia.

We had 4 epic activities PLUS our Monster Course on day 2. We started with the Sky Bridge. The Sky Bridge can be a real mental and physical challenge, however, every one of you put on a harness and attempted the activity; and absolutely crushed it! The Cave was next, although again this was far outside of a few people’s comfort zone, you were all so brave and proved to yourself that you are more capable than you think. Right before lunch, we tackled the Highwire, whether we were climbing or belaying, you all bought such positive energy and supported your team; we even got to see a few upsides down spiderman! After lunch, it was the activity everyone was waiting for, the Flying Fox! Where we had a heap of fun and Miss McClellan and Charlie did a fantastic job at catching the students.

After a game of Gumboot Bowling, where Brolley and Mason equally played for the top position, it was time for the Monster Course! This course was filled with water, mud and so much fun. All of you really got comfortable being uncomfortable and played all in! You did the first lap, but it wasn’t over; you were about to do it all again! The smiles and cheers were contagious. We completed the 2nd and final lap; you were all muddy and smelly and it was incredible! You all showed what you are truly capable of and kept going even when it was tough, and improved by 7 minutes!

Shortly and sadly, it was the last day of camp; luckily Simo knew how to cheer us up by playing a few games to get our morning started! We then read out the last of the GMICS and they sure were great. Ella then touched on the concept of gratitude, and how grateful she was for the past 2 days and we started to think of all the things we were grateful for back at home, and all the little things we take for granted. With joy and gratitude filled in the room, it was time for the activities to begin!

The first activity was Inflatables, starting with a game of human foosball and finishing with the adrenaline rush obstacle relay race! Finally, was the Summit Window, 18+ meters in the sky, our biggest one yet! You all reached either a target, a stretch, or a super stretch, some even pushed further than their super stretch! Last up the window was Simo, for one last “YEEHAW”, with all the Wockets cheering from below.

Just as you thought camp was over, Ella shared who you voted as your Value winners. Minka, Seth, and Landon; these people were recognized for their bravery and ability to push beyond their comfort zones (getting comfortable being uncomfortable) whilst also following our other Five Keys of having fun, playing all in, making lots of mistakes, and defiantly not going home wondering what if (Landon’s motto NO REGRETS). To congratulate these 3, they were offered a once-in-a-lifetime experience of going for a hot lap in our WW2 army tank!

Minka was so selfless and decided she didn’t need to go in the army tank to recognize the great things she had achieved; therefore, she gave her spot to Brolley, who also defiantly deserved to go in the tank. Minka you are an incredible human, and you should be SO proud of your camp experience.

Although these 3 legends were great, SO was everyone else. Trent, Kaylee, Olivia, Minka, Brolley, Landon, Ewen, Will, Taliyah, Marli, Mason, and Seth, I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for bringing so much fun and joy to this camp. I am proud of ALL of you for how brave you were. Remember you CAN DO IT and you are more capable than you think.

I wish you all the best for the rest of the year and your future!

From Ella