Hillcrest Christian College Year 9 Camp Blog

On Wednesday the 9th of August, a group of incredible people from Hillcrest Christian College made their way up to The Summit and your excitement to get into camp was epic! An action-packed 3 days we had planned for you all, let’s jog our memory of your time here at The Summit.

Day 1 started off by meeting all 8 coaches that guided you through your camp experience. Your coaches were Logan, Sarah, Zoe, Maddi, Marcus, Cheyanne, Spinks, and Tiff. You also became familiar with our Five Keys and if we used them would make camp go from good to GREAT!

The Five Keys were:

1. Have Fun

2. lay All In

3. Make Lots of Mistakes

4. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

5. Don’t Go Home Wondering What If

With no further to do, we got straight into the park to play a game of 50 Up. With an aim to bounce the exercise ball up and keep it off the ground for 50 touches, we learned that teamwork was going to be a massive focus for camp.

Next, the goal-setting strategy that would help us get the most out of our activities was shared. Setting 3 goals for when we got to an activity that made us nervous and would help us face those fears to the best of our ability.

The 3 goals are as follows:

TARGET: Something you know you can do. (Not nervous at all)

STRETCH: Something you think you can do but are not 100% sure. (Nerves setting in)

SUPER-STRETCH: Something you think would be impossible for you to do. (Really nervous)

The incredible thing about camp here at The Summit is that all our activities are designed to (at some point) seem impossible for you to do. However, all activities at The Summit are possible and it's entirely up to you to face your fears and conquer them on your own terms.

We then split up into our activity groups and began our first 2 activities for camp! All our activities for your experience here at The Summit were as follows:

Highwire, scaling a tree to then balance across a thin wire with your partner and come down together like a boss. Well done Hansika for pushing through to face your fears.

Snowy River challenge, the ultimate test of teamwork and support involving a race through 5 obstacles as fast as possible to beat the opposing team's time.

Laser Tag, dodging and weaving through our laser war zone striving to eliminate the opposition.

Giant Swing, testing what it will take to let go of our fear and trust the process, letting go of “what if…”. Excellent job Tahlia and VJ on facing your fears together.

Summit Window, climbing up an 18-meter tower and scaling a ladder, sometimes when you push through your fear you will experience an incredible sense of freedom! Letting go was the key.

Leap of Faith, challenging our ability to trust not only ourselves but the entire process, and taking a leap into the unknown regardless of what was holding us back. Splendid work Nick on having a go and trusting in yourself and the process!

Snake and Nails, walking over hundreds of nails with bare feet right before coming face to face with one of the world's most feared animals, Mitch the coastal carpet python, and Monty the inland carpet python!

Day 2 was already underway! Starting the morning off with breakfast followed by Logan talking to us all about how you want your day to go and making a deliberate choice. Logan asked us about who we wanted to be for the day (supportive, brave, funny, leaders) and to make a choice before we got down into the park. “You don’t attract what you want, you attract what you are”.

With no further to do, we got straight into the park to play an epic game of Huckle-Buckle to get our bodies moving. Next, we continued with 3 more activities for the morning. What an action-packed morning we had planned for you. However, it wasn’t over yet! After a delicious lunch to fuel us for the afternoon, we played an intense Clap-Ball tournament. Congratulations to those that took home the victory for your team. Just before we commenced an epic journey that would push you physically and mentally, we played a big group game of Jockeys to get our bodies warmed up.

Finally, the moment we had only heard rumors about, it was time for the Monster Course! Running in our teams through a mud run obstacle course linked together by hand to achieve not only the best time but also a closer connection to our fellow peers and teammates. After the first lap we followed it up with a surprise, we told you we were going to do it twice! You all showed up with courage, support for your team, and playful energy. It was truly an incredible sight to see.

Day 3 was already on the horizon! We began with some breakfast followed by a gratitude session with Logan. Our gratitude session encouraged us to reflect on the things that we have in our lives. To appreciate the things that we do have, “gratitude affects your attitude and in turn, affects your altitude”. Next, we played an entertaining game of Pirates and got straight into our last 2 activities for camp. What an epic way to finish off an incredible camp. Last but not least each team voted for one person in your group who best demonstrated our Five Keys throughout camp. Congrats to Lavinya, Arwen, Kate, David, Will, Noah, Aiden, and Nick for playing all in and rocking it throughout camp.

Finally, we all got to witness our WW2 army tank go for a lap around our mud track! However, our Values winners from each team got to have a first-class seat inside the tank! What an awesome one-in-a-lifetime experience that had an epic ending!

Thanks, Hillcrest Christian College for coming to The Summit, we can’t wait to have you back!

Keep unleashing your greatness.