Camps
Students and staff are encouraged to reflect on their experiences and to consider how they have approached and solved problems, how they have responded to provocations, and to take what they have learnt back into their everyday lives.
The principles for participation in camps in the Primary School at BPCS are the same, with venues and experiences that provide a higher level of support for younger children to meet challenges appropriate to their development and previous experience.
5-6 year old classes take part in numerous excursions throughout the year, venturing further afield than in their early childhood experiences.
- Children are given opportunities to travel further, on the BPCS bus or in hired buses;
- To expand their circle of support from parents or guardians towards teaching teams, peers and other parents;
- To encounter and interact with a wider range of people outside of their school and home community;
- To offer them encounters that challenge them in a safe, supportive context.
7-9 year old classes are the first class groups to experience an overnight camp during the year.
- These are generally over one night and two days;
- They involve a number of parents accompanying the teaching team to provide necessary social, emotional and logistical support. The camp may involve staff from other classes if a particular expertise or qualification is required;
- Venues include those fairly close to home, typically Rottnest Island, Nanga Bush Camp, Ern Halliday Recreational Camp, and Point Peron Camp School, each venue providing a diversity of experiences (cultural, environmental or personal growth foci) depending on the rationale and background for the planned camp;
- They give the children opportunities to develop personal responsibility as they may be involved in the preparation and serving of meals, taking care of their accommodations and environments, or have specific roles to fulfil;
- Consideration is given to the nature and needs of the class group, the time of year, the project or learning focus which has predominated in the class over the year;
9-11 year old class camps at BPCS really begin to prepare the students for the challenges of their middle and secondary years’ expeditions, while still maintaining a character specific to their class.
- They are generally over 2 or 3 nights and 3 or 4 days and will occur at least once during the year;
- They involve a small number of parents or no parents at all depending on the purpose and rationale for the camp, the proficiency of the staff involved and the needs and nature of the group. The camp may involve staff from other classes if a particular expertise or qualification is required;
- Venues may be further afield and/or provide opportunities for greater challenges for the students’ personal growth building;
- The children will be relied upon to take up the challenges offered to them in the planning, running and evaluation stages of the camp;
- As with all camps and excursions, consideration will be given in the planning stages to the personality and needs of the group, the time of year, and the predominant learning focus for the class group during that year.
A camp file, located in the school office provides advice and resources for planning and administering camps as well as ideas for venues and activities.
