Wellbeing - Middle School
Middle School Camp Experiences
Overnight camp experiences play a significant role in the development of students, offering numerous benefits that go beyond traditional classroom learning. Here's why these experiences are important:
Independence and Self-Reliance: Spending time away from home encourages students to develop self-confidence, learn to manage their time, and solve problems on their own. This can be particularly empowering for young people as they navigate new situations without the immediate support of family.
Social Skills and Teamwork: Overnight camps provide an environment where students can interact with peers from different backgrounds. It fosters teamwork, communication, and conflict resolution skills as they share living spaces, work together on activities, and engage in group challenges.
Emotional Growth: Being away from home for an extended period helps students navigate feelings of homesickness, learn emotional resilience, and develop better coping strategies. These emotional experiences contribute to maturity and self-awareness.
Building Lasting Friendships: Overnight camps are a great place for students to form deep, lasting friendships based on shared experiences. These friendships often transcend the camp experience and can become a solid part of their social networks.
Digital Detox: With the immersive nature of overnight camps, students often disconnect from their phones, social media, and other digital distractions. This break allows them to engage more deeply with the present moment and each other.
As such, Year 5 will be heading to Aussie Bush Camp, Kincumber in Week 8 of Term 1 between Monday 17 March to Wednesday 19 March. Later in the Term during Week 10, Year 6 will be travelling to Canberra between Wednesday 2 April and Friday 4 April. And finally, Year 7 will be travelling to Somerset Outdoor Learning Centre, Colo River during Week 3 of Term 4, between Monday 27 October and returning Thursday 30 October.
2025 Year Group Themes
At the Parent Information Evenings, the Year Coordinators had a chance to launch their themes for their year groups for 2025. These will also be shared with students at the upcoming Year Coordinator Meetings. I thank the Middle School Year Coordinators and their Assistants for their work in inspiring and challenging our young men to be faith filled, resilient and spirited young men as they engage with their learning and extra-curricular pursuits across the year.
Year 5
Year 5 Theme: A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet!
The focus for Year 5 in 2025 is to get to know each other and feel at home in our new surroundings at SPC. With this in mind there will be plenty of activities and experiences to turn strangers into friends, and in turn get to know them as brothers.
Year 6
Year 7
The theme "step up, stand tall" will encourage our Year 7 students to ...
rise to meet and take advantage of new opportunities
achieve their potential, both academically and socially
develop a sense of comfort in being out of their comfort zone (where true growth and learning takes place)
develop a strong sense of who they are, be confident in and proud of this, and
be young men of faith, kindness, and integrity.
Year 8
The theme for Year 8, 2025 will be Men of Heart and Brothers to All. Students will be encouraged to ‘let their light shine’ as role models, by showing a determination and a willingness to put in continuous efforts academically and socially, leading them to success as individuals and as a cohort. Much in the same way that Jesus walked with his disciples as brothers and treated all those he encountered as family. This year’s theme builds on our previous theme “Men of H.R.T – Honesty, Respect and Trust”. However now, it expands on this, showing these characteristics to all those we encounter, in line with the College theme for 2025 derived from Proverbs 17:17: “Friends love you like a sister or brother - they are born to give support during adversity.”
Alexandros Sinadinos
Director of Middle School