Parkdale Secondary College Year 12 Camp Blog

On Tuesday the 6th of April we welcomed a group of year 12 legends from Parkdale Secondary College. It was a pleasure to have you all. So many students pushed themselves outside of their comfort zones on multiple occasions and found themselves doing things they didn’t think possible. What an incredible bunch of humans. You should all be very proud of yourselves. Over camp, there were many cool things to be learned. Such as The Summits Five Keys and setting targets, stretches, and super stretches.

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

Many of the students played all in and used these keys on numerous occasions. So well done to you all, we hope you keep using these Five Keys and keep having all the FUN!

To start camp off the students played a fun game of 50 Up. On the third attempt, we got 75! That’s unreal! Once our bodies were warmed up it was time to split off into our groups. In total there were 13 groups. Each team had an initiative to complete in 10 minutes and had the opportunity to create a team name. To those who successfully completed the challenge well done, and to those who didn’t, it led to a productive debrief of things to improve on for the next activity. Once the students then learned how to put on a harness it was time to rock and roll. We also shared a goal-setting strategy called Target, Stretch, and Super Stretch. Using these helped students feel super empowered and accomplished once they achieved the goals they had set.

The afternoon consisted of swinging on the tallest Giant Swing in Victoria, working together as a team to complete all the obstacles at the Bush Challenge, scurrying as high as we could go on the Rock Wall, racing each other on the Inflatable World, climbing 8 meters to get their super starches, climbing 20 meters in the air to trust the process, balancing over the wobbly Sky Bridge, dodging and sliding out on the Laser Skirmish field, trusting the team during our summit ran Trust Games, bouncing down our 18-meter tower on Abseil wall, leaping off 12 meters in the air to catch the bar at the Leap of Faith and using our team skills once again to take on the Snowy River Challenge.

The joy of having a few groups meant that there was a range of activities that required different skill sets. To those who challenged themselves and stepped outside their comfort zones, well done!!! That’s what it’s all about.

Again, for those who hit their super stretches. You should all be very proud of yourselves. We hope that you keep giving everything your very best. After some well-deserved dinner, it was time to shower and get ready for a self-run Trivia Night with the teaching staff.

After a good night’s sleep and some delicious breakfast, it was time to start the morning off by setting ourselves a morning intention run by Logan one of our epic coaches. As the saying goes ‘Win the morning with the day’. We hope by thinking about who you wanted to be for the day and how you wanted to show up, helped you achieve some incredible super stretches. Just remember we are human beings, not human doings.

We played many games to get our bodies moving. As the morning rolled on, we continued to challenge ourselves and achieve goals that seemed impossible. “Time flies when you’re having fun”. And that it did, after lunch, it was time to change into our clothes to get wet dirty, and muddy. After kicking the footy around, Gaga Ball, and lots of dancing it was time to embark on The Summit’s very own Monster Course. Awesome efforts to every team who gave it their all. Not only did the students complete the course once but TWICE. What an incredible job! Each team was timed, the first lap was to see how fast they could go and the second was to see how much faster they could run the lap when they were wet, tired, and dirty. The Monster Course is all about resilience and seeing what you are all truly capable of. Each team improved by 5 minutes or more on their second lap. When you feel like you have nothing left in the tank just remember that you do. After the mud run, it was safe to say all the students were excited to jump in the HOT shower and have some delicious spaghetti with garlic bread for dinner followed by a movie and receiving their year 12 letters to read. How special.

As the next morning rolled around, we spent it with Ash as she shared her last gratitude session with the year 12s from Parkdale, what a privilege. Sometimes life gets busy, and we forget all the things we have to be grateful for. When you take a second every day to think about all the things you have to be grateful for it's hard to be sad. Remember to remind ourselves not to take the little things for granted.

And just a reminder in case you legends forgot: People don’t remember what you say or do, they remember how you make them feel.

We played a game called Jockeys, Well done to all the champions who played all in. It was then time to finish off our last two activities. Even though some of you were feeling a little tired and sore you didn’t let that stand in your way of giving the last two activities your very best. Incredible resilience was shown by all. Some of us also got to navigate our way through the dark Cave.

To complete our final debrief we asked the students to vote for one person in the group who they believed truly embraced The Summit’s Five Keys. Congratulation to the following students: (Look in Table)

Incredible effort Legends!

We want to wish you all the very best for the school year, thank you for writing lots of GMIC’S. keep giving them to one another when you get back to school.

All the best,

From The Summit Team in Blue