Year 5 & 6 Camp 2018

This year we have changed the way we do whole-school camp. Last year the entire primary school, so years 1 - 6, stayed at Coopers Beach Camp for two nights and the intermediate school, years 7 - 8, had a separate camp. The senior school had their own camp as usual, however my class was split in half: the year 4s joined the junior school at Coopers Beach and the year 5s, along with the year 5 & 6s in Tui Whanau, had their own camp at Te Aroha Island.

What an experience!

I have never felt such excited, joy, connection, fear, and pain all at the same time. Our camp was fantastic! We enjoyed the beautiful view of the ocean right at our feet, we had plenty of parent support, and two awesome teachers. We drove to Te Aroha Island and up our tents. We had two visitors join us and teach us about the Kiwi on the island while we explored through the bush looking for signs of Kiwi life. Later that night we went on a Kiwi hunt with our torches, trying to be as quiet as possible. On our second day we drove over to a beautiful bay where all the boats come into harbour, and we learned how to paddle board. I will never forget the fear I felt. As my mentor teacher had a group out paddle boarding I was watching the swimmers from the bank so I had a good view, as well as the small amount of children playing on land. I heard a crack, then a bang, and my heart began to race. One of my students had fallen from the tree. I sprinted across the bank to reach him, and just as fast as I got to him, one of the parents heard from the water and almost beat me to him. He was in shock, and so was I. My fifth term of teaching and one of my most beautiful kids had just hurt himself, bad. He was taken to Whangarei hospital in an ambulance and my mentor teacher went with him.

I was left with a group of parents to manage the large amount of students who watched their friend and classmate be taken away, on a stretcher and in an ambulance. We packed up and went back to camp. I was a mess. I felt like my own child had fallen from a tree and I wasn't there with him. The kids were very understanding and gave me a lot of time and space to organise the rest of our day and reset. My parent help stepped up and organised dinner and we carried on for another night. On our third day we packed our gear and headed back to school. Everyone was exhausted and had the most amazing (somewhat) time away. When my boy returned to school later the next week I'll never forget what he said to me as he walked in the door: "Miss, it was so cool in the ambulance, I got to see my own heart-beat!"