On the 24th of May, the student councillors left to go on a leadership camp, and I was one of them. All the high school students jumped on the bus with the primary school students and we headed for camp. After about an hour’s drive, we arrived at our destination, Manjedal Activity Centre. We were all so excited. We got out of the stuffy bus and escaped into the fresh clean air.

We did lots of activities including: crate climbing, teamwork games, a game of Spotlight, Escape the Room, giant flying fox and even had a bonfire night. My favourites were the crate climbing and ‘Escape the Room’ where we had to escape from a room by solving clues. Crate climbing was a lot of fun…scary but exhilarating. Also, throughout the day we would have leadership sessions, run by Mr Pirie, where we would learn new ways to become better leaders and how to lead in a Godly way. We had amazing food cooked by Mrs Pirie and we were accompanied by other teachers that helped us along the way too. They were Mrs Britz and Mrs Roberts. It was one of the best camps ever! - by Laynie Gabrielson, Yr9

Activities

Crate climbing was our first activity. It was challenging and fun. One of the main challenges was wearing the ‘Wedgie 5000’ (our harness). Out of all the student councillors, Laynie Gabrielson, was the only one to successfully stack 12 crates. Her famous quote was… “OH SHIVERS!”

Another activity that we did that day was ‘Search and Rescue’. During the activity one team found a python lying in the bush. The other team mistakenly thought that their opposing team had cheated but they didn’t! If it wasn’t for Mr David, we would still be there to this day. Teamwork helped us in that activity.

As a night game we played ‘Can You Escape’. Dr Alexander Metrop-Cruz (don’t ask us who named him) trapped us in a nuclear reactor room with a ‘bomb’ in it, which would “explode” if we didn’t solve the clues within an hour. It was a suspenseful and intense night. Thankfully, we made it out alive with 15 seconds left.

Day 2: This was the best day of camp! Our first activity was flying through a forest at 30km an hour. This was called the ‘Aerial Runway’. Some even went on with partners. The ‘brave’ ones did tricks e.g. trust fall, going backwards and some even jumping off.

Later, that day, we did the ‘Challenge Zone’ which required perseverance, teamwork and communication. We were separated into 4 groups and went around an obstacle course. Every person had a different cup of tea for different courses. We learnt there that even though we are sometimes separated, we should always work together.

Leadership Lessons

We had four sessions. Every leadership session was usually after a meal. They were about how to grow as a leader and a servant. On our tables we had a bowl of Mentos and for some it was a good –actually, awesome- idea. At the start of each session we did a random game which had NOTHING to do with our session. One game involved a cookie. YUM! Our first session was about being a leader- especially following Jesus’ example of being a servant leader. We learnt the main quality of a leader is serving others and being a servant. The second session was about ‘Trials, Temptations and Tough Times’. This was talking about how to deal with trials and temptations. Our third session was how important it is to spend time with God regularly. We had a time when we separated in the hall and prayed and read our bible. Our final session was about being a servant leader at school.

Leadership camp was great fun, and we learnt a lot. The food was fantastic, and it was great to get to know the High School leaders as well. Thanks to Mr. Pirie, Mrs Britz, Mrs Roberts, Mrs. Pirie and Mr. David for making such a great weekend. - by the Year 6 Student Councillors

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