Year 9 students and families gathered in the Chapel at 6:00am on Monday 30 May. With bags packed, a sense of excitement was in the air as each family prepared for The Adventure camp and several days without each other. Before camp began, all Year 9 families participated in The Departure ceremony, a special time to put our upcoming week of challenges into context and to share some significant reflections as a family on growing up and gratitude. We boarded the buses, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Concordia – The Rite Journey has just completed its most significant event of the year - The Adventure Camp to the Flinders Ranges. It was an experience that the Year 9 students found challenging yet rewarding and a time where Concordia staff witnessed the students' personal growth and development of friendships. It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to experience challenges in a supportive environment, try new things, experience some incredible views, build on their friendships, and possibly develop new ones throughout the week. The boys' and girls' camps both focused on the overarching theme of challenges and how working through them helps form our identity and resilience, and when experienced together, they build a sense of community. Each student explored what makes them the person they are and how they contribute to the wider group. This was experienced through physical, emotional and social challenges that the students were faced with throughout the camp.
The staff on both camps were amazed with the students' endurance, resilience and willingness to give all aspects of the camp their best shot. We were particularly impressed with the way each tribe (Home Class) bonded with the focus of a common goal and how this led to a great sense of community for the week. I am sure the students will come away from this camp with a sense of personal achievement and an understanding that trying new things outside of their comfort zone will stretch them and lead to personal growth. This is a life lesson that we can all hold on to and need to be constantly reminded of.
A special thanks goes to the Concordia staff who supported The Adventure Camp so well, along with the staff of Wilderness Escape Outdoor Adventures who supported everything we implemented throughout the week.
Ben Crook
Year 9 Leader
