We are one of the few schools who still offer a full week at camp. It is utterly shattering for the staff and their whanau and pretty hard on the children. By day four there are a few tears...and that's just the staff!!! There is a phenomenal amount of planning that goes into camps and over that week I calculated that the staff worked 106 hours minimum in a 40 hour work week. Mmmmm. That doesn't quite calculate but that's the kind of demand on teachers now and they don't complain.
Camp is a time when we see the magic in our tamariki. Many children take on the challenges with utter determination and courage. Some of the challenges are too demanding for the grown ups!! We are so proud of everyone who faced the anxiety of being separated from home and mum and dad over that week and took on every challenge. We smiled about many of the "fussy eaters" we had been warned about because pretty much everyone ate everything on the plates before them because they were exhausted and hungry. Way to go.
Waipara has the right balance of structured activities and freedom to play and create. The children were busy from early morning (like veeeeeery early morning) until late at night. Thank you to all of the parent volunteers who took leave from work to make camp such an amazing experience for everyone.
We are reviewing the length of camp from 2026 onwards. We have had some feedback from parents about the way they would like to see camp develop over the next few years. All parents regard camp as a rite of passage and it is a very special time. We may look at change the timing to the start of the year and shorten the length of the stay.
In the meantime we celebrate another truly spectacular event.
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