Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

Your child is invited to attend the Year 4 camp at MERC, Long Bay, from Monday the 14th of November to Wednesday the 16th of November 2022. 

This is an amazing opportunity for your child. They will: 

• Have many opportunities to try new activities such as sailing, climbing a giant ladder and archery or building catapults 

• Take on new challenges and learn to take responsible risks 

• Develop independence, self-confidence and self-esteem 

• Make new or develop closer friendships 

• Develop resilience  

Destination:  Marine Education Recreation Centre, Long Bay 

Overnight accommodation is provided with the facilities dorm rooms. 

We will be travelling by bus to and from the venue. 
Depart:  Freemans Bay School at 9:00am on Monday the 14th of November 
Return:  Freemans Bay School by 2:45pm on Wednesday the 16th of November 

The cost of camp is $250 per student. Donations towards camp costs can be paid in full, or in smaller amounts over time and are due by Friday 23rd September. If you would like to donate smaller amounts over time, please contact Cathy at admin@freemansbay.school.nz as soon as possible.  

Donations can be made through your child’s Kindo account.  

You have been sent a permission / medical form via email. You will need to fill this out by the 2nd of September. If you would like a hard copy instead, please let your classroom teacher know as soon as possible. 

To help us have a safe and enjoyable camp and to ensure everything runs smoothly, we need full-time parents to help. If you would like to attend camp and can attend camp for the entire time, please fill in the attached Parent Helper form. If we have more parents offering help than required, we will prioritise those with first aid qualifications and/or experience with water activities. Parent Volunteer forms need to be completed and returned by the 7th of July 2022.  

We will be holding a parent information evening early in term 3 upstairs in the Kōwhai Building at Freemans Bay School (date to be confirmed). Here you will get more details about gear lists, facility details, activities at the camp, a timeline of the camp and other important information. We will send out the slides to parents who cannot attend. Please let us know if you have any questions so we can address them at this meeting. 

This event contains risks, including water-based activities and climbing activities. This event is managed by both MERC and school staff who will manage risk and hazards according to the school and MERC safety management plans. This includes careful planning to minimise risks, clear health and safety protocols, and high ratios of adults to students for water activities. While risks can be maintained to acceptable levels they cannot be totally eliminated. Some risk is retained for its learning and experiential value. If you wish to come in to school to see our safety management systems or have any questions, feel free to contact Annette Hollis. 

 

It is important for safety reasons that students follow instructions given to them by all staff and follow all appropriate school rules. Behaviour by students that is deemed dangerous and puts themselves and/or others at undue risk will result in students being removed from camp activities and potentially returned to school.  

 

If you have any questions or wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at annetteh@freemansbay.school.nz 

Kind Regards,  

Annette Hollis and Shelley Duncan 

Whānau Puna Team Leaders