Sixty Transition year boys from St. Joseph’s College (Garbally) Ballinasloe completed a one day course in Cuckoo Hill Boot Camp. From start to finish the day was planned and managed effectively and professionally. The venue is located in the countryside on a large plot of land ten minutes outside Ballinasloe town, in a safe secluded area. The instructors are all trained in first aid in case of any tumbles or sprains. The changing facilities were spacious and clean We arrived on the premises at 9.30 a.m., we were met by the three instructors where they informed the students and teachers about the timetable of activities for the day. The boys then were put into teams and a captain or team leader was chosen by the students themselves, the nominated student needed to be a good delegator. All the activities completed during the day by the groups were given scores depending on the objective of the task and were counted.
Throughout the day there were many elements of subjects regarding the secondary school curriculum practiced, taught and mentioned. The first activity of the day was orienteering, the student groups were given a map and had to navigate their way through the obstacle course and locate several marked objects. This activity is one of the main aspects of the Physical Education (P.E) curriculum in secondary schools. Orienteering also incorporates subjects such as geography, where the students will learn how to read maps and use directions correctly in a real life situation. Another subject is mathematics as students had to be able to problem solve and use their time wisely. Furthermore this activity encourages team work and strategical thinking. The activity allowed the students and teachers to get to know the environment and size of the obstacle course. The instructors and teachers were present to help The second activity of the day was the obstacle course which meant that the students organised their teams and the instructors guided them through the terrain. Again this activity is a very large part of the P.E curriculum as the boys are running, jogging and also the teams had to keep each other motivated so that all members of each team reached the end of the The boys then took a half hour break so they could catch their breath, re-organise and form a strategy for the next task. Also they were given an educational nutritional talk about what foods should be eaten when training for different types of sport, what foods are needed to keep active, the chemistry of food in the body and the importance of hydration when exercising. The subjects that were incorporated here were P.E, home economics, biology and The third activity consisted of the students being divided into their groups and completing eight team work activities. The P.E curriculum requires that adventure activities and games are a key part of the syllabus. Some of the activities in cuckoo hill were lifting weights, building walls, carrying a student from one area to the next, activities which included batons, The students were marked on each task and their scores were recorded. These tasks incorporated other subjects such as maths – recreating patterns (the building of the wall), science in regard to lifting weights and equilibrium and construction – creating different shapes. Team building games such as tug-of-war was then demonstrated and the students had to put them into practise. The boys learned and applied new skills such as team building, leadership and communication skills.
Lunch was then provided and some reflection of the tasks and what each student learned took the final activity of the day was a physical challenge which included running through fields and bog land, over hills, climbing ropes, under nets and tyres, climbing pits and bog slopes. The boys had to navigate through rough terrain, keep each other motivated and work as a team. At the end of the day the scores of the teams were totaled and the winning team was all the students benefited from the experience, the sporty students were challenged mentally and physically while the less sporty students were encouraged throughout by the instructors.
The students learned and practiced new skills, were able to put into practice real life situations in different subject areas and also had a fantastic time bonding as a group. I would highly recommend this excursion to secondary school students, the instructors and facilities can cater for any challenge.