Gladstone Park SC Year 10 Camp Blog

Ella and Rohan had the absolute privilege of leading the year 10 students of Gladstone Park Secondary College during their time at The Summit. We want to say a massive thank you for all your efforts and for bringing such happiness and joy to camp, you guys make what we do worth it. Your minibus drove through The Summit's gates on a Wednesday afternoon, the beginning of an epic camp experience. The sun was shining so that only left us with one thing to do, play a game! Before even knowing our Five Keys, you were already showing us two of them, 1. Having Fun and 2. Playing All In. However, two people went the extra mile, Jake and Josh, the winners of the Jockeys!

From here we taught you the importance of the rest of our keys:

3. Make Lots of Mistakes

4. Get comfortable Being Uncomfortable

5. Don’t Go Home Wondering What If

Along with our goal-setting strategy: target, stretch, and super stretch, in order for you all to make the most out of camp.

We split into our two teams for the first time, each group did an initiative game of either Tiles or Half Pipe, where we saw some pretty interesting teamwork... However, this is where the journey began and we now have The Zingers and Mission !!

On day one we started with The Summit Window. Stepping way outside of your comfort zones, we already saw you getting comfortable being uncomfortable and reaching super stretches. The way you all faced your fears and the attitude you had toward them was truly inspiring. You also showed us your competitive side at Laser Skirmish, playing all in, and having fun, and Tyler, impressing everyone with his KP.

To start day 2 we headed to either High Wire or the Sky Bridge. Each of these activities challenged us in different ways, some physically and some mentally. At High Wire, we saw people push their limits, even if that meant swinging from off the tree or going as far as playing rock paper scissors with their partner on a tiny tightrope.

The Sky Bridge challenged us all quite physically. But you are all much stronger than you may know, never giving up and getting to the end one way or the other. After lunch, we were staying on the ground with our Snake and Nails activity, plus the Snowy River Challenge. At Snakes and Nails, we faced our fears in a different way, pushing outside our comfort zone as we walked along a nail board, shout out to Luca, Emma, and Lachlan for pushing themselves a little further and standing still on the board one min +. Snakes being a common fear, you all attempted to either pat or hold our lovely friend Mitch (the snake). The Snowy River Challenge gave you the perfect opportunity to get ready for the Monster Course, as you guys worked together as a team and were already covered in mud!

The Monster Course was a real challenge but also a real highlight for a lot of you. Competing together as The Zingers and Mission, it was neck to neck as we ran through the finish line. However, that did not mean we were done. After running your hearts out and giving it your all, we told you that we were about to do the whole thing again. This is where you all truly impressed us. We saw the people that had already pushed their limits and didn’t complete the course, we are super proud of how hard you pushed yourselves. For the people who finished both laps, you guys are absolutely incredible as both teams improved their times by at least 7 minutes.

The last day of camp quickly came around and we introduced you to the legend Timmay! We tested your teams one last time during trust games. The improvement within your groups from day one initiatives until now was outstanding. You all had come so far individually and as a team. Finishing camp with the one you’ve been waiting for, you got to fly from 26 meters high on the tallest Giant Swing in Victoria!!

Before we sent you on your way, we had to congratulate and thank certain groups of people. Then after leaving you hanging, we finally told you the results of the Monster Course, Snowy River challenge, and our value winners.

The value winners were decided by your teams. Someone whole stood out throughout all of camp, someone who truly took our Five Keys on board and unleashed their greatness.

A massive highlight of Ella and Rohan was the moments we just got to hang out. Whether it was reading out GMICS or teaching each other how to do handstands.

Thank you all again for coming to The Summit, we really hope to see you all again! Best of luck for the rest of the year and next year!

- Ella and Ro