Which Way Is North

After a day of EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom), the boys in Years 3 can now confidently negotiate all points on the compass, after a session spent orienteering on Roselle Lawn!

At a time of year when the older students would traditionally head away to camp, our youngest boys in the Junior School had their own small taste of life in the outdoors this week. Years 1-3 were fortunate to be able to get their EOTC days underway immediately on their return to school after lockdown, unlike Years 4, 5, 6 and 7, who have all had their camps postponed until the start of Term 2. Disappointing at the time, but now they all have something to look forward to!

With the trees below Roselle Lawn starting to turn colour and a carpet of autumnal leaves crunching underfoot, the Year 3 boys spent a full day out on Roselle Lawn enjoying a range of activities, whilst Years 1 and 2 each spent half a day each learning new skills, to lay the groundwork for when they first head away to camp in Year 4.

Year 3 were the first to get underway, and with a cooking activity on their agenda, they started their day indoors preparing dough ready to cook doughnuts later in the day. It was then off outside to erect tents, make ropes from flax, learn how to use a compass, burn off energy with action-packed parachute games and take a quiet time out, relaxing in hammocks dotted amongst the trees…

Well, maybe not such a ‘quiet time out!’ Getting in the hammocks proved just a little more challenging than anticipated!  Working in pairs, with one to hold the hammock open, and then remembering the mantra, ‘bottom in first,’ the boys were soon adept after experiencing some early tumbles and plenty of giggles! By the time they reach Year 7 camp, they’ll be offered the chance to sleep overnight in a hammock!

Making ropes from flax leaves required the boys to work co-operatively. They learnt how to strip and prepare the flax, taking responsibility for handling the ‘stripping knives’ – a section of saw tooth – working together very sensibly to soften the fibres, before twisting the loosened fibres into ropes and testing its strength. The boys took turns communicating their ideas to each other, learning which ideas worked best and then proudly wore their finished flax bracelets on their wrists.

Orienteering required plenty of discussion and co-operation as they set their compasses to stride a set number of paces in a designated direction to find markers scattered amongst the trees.

The highlight for the Year 3s was undoubtedly cooking their doughnuts on a stick over an open fire at the end of the day, dipping the fired dough in melted butter and then cinnamon sugar!

The following day, Years 1 and 2 took their turn, enjoying a scavenger nature hunt, painting with natural dyes, taking time to read in the hammocks and getting their hands messy making seed bombs. When a light drizzle fell, the tents provided cover for a musical ‘jam!’

The lower end of Roselle Lawn is a world away from the heart of the campus. Our boys are fortunate to attend a school with such easy access to natural woodland and an amazing outlook across the blue water of the Orakei Basin. It was the perfect setting to experience a little taste of the camps to come!