Principal's Blog
2024 Term 3
Camp
I was on three camps this term, which while fun, made the rest of my life really busy. Years ago, as a young university student, I went on many FCS school camps, especially after exams when I would do back-to-back FCS camps.
This term I travelled to Numurkah with the Biggies, to the Grampians with Middlies and Biggies and to The Land with the Brunswick Street Tinies and their parents. All were great camps in different ways. These camps built connection between the students, their teachers, and in the case of the Tinies camp, between the parents as they chatted around the campfire.
Taking three camps back-to-back led to a number of reflections and thoughts on camp. I was impressed with how the children organically took to, and engaged with, the various locations, never appearing short of the imagination required to invent games and activities… demonstrating the valuable skill of being comfortable in the location and surrounds they found themselves in. The bush offers a clear contrast to everyday life, and the children demonstrated that fun can be found outside of the trappings associated with the constant supply of electricity. They explored the bush and the unlimited wonders it offers and discovered (or re-discovered) the pleasure of sitting around the campfire under the stars, chatting and sharing tales.
Camp does wonders for building connection: the feeling of being part of a group is an unavoidable aspect of camp. Connection is premised upon the ability to get along with your fellows, with the family scale of our camps necessitating the practicing of negotiation and compromise, traits which bring many benefits for years to come. Friendships deepen on camp and time away from normal routines often sees new friendships emerge.
In pondering connection, I reflected that in small modern families the need for patience, tolerance and compassion were not as readily practiced as they were for those of us who grew up in a brood of seven siblings. The shared living on camp (in a group of eight to fourteen) means that others’ particularities and mannerisms are necessarily encountered and must be accommodated. The rhythm of camp sees things get easier and more enjoyable as the children’s consideration of others increases and they discover more ways to keep themselves entertained.
The children gain a clear consciousness of their own inner strength during camp, as they learn that they are indeed fine away from home and family. On camp, children also learn that they are able to put their trust in caring adults and, importantly, that they can work things out for themselves. Camp plays a significant role in building confidence, independence and adaptability. In thinking back to Tinies camp, a number of moments stand out. One Tinie had an unbounded interest in the world of bush creepy-crawlies, while another loved getting jobs done and so dedicated many hours to carrying and stacking wood. Others spent hours lost in imaginative play.
On Numurkah Camp, I was constantly impressed by the Biggies’ ability to entertain themselves all day and by the universal contributions to making the camp run well. There were multiple volunteers for all cleaning and cooking tasks, and these tasks were all done to a very good standard. I did not need to supervise these chores, nor did I need to re-wash dishes, re-wipe surfaces or re-sweep floors. At times, adults can feel like ‘the maid’ on camp, which does not endear individual students to those taking them away. I had the opposite situation with this group of Biggies.
Grampians Camp, with its long walks and significant changes in elevation, offers a different set of challenges. Some of the children were clearly tired towards the end of the longer walks, but all continued on with an upbeat disposition: there was no whinging or complaining. The children seemed determined to complete all of the walks in good spirits. I was impressed by the happy, no-fuss determination shown by the younger children on this camp, and marvelled at the joy the children brought to scrambling over rocks during our breaks. A Middlie girl shared with her mum at the end of this camp that she had not known that she could tackle the walks that she completed; and that she had discovered that she was more resilient and stronger as a result of being on this camp.
Sue shared a similar story with me regarding her daughter Edie’s experience of Grampians Camp: that while challenging and tiring, Edie had had a real and successful adventure. Edie was full of many stories and anecdotes, including jelly legs at the end of the longest walks. Sue considers that the challenge of Grampians Camp, tackled successfully by a young Edie, continues to positively shape her life today through the self-belief it brought.
I want to thank all of the participants of this term’s camps for making them such great experiences, and my helpers too, Gabby, Ben and Sue, for bringing care and the expectation of capability to these adventures. And finally, it is important to acknowledge my wife and the partners and children of all of the FCS team for supporting our camp program through picking up the slack when we are away.
Yours,
Timothy (Principal)