Year 10 Rotorua Camp 2021 Parent Letter #1
Dear Parents & Caregivers,
Earlier this week I met with all the Y10 students to start planning for the end of year camp. With the current Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines that schools must follow this has been difficult. As a result and after lots of consultation, the camp has been split into 2 camps so that we don’t exceed the 100 person limit. Rest assured that I have managed to include all the activities that have normally been part of the camp. The added complication is that 10P have a NCEA science exam on Tuesday 8th December.
Therefore these are the arrangements for the 2021 Year 10 Camp.
Group A 10K & 10T Monday 6th – Wednesday 8th December
Group B 10P & 10R Wednesday 8th – Friday 10th December
The camp will be based at the Blue Lakes Top 10 camping ground in Rotorua. Activities will take place in and around the area.
The camp is designed around the objectives of Team Work, Leadership and Communication – T.L.C. Each of the activities (White water rafting, Mountain Biking, Tramping, problem solving etc) are designed to develop the student’s use these skills and reward those who show great T.L.C.
Group A
Monday 6th December White Water rafting – Kaituna River, Set up camp
Tuesday 7th December Mountain Biking & The Great Aquinas Challenge
Wednesday 8th Dec Tramp Hot Water Beach to Lake Tarawera tramp
Group B
Wednesday 8th Dec Tramp Lake Tarawera tramp to Hot Water Beach
Thursday 9th Dec Mountain Biking & The Great Aquinas Challenge
Friday 10th Dec White Water rafting – Kaituna River
Both groups will complete the same activities over the three days and I am sure the students will find the activities exciting yet a challenging experience.
Mr Dalton, Mrs Rebecca Holmes (Y10 Dean) and myself see this as an extremely valuable experience. However, if a student is unable to attend camp you will need to schedule a meeting with yourselves, your son/daughter and Mrs Holmes to discuss this. It is our hope that any issues could be addressed, and support provided to enable every student to attend. Those students not attending camp will be required to attend normal school for the four days where an alternative programme will be organised.
There is some inherent risk associated with these types of activities. Every effort will be made to manage those risks during this EOTC Activity. In planning this trip staff have followed the current best practice procedures according to the Aquinas College EOTC Guidelines. In addition, the Mountain Biking, Tarawera Boat trip and Rafting activities are run by qualified guides. Students can assist this by ensuring that they are prepared correctly, follow instructions and support staff and other students on the activity.
See below for a description of each activity as well as a gear list to help start the organisation at home.
Payment
The cost of the camp is $240. Please make contact with Mrs Mary Walton in the school office to discuss any concerns you may have regarding payment as financial assistance may be available. The final date for payment will be Monday 29th November.
If you have any questions about the camp please contact myself at the College on 543 2400 ext 244 or rwatson@aquinas.school.nz
Regards
Richard Watson
Year 10 Camp co-ordinator.
Additional Camp information and forms:
Click to download (and sign if applicable) the following links to forms:
2021 Y10 Camp Aquinas College Health & Consent info
Rafting & Mountain Biking Risk Consent form
Details of this year’s activities:
Mountain Biking
The Mountain Biking activity will take place in the Whakarewarewa Forest on the southern outskirts of Rotorua which contains some of the best Mountain Biking tracks in New Zealand. Students will be divided into groups based on their level of experience and spend approximately 2 ½ hours discovering the tracks. Each group will be accompanied by a guide. See http://www.planetbike.co.nz/
White Water Rafting
The Kaituna river flows through an extremely steep and narrow canyon, with 14 awesome drops, including two waterfalls and some great rapids. They will experience possibly the world’s highest commercially rafted waterfall at 6-7 metres. This will be a unique and amazing experience for all. Please remember that a separate consent form needs to be completed for this activity. Check out their website www.rotorua-rafting.co.nz
The Great Aquinas Challenge
This involves each group of eight students competing against other groups for the much sought after prize of being crowned The Great Aquinas Challenge champions. The actual tasks remain a secret until the day but it’s fair to say that students will be getting wet and muddy and the group that displays the best teamwork will be very competitive.
Tramping
Students will walk the Tarawera trail. This is a 13km tramp starting near the Buried Village to Hot Water beach on Lake Tarawera. The return trip to The Landing is by boat. Check out http://www.totallytarawera.com/
