Posts Categorised by 'Blue Group'
All the colours
6th July 2013
After a busy first week, the campers appreciated an extra hour in bed before a 9am breakfast. However, along with the sleep in came with a much needed room tidy hour and a quick lesson in how to make beds (fun when you stick your head in the duvet cases and pretend to be ghosts and scare your group leaders, thanks for that Fadi!!!). After the room inspection it was off to languages and sports for the rest of the morning.
After lunch, the reds, blues, greens and yellows all gathered in the patinoire before heading off for a small hike. The campers made their way across the new wobbly Torgon bridge, around the scenic lagoon, passed the picnic area and ending in the football pitch. Most enjoyed the walk although others felt like their group leaders weren’t working enough and decided to ride on their shoulders, like Tatjana did to poor Freddie!
Once at the football pitch the fun really begun after afternoon tea with groups of footballers going down one end of the pitch to play where a staff vs kids game formed with the campers showing us group leaders how it’s done!
At the other end those not so keen played parachute games, Frisbee and some classics like duck duck goose.
The campers made it back in time for shower hour for a quick chill out before a yummy pasta dinner and peach upside down cake. Then the reds and blues took part in a new exciting evening, hip hop dance off and the greens and yellows enjoyed a much needed chilled out hot chocolate and DVD night.
Blue and Yellow visit the huskies at Glacier 3000!
5th July 2013
An early 6:15am start for the Blue and Yellow campers, yet this did not detract from their moral as they were all extremely excited to be going on an outing to the Glacier 3000. The campers filled their tummies and off they went, kitted out and raring to go. One hour’s drive later and the campers had reached their destination, they were jubilant about the prospect of meeting the Husky dogs at 3000 meters above ground level.
As the campers were walking towards the howling Husky dogs, who were obviously excited for the arrival of our campers – the sun was glistening on the snow and for those campers like Maya and Nada who have never seen snow before, it was a breath-taking experience allowing them to admire the views and have fun making their first snow ball, tactfully eyeing up which group leader to aim for….
After meeting the Husky dogs, the campers got the opportunity to glide in the snow on the sled, being pulled by the excitable Husky’s. The campers all got off the sled grinning like Cheshire cat’s; it was an experience they will never forget.
From gliding through the snow to flying down the mountain on the roller coaster at full speed – the campers were allowed to experience the twists and turns of the mountain roller coaster. Ayman managed to lose his hat whilst rocketing down the roller coaster, and Mahmood the front passenger was grinning with gritted teeth, trying to show he wasn’t scared – however inside secretly screaming with the adrenaline of the sharp twists and turns in the sunshine down the mountain side.
After all the excitement that the Glacier 3000 brought, it was time for the campers to head to the Villeneuve pool on the outskirts of Montreux. The campers basked in the sunshine, whilst splashing in the pool – and for the more daring campers … diving off the seven metre diving board into the lake.
All in all an overwhelming fun filled day, tiring out our Blue and Yellow campers from all the excitement of an unforgettable day.
Theresa – Yellow group leader
Blue and Yellow at Aqua Parc!
3rd July 2013
A rainy day meant some improvisation was necessary for morning activities, but indoor futsal (small teamed football) and the climbing wall ensured all campers were eagerly awaiting their lunches. A trip to the Aquaparc with all the Blue and Yellow campers wearing their bright Camp Suisse t-shirts ensued with a chatty bus ride en route. The continuing rain not dampening the campers’ spirits. Upon arrival at the Aquaparc, many group leaders found themselves wondering whether they were leading the group of if the group was leading them as campers rushed from one slide to the next, laughing all along the way. The return bus journey to camp for “shower hour” unfortunately came too soon for all, but laundry had to be handed in, rooms tidied, and most importantly, parents to be called! A hearty meal of lasagne was enjoyed by all before all campers went for their evening of bingo. With many Camp Suisse prizes to be claimed, campers were eagerly scratching away at their numbers. Evening activities wound down for bed time for the Red group and Blue group after a long but successful day as the Green and Yellow groups had a little time to wind down before they too turned in for the night in preparation for another big day in Switzerland.
CRATE CLIMBING REACHING NEW HEIGHTS! – Blue Group
2nd July 2013
Today was another great day at Camp Suisse for the Blue group. As usual the morning was kick started with the sport and language sessions.
All the language classes ran smoothly in the classrooms, whilst the sports sessions made the most of the beautiful weather outside!
After lunch, the blue group took part in team building and orienteering. On the team building front, all the campers seemed to thoroughly enjoy the activities, especially the crate climbing where Farrah and Melissa managed to overcome their fear of heights!
