Upon our return from Bark Lake, we had encouraged the students to reflect on their experiences over the few days.  From the beginning of the year, Miss. Pizzitelli has had the students place a great focus on topics such as teamwork, collaboration and the importance of a healthy lifestyle within Physical Education.  Below are a few of the questions that she had provided the children with to reflect on their experience (for some, their first) with the outdoor excursion.

Bombs Away & Team Building

Teams will work through a series of puzzles, problem solving and teamwork activities.  Each challenge completed will help teams to build a machine to protect a water balloon dropped off the balcony of the Dining Hall.

What was your role in the Team Building Initiatives activity?

My role was to motivate my team in order for them to be successful.  I also had to sing a song to the store clerk so my team could get more materials to build our parachute. – A. K.

Explain an example of something your team could have done better. If you were to participate on the activity again, how might you change your strategy to be more successful?

I would probably have to listen to my teammates more carefully and respect them because I am aware that I lack in that part of the communicating when I am in a team environment.  If I had listened to my teammates more carefully, we would have finished the missions much faster.  – S. K. 

Camp Fire

After a long day of fun and learning, nothing beats a campfire. From singsongs, to drama games, to stories, this is a great opportunity for participants to bond as a group.

Other than keeping warm, what do you think the importance is of the whole group coming together to participate in a campfire?

We all joined together and became one.  Through skits, singing together and participating in other fun activities during the camp fire, we may have not realized, but our relationships has become stronger.  Rather than keeping warm, I think that was the main purpose of the campfire. – Y. K.

Survival Game/Predator and Prey

Get in touch with your inner wolf (or moose, or porcupine, or fox or chipmunk… you get the idea)!  Learn about what it takes to survive from an animal’s point of view.  Participants will have to find food and water to survive all the while avoiding potential threats.

Make a connection to your own life as a human being.  Explain how food impacts your life and your ability to survive.

Food impacts my life and my ability to survive by giving me the energy I need and the muscle to help me with my daily life.  I need this for when I go to school, and when I take dance.  Also, food provides me with the nutrients I need to survive. The impacts that food has on other areas of the food chain are keeping the food chain under control and running smoothly.  – A. L.

Miss. Chandrakumar’s Reflection 

My favourite activity at Bark Lake was the Night Hike.  We had the opportunity to experience a solo-walk in the wilderness and appreciate our human senses.  Being roughly -20 degrees that night, a few of them were not looking forward to spending a half hour in complete darkness.

“Who is that?”

“I don’t even know who I’m standing next to!”

That was the incredible part.  The fact that we were forced to communicate with each other with words.  Just words and nothing else.  Where we were unable to perceive facial expressions and had to solely rely on our ability to speak and listen to effectively communicate with one another. It was a moving moment when I had realized that we were able to do so with no hesitation.