Year 7 End of Year Activities
By Alysha Brown
With an impending cyclone and torrential rain, this year’s year 7 camp started off wetter than usual. Across days 1 and 2, both groups participated in the Adventure Forest tree top activities, Hatea Loop Walk track, with a scavenger hunt, followed by the Aquatic Centre.
The rain managed to hold off for day 1, meaning we stayed nice and dry (apart from our Aquatic Centre swimmers). After a 5km walk around Whangarei, led by Mrs Van den berg, group A was lucky enough to have the pools to themselves to enjoy the waves and hydro slide without any queues. Some even managed to sneak in a pottle of hot chips and milkshakes during their swim session. Group B headed to Adventure Forest where they were kitted out with helmets and harnesses to tackle the treetops and zip lines. The course consisted of twelve levels, each ranging in difficulty and challenges. Some courses included a slide, skateboard, and bike on a zip line through the treetops. We had some incredibly keen students who reached the top course and overcame their fears. As teachers, watching below we were very proud to see our students tackle these heights and push through the obstacles despite their exhausted arms.
Day 2, the rains steered clear until the afternoon, giving us a chance to finish our planned activities. As our groups were split in two, we rotated activities and the smaller groups allowed each student to fully experience the pools and trees without waiting in lines. By the end of day 2, we had some very tired and worn out students, a number fell asleep on the return bus ride.
Day 3, was a school activities day. With eight activities running, each group had the opportunity to participate in five of these. This included archery, target shooting, matchbox magic, pom poms, cupcake decorating, robots, pool activities, and balloon animals. We concluded the day with hot chips and plenty of balloon swords as we farewelled our year 7s.
