By Chloe Huang, Secondary 2 Faith
On September 2, 2026, Bina Bangsa School Bandung organized an overnight camp exclusively for Student Leaders. The camp was designed to help students to develop and construct leadership skills, strengthen teamwork, encourage team members and to cooperate through group challenges. The event was held in Green Forest Resort. Arriving at the resort, all the students gathered around patiently while waiting for the programme to begin. Soon after, teachers started announcing the groupings. Each group was given a coloured handkerchief that classified the different groups.
After everyone settled into their individual groupings, Ms Yuki explained the regulations and objectives of the camp. Afterwards, Mr Evert led all the groups to the rooftop of the resort. It turns out that we were told to carry-out outdoor group challenges up there. There were stations where groups were told to move on after 5 minutes. Every station tested different skills, such as efficiency, mindfulness and concentrating on points. After all the groups accomplished the challenges, everybody received a bag filled with water. The activity continued with Water Up where students were encouraged to throw water at one another. We all ran around the rooftop to avoid getting splashed. The activity produced a joyful atmosphere with laughter in the air. The activity helped increase the bond between all the students.
Afterwards, students faced meaningful leadership sessions led by different speakers. During these sessions, each teacher shared valuable understanding about the qualities of an effective leader, expressing resilience, the importance of responsibility and ways to communicate and collaborate with others. The session continued for several hours, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of having a leadership role. Worksheets were given throughout the sessions and I truly reflected on it. Another group activity came after a talk. Students were required to work together to construct structures using the materials provided such as straws and cardboard. Each group was told to choose one task such as building a castle, constructing a bridge or designing other models shown. This activity was able to express students’ creativity skills and the ability to perform under time limit. Throughout the challenge, group members discussed and worked productively and supported one another in completing our models. Although some designs were tough to create, team members communicated with patience and established great collaboration. Eventually the time ended and all the groups presented their amazing work showing their teamwork.
Later that night, students reunited again in a campfire reflection session. Before gathering around the campfire, we entered a room where we were given time to reflect on the activities and experience we had throughout the day. Ms Yuki played warm, campfire-themed videos on the screen creating a pleasant atmosphere for us to think about our leadership personal growth, challenges and lesson learned from the camp. After the session ended, everybody gathered outside again, around the campfire. I was personally gratified by this moment as the warm
atmosphere allowed us to relax, connect with one another, and appreciate the journey we experienced on the first day of leadership camp. As the night came to an end, we returned to our respective rooms after a purposeful day filled with activities, laughter, fun and engaging sessions.
On September 3, 2026, the second day of Student Leaders Camp began with another series of discussions regarding collaboration led by Mr Rashid and Ms Jonna individually. The last activity of this camp was that students were grouped by their Student Leader Roles with another group of roles to create a poster on how we would plan events. Media and Communication was paired with Welfare. We discussed, worked energetically and wrote down each of our ideas. A bit later, the final moments of Student Leaders Camp arrived. All students and advisers huddled to take group photos. I am certainly grateful for this camp, as it genuinely taught me many valuable lessons and it guided me on how to become a positive leader for others. I truly learned a lot from the activities, discussions and experiences shared throughout the whole camp. Student Leaders Camp helped me acknowledge that leadership is not only about being in the spotlight and the best among students that are not leaders or just giving instructions but also about listening, supporting others and even learning from my mistakes. This camp allowed me to socialize, improve my role in teamwork, and communication skills while gaining confidