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Growing Stronger Together Through Exploration And Team Bonding
Growing Stronger Together Through Exploration And Team Bonding
Outdoor Leadership and Adventure Learning Level Camps
This year, the Leadership and Outdoor Adventure Learning Level Camps organised for Secondary 1, 2 and 3 student-athletes revolve around the Kouzes and Posner leadership challenge model – model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. Various activities organised across three days challenged our student-athletes to discover new individual strengths and grow stronger collectively as a team.
After the first day of energiser activities and leadership workshops for everyone, the Secondary 1 student-athletes embarked on an Amazing Race activity on day two of the camp. East Coast Park provided the perfect environment for them to take on various team challenges together, testing their teamwork and navigating individual differences. The rafting activity held on day three at East Coast Park tested the level of trust and skill of each team member. The teams had to think of a good design that would allow them to get on the raft comfortably but a loose knot could cause the raft to fall apart in the middle of the sea. Our student-athletes could be seen engaging one another to come to an agreement on the design of the raft and helping each other build it properly before rowing out to sea happily on their successfully crafted raft.
“I enjoyed the rafting activity. I learnt to work better as a team by patiently listening to what others have to say and discussing different ideas,” said netballer Ong Shi Han (Secondary 1).
The Secondary 2 student-athletes were put in deeper water as they went rafting on day two and pushed the limits of their endurance a little further with a 12km Champions’ March on day three. The 12km hike from West Coast Park through Mount Faber and to Harbourfront was another activity where motivated student-athletes burst out of their shells to spur their team on. Spirits were high even though the torrential downpour threatened to cut their march short. In the end, the strong camaraderie shone through the dark clouds and shed light on their accomplishments.
“One of the things the camp has taught me was that different people have different ways of dealing with challenges and through the camp, I have been able to see clearly how one challenge can bring about many solutions. All we have to do from there is find out which solution is best and act on it. I also learnt that leadership is not just about instructing people to do things to achieve a goal. It is much more than that. On top of just telling people what to do, we as leaders have to lead by example. We have to ‘model the way’ and set an example for our group mates,” said Magdalene Lee (Secondary 2).
Student-athletes in Secondary 3 had their programmes planned over the northern part of the island. Other than participating in team-building activities, the highlight of their three-day programme was an orientation walk around Woodlands and Sembawang. Armed with a map, they were tasked to orientate themselves to hit several checkpoints, which include prominent landmarks such as religious sites, Sembawang Hot Spring Park and Sembawang Park. The student-athletes were actively discussing and analysing the shortest routes to take and set time targets to reach their destination before pushing each other to complete their routes.
“I enjoyed trekking the most even though I found it the most difficult activity in all the three days. Trekking more than 15 km was not easy, but I think trekking together with my classmates made it easier. I learned how to navigate my way using a map and compass. As a team, we learned to push each other on and persevered through the hot weather and aches in our legs. Trekking was not just about being challenged physically but mentally too. As a class, we became closer to one another through this camp, and we learnt to try other methods to improve processes. I also realised how important communication is and how it can affect a team deeply,” said swimmer Koh Kai Lin (Secondary 3).
This year, the Leadership and Outdoor Adventure Learning Level Camps organised for Secondary 1, 2 and 3 student-athletes revolve around the Kouzes and Posner leadership challenge model – model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. Various activities organised across three days challenged our student-athletes to discover new individual strengths and grow stronger collectively as a team.
After the first day of energiser activities and leadership workshops for everyone, the Secondary 1 student-athletes embarked on an Amazing Race activity on day two of the camp. East Coast Park provided the perfect environment for them to take on various team challenges together, testing their teamwork and navigating individual differences. The rafting activity held on day three at East Coast Park tested the level of trust and skill of each team member. The teams had to think of a good design that would allow them to get on the raft comfortably but a loose knot could cause the raft to fall apart in the middle of the sea. Our student-athletes could be seen engaging one another to come to an agreement on the design of the raft and helping each other build it properly before rowing out to sea happily on their successfully crafted raft.
“I enjoyed the rafting activity. I learnt to work better as a team by patiently listening to what others have to say and discussing different ideas,” said netballer Ong Shi Han (Secondary 1).
The Secondary 2 student-athletes were put in deeper water as they went rafting on day two and pushed the limits of their endurance a little further with a 12km Champions’ March on day three. The 12km hike from West Coast Park through Mount Faber and to Harbourfront was another activity where motivated student-athletes burst out of their shells to spur their team on. Spirits were high even though the torrential downpour threatened to cut their march short. In the end, the strong camaraderie shone through the dark clouds and shed light on their accomplishments.
“One of the things the camp has taught me was that different people have different ways of dealing with challenges and through the camp, I have been able to see clearly how one challenge can bring about many solutions. All we have to do from there is find out which solution is best and act on it. I also learnt that leadership is not just about instructing people to do things to achieve a goal. It is much more than that. On top of just telling people what to do, we as leaders have to lead by example. We have to ‘model the way’ and set an example for our group mates,” said Magdalene Lee (Secondary 2).
Student-athletes in Secondary 3 had their programmes planned over the northern part of the island. Other than participating in team-building activities, the highlight of their three-day programme was an orientation walk around Woodlands and Sembawang. Armed with a map, they were tasked to orientate themselves to hit several checkpoints, which include prominent landmarks such as religious sites, Sembawang Hot Spring Park and Sembawang Park. The student-athletes were actively discussing and analysing the shortest routes to take and set time targets to reach their destination before pushing each other to complete their routes.
“I enjoyed trekking the most even though I found it the most difficult activity in all the three days. Trekking more than 15 km was not easy, but I think trekking together with my classmates made it easier. I learned how to navigate my way using a map and compass. As a team, we learned to push each other on and persevered through the hot weather and aches in our legs. Trekking was not just about being challenged physically but mentally too. As a class, we became closer to one another through this camp, and we learnt to try other methods to improve processes. I also realised how important communication is and how it can affect a team deeply,” said swimmer Koh Kai Lin (Secondary 3).
