McCallion
Quest

Fall Camp Tawingo- A Place Where Bonds of Friendship are Forged

                              By: Taleen Noble- Freelance Writer

As the new grade eights got ready for a new school year as the ultimate "leaders" of the school, they came to experience that feeling that hits all Grade 8’s; the feeling of being more experienced and more superior over the grade sixes and sevens. For 32 grade 8 students, they enjoyed an event that they had thought about over the summer, an event which they had awaited since they signed up in the previous year. These students had been patiently waiting to go to camp Tawingo, just weeks after school began.

"I went to camp Tawingo in the winter, but now I would imagine it to be better because it wouldn’t be as cold", says former winter camper Kim Barbour. “And now a lot more of my friends are coming too!" But for the breath taking experience that arrived a few weeks into the school year, it was really worth the wait because once they got there they experienced something that peer pressure could not break at that camp, and that was Trust.

The Tawingo campers had a lot of fun, even though the small group of 32 people was the lowest total it had been in the years hazel has been going there. At camp, the campers learned a lot of safety hints and enjoyed one of the traditional fun activities at Tawingo called Commando, a game where the students waited for dark to come and hid in the forest, where only the moon light guided them. "It was so dark, the teachers were even having a hard time finding us," explained Jamal Bryan," but I was suited up in my army suit to blend in more than anyone else".

But after Commando and other fun activities there were also trust activities that were really amusing." We were out in the forest and we had to depend on one another to make the small game succeed”, explained Vincent Cao, “It was pretty cold, but the way we were running around the place it helped me heat up". It might have been the canoeing that the group did, but for most of the students it was probably the fact that they were outside canoeing together that made all the difference.

In conclusion, the strong bond that these 32 students shared was really unbelievable. They were able to gain each others trust over a small period of time. Some coming on this trip some probably did not even know each other, but coming back after a week of being together, they all got along in the end. It might have been the activities, the cabin time, the hikes or plays, the canoeing or even eating meals together that these students might have liked the most, but they came back with different perspectives on feelings and friendship. It was really worthwhile going on this trip because this small group of Grade 8’s gained friendships with people they’d never talked to before and, most importantly, they learned the value and importance of trust in a friendship.