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outdoor education

Mr Robert Smith

Our mentor William Teeton has never agreed with the name OUTDOOR EDUCATION in the context of describing the activities we offer our pupils at Woodridge. And quite rightly too, as this name describes something far bigger (and perhaps more important) than that, in which we are currently involved.

Human disinterest in environmental degradation is astonishing indeed and there is no doubt that history will remember today as, the mad years, when we knew full well the impact of our actions as we proceeded with our greedy quest for more than what we need or can use. I regard television and mobile phones, along with tetraethyl lead, chlorofluorocarbons and refined sugar as the very worst inventions of the past hundred years and I am thrilled with the number of thinking individuals who now seek lifestyles without these dominating their lives.

So here is where we need to broaden our programme, even link it with academic themes. How to get the youngsters off the couch and into the water or up a mountain remains a big challenge.

As they grow older and wiser, some students may not remember that massive defeat suffered playing Westering on that Saturday. But they will never ever forget the cuppa on the top of Cockscomb at sunrise, the second boing on the Bloukrans Bunge, been sucked over backwards on an 8 wave at Supers or the expression on the face of the lady you just pulled out the rip. This is character building at its best!

On behalf of the College OE Staff, thanks must include: Mr Bertus De Waal and the Einthoven Family(Yellowwoods Estate), the Gauna Family, Billy Teeton and his Staff (Woodridge Prep), Nicolette Olivier and her Staff (Kitchen), Sandy Whitehouse and Dave McKinnon and their Staff (Estate), Mike Pratt, Eleni Pullen and Robyn Greyling and their Staff (WEC), Mr Simon Crane and Mr Gavin Thomson and all College Staff, Lisa Eden and her Staff (Bursars Office), Gwen Massyn and Heather von Berg, the Woodridge Sanatorium, Lois Fox, Stephanie Arndt, Karen de Jager, the Mulckhuyse family, Sandra and Johan Cronje and many others too.

Outdoor Education& Adventure

Outdoor Education& Adventure

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cultural activities

COMPULSORY GRADECAMPS TERM 1

Grade 08 traditional orientation Camp for new juniors in Van Stadens River ValleyGrade 09 environmental-orientated Camp in Oyster Bay dune-fieldsGrade 10 a 16km beach hike between the Gamtoos and Van Stadens RiversGrade 11 kloofing in the beautiful gorge at Kudu Khaya in the BaviaanskloofGrade 12 assisted as leaders on various camps above

COMPULSORY GRADECAMPS TERM 3

Grade 08 marine environmental awareness and conservation at The Willows ResortGrade 09 basic survival skills in Van Stadens River Valley

REPORT BY MR BAINES:The grade 09 camp was held in the valley and emphasis was placed on survival techniques in the wild. This theme was enthusiastically embraced by the students, who not only learned a great deal, but had a lot of fun. The grade was divided into teams and was evaluated on their performance as a team throughout the duration of the camp.

Upon arrival at our camp site, whilst the students were attending an orientation brief, all personal belongings were hidden to create a scene of disaster/plane crash. Teams had to search for their belongings and also attend to injuries within their groups. Injuries included broken back, cracked ribs, broken wrists and legs, as well as an impaling on a branch. Thereafter, the setting up of camp and the allocation of ablution areas took place.

The students were taught shelter construction, making of fires, sourcing of water and food. To add to this, Dr Bosman held the groups attention with an interesting lecture on the identification of snakes and how to deal with snake bites. She also educated the group with regards to hyperthermia and hypothermia. This the students found very interesting as many of them were unaware of the dangers of these two conditions. Mr Botha in his slot shared his extensive knowledge on the art of camouflage. This was of particular interest to the students as the challenge extended into camouflaging a volunteer within each group. Once the camouflaged, individuals were placed within the local environment, they were very hard to spot.

The highlight of the camp was the two evening activities; the first one being a game of stalk the lantern. This game was a group activity and was so popular that we repeated the exercise on an individual basis. The second activity was to overcome fear of the dark and being on your own in the wild. The students were placed approximately 50m apart and had to endure a 15 minute soul search. Many students admitted to have been absolutely terrified but had survived the ordeal and would love to do the activity again.

Free time was much appreciated by all. The weather played its part and the group was able to swim in the van Stadens River.

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Grade 10 Boys sea kayak and canoe skills training at Woodlands Farm on the Geelhout River

REPORT BY MR MAARTENS:The boys went on a Kayaking Course on the Woodlands farm next to the Geelhout River. Marthinus from Untouched Adventures took the boys through their paces by showing them the art of kayaking. He explained to the boys the terminology and equipment related to kayaking. We then split the group of 29 boys into 6 groups. Three of the groups paddled down the river which included a mud fight along the way. The others were given different initiatives such as building a crab cage and making a spear to catch fish. The groups then swopped.

The Thursday morning involved the boys practicing rescue scenarios with the kayaks on the river. They were required to construct a water filter, make a fire the natural way (which one group managed to do by rubbing two pieces of wood together) and cook fish that was caught. They put the crab cages in the river the previous day and went to see if they were successful. Alas, no crab for lunch. The boys did a fine job in cooking and presenting their cooked fish to the teachers. The afternoon included a strategic mud fight between two teams. There were other fun activities which included a five a side soccer competition.

