Mount Lilydale Year 9 Group 1 Blog

On the crisp and sunny late morning of Monday the 20th of March, The Summit camp welcomed the wonderful first half of the year 9 cohort for Mt Lilydale Mercy College.

We had the pleasure of seeing some familiar faces as we saw some Summit veterans in the team of teachers, honor to have you back on deck!

After introductions were made and lunch was eaten, the year 9 students started off their action-packed camp with learning about the5 Key values and how if we use them, over the next few days we will ensure we will have the most epic camp ever!

These key values are:

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

Before we could get started on activities it was particularly important, we got to know our teammates and what our combined strengths were, so all groups participated in an initiative challenge. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn what it takes to be a leader and how everybody can work together to solve any challenge. At the end of the initiative activity, all groups came up with some unique names:

1. Midnight Magic

2. C.C’s

3. Johny’s JimJams

4. 23 Arms

5. Donald Ducks

6. Send It Sixes

7. Cool Beanz

8. The Spicy Cockatoos

9. The Douglas’

10. 1210’s

After our initiatives, we were set up for success in our activities by learning a Summit goal-setting method called Target, Stretch, Super Stretch! This strategy helps us by setting three simple goals - 1. A Target: something we know we can do, 2. A Stretch: something we think we can do and 3. A Super Stretch: something that we would love to do but seems impossible. Even though we didn’t know it at the time, this strategy ended up helping us all achieve some incredible things in activities that we never thought we could, should, or would be able to do.

Over the three days of camp, the Mount Lilydale students participated in ten epic activities! We saw students soar across the lake on the Flying Fox, bounce off the walls in Inflatables, put their map reading skills to the test in Orienteering, fly on one of Victoria’s highest Giant Swings, get the best view of Gippsland on top of The Summit Window, use their creativity in the Photo Scavenger Hunt, learn about strategy and imagination in Laser Skirmish, absolutely conquer the Sky Bridge, use every bit of courage in the Leap of Faith and excel at the Snowy River Challenge.

It was clear by the end of day one that there was no challenge too big for these year nine students!

To top off an awesome first day of activities, in the evening we learnt about the power of belief and mindset from non-other than The Summit’s legendary Programs Co-Ordinator Liam. In this session, every student was given a solid wooden board and they wrote on one side a limiting belief (which is a thought that holds us back from achieving goals) and on the other side an empowering belief (a truth that holds a positive mindset to help us achieve what we want). Then the year 9 students SMASHED through those wooden boards either with their bare hands or kicked them in half with their feet (like ninjas). Smashing through those boards and limiting beliefs created an amazing piece of evidence that with the power of belief and strategy that anything is possible. The energy in that room was incredible, the whole camp was buzzing after that on Monday night!

On Tuesday morning, coach Timmy started off the day by teaching everybody about the benefit of intention setting and choosing how you want your day to go in the morning. You can really help influence your outcome.

Tuesday was another action-filled day, packed with six rotations and to top it all off a NIGHTTIME MONSTER CHALLENGE! Yes, this famous mud run was taken to a whole new level when the Lilydale Legends completed it in total darkness! The students showed everyone what they were made of when they all band together to complete a phenomenal two laps! It was revealed after the first lap that here at The Summit we never actually focus on which team can complete the course the quickest, but it’s about which team can come together and improve on their first time the most. Everybody showed so much determination, resilience, and support!!

Even though everyone was knackered from the mud run, on Wednesday morning everyone showed up to complete the final two activities. Timmy set the day up once more when he talked about the power of gratitude and recognizing all the wonderful people, opportunities, and facilities we have in our lives.

In the last activity of camp, every team voted for one member from their tribe that had really embodied the 5 Keys over camp. As a reward and a thank you from the team, these legends got to go for a hot lap in The Summit’s WW2 Army Tank!

Congratulations to the Value Winners:

1. Beau

2. Noah/Jasmine

3. Jeremy

4. Grace

5. Orlando

6. Ava

7. Ruby

8. Winsome

9. Josh

10. Blake

RESULTS:

SCAV HUNT:

1. 640

2. 620

3. 400

4. 450

5. 270

6. 430

7. 530

8. 450

9. 400

10. 460

MONSTER IMPROVEMENT TIMES:

1. 5:13

2. 6:32

3. 5:46

4. 12:18

5. 0:25

6. 11:17

7. 5:37

8. 11:21

9. 9:15

10. 8:45

SNOWY RIVER CHALLENGE:

1. 11:18

2. 12:08

3. 15:17

4. 22:15

5. 14:37

6. 5:15

7. 10:38

8. 11:08

9. 17:47

10. 19:27

It is definitely worth mentioning how mind-blowing these Snowy River times are, Mount Lilydale year 9’s worked together so well to achieve some of the quickest times we’ve seen. Overall, every group did an amazing job, however, team Donald Ducks have officially set the record for the fastest school group to complete the Snowy River Challenge!! Congratulations!

Thanks for an epic start to the week group one of Mount Lilydale! It was an absolute pleasure. Year in and year out these programs are always a massive highlight for many staff at The Summit and this year's camp was no exception. Best of luck with all your bright futures ahead! And to the legendary teachers, we look forward to seeing you next year and picking up where we left off!

From the Summit Staff!!