Orion College leadership camp leaves learners empowered
Grade 6 teacher Ivan Hague said ensuring children are independent is very important.
Orion College’s Intermediate Phase learners recently returned from a two-day leadership camp on March 20.
A Grade 6 teacher who accompanied the students, Ivan Hague, highlighted how transforming the camp was. “Independence is a tremendously important thing. Our goal as parents and teachers is to have our children independent of us, and camp can be one of the tools used on the journey.”
Hague explained the significance of learning outside the traditional classroom. “Learning outside a classroom is very important, especially for remedial kids.”
The camp provided learners with a diverse range of activities aimed to enhance teamwork, resilience, and self-confidence. Hague praised the facilitators for their ability to cater to the individual needs of each learner, stating, “The facilitators managed to figure out when to press the kids towards greater achievement and when to allow them not to achieve the goal set.”
From challenging obstacle courses to engaging team-building exercises, learners were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and embrace new challenges. Hague remarked on the importance of such experiences. “The main purpose of the camp was for the learners to gain independence. Some learners never spend a night away from their parents, and parents can sometimes be overprotective. While on camp, they learn that they can survive without their parents.”
Hague said that one of the highlights of the camp was witnessing students engage in activities. “There were combinations of cognitive and physical activities. Some of the activities relied heavily on teamwork. They had some great fun activities, like when they had to guide their teammates to a bucket of water and try to splash the opponent while blindfolded.
“We are always looking for strengths that we can build on and that can be things like leadership in a physical environment. So, when we can identify that, we can build that in a learner.”
He explained that the learners returned to Orion College with a set of new skills. “Eventually, they were very tired, but continuing activities even when they were tired brought in a new bunch of skills like persistence and managing emotions when you’re grumpy. So overall I think they learned a lot, gained confidence, and had a tremendous amount of fun.”
Related articles: Orion College is ready to get back in the saddle with the Earth Centre
Orion College learners star in school concert