The camp was really an enriching and worthwhile outing. They were well behaved and definitely learned a significant amount about kayaking. Tired boys enjoyed a memorable camp.

So here is where we need to broaden our programme, even link it with academic themes. How to get the youngsters off the couch and into the water or up a mountain remains a big challenge.

Grade 10 Girls environmental wonders and Addo Elephant Park outingGrade 11 Leadership Camp at Umlambo on the Sundays River

ANNUAL INTER HOUSERIVER RACEAnother excellent competition held in great weather. Results include:Christine Boswell Ladies River Mile Champion 2014Robert Masterton Mens River Mile Champion and recipient of the Tim Gordon Trophy

POLAR BEAR CLUBUnder the guidance of Ricky Gerber, a hard-core group of boys and girls again braved the cold mornings to become members of this elite Club. In total, 16 pupils took part and congratulations to Rebecca Dansie, Caitlyn Birch, Denzel Pragassa and Sienna Hanegraaf on completing this crazy stunt for 5 years in a row!

TWO RIVERS CHALLENGEThe following students who participated in the Two Rivers Challenge this year were as follows; Danyon Le Roux, Trent Hawkins, Lauren Moorehouse, Casey Baines, Gareth Bekker and Amy Galveo. As always the most challenging part of this excursion is the paddle up the Bushmans River. This river is affected very strongly by the tide and easterly wind, making the 18 km paddle even more demanding. Despite this the paddle was most enjoyable and a large number of resident bushbuck was seen on route. The 16km paddle down the Kareiga River was somewhat made easier by a more sheltered environment, having protection from high cliff faces on either side of the river banks. The warmth and comfort of the evening camp fire allowed for many a story to be told, which lasted well into the night. Gareth Bekker spent his evenings fishing in the Kareiga River, with no luck. This turn of bad luck he explained later, was due to the cold water and winter season.

Perhaps we should take heed of this for future plans and reserve this getaway for a warmer month. The beach hike was tackled in the early hours of Sunday morning and we had the pleasure of walking at low tide, so the 7km hike presented no problems to the physically fit and able bodied seniors. As this Challenge continues to be a highlight on the OE calendar, we will continue to do this again next year.

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cultural activities

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ANNUAL INTER HOUSE OUTDOOR EDUCATION DAYA successful competition was held in good weather, after a week of rain which did go some way in hampering our preparation for this event. We were privileged to have Mrs Kelly Mukhieber and Mrs Karen Mandy as our Guests of Honour, and Mr John Gauna and Mrs Shirley Mandy as our Special Guests. A very big thank you to the Gauna Family for the generous donating of a new trophy for Senior Girls Wall and an awesome sound system to the OE Department. Results include:OE School Captain 2015 Angus TeetonWitteklip Shield for Outstanding Contribution to Outdoor Education Bevan Mandy and Robert CronjeMandy Trophy for Inter House Outdoor Education Champions Carter House

outdoor education

ARCHERYArchery continues to grow at Woodridge. A dedicated group of 48 archers meet every Monday and Tuesday afternoons. There is also a growing number of Schools in the Eastern Cape who are now offering Archery as a sport. This is most encouraging as we look forward to more competition in the future. We hosted a successful Archery competition at Woodridge in the

second term. Two other schools participated in this event. The results were as follows: Boys- Andrew Masterton (gold), Tate Hempel (silver), Teagan Doyle (bronze). Girls- Robyn Grieve (gold), Summer Lawson (bronze). At the beginning of the second term we travelled to Port Alfred to participate in the Eastern Cape Championships. The team comprised of 16 college students whom all did extremely

well. Seven schools participated and Woodridge took all the top accolades. Senior Boys winner was Alex Horne who shot 264 out of a possible 300. Second and third spot was Teagan Doyle and Richard Carter respectively. The Girls section was won by Robyn Grieve with a score of 257 and Summer Lawson in a close second place, with a score of 254. The highlight of the calendar was the inter-house shoot which took place in the third term. The overall winners were Founders house with a tally of and thereafter Kohler and then Founders. The South African Schools Championships takes place in Cape Town this year, on the 18th October. We have selected a team to take part in this prestigious event and they are as follows: Alex Horne, Richard Carter, Teagan Doyle, Tate Hempel, Andrew Masterton, Toby Brown, Robyn Grieve, Summer Lawson, Sally-anne Attenborough, Kaitlyn Greyling, Gabrielle Phillips. We look forward to the end results.

WOODRIDGE TRAIL RUNWoodridge once again hosted a very successful trail run on the campus and adjacent farm on the 4th August. Trail runners had an option of either doing a 12km run or a 24km run. This year we had over 200 runners taking part in one of the events. The Woodridge trail run was one of the first trail runs in the Eastern Cape and is fast becoming a must do event on the trail running calendar.

outdoor education

ROCK CLIMBING Rock climbing was ably led by Gareth Vidmar and Nile Macdonald. The first term we met every Wednesday afternoon at school rocks, with a small group of enthusiasts. At the start of the year, all grade eights had the chance to overcome their fear of heights and experience school rocks and the climbing wall. Although very nervous, most of the students achieved their goals in this regard. The climbing wall champ this year was Gareth Vidmar in a time of closely followed by.

seakyakourdoor education

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