Year 13 Leadership Camp:
This start of year leadership camp is an opportunity for our Year 13 group to bond, complete teamwork challenges and set some goals for the year ahead. From the time they arrived at Glenroy Lodge in Hororata, students were challenged to work together, co-operative, communicate and problem solve.
We started camp with a blindfold activity, and students had to trust each other to navigate an obstacle course. This was followed by a series of team building challenges, run by our four Head Students. I was impressed with the way students could articulate the point of each activity, and the way groups came together and leaders stepped forward.
Mr Saxon ran a workshop looking at our PRIDE values and setting students up for scenarios and expectations of our Year 13s. We are incredibly grateful to Mrs Roderick who came and helped students explore a model of "Above the line/Below the line" and her pearls of wisdom were well-received. Gems like "luck is the intersection between preparation and opportunity" and "issue is a better word than problem, because an issue can be solved" set students up for success.
The evening entertainment was not to be outdone by the day's activities, with karaoke, spotlight and a variety of sports making an appearance. The next day we woke up early for boot camp, with a strong haka to follow, and then students had a chance to offer their ideas to a variety of areas in the school.
It was a pleasure to take such a neat group of students away for two days, to see the way the group gelled, and the depth of thinking they showed. In our centennial year, I can't wait to see where they go from here.
A huge thank you to Mr Houston, Ms Cullen and Ms Paterson for coming along on camp, as well as Mr Saxon and Mrs Roderick for their efforts.
Jenna Chenery - Year 13 Dean