The best laid plans and all that...
We got off to a great start, leaving school right on time on Sunday afternoon to head to Turangi. We had ski lessons booked for Monday and the snow forecast was hopeful. We stopped in Ohau to pick up Mr Rea and then headed for Taihape for dinner at McDonalds. Staff there were fantastic - they even gave the kids a free sundae each! Then we hit the road again for the last leg through Desert Road.
It started raining on Desert Road, then it turned sleety, and then the snow started falling. We stopped on the side of the road, in the dark, to enjoy the snowfall. Beautiful!
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We arrived at Turangi Holiday Park, met up with New Plymouth Adventist Christian School, and settled into our cabins. It was a chilly three degrees by this stage.
It snowed through the night, meaning the mountain was shut in the morning, Disappointing, but we enjoyed playing in the snow before heading to Taupo for hot pools, a movie, and dinner out. 

On the way home, we stopped at the Waiouru Army Museum. What a great experience. The children were given task cards and had to find information from the exhibits. They finished by dressing up in army uniforms with fake props - not sure about the guns, but hard to keep kids away from them.

It was a fantastic trip. 
We thank the Lord for safe travelling and great memories.

This year, Wellington SDA School senior students went a little bit further for camp - Tui Ridge Park in Rotorua! We met up with senior students from Whangarei Adventist Christian School. What fun!
We left school at 7 A.M. so we could enjoy the trip up to Rotorua. First, we stopped at the Waiouru Army Museum for a break, and then we stopped at the Tongoriro Trout Centre for lunch and a tour. Here we learned about whio (blue ducks) and trout. We fed trout and watched as some were caught and 'tagged' to monitor how many come back to spawn.

At Tui Ridge, we enjoyed playing games with the students from Whangarei. We were split into four groups and rotated through a range of activities including: air rifles, archery, mountain biking, giant swing, confidence course, and abseiling. We also went into town to race down the mountain on the luge and swim at the aquatic centre.

The food at Tui Ridge was awesome!

We finished the camp with a talent show on our last night. There was great music, stand-up comedy, riddles, and a haka,

On the road trip home, we stopped at Kerosene Creek to paddle in a hot water stream and then at Huka Falls.

Camp at Tui Ridge was awesome!
We're looking forward to Camp 2020 now.

In Term One, Film for Change came to Wellington SDA School to work with the senior students in Room 3. The students wrote the script, acted, directed, and produced a short film based on a change the school had made. This was supported by the Health Foundation who worked with us as we developed and implemented a 'water-only' policy in 2017.

While the Years Seven and Eight students are at technicraft, the Years Five and Six students in Room Three work on the gardens with Mr Rea. Thanks to Compass Health's sponsorship, we have been able to add an extra garden and make some covers to keep out the pukekos and other pests. In term four, students will be harvesting veggies from the garden and using them to cook tasty and nutritious meals. 

Years seven and eight students enjoyed a trip to the snow with Mr Rea and Mrs Mitchell in August. On Monday morning, we left school early and headed to Ohakune for lunch before heading up to Turoa to do some sledding and to play in the snow. Awesome fun!
After that, we went to MiCamp at Turangi to set up our rooms. Then we drove to Taupo for dinner at Burger Fuel (yummo) and hot pools at De Bretts. 
The next day we headed up past the Chateau on the Whakapapa side for some sledding in Happy Valley. It was so warm and sunny the kids were stripping off their gloves, hats, and jackets.
Thank you, Lord, for safe travels and fabulous weather.