Harnessing New Skills: A Duke of Ed Campsite Adventure
Last newsletter we were extremely lucky to hear about two of our Gold Award participants who completed their Residential projects in the Term 2 holidays. We heard from Year 11 student Tali about her experience at Teen Ranch, and this week we will be hearing about Alyse-Rose’s experience.
Alyse completed her Residential Project in the second week of the break, the week following Tali. One of the key requirements of the Residential Project is to go somewhere away from home, with people you don’t know. This places participants outside their comfort zone and into new circumstances that may be uncomfortable, but will inevitably bring out a large amount of growth.
Please see below Alyse’s reflections on her time at Teen Ranch.
Throughout my stay at teen ranch, I was able to partake in a lot of things. On the first day I did High Ropes, where I helped the kids tighten their harnesses, which was honestly at first very difficult! I had no idea how to put it on myself, let alone another person. Once I got the hang of it, you could not stop me from helping. I also had the chance to go on the Giant Swing with one of the younger groups, which was very scary but also very fun!
I also partook in an activity called ‘Archery Tag,’ where there are two teams with inflatable barriers that protect you from the other team, then you shoot them in hopes of tagging them and whoever team has the most people still standing wins! Another activity I was able to do was horse riding! This was Lots of fun, and I wasn’t too scared of this one because I used to do it when I was younger.
Further, I helped in the kitchen, where I spent a lot of time during my stay, but it was indeed fun. Kara and Kathy, the kitchen ladies were so gorgeous and lovely, Kara pushed me to do things in the kitchen that I’m not the most confident with, as I’m not the most competent chef, which definitely helped boost my confidence in the kitchen.
I also helped to clean up cabins, interact with kids throughout the day and form great relationships with the workers at teen ranch! To the team, I miss you and am looking forward to doing something else there in the future. I am so grateful for this stay, it was truly an enlightening experience
Alyse (Year 11 Student)
God bless,
Mr Rohan Miller
Duke of Edinburgh Award Leader
