We arrived on Monday afternoon - not as many students as I would have
liked to see, for a facility that could have taken quite a few more
students.
All up we had 17 students: 8 primary (including 2 special needs); 9
secondary students (including 2 special needs) with no problems
anywhere, and all kids interacting well throughout camp.
I noted that no parents had brought more than 2 students. There were no
families with 3 or more students present, which reinforced my feelings
that these camps are too expensive for your average Distance Family
(given that we have to travel such large distances to get there AND at
no point was I given a mileage reimbursement form to fill out) and that
many TCS families have several children. You are entitled to receive 20
cents per kilometre for every kilometre over the first 50 kilometres
travelled to an event or camp. You can claim for travel to camp if you
went to the camp nearest you or, if you went to a different camp, you
may claim the equivalent amount. For reimbursement for travel to events,
you may claim for travel to the three events closest to you. Two
families in particular (both with 4 children) who lived very near to the
Highland Home Camp (ie only 2 towns away) I was hoping to see at camp -
but didn't.
This will have to be brought up in my bi-monthly meetings with Mike
Hollings and Trish McKelvey. There needs to be a large family discount
for 3 or more children, as these families just cannot afford to attend.
TCS has been arguing that they don't know how to administer a Hardship
Fund to help families get to camps and work out which families need
help, but it is becoming very obvious that large families are being
heavily disadvantaged and just can't afford to attend.
On the note of the cost of camp, I was a little surprised that we were
arriving at lunchtime Monday, BUT we were to bring our own packed
lunches. That was just another thing to worry about while trying to
organise and pack my kids and their stuff into the car that we could
have done without, and I think it would have been better if a simple
lunch had been provided on arrival.
Back to the Camp itself, it was very ably run as always by ex-RR Tanya
Petrove, who as usual gave 110% effort in ensuring that camp ran
smoothly. Her institutional (TCS) knowledge & leadership skills can't be
faulted, and she knows exactly the sorts of activities that TCS students
need to practice. Our kids had lots of activities to develop
co-operative, competitive, social and physical skills - all essential
skills that cannot be developed in isolation. Remember for those of you
who have camps to come this year, that Tanya will be running them all,
and in your Camp Evaluations you need to make special note of Tanya's
superb work, to ensure that her annual contract (which expires in June)
is rolled over for another year. She is a real asset to the school, and
I especially like that she will be running all camps right through the
country, as it ensures consistency and continuity.
We all went swimming - in that scary Pohangina River where those 3 poor
children were killed in the landslide while swimming during last
holidays - but we swam a few bends down from there, where the cliffs
weren't hanging right over the water, and the water was warm and
pleasant - even most of us supervisors went for the plunge.
There was a gym at camp, so the kids got to play some team sports -
basketball I think - I missed it.
We went caving nearby at a cave called The Sump, which is only about 30
metres long, and is not technically difficult, and had some lovely glow
worms at the end. There was one narrow spot (only about 8 or 10 metres
long) where you had to crouch to get through - not quite low enough to
have to do hands-and-knees thank goodness. The cave is actually a loop,
but when we reached the end, the 'loop' part involved bellying through a
creek before it rejoined the main path in, and that didn't really appeal
to me (funnily enough), so I sat with secondary teacher Anil Singh at
the end in amongst the glow worms and coaxed kids to keep coming until
they reached us. The actual cave was quite roomy, and I was quite
comfortable in there, but there were a couple of parents who couldn't
get back out again fast enough ... Wenda - but at least she DID go in
..Angie. Christine was the bravest of the parents, taking kids through
the loop part.
My favourite part of the whole camp was going glow worming up a creek
one evening.
There was nothing at all to indicate from the road that this creek was
anything special, but apparently this is a tour bus destination, and we
were told to not be surprised if a tour bus showed up with a bunch of
tourists while we were there.
We walked through a gap in the barrier fence, down into the creek, and
then single file, all with torches in hand, picked our way for about 10
minutes up this creek, stepping over the water and logs etc. It wasn't
difficult, and the 10 minutes was only because we were all moving
slowly, admiring the glow worms on the banks around us. Then we walked
around a corner, and we were in the bottom of a steep sided gully, and
the walls around us were covered in trillions of glow worms - and I mean
trillions. I have no idea who walked up this creek (or why!) to discover
this spectacle, but it was pretty special. I have never ever seen so
many glow worms in the one place. I think I appreciated it more than the
kids did! They just liked the adventure in the dark with torches really.
In the mornings the Secondary students were all working on a Unit
Standard (which they all passed and earned their credits), and the
Primary students were all working on Camp Diaries with their teachers.
We had a great 'Clown Experience' (caught on tape by Angie!) where we
ALL (under instructions from the clowns) had to dress up as clowns from
4 big bags of clown clothes), put on clown makeup and blow up countless
balloons. This I can see kind of placed us 'in the mood' and everyone -
secondary students, teachers and supervisors included - joined in, and
it was a hilarious evening. Just in case the Clown Experience will be at
other camps, I shall say no more - and spoil it.
The teachers at camp were good, with my kids meeting up again with their
teacher from 2 years ago, Mary Green. Anil Singh (secondary) put in 100%
with all the students, and I was very impressed with his enthusiasm and
participation at all times.
One thing that bothered me a little, was the way the teachers all sat
together at their own table at meal times, and didn't mix at all with
parents - other than Anil, who alternated tables every day and I think
managed to talk with pretty much everyone. (I pointed this out to Fraser
Gibbs during lunch - who was sitting with the parents, not the teachers)
Only some of us parents knew each other, the rest were strangers, and we
all managed to mix and mingle, and meet new people.
As Parents Association President, I made sure I met EVERYONE, AND handed
out Parents Assn Membership Forms (I scored THREE new members on the
spot - already in Debbie Searle's hands) and also Conference Flyers. I
also paraded around in my Correspondence School sweatshirt, and in my
Correspondence School sleeveless vest, pushing the clothing range, which
Wenda and I had a display of, with merchandise for sale of course.
Fraser Gibbs (Manager of the CEO's Office at TCS) showed up to do a
presentation to supervisors, with e-school teachers Toby Durney and
Angela Page - both of whom are my kids' teachers. I was a little
disappointed at them being whisked away straight after their (e-school
and inquiry learning) presentation, with my kids only getting a very
hurried chat to them, while they packed up their stuff. I do like to
maximize my childrens opportunities to develop a proper relationship
with their teachers - they work better at home when they know who their
work is going to.
The Supervisor (and Secondary) Session I enjoyed the most was with Roger
Peak from Career Services. He had some great material on choosing your
career (not just for Secondary - Supervisors included!) based on the
subjects you enjoy the most, and how to rule out what you definitely
don't want to do first. He had a list for us to put our names &
addresses on if we wanted any of the material, and he was very efficient
- I found it all waiting in my mailbox on our way home from camp.
There was a good range of activities available at camp - bmx bikes and
earth boards (sort of large skate boards), a climbing wall and
abseiling. We all held our breaths while fearless special needs student
8 year old Eva did her abseil - she "wanted to fly" - she would have
happily launched herself off I think without waiting for her harness to
be clipped onto the ropes! However she loved it, and we were all blue
from holding our breaths by the time her feet touched the ground.
There was only 1 horse which the kids could be led around on, which was
a disappointment for Crystal who thought it so tame (at home she is out
competing in shows on her lovely pony Shevy), she didn't bother to go
near the horse. It was perfect for the beginners though.
I am looking forward to hearing other Camp Reports.
