S1 Leadership Camp

Anna Chia (S1R), Jane Dong (S1R), Sara Tom (S1M)

The S1 Leadership Camp in Sai Wan, Sai Kung on October 16th-18th was a memorable experience for the S1 students. During the 3 days, we were involved in many activities, such as surfing, survival challenge, and canyon challenge. These activities allowed us to better understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to become better leaders. We interviewed some S1 students after the S1 camp.

 

Anna Chia (S1R)

The most memorable time of my first year in secondary so far, would be S1 camp! It was a perfect way to start off our year, and we bonded with each other well. This camp prepared us to become better leaders and we had lots of fun completing all the challenges.

The two activities that I enjoyed the most were 1) the barbeque dinner on the first night, it gave a chance for all of us to bond. We sat around the campfire and talked, laughed and shared together. It was an amazing experience and the food was absolutely delicious! and 2) the gorge walk/canyon challenge on the last night. We had to trek a bit to a body of freshwater, climbed the waterfalls, and jumped off the rocks. It was so much fun! It was also great to see that everyone was encouraging and helping each other.

In conclusion, everything met my expectations and I had a blast at the S1 camp. Everything was amazing – the facilities and activities, for a small town like Sai Wan Village.

 

Jane Dong (S1R)

This year we went to Sai Wan village in Sai Kung for my first ever Secondary camp . I didn’t know what to expect but overall, it was a pretty fun experience.

On the 2nd day of camp, we went boogie boarding and did SUP water activities, and I thought it was really fun and it was actually the first time I did these water activities. It was a great first experience. Then, on the final day, we went gorge walking. It was actually kind of scary when we saw the sign before the trail that said “CAUTION!” but the instructor took care of us and made it worth our while. The view was amazing and the fun was unlimited ! Though the climb up and down was terrifying and the water was freezing, it really woke us up and we really connected with nature.

This camp was unique and unlike any other. Whenever you hear anyone say wild camp, they actually mean move your bed into another location and pretend you are stuck in the middle of nowhere when actually there is just civilization a few blocks down the road. But this? This camp was actually in the wild. Miles away from civilization, building fires with actual scavenged sticks, fear of wild animals, high tides and actual dangers, and a really exhausting hike to reach the campsite. But through this, we learnt many different skills, leadership or not, that still help us in our everyday lives.

This camp taught me many things that I still use, and I will forever remember the journey it brought me .

 

Sara Tom (S1M)

When asked to write about the S1 camp, the 3-day-2-night trip, I, of course, did not hesitate to sign up. Being honest, it was not to become better leaders, or to learn new life skills, break open and discover hidden gems and rubies that our subconscious kept hidden from us.

 I am committed. I am principled. I am caring. I am balanced. I am a risk-taker. Those five magical words repeated throughout the camp, stuck in my head like song lyrics. That was the camp’s intention, to build up our leadership skills. But I think the strongest thing the camp had built in us was our bond.

When I think back to our camp, those five words are probably the four hundred and twenty sixth thing I could think of. What was more important was the memories we made with our friends. It was the small moments. In the challenging mission where everyone had to sit on a tightrope in the middle of a gorge, where the water was clinging onto our skin and our feet felt like ice cubes about to snap off, someone started humming the tune to “Country Road”, and then another started singing, and another joined in, and another, and another till we didn’t feel cold anymore but instead felt like a team. In the morning when there was the sunrise on the beach, I had gone out to meditate to slow things down. When I opened my eyes, I found two other people meditating with me, and after closing my eyes and opening them again, I found a teacher and another student meditating along. I thought that was incredible, two of those four people I had barely said a word to, yet the camp brought us together, to share a peaceful moment of hearing the waves crash onto the beach.

I think if I were to go back, and what my advice would be to future S1 students, is to live in the moment, and to go ahead and be a bit more reckless, have more fun, because time doesn’t stop for you, and moments can’t be replicated.