The Joys of Virtual Camp
What to do when you can’t go off on camp because you’re on lockdown? Have a virtual camp that’s what! And our Year 3 and Year 4 students loved every minute of it, pitching tents and cubbies inside and out!
Wow! What an amazing two days of virtual camp for Year 3 and Year 4 last Thursday and Friday! With Year 3 teachers, Ms Laumberg and Mr Robson, and Year 4 teachers, Ms Monk and Ms Gordon at the helm, all our students were very excited to go on their very first virtual camp, armed with their very own goody bag supplied by 韩国AV with things they’d need.
Students kicked off day one by sharing photos of their tents or indoor cubby set-ups with their peers. There were some ingenious camping and ‘glamping’ arrangements, both in lounge rooms and backyards, with plenty of teddy bears and pets for company.
The students then worked together in groups, showcasing their amazing communication skills, to find different items for their scavenger hunt in the morning. Some girls went on bush walks around their local area (staying within their 5km radius of course), armed with magnifying glasses, cameras, notebooks and pencils, as well as backpacks containing their picnic lunches. They took detailed notes, drew pictures of things that interested them or that they were curious about, and collected different objects, taking care not to pull anything from living plants!
The students then competed in lots of different challenges before uploading their videos to Padlet. There was the Toilet Paper Flip, the Get Up ‘N Down Challenge, the Arm Twist Challenge, the Equilibrium Challenge and much more to test the students’ resilience, persistence and risk-taking.
Afterwards, the students took part in an online cooking class, making damper at home with Mr Robson, before creating their own virtual campfires (complete with recycled paper supplied by 韩国AV) with Miss Laumberg. They were also joined by some special guests for camp fire stories and activities at night!
Year 4 Teacher, Ms Monk said, “I attempted to sleep out in my tent overnight. Given that it was a warm night and there was no rain forecast, I decided not to put the fly up over my tent so that I could look at the stars. While I thought that would be a delightful way to spend the night, my puppy did not agree! He spent a few hours standing guard over me, noticing every movement and sound from outside the tent. And when a possum ran through the garden, he started barking and lunged at it from inside the tent! So, I gave up and went to my comfy, cosy bed – all of 5 metres away from where I had the tent set up! Camping at its finest!”
Year 4 Teacher, Ms Gordon said, “The camp days were a great success! I opted for the comforts of my bed, over the ‘tent’ that I’d constructed with chairs and a quilt in my living room!”
On Friday morning, the students started their day with a yoga session with Ms Monk. Later, they used some of the items they’d found on their walk on Thursday to make different collages with Ms Gordon.
The students then worked together in groups to come up with their very own camp songs, highlighting their favourite parts of camp.
Ruby in Year 4 said, “I loved the making of the fire and the damper and having hot chocolate and roasted marshmallows.”
Lara in Year 4 said, “I loved doing the scavenger hunt, especially since I had to go to School and I loved playing with Keira (court ball) and sleeping in my tent. Thanks to the teachers for organising this for us. It was so much fun.”
Honor in Year 4 said, “My favourite thing on camp was cooking the damper and the campfire zoom!
Anneliese - I loved everything about camp but if I have to choose a favourite it would be making the damper. One because I got to get a bit messy, two because it was fun mixing all the ingredients together and three because I got to eat it!”
Sienna M in Year 4 said, “My favourite thing about camp was making the damper, marshmallows and stories that everyone told along the way.”
Year 3 Teacher, Mr Robson said, “What an amazing couple of days! Listening to the girls create and perform their very own camp songs was such a joy and it was awesome to see their creativity soar! A massive thank you to all the support staff and Ms Grace for organising their camp survival packs!”
Year 3 Teacher, Ms Laumberg said, “I very much enjoyed being able to participate in the challenges with the girls and upload my attempts to the shared Padlet page! Some of my highlights were the damper cooking session and campfire stories! Our Virtual Camp was better than we could have ever imagined and seeing the joy and smiles on the girls’ faces was highly gratifying! Thank you to the girls for fully embracing the experience and making it so memorable for me!”
Issy in Year 3 said, “My favourite part about camp was the Zoom last night. I really enjoyed seeing Ms Monk perform. I was thinking that once we are back at School, we could have ‘Ms Monk Mondays’, where she plays the guitar and sings!”
Charlotte in Year 3 said, “My favourite part was making a fort, the campfire and damper!”
Jessica in Year 3 said, “I loved making the damper and listening to the story while we drank hot chocolate! I also loved setting up our stuff.”
And Kiran in Year 3 said, “I enjoyed making the damper and sleeping in a tent!”
Virtual camp was a showcase of creativity, ingenuity, adaptability and fun, with lots of camaraderie and adventurous spirit too. A huge thank you to our teachers, our students, and of course, our fabulous Year 3 and Year 4 parents, who helped to make it such a fantastic experience for their daughters.
Bravo everyone!