ARL Lawyers Charitable Trust supports Epuni School Camp
The rain may have dampened the ground, but not the children’s smiles as the year five and six students from Epuni School clamped on their harnesses and flew down the zip line.
is activity is one of several that the senior students get to experience at Epuni School’s biennial senior camp at Kaitoke.
This year, the camp was made possible by ARL Lawyers Charitable Trust and other grants, donations, and fundraising—to the extent that the camp was fully funded. Janet Evans, Principal of Epuni School, said that without the support the camp may not have happened. “We wouldn’t run it with some children, it would be everyone or no one. We were looking for sponsorship to reduce the costs, so it was doable for families, but having it fully funded made a huge difference to our families. We are a decile three school and many families initially thought, my kid can’t go.”
And to see the children’s faces as they achieved something that they thought they couldn’t do, was amazing.” said Evans.
Akira, one of the students said she was scared of the abseiling and got stuck halfway down but when she got to the bottom, she wanted to do it all again!
School Camp provides students with opportunities to step out of their comfort zone, take risks and have a go at something different. The instructors are great and soon identify which students they can push a little bit more. “One of the challenges was the students were put in groups and had to get across a plank in age order, but they weren’t allowed to get off the plank. They had to rely on each other to achieve some of the activities.” Evans said.
The students are learning without knowing they are learning because they are having fun. “One little boy was told to wipe the table. He’d never wiped a table and didn’t know how to do it! So, they’re learning what we think are basic skills, but some don’t know about that sort of stuff” said Evans
What the students are learning at this camp is resilience and taking responsibility for what they’re doing, which fits in with Epuni School’s values — resilience, relationships, responsibility and respect. They are getting to live these values in a different environment.
“When I was down at archery this morning, when any kid got it into the bullseye, they all cheered and then when they got me to have a go and I hit the bullseye everybody cheered. It was so cool. It’s creating a real sense of belonging as well” said Evans.
If the supporters and funders could see the children’s faces, they would know they have impacted these young lives.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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60.7% Summer
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37.4% Winter
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Would you like a free copy of our February 2025 issue?
Kia ora neighbours. We give away free copies to readers whose recipes are used in our magazine. We're still on the hunt for tomato recipes, so send your family's favourite way to use up your homegrown harvest, to: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. If we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of the mag
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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