Dear Parents,

Camps have been a part of kiwi kids’ lives for decades. All of us can remember either a school camp or a holiday camp from our childhood. In this environment of constant change, it is interesting how the format of school camps has not changed much at all over the decades.

The age old recipe for school camps:

Take a group of children and place them in a rural / out of city environment;

Add a group of teachers and a group of parents to the environment and mix well;

As soon as everyone is mixed, take them off to activities they have probably never done before:

Kayaking, archery, horse riding, climbing wall, cooperative activities, mud run, flying fox, cooking their own dinner over an open fire, sleeping in a tent, sleeping in a dormitory, communal meals.

Nurture them, look after homesick ones, remind about sunblock, water and hats (over and over!), get them showered, putting their smelly damp clothes into their bags, stop them giggling in the middle of the night.

Four days and three nights of full on adventure and new experiences. Then bring them back tired, slightly grubby but all the richer for the experiences they have had, the challenges they have faced and overcome and the general sense of camaraderie that being on camp brings out.

Does all this remind you of your experiences? So, what is missing from the 21^st century version of a camp compared to a 20^th century version of a camp? Absolutely nothing!

Our children who have access to all manner of digital devices have had four days of no technology, no iPads, TVs and no computers. They have just had four days of being outside and having fun. Childhood doesn’t get any better than this!

Huge thanks to the teachers Carla White, Mike Hogg, Renee Lee and Cam Hemus, as well as all the fantastic parents for providing such a wonderful camp.

Kind Regards
Janice Adamson