10 Tips for Planning
a Spectacular School Camp with Camp Zenith
Tasked to plan the next school camp? Get ready for an adventure like no other!
We created this article to guide you with our top 10 tips for crafting a spectacular school camp experience that will be the talk of the school.
Start with a Vision:
Begin by envisioning the desired outcomes for your school camp.
What skills do you want students to develop, and what memories should they take away?
Setting a clear vision will shape the entire planning process.
Some examples of school camp outcomes that we have facilitated before include:
- leadership camp,
- matric/grade 7 farewell camp,
- study camp,
- team building camp,
- sports related camp,
- fun camp,
- outdoor education camp,
- grade camp.
- Camp Zenith Facilitators (usually the go-to for the above-mentioned camps)
- School Teachers (usually the go-to for Matric Study Camps, etc)
- Other
The following tips may not apply to all camps, but are worth considering if they apply to your specific camp.
Diverse Activities for Every Interest:
Cater to a variety of interests by offering a diverse range of activities.
From team-building challenges to thrilling outdoor adventures, ensure there’s something for every student to enjoy during their time at Camp Zenith.
Providing activities built towards meeting the camp’s outcome, but that includes everyone, gets everyone involved, and everyone learning. Perhaps one student may not love the obstacle course whilst they thrive in the puzzle activities.
Providing this diversity increases the chances that all learners will achieve the set outcomes for the camp by the end of their stay.
Plan Engaging Team-Building Exercises:
Teamwork makes the dream work!
Explore unique and engaging team-building exercises designed to foster cooperation and create lasting bonds among students.
Even if your camp outcome is not specifically “team building”, including some team-related activities goes a long way in encouraging engagement from all students.
People are social by nature, and whether your camp outcomes are to build a solid leadership team, or study for the final exams, tapping into the social elements that team-building activities draw out, goes a long way in achieving your camp outcomes, either by building trust, motivational relationships, or peer unity.
Blend Education with Adventure:
Infuse educational elements into the camp experience. Turn outdoor activities into opportunities for learning, ensuring students gain valuable insights while having a great time in the natural surroundings of Camp Zenith.
The best way to achieve this is through debriefing after activities. Debriefing is the action of sitting the group down after an activity and asking questions to the group to provide a space for people to share and process what they experienced in the activity. Questions like “what does this activity teach us about life?” are great to help take the experience of the activity and work out how to apply its lessons to life after camp.
Our facilitation team knows that well-planned and specific debriefing moments of activities leads to encouraging discussions and sharing life lessons from each activity. These lessons can also be used toward the successful accomplishment of your camp outcomes.
The best way to achieve this is through debriefing after activities. Debriefing is the action of sitting the group down after an activity and asking questions to the group to provide a space for people to share and process what they experienced in the activity. Questions like “what does this activity teach us about life?” are great to help take the experience of the activity and work out how to apply its lessons to life after camp.
Our facilitation team knows that well-planned and specific debriefing moments of activities leads to encouraging discussions and sharing life lessons from each activity. These lessons can also be used toward the successful accomplishment of your camp outcomes.
Comfortable Facilities Amidst Nature:
Provide students with comfortable and secure accommodations amidst the beauty of nature.
Ensuring that your students are comfortable, warm and fed well, allows them to ease into your school camp programme.
Once your students trust that their basic survival needs will not only be met but exceeded, they can start to engage with your set camp programme.
Additionally, the change of scenery that an outdoor experience provides; often makes learners more open to process lessons, open-up, share, learn, and grow.
Interactive Workshops for Lifelong Skills
Consider organising workshops that focus on developing life skills. Whether it’s:
- leadership,
- communication, or
- problem-solving,
These interactive sessions can add depth to the overall learning experience.
Having 1 or 2 of these life skills workshops on any school camp has a huge impact on our youth. Even if the set outcome of the camp is for the learners to have fun, having special moments woven into the camp programme can be hugely impactful on their futures.
Thorough Safety Measures:
Prioritise safety.
Outline and communicate thorough safety measures to both students and educators, ensuring a worry-free and secure environment.
At Camp Zenith, camp safety is a top concern for us.
For more information about our safety protocols, please click here.
Create Lasting Memories with Photography and Videos:
Capture the magic of the school camp with photography and videos.
Documenting the experience ensures that the memories created at Camp Zenith will be cherished for years to come.
Designate a member of your team, or a group of members to take photos and videos of all the special moments on your camp. Sending these photos and videos to your campers after camp would be a special memento and help to concrete the lessons you have taught throughout the camp. Try to get footage of all the campers, even the shy campers.
It must be noted that photo consent is required from parents, so please be sure to get this and make sure that the designated photographer is aware of the consent provided.
Ensure Clear Communication with Parents:
Parents should be well aware of where their children are at all times.
Communicated clearly with the learners’ parents in advance as to where and when the camp is.
At Camp Zenith, we provide teachers with a welcome pack to send to parents before camp that provides the information that they need to know from Camp Zenith. This includes:
- the kit-list,
- the indemnity form and
- the contact details and location of the facility.
Reflect and Evaluate:
After the school camp concludes, take the time to reflect and evaluate the overall experience.
Gather feedback from both students and educators to continuously improve and enhance future school camps.
Camp Zenith also sends out feedback forms as we would love to know how your camp went and where we can improve.
Feedback is so important for the school and the venue so that we can continually learn to provide a constantly improving camp experience for future campers.
Ready to turn these tips into reality?
Start planning your school camp adventure.
Let's make your next school camp an unforgettable success!
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