Break Out Week - Grade 9 to Camp Timberlane

When the Grade 9s embarked on their Breakout Week trip to Camp Timberlane, it was focused on that idea, to step out of your comfort zone into the unfamiliar and connect with new and old friends in a setting outside of the classroom. In the four-day trip, we were faced with events and activities that gave us the choice to do something new and challenging. For some, it was trusting classmates to help you get up and over a wall in our team building activity. For others, it was performing a skit or song in front of everyone at the campfire. No matter how big or small the challenge was, each of us had done at least one thing we thought we couldn't do before. From that, we were able to realize how accomplishing those tasks made us feel so brave. Aside from those activities, I think it was also hard to leave home and go away with a group of classmates you might not all know, especially for new students like myself. However, it was important that although we might have been uncomfortable with that idea, we stuck it through and tried it.

We made so many memories with new and old friends that I will never forget. A lot of them took place late at night in our cabin, during ukulele sessions, fighting off spiders or just laughing until we were in tears in our bunkbeds about inside jokes that were made. Some of my memories also happened early in the morning, with my three friends and I diving into the freezing lake water to say we completed the legendary “Polar Ice Dip”. I believe that when you are away from the busy world and technology, you are able to make these memories because you “unplug”, and become connected with both yourself and the people around you. Rather than people being focused on their phone screens on the bus, we were forced to resort to playing games for three hours using only a pen and paper; it was a lot more interesting.

Aside from the many activities and workshops, we also had some free time during the day at camp. It was a perfect opportunity to not only build relationships between other students, but also the teachers that came to the camp and the Alive Outdoors staff. Intense games of Kubb and Ping Pong on the beach or paddle boarding were the perfect ways to do just that. I believe we were all thankful for the teachers and instructors, who made sure we all felt safe and were okay the entire trip. At the end of the four days we all – students, teachers and instructors – had taken something away from the experience and shared what we learned in our “Gratitude Circle”. We arrived there unsure about what to expect, yet we left with a better understanding about ourselves, the importance of teamwork and community, and how demonstrating bravery leaves us with so much to remember and reflect on. We cannot make fantastic memories if we live within our comfort zones our entire lives. Sometimes we need to breakout and try new things.