During orienteering all campers learned to read maps and navigate through the forest. The most enjoyable part of orienteering for the campers was when everyone huddled under a group shelter and had to attempt to mark a square in the grass. After dinner, the entertainment was Quiz Extravaganza, where we battled out for the top prize answering a variety of different questions on different topics.
Overall a great day for the blue group, who are all super excited for Aqua park tomorrow!
Blue Group activities
1st July 2013
Blue group had a fabulous day at Camp Suisse! After sports and language class in the morning the group enjoyed a hearty lunch to prepare for the afternoon. They kick-started their activities with some archery, which was fabulous in the glorious sunshine. After a shaky start with only Slavitsa hitting the target, the group showed that practice really does make perfect as each member of the group were capable of hitting the target by the end of the session. The group then moved to the indoor climbing wall. Some campers, Marina and David, showed off their skills by immediately clambering up the wall while others were a little more hesitant. With a little encouragement from the Activity and Group leaders everyone managed to climb up the wall at their own pace and write their name on a piece of paper situated very near to the top of the wall! The group enjoyed a day of new experiences.
First Day of Session One
30th June 2013
Camp Suisse’s first international group of 2013 were woken up bright and early for an 8am breakfast to fuel them through their morning language test and first sports sessions of football, tennis, basketball or climbing.
After their morning sessions came a delightful variety of lunch options such as a paninis, jacket potatoes or sandwiches. Then the Blue and Red groups made their way straight to the Camp Suisse coach to take them to one of the campers’ favourite activities, LABRINTH!!
Groups split up with their group leaders to try and navigate their way around the maze with Emma’s group managing to find all 10 of the checkpoints. After the maze came some time to play on other labyrinth attractions with JP running up and down the slides like a yoyo.
Once the children arrived back in Torgon it was time for shower hour before some lovely sweet sour chicken followed by an ice cream sundae – yum!
To use up some of their energy, the campers began their evening activity, Torgona hunt. This entails searching the Camp Suisse site looking for answers to riddles and questions. After the hunt, they made their way to the chalets for a good night sleep in preparation for tomorrows adventures.
Departure Day
10th August 2012
The church bells chiming for the 5:30 call signalled with it the start of that dreaded day here in Torgon: the final departure day of the season.As children awoke early, there was a cloud of sorrow lingering in the cloudless sky as the sun rose over the Swiss mountains. For few could believe that some 3 months after it all began, the summer of 2012 was drawing to a close. So many memories created, friends made and experiences that will last a lifetime all happened here at Camp Suisse and we’re incredibly grateful to all of the campers and staff for making it happen.What are the highlights of camp this year for myself? Who would ever be able to forget the sheer volumes of snow that were found at the Glacier for the first international session, or the bitter cold and wind-chill accompanying it? Then fast forward one month to see the same location practically without snow and basking in temperatures that meant we were able to bask in the magnificent glory of the mountain-top views with just a t-shirt on. Talk about a special location to take a group photo! One of the things that has really impressed me this year though is the way that the campers have dealt with the variety of challenges that have been handed to them. Whether these were team building games, mathematical challenges or something simple like organising a football game for the staff against the campers, there has been nothing that has proved impossible. The team spirit and helpful nature of the campers in the yellow group when helping the younger campers onto the chairlifts almost brought a tear of pride to the eye, for it was remarkable how mature they were proving to be. Although the phrase “an old head on young shoulders” may be tossed around too often, it was particularly poignant to mention here.Another highlight for myself has to be the wonderful staff that decided to work for us this summer. Whilst the summer may well prove to be a long and tiring one, we staff enjoy an unforgettable and incomparable opportunity to take in such wondrous sights under the slight condition of having to work. The staff this summer have all contributed enormously, made their mark and have helped us to reflect back on what we can call our most successful season ever. We can only just say a huge thank you to the staff members who have helped create memories (both for staff and for campers) that will hopefully endure as long as the mountains around us do.From the superb sports sessions in the morning to the educational and interactive language classes, mornings in Torgon were never rife with boredom and although campers may have gotten used to their surroundings, the variety of our extensive programme here meant that there was always something different for them to partake in. Afternoons though brought with them something amazing, different and adventurous. Whether these were coordinated by our very own adventure specialists or on excursions with the group leaders (and coach drivers!) the dinner tables were rarely short of conversation of an evening, with many campers eager to share with anyone willing to listen an in-depth synopsis of the day’s activities.What’s left though for the remaining staff to do? High up on the priority list is a full-scale investigation into our programme for this year, to see which activities were most enjoyed and to see where we believe that our programme can be bettered for the summer of 2012 and onwards. The Camp Suisse ethic isn’t one that rests on its laurels because we know that despite our winning formula, we want to improve upon it for next summer so that for those people who wish to return (including Charlotte, Juliette and Martin who will return free of charge as part of the Queen/King of Camp competition) then there will be a different challenge for them to overcome. Then, as the floors are scrubbed and all of the mirrors have been polished, the doors to Camp Suisse will be locked, remaining staff will return to their homes and many will start to think of ideas ready for the next summer.
Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who has helped make this summer the most magical of experiences for everyone who has taken part. You most certainly shall not be forgotten.
All Groups Go Camping
8th August 2012
A reasonable hike took all groups to their camping spot, a refuge deeper in to the mountains. This is a popular excursion that allows campers to experience some camping in true rustic spirit. Their meals are cooked and consumed in the outdoors, while they are also needed to hunt for suitable wood to build a camp fire to provide the heart and soul of their outdoor living. They entertain themselves with ping pong and table football tournaments and later in the evening share their stories while indulging in toasted marshmallows.Take a look at all the photos on our Facebook page International Camp Suisse
Spider’s webs but no spiders!
7th August 2012
Red group
The Red group were up bright and early for a filling breakfast, followed by language lessons and basketball as the morning activity. Campers warmed up for sports with some quick games of Fishy! Fishy! Fishy! and a spontaneous bit of dancing led by Isaac and Kirsty! Everyone joined in and had a great time; having kick-started the day so energetically, lunch was very well deserved.
Afternoon activities consisted of team building games and the eagerly anticipated ghyll scrambling. The Reds worked together through three different challenging games, showing off their newly formed friendships and communication skills with other campers who speak a different native language. An enormous sense of teamwork and achievement swept through the group as each game was conquered including stacking crates to reach and ring the bell a few metres above, and tackling the spider’s web, where campers must pass through the gaps of the web without touching the edges.
Once the games were mastered, a delicious afternoon tea of banana cake and juice was handed round, before our activity staff kitted the campers out for some ghyll scrambling! Akin delighted his group leaders by exclaiming ‘this is the best day of my life!’ before he’d even got to the ghyll. The Reds clambered their way up and down the ghyll effortlessly, taking every challenge Kirsty, our activity leader, threw at us. Every single camper attempted the obstacles along the way, from crawling through a bike tyre to sliding down a small rock slide. The water was colder than usual but that did nothing to dampen the yells of encouragement each camper gave to each other throughout. Out of the water, the campers hurried to put on their warm coats and jump around to thaw off some of the water’s chill. A hot shower and cooked meal was awaiting us on our return to camp.
Back at camp, after a busy day everyone relaxed at casino night, with games of roulette and blackjack taking centre stage, while games of jenga, snap and twister supported.
Campers rounded off the night by packing before bed, ready for the camping trip tomorrow.
Blue group – rock climbing
The sunny day began with language lessons outside on the decking and fast paced basketball games. With all the children getting to know each other well, team spirit was high and the campers arrived at lunch full of excitement from the morning. Then into the minibus and down the mountain to the daunting rockface. Gasps of uncertainty of the challenge ahead could be heard amongst the campers. Calmed by some fun warm up songs and games, they were keen to get in their harnesses and up the rock with 5 different routes and only 12 blues, all the climbers got stuck in, clambering up and down until their bodies couldn’t handle any more! Some children managed to overcome great fears of heights as well as every child learning to belay, a great afternoon!
The evening entertainment was kid’s casino where they enjoyed a variety of games such as jenga, twister, snap, roulette and blackjack. The call for bedtimes was responded by a loud groan all round. But for the hike to camping tomorrow, sleep is definitely a good idea!
An Aquatic Adventure For All
6th August 2012
Monday morning and the sky was grey
It wouldn’t be much fun going walking today
Instead we had a much better plan
Going to the Aquaparc in the Camp Suisse van
But first it was sport and language time
A hockey match would do just fine
Who would win, green or blue?
Some amazing play and some great goals too
Lunch was delicious with lots of bread
Then on the coach and off we sped
Arriving at the Aquaparc, we could hardly wait
This day was turning out to be just great!
Splishing and splashing with all our friends
On the flumes with lots of bends
Then whizzing down the yellow slide
And into the wave pool to feel the tide
Back home just in time for tea
Followed by hot choc and a DVD
A casino night for yellows and greens
Before bedtime and off into our dreams
Would the summer rain be our downfall?
Certainly not, this is Camp Suisse after all!
