Posts Categorised by 'Green Group'
Biking – Green
1st August 2012
The morning started with the sun shining in Torgon. The Green group went off to language classes and football in the morning and after a yummy lunch of chips and sausages the green group headed to the top of the mountain for a mountain biking session. As soon as all the kids were kitted up with helmets and gloves, the session started with a brake check and funny games. The slow riding competition and the trails riding saw Oscar shining like a champion. 
The cat and mouse competition was more than enjoyable for the beginners group, while the more expert campers gave a go on the more difficult tracks. Soon everyone rode back to camp and even the more inexperience got the chance to ride off road and they made it!
The campers came back on time for shower hour ready for the evening entertainment 3 minute movies undiscovered Spielbergs and Angelina Jolies came out of the woodwork. Keep your eyes peeled on our Camp Suisse Youtube channel and International Camp Suisse Facebook page for the final production of the movies.
Green group
30th July 2012
Following the first day’s excitement of banana boating the green group had some in house activities to turn their hands to. Following Sunday’s language assessment the campers were divided into teaching groups for the classes in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Each morning the campers have an hour and a half of sport – which today was Tennis for the greens. Some impressive forehand skills were shown especially by Meer, Toby and Alex setting the bar very high for the coaching staff led by Oli, to keep up with!
After lunch the green split in half with Tina and Nat’s group starting the afternoon with archery, whilst Mairi and Fran’s groups began with the climbing wall. Helped by the Activities team, the campers soon began to pick up the techniques required for a successful target shot in Archery, and many hit the centre target with ease. Rosie from the activities team created an interesting game for the Archers with their accuracy in the target ring corresponding to cutlery items they could then use at evening dinner time many managed to gain one useful item – such as a spoon – yet the outer ring corresponded to chopsticks are less practical for many campers – especially when the evening meal was fajitas!
Each group did one hour and a half of each activity, with the Archers then becoming climbers and vice versa. At the climbing wall, Sarah and Tom led the campers un some warm up games before the campers would try their hand at the 7 challenging routes up the wall in the CS centre. The campers soon began to get the hang of climbing and many were soon speeding up the wall. Tom and Sarah then introduced some small games to the climbs, timing some children on a particular route, and attracting some paper to the top of another for campers to write their names at the top, marking their achievements to be kept in the climbing wall.
Following the routine daily shower hour, the campers had fajitas before splitting in to teams for the evening activity of Torgona Hunt. This entails a series of questions and answers to be found all over the centre in a Treasure hunt style, with the winning team to be revealed in due course.
Hopefully the campers rest well as a 5.30am start awaits them for the Glacier trip in the morning.
Ils arrivent!
28th July 2012
As staff wished session 2 campers bon voyage and farewell as session 3 got under way. Camp Suisse staff were in Torgon and at the airport to welcome our new intake of adventurous youths yesterday.
After discovering who will be their roommates for the next several days, campers received a sterling gastronomic initiation with a quintessential British dinner comprising of cottage pie and bread and butter pudding for desert. Just before bed the campers discovered more about each other, played some games and were briefed on what delights Camp Suisse staff have in store for them in the coming week. Be sure to check back in to the blog as we update you with all of the new occurrences at Camp Suisse on a daily basis.
Goodbye Greens
Green group
It was an early start for the Green group at Camp Suisse along with all the campers to the ends of their fantastic session. The early – birds woke at 4.45 and enjoyed their last yummy breakfast before saying their goodbyes at the airport. All those campers lucky enough to be staying at Camp Suisse were treated to a trip to the Cailler Chocolate factory and the Gruyere cheese factory. They were sure to capitalise on the collection of chocolaty freebies. A day of mixed emotions here at Camp Suisse; sad goodbyes, but with happy memories and the promise of more for all those who are already talking of coming back next year. See you soon folks!
Reds and Blues Camping
25th July 2012
Reds and Blues
An excited aura surrounded camp for the Reds and Blues as they eagerly awaited their camping expedition at the Ski refuge located further in to the mountain. After a thorough kit check by our enthusiastic activity leaders Toria, Kirsty and Tom, who were leading our hike, the Red group set off in the minibus to be dropped at a higher location. Whilst the intrepid Blue group began their hike from Camp Suisse HQ. It was a hot and sunny day, but each camper found their inner Edmund Hilary and walked overcame difficult terrain with little complaint, accompanied by some excellent singing and stories along the way. Particularly enthusiastic hikers Anjola and Demi led the Blue group, while Jackson headed the Red group.
