Remarkable Christmas gift for Queenstowns high school students

Wakatipu High School has received a pre-Christmas boost with the news that its iconic Year 10 Branches Camp will be the recipient of proceeds raised from Queenstown’s annual Shotover Jet Remarkable Christmas Spectacular.

The two-week camp at Branches Station has been running for more than 40 years and has become a rite of passage for the school’s Year 10 students. However increasing pressure on the school’s budget has meant the camp is in danger of being shelved.

The decision to support the Branches Camp through this year’s Christmas Spectacular was made by event organisers Lakes Leisure, Queenstown Lakes District Council and Shotover Jet.

Lakes Leisure event organiser Karen Gemmell says the camp is a life-changing experience for local teenagers and hopes that the proceeds raised will help keep it afloat.

“You can’t put a price tag on the life skills the students learn at Branches. This year’s event provides a great opportunity to highlight their cause and is close to everyone’s hearts. So many people have benefited from it over the years.”

A tradition of the annual concert has been to align the event with major sponsor Shotover Jet’s Locals Day, held this year on Saturday 5th December. “Every year we join forces with A Remarkable Christmas to support a local charity together with our two events” says Shotover Jet General Manager Clark Scott.

“Working together means we can raise more funds for charity projects and helping the school camp to continue at Branches Station is really important to the fabric of our community” he says.


“We’re really passionate about keeping the camp going. It’s not just about getting our local kids outdoors, it’s about giving them life experience and opportunities to learn and grow.”

It is hoped the Shotover Jet Remarkable Christmas Spectacular will be held at the Queenstown Events Centre on 13 December will raise nearly $15,000. Tickets will be on sale in November.

ENDS

 More about the Shotover Jet Locals Day
8.30am until 5.30pm Saturday 5th December, all proceeds from locals day will go to Branches Charitable Trust. $5 children, $10 adults. I.D will need to be presented at the time of booking.



More about the Branches Camp
The Wakatipu High School Branches Camp has been running for more than 40 years.

The concept evolved from a small geography/science experience to a 12-day camp which is a unique combination of outdoor experiences and communal living set in the remote back country of Branches Station in the Upper Shotover valley.

Branches is unique in that it flies in the face of most modern trends in school based Outdoor Education models…students spend their 12 days living in tents, cooking by fire and learning to cope with only minimal modern conveniences. In terms of a student’s growth at Wakatipu High School, attending Branches at the end of Year 10 is viewed as a rite of passage to the senior school. Students enjoy the solitude of the back country, live communally with all other year group peers, participate in activities and develop numerous competencies or life skills such as managing self, participating and contributing, thinking and relating to others.

The aim is to challenge the students in all aspects of their lives in order to grow and shape who they are as adults and how they contribute to the society they live in. By participating in this camp they learn how to exercise control, experience different events, give advice, make decisions and become engaged - they learn by actually doing things and reflecting on what they have achieved. They build trust and understanding, develop problem solving skills and learn that they can influence their own lives through choices and skills and feel good about who they are and what they can offer.