It’s been a week since X27 got back from our incredible trip to Outward Bound. Here is a photo before we left for Wales!
We arrived about 6 hours later, and that evening we set off to the beach for ‘jog and dip’. On the beach we circled up and spoke about comfort zones and stretch zones. While staying in your comfort zone feels safe, it’s when you can move a bit beyond that into your stretch zone is when you will learn and develop the most – this became a theme of the week as all of crew did things that were outside of their comfort zone. For some of us a dip in the sea was the first challenge whereas others loved the idea but we all went in together and encouraged each other. We all felt amazing after we’d done it – see the pictures below.
The next day we went to the estuary for canoeing which was another new experience for a lot of us. This was a test of teamwork and communication and it really did challenge us as a crew. When we got home we had a fantastic debrief where crew discussed what went well and what went wrong with a lot of maturity. Crew resolved to move forward by pledging to speak to each other with kindness and being open and honest with each other when they find things difficult so we can support each other better.
We packed up our bags for camping and hiking. We had to carry everything we needed as a team so everything was shared out between us and the bags quickly became very heavy!
We arrived late in the evening at the campsite and crew helped each other put up their tents for the night. The sky was clear and we could see the Milky Way clearly and also spotted Saturn. As Owen said, it was ‘magical’!
In the morning we went to hike up a nearby mountain. The views were beautiful and we stopped half way up for a ‘solo’ where we each took some time alone with our thoughts to reflect and to just enjoy the moment. The hike was challenging as some parts were really steep and a few of our crew are scared of heights so we helped each other through it by being kind and trying to stay positive even when it was hard. Thanks to Morgan and Joseph who led us up there.
When we got back to the Outward Bound centre on Thursday we had to unpack and degunge and crew worked together to get it sorted. I was so proud to see how much they had come together during the week. That evening we met as a crew and celebrated each other’s achievements. We went round the circle and everyone was appreciated for what they had brought to crew at Outward Bound. Here are some of the highlights:
- Roxy was appreciated for her positive attitude and confidence
- Owen was appreciated for his compassion in looking out for Oscar and going out of his way to help others
- Morgan was appreciated for his leadership in our mountain climbing expedition and how he made sure to wait for everyone to catch up
- George was appreciated for his maturity and calmness and for ‘keeping everyone in line’!
- Nadia was appreciated for her courage; she came out of her shell and overcame many fears
- Joseph was appreciated for his perseverance and keeping everyone laughing
- Harry was appreciated for being helpful and his knowledge about space when we were stargazing
- Oscar was appreciated for his compassion and was always the first to volunteer to do anything helpful for crew
- Alysia was appreciated for being supportive and for conquering her fears
- Ellie-May was appreciated for her compassion and for looking out for others
- Ruby was appreciated for her positivity and her leadership and organisation skills
It was an incredible start to year 8 and I’m so excited for this year to see how we can build on what we’ve learned to continue pushing ourselves and supporting each other.
“There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.”
–Kurt Hahn
