F5 Camp for F5 Theta, F5 Delta, F5 Alpha, 29 – 30 Sep 2020
As a student of this school, the annual school camp is one of the most anticipated events. This time however, I cannot deny that we were disappointed not to be able to spend our final camp under a splashing waterfall and having fun together as a complete Form Five batch. Nevertheless, I felt very grateful that the teachers put in heaps of effort to make camp happen this year despite the odds.
The first day kicked off with the usual camp tradition, consisting of a meditation session, a short morning exercise and Mass. Throughout the day, several talks were held which were eye-opening as they touched on topics that the thick textbooks we see every day in class do not teach us. We were also called upon to use our mugs a little differently, putting in slips of paper which had names, events, decisions and concerns written on them. The hard part was deciding on what we wanted to part with on our life journey, having to rip apart certain slips and throwing them in a box. Next, we from Theta, Delta and Alpha had fun reminiscing about our respective class journeys. This activity made me realise that although we have our differences, the bond shared between each class is the same, strong and unwavering. We also got a chance to view and write in our spiritual diary which only makes its appearance annually during camps. Time was spent outside of the chapel with us playing games such as futsal, Frisbee and badminton.
The following day started off the same, except with different activities such as jigsaw puzzle solving and games from the previous day. Some events were intense, some were light-hearted and some of us got overly competitive with one another, but all in all, we learnt that teamwork makes the dream work, and each class ended up winning a prize. The true climax of this camp, however, was none other than the truly heart-warming session whereby each class, accompanied by their class teachers would share their sincere thoughts and feelings with one another. Throughout this experience, many cried, laughed and strengthened their bond with each other.
As all good things have to come to an end, so did this camp. Light of the World ended with us gathered in a field and offering each other cheers with our mugs. Although we did not get to sit under a refreshing waterfall or travel together to an unfamiliar location, camp was still possible through the collective effort of the teachers and students of the Form Five batch of 2020.
• Natalie Regina Foo Ying Li