After nearly 4 hours of walking in the baking Swiss sun plentiful with breaks for water from the mountainous water troughs along the way we reached our destination. Any tiredness the campers may have felt was soon forgotten as the groups discovered the chalet. They eagerly found their rooms and enjoyed some free time relaxing, playing table tennis and table football. For those campers still abundant in energy, they headed across the French boarder to appreciate the scenery and collect wood for the fire.
A long day of walking had allowed the campers to work up a fierce appetite and all were appreciative of the evening BBQ prepared by our wonderful kitchen staff with a variety of sausage, burgers, chicken, potatoes and salads served. Evening entertainment was performed around the campfire and songs and stories were shared between all campers. Maan was particularly impressed with Toria’s Torgon song! Meanwhile Piper, Nathan and Lejla provided some scary Camp Suisse stories. Time enough for hot chocolate banana boats before the exhausted campers headed off to bed.
The next morning, campers awoke to a beautiful morning and quickly assembled for a scrumptious breakfast of beans on toast and cereal. After campers had packed up their dorms and had a final refill of water bottles they bid au revoir to their fabulous chefs and headed off down the mountain. Tom kept the group together at a sensible place with plenty of water breaks in the lovely sunshine. The campers had clearly recovered from the previous day’s exertions and raced down the mountain at a record pace of under two hours.
Reds
After such a busy previous 24 hours the Red group enjoyed a slightly more leisurely afternoon of mural painting and a walk into the forest. Each group painted their own poster with some excellent Italian patriotism on display from Eve and Ricardo. With a swift break for afternoon tea and Red group headed into the forest, where the boys and girls built some excellent rival dens. An evening DVD and hot chocolate settled a thoroughly chilled out day for the Red group.
Green
Another glorious day in Torgon made for a nice start to the morning activities and laid the perfect scene for Camp Suisse’s very own Wimbledon. Both halves of the group gave their best performance and a moment in shade for lunch was welcomed by all. For the afternoon the group was divided in half again and the teams alternated between climbing on the indoor wall and trying their hand at the art of archery. With an evening activity of Giant Scrabble all were keen to jump into bed at the nearest opportunity and pick up a good night’s sleep.
Camp Adventure For The Greens
24th July 2012
Green group were sure to stock up on breakfast sustenance before heading off to their languages or sports in their second week of learning. So with the sun still shining many classrooms moved outside on to the decking for a bit of outdoor linguistic learning and the football pitch could be enjoyed at its best. 
Before the much anticipated mountainous hike up to camp, back packs were checked and camping kit was collected. The track is steep, but Marie says determination was high and with a steady pace they arrived at the ski refuge in good time. They established bunks and were allowed a little free time before the mission of wood collecting was declared. They all branched out in various directions and returned with an enormous amount of wood. The hungry campers were rewarded with a tasty bbq dinner when third and even forth portions were happily consumed.
After dinner, eight adventurous hikers set off for a steep trek to the French boarder. The view of Mont Blanc and the French Alps with the sun setting in the back ground was adequate reward for the extra effort made. Meanwhile, the campfire was lit for their return and the group of high spirited campers enjoyed chocolate bananas and toasted marshmallows while singing until tiredness drew the wonderful day to a close.
Day 2
The well slept campers enjoyed waking up to a hearty breakfast of beans on toast and cereal. They were keen to set off back to Camp Suisse HQ to discover what the afternoon would have in store for them. Green group welcomed the downhill hike after the uphill slog yesterday, however, after our path was blocked by some scary looking mountainous Swiss cows, Calum and Rosie redirected the group. Keen hikers and aspiring Camp Suisse activity leaders Vasil, Andrew and Jan lead the way and we hope that in the meantime they will return as Camp mentors. For the older teenagers who eventually find themselves too old to return to Camp Suisse as a camper we allow them to return instead as a Camp mentor where they assist Camp Suisse staff in group leading responsibilities.
On their return to camp, Green group had a swift 10 minutes to ditch their camping gear, refill their rucksacks with swimming costumes and beach clothes and off down to Lake Geneva for banana boating in the afternoon. Each camper took a ride on the banana boat around the incredibly scenic Lake Geneva. There was no time, however, to take in the view as campers struggled to remain on the banana boat as it bounced over waves and took sharp turns eventually throwing them off in to the water. After the boat rides there was enough time to grab an ice-cream and muse in the sun before making it back to the camp in time for shower hour and some succulent chicken pie or vegetable tagine. Campers Jules and Dimir were very keen on the Great British desert Bread and Butter pudding.
Green group, received a quick briefing of the excitement that tomorrow’s activities have in store for them before settling down for some splendid Camp Suisse hot chocolate and Pirates of the Caribbean film.
