Outdoor Education Week Grade 7

Village Camps was a chance for 7th graders to look out their hiking boots, fill up their backpacks and remember their nature names before catching the early train on Monday morning to Leysin for another year's outdoor education week. The first day meant working on team-building games and getting to know the camp counsellors- Grizzly, Wolf, Squirrel, Ash, Puddle, Toad, Kuru, baby Roo and the rest.

The theme for rock climbing on Tuesday morning was stretching your comfort zone without bursting your bubble. Map and navigation skills were the afternoon's topic, in readiness for the Trek up the Berneuse on Wednesday to two kilometres above sea level. Tired legs were the result with sandwiches and snacks a reasonable reward, as well as a beautiful view in fantastic sunshine. Thursday's plane crash left the team stranded and having to rely on their inventiveness and creativity to provide water, and to build a fire and shelter to survive.

The king and queen of clean were as exacting as ever about the tidiness of rooms, although they were open to be swayed by a song or a dance, and afterwards, evenings were taken up by the night hike, casino and eco-mystery. The last evening, a campfire with skits and songs warmed the heart, with Ash's rocketman a highlight, and we were all sad to leave on the Friday morning.

The whole class had a chance to interact with the natural world by seeing it close up, smelling it, feeling it, hearing it and touching it. They were able to push their boundaries, to learn new knowledge about the place they live and new skills useful both outdoors and back at school. Most importantly, they had time to bond with each other, and to enjoy time together in the fabulous surroundings.