Melba College Yr8 Camp Blog

On Monday the 1st of May a bunch of year 8’s from Melba College rocked up to The Summit. The excitement for camp was buzzing among all of you and we couldn’t wait to get into what were an epic 3 days!

Day 1 started off by meeting all 7 coaches that guided you through your camp experience. Your coaches were Logan, Emily, Zoe, Calarnee, Cheyenne, Sophie, and Yves.

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. Play All In

3. Make Lots of Mistakes

4. Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

5. Don’t Go Home Wondering What If

Without further ado, we got straight into the action by starting off with a game of 50 Up. The goal was to bounce the ball up for over 50 touches whilst the ball never touching the ground. Did we succeed? The idea was to get our bodies moving before getting into our activities and regardless of succeeding or not, 50 Up gave us our first little demonstration that if a team of people works together they can achieve whatever is put in front of them.

We then got split into our tribes and began our 2 activities. Your activities throughout your Summit camp were:

- The Cave, moving through an epic small underground tunnel with no light to give hope and no sounds to comfort, challenging our fear of the unknown and conquering them when we realize that nothing uncomfortable lasts forever and perseverance conquers all.

- Sky Bridge, traversing across the lake on nothing but a bridge, using every bit of concentration and focus on your technique, only to realize that it is usually our belief that determines if we successfully make it across.

- Giant Swing, testing what it will take to let go of our fear and trust the process, letting go of “what if…”

- 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.

- Rock Wall, is the ultimate challenge of physical and mental strength, testing your will to keep climbing up through fear.

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

- Flying Fox, a fast and furious journey across the entire park flying through the air enjoying the spotlight.

Having participated in 2 of the activities for day 1 we concluded the day with some free time. Your chance to use our volleyball court, basketball court, playground, and many types of sports equipment.

Day 2 started off with breakfast, a selection of toast or cereal followed by a morning intentions session with Logan before continuing the rest of the day. Our intentions session covered asking ourselves who we wanted to be for the day and making deliberate choices (supportive, brave, kind, competitive, etc.). What a huge day we had planned for day 2. We started off with 3 activities that all of you absolutely crushed and it was a sight to see. To conclude what was already an epic day you all participated in the Monster Course! Running through a mud run obstacle course linked with the team to achieve not only the best time but also a closer connection to your 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! The ultimate test of resilience, perseverance, and determination. Every one of you pushed through the second lap and it was clearly achieved through the support and encouragement you showed for everyone in the group.

With what was already an epic couple of days of camp, day 3 was underway! We started the day with a gratitude session from Logan. Our gratitude session encouraged us to reflect on the things that we have in our lives. To appreciate the little things, “gratitude affects your attitude and in turn, affects your altitude”. Next, we went straight down into the park and played a game of Huckle Buckle to get our bodies moving with you and your partner. Day 3 involved your final 2 activities and a focus on not going home wondering what if. Finally, we all voted for our Values winners, the one person in our activity groups who best demonstrated the Five Keys, the person who stood out and stood up. This is when our epic surprise was revealed. We got to watch our incredible WW2 tank go for a hot lap whilst our Values winners got to take a first-class seat in the tank! What an epic way to finish camp.

Shoutout to Holly, Koby, Reece, Cari, Jasmin, Lucas, and Olivia for being your Values winners for camp.

Thanks for joining us on this epic journey, you are all incredible! Keep unleashing your greatness!