An Enjoyable Escapade In The Sun For The Entire Camp
22nd July 2012
Once again, the campers at Camp Suisse were greeted by a glorious day in the Swiss Alps! After demolishing breakfast, the campers attended either a language session or sports session. Half of the group enjoyed tennis training with Oli in the sun on our tennis courts. The other half flexed their footy skills with Chris and Kirsty at the football pitches.
All campers thoroughly enjoyed sports session and had worked up a real appetite so lunch was a treat with nearly all children opting for second helpings. After lunch all groups reconvened for group and entire camp photos. Check out more of our wonderful photos on our Facebook page International Camp Suisse. Towards the end of the afternoon, all groups were thrilled to visit the top of the mountain after a chair lift with a million dollar view. After enjoying the panoramic view at the summit, they followed hiking trails and trekked across mountainous clearings to reach the football pitch where all groups met up for afternoon tea and a game of footie. Duncan from the Green group expressed how much he loved the lift up and enjoyed the beautiful views on the descent the walk and of course the beautiful views.
An evening of suspicion and investigation bookmarked the day as camp in to six teams to investigate the Murder Mystery. Poirot, Scooby Doo, Marple, Sherlock, Columbo and Frost sought clues from the suspects through various challenges to come to put together the pieces of the case and discover who the murder was and their motivaition. Marie’s team, Poirot, successfully uncovered the mystery of the murder – Beth was found to be Toria’s killer and the offending weapon was a cake, Dun Dun Dun…
Bushcraft Hike -Blue Group
19th July 2012
What a gloriously sunny day at Camp Suisse! After a spot of languages and sport, the Blue and Red group headed off to Lake Geneva for some water sport fun while the White and Yellows prepared for archery and wall climbing. Meanwhile, the Green group set off into the beautiful mountains of Torgon.
After being split into two groups, half of Blue group set off on their Bushcraft hike, which was led by either Calum and Kirsty or by Tom and Rachel. Group one built animal shelters of which some even had a swimming pool! Meanwhile Tom shared his expert knowledge in the natural delights surrounding us including the antiseptic properties of moss. He claims that Reindeer moss was used during the Crimean war as a natural packing agent for wounded soldiers on the battle field. It can also be used as a make shift filter to make water potable and so after a short demonstration the group were required to build their own water filter using a plastic bottle, rocks, twigs and the moss.
After a lengthy period in the woods, Blue group headed back to camp for a swift shower and plentiful helpings of Mexican Fajitas. After campers eagerly scoffed up their pineapple upside down cake, the cameras started rolling in the 3 minute film after dinner activity. Our aspiring Spielbergs directed and acted a 3 minute summary of their favourite movie using what props they could salvage in their surroundings. Be sure to keep a check on our YouTube channel – Campsuisse1 to see how they got along.
Confidence Building In The Forest – Green Group
16th July 2012
The students ingratiated themselves with their language teachers on the first day of their grouped language lessons. From here they will embark on a language learning journey in a bid to improve their spoken, written, listening and reading skills in their chosen foreign language.
The glorious sunshine awaiting them, Green group were keen to join Oli and Chris on the tennis courts for some skill building games to improve their forehand and backhand precision
The Green group started the afternoon at the Parc Aventure. Set deep in the forest, there exists a web of zip lines, high wires and other tree top obstacles and upon arrival, the faces of our campers lit up with nervous anticipation. The afternoon brought great excitement and by the end many of the campers’ confidence had come on with leaps and bounds. An atmosphere of pride and achievement filled the coach as they headed back to Camp Suisse HQ.
I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike – Green group
15th July 2012
All campers completed their foreign language assessments today. In order to determine their language capabilities and subsequent groupings we require campers to complete a short test in their chosen course of English, Spanish, French, German or Italian. 
With language classes determined, a session of basketball followed with, Aimee and Sarah blew away the cobwebs for the Green group campers. Shooting hoops and dribbling was the name of the game as the campers were taught the rules and tricks before showcasing their skills in the final game.
The campers ventured deeper in to the mountain for an afternoon of mountain biking beginning at Plan de Croix. This is our mountain biking meeting point further in to the mountain which, during the winter, provides the entrance for skiers to the Portes du Soleil, a vast expanse of skiing terrain that stretches across 14 valleys and is one of the largest ski areas in the world. After a thorough safety check the Greens rapidly descended the mountain negotiating the various obstacles presented to them by the trails as led by Activity leader Chris.
The fresh Alpine air exhilarated our campers and so after all this exertion, the Greens had worked up a keen appetite. The after dinner Torgana hunt required the campers to excitedly exploring our site in order to the find the winning clue that lead them to the prize.
