Saint Brigid's Primary School Camps

The students look forward to their camps each year with much joy. School camp offers a structured opportunity for children to grow. This experience allows kids to become independent and self-confident, while socialising and making new friends, and even learning new skills. The children often look forward to this experience from grade prep through to when they are finally old enough to attend.

Due to excess enrolment numbers Saint Brigid's Primary School has decided that grade three and five children will no longer be able to attend school camps.

The school held a meeting with the students ‘about school camp’ recently. The grade three, four, five and six children were gathered together where they were told that for half of the children in the room there would be no camp, this was very upsetting for them. Many parents telling the story of children crying after school as they were so upset.

The school has a view that the children will equally receive these opportunities with an ‘activity week’ at school is met with resistance from both students and parents. Although it will be a fun and rewarding experience, the children are unlikely to get the benefits and excitement of a camp.

The locations of the planned camps are of disappointment also. With only two camps now offered in the children’s primary years it is disappointing that the ones on offer do not include either Sovereign Hill or Canberra.

A school excursion to Canberra is considered a rite of passage for many Australian students. Students visit many attractions including the Museum of Australian Democracy, Parliament House, the High Court and, of course, a highlight for many — Questacon.
More than 100,000 school students get first-hand knowledge of democracy and lawmaking on a visit to Parliament House every year, a truly unique and beneficial education experience – one that our children will no longer be offered.

It is so disappointing to think that due to the growth in our school population our children will no longer be given the opportunity to:

a. Participate in school camps for two of their four last years of primary school

b. Visit Canberra and the unique education experience it (they will also not be attending Sovereign Hill in Ballarat – another important education experience for students).

We would like the Saint Brigid's Primary School reconsider:

• The cancellation of school camp for our grade 3 and 5 students.
• The ceasing of a school camp to Canberra for our senior students.