The following two articles are written by three Year 6 students reflecting on their recent Camp Experience in two very different perspectives. Enjoy the read:
Camp Day One
We arrived at school at about 8:30, said bye to our parents and carers and packed up our bags onto the bus at 9:00. When we arrived at Middleton we were greeted by Surf and Sun school employees and stared to learn how to surf on the sand. Then we got in the water and tried to catch a wave big enough to surf on. We all got one in the end and everyone had a great time. After surfing we had lunch, and went back to the beach for ‘Beach Olympics’. We were given different activities to do in teams which were all really fun, and some of us got wet. Then we hopped on the bus and drove to Willow Creek which is the property we were staying at. We had some Anzac biscuits for afternoon tea, had a shower and then we had some free time. we were called for dinner which was delicious spaghetti. It was Luke’s birthday so we sung him happy birthday and had birthday cake for dessert. We had a bonfire which we toasted marshmallows on. We had some time outside playing before coming inside to do a quiz and then went to bed.
Day Two
On Thursday we got up in the morning to go for a ride on mountain bikes. We had to ride over a bridge made of a tree log and up a steep hill to the bike track. It was a very nice view at the top of the hill and we all enjoyed riding around the track. We rode back down to have morning tea. Secondly, we walked back up the hill to the dam for raft building. The instructors taught us how to tie different knows using the ropes which we needed to know about to build our rafts. We worked in teams to build our rafts using ropes, PVC pipes and blow up rings. Once they were built, each team had to take their raft into the dam and were timed to see how long it took them to go out to the buoy and back. It was fun but cold. Some of the rafts broke and some stayed together. We walked back down the hill to our next activity, billy carting. We were in groups of five and we had to follow the instructions to put together the billy carts. We had lots of fun racing the carts. Lots of people crashed and went off the course. After the billy carts, we had some free time before dinner, which was sausages and salad. Then we all got ready for the movie night, watching Cars. Everyone was so tired and some of us even fell asleep while watching the movie.
Day Three
On Friday, everyone was sad that it was our last day. We had to pack up our dorms in the morning and put everything on the bus. We took the bus to Victor Harbor where we did our last activity, kayaking. We were in double kayaks and learnt how to paddle correctly and practised making a raft. We kayaked along the river and stopped to play a few games in our kayaks. Everyone had lots of fun, got a bit wet and lots of people crashed into each other or the rocks. On our way back in the kayaks, we stopped to make a raft. Two people were chosen to stand up in their kayaks and run along the front and back of the kayaks in a race. It was tricky for some people but others made it look really easy. Miss Cotter had to race against Oliver H and they both fell in twice. We all thought that was hilarious. After the races, we paddled back to shore and had lunch before getting back on the bus and heading back to school. The bus on the way home was very quiet, everyone was so tired but so happy to have had such a wonderful camp.
Written By April and Elizabeth
Diary Of A Convict Girl On Camp
Day one 13th of November.
Dear mother,
I miss you soc much since I haven’t seen you for the last three year or so. I was sent to this far away place called Willow Creek for three hard, long days. We were force into the large, cold water. I drowned multiple times but still managed to keep in pushing for my survival. They then made us jog around the whole beach making us participate in difficult activities. When we got to the camp site, I had to unpack the little items we had. To stay clean, I had to bathe in freezing cold water. The food was plain and nasty and nearly inedible. Once I was changed into my pyjamas, they made me, and my fellow convicts do a quiz for survival. If you failed to answer the correct answer you would be sent to jail... and jail is not very good. Once the quiz was finished, we were sent back to our old, damp cells where I will have to sleep in. I must regain energy with the strong power of rest and will write to you tomorrow.
-The best of wishes, Teegan.
Day two 14th of November.
Dear mother,
It is the second day of camp, and I had to endure another, day of awful activities. I first awoke to the sound of screaming children in my dorms. My dormmates and I got dressed into prison outfits and left to get our morning meal. The meal was burned toast and tasteless butter and jam. After we ate, we were forced to ride tall and daunting bicycles. If you couldn’t ride a bicycle... YOU WOULD GET RUN OVER BY ONE. Thankfully I could ride a bike but not up the tall hill. After I rode for 7 hours, I was forced to consume more terrible food, which contained expired meat with deceased bread and vegetables. I was then forced to walk up a gruelling mountain, which was 500 kilometres high. The mountain was covered in poisonous biting flies and sharp rocks. When my peers and I reached the top of the mountain, we had to build titanic boats out of natural recourses, to travel along a river. We rode them but sank into the freezing cold water. When the group and I walked back down the mountain, which caused us to fall multiple times, we finally arrived at the campsite. To try and escape the camp, we had to build automobiles. I did not manage to escape the camp, but instead, had to race with the other prisoners. They let us have some time to regain our health in our cells and clean up for dinner. The dinner foo was awful, I had to gobble uncooked meat and overdue vegetables. Before the prisoners and I were allowed to sleep, we had to watch a 5-hour movie about paint drying. Once I finally managed to get into bed, I was confronted with bug and roaches. I must sleep in this uncomfortable bed one more time, but then after that, I will finally see you again!
-see you soon, Teegan.
Day three 15th of November.
Dear mother, I cannot even comprehend my excitement to finally be able to see you again. But before I can see you again, I must go through yet another devastating day. My dormmates and I were forced to wake up at five AM to the sound of more screaming children. When I arrived at the dinner hall, I had to eat more expired bread and disgusting jams. We had to pack our things and remove our things from the campsite within 7.843927358195338429843853486 minutes. Because some hostages did not pack their things in time, they had to leave without them. I then entered a cramped bus with no air conditioning. Driving to the river was a long and hard journey, with many ups and downs. When I arrived at the river, I had no experience but was still forced to mount the kayak. I rode on the kayak for 1000 kilometres and rode back to the shore. Once my jail mates and I arrived at the shore we had to make food out of sticks, dirt, grass and leaves. They threatened to leave us behind while we were changing out of our wet clothes, so we had to change very quickly. When I got onto the bus with the rest of the group, I had to go through a long and gruelling bus ride. We had to watch a boring movie a bout tree growing and leaves falling on the way to see you. I am very excited to see you and cannot wait.
-lots of love Teegan.
(DISCLAIMER- This is all extremely exaggerated, camp was really fun and the food was also amazing - TEEGAN)
