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| Can you find me up there? |
Last week I spent a few days in the wilderness with 150 P7's (sixth graders for those of you at home). Each year students from St. Columba's seven feeder schools come to Dounans in the Trossach National Park for a week of outdoor education. Staff members from both schools attend the camp and it serves as a great opportunity for students from the different schools to meet each other and and their new teachers prior to the big jump to high school.
Throughout the week the students are mixed in different groups for outdoor activities and classroom team-building games. The activities include things like raft building, archery, tree climbing, problem solving, ropes course, blind hikes, zip-lines, and survival skills. The week culminates with a Thursday evening dance ("disco") before heading home on Friday morning.
The whole program is really quite impressive. I was there Wednesday through Friday and you could tell the kids were obviously having a great time. In addition, they really seemed to bond with their new classmates and I can imagine that moving on to high school might seem a little less intimidating now that they have a larger circle of friends. My current students excitedly told me stories about their visit to Dounans and ensured me that I would have a great time.
I got a chance to join in as well, taking a turn on the zip line and nervously making my way up the tree you see above. I helped a bit with raft building, but stayed on shore as the kids paddled their way around the pond. Turns out the rafts weren't too stable and the forest echoed with the piercing screams of the kids as they eventually fell into the icy water. Not only was it fun hanging out with the incoming students, it was a nice opportunity to spend time with my colleagues outside of school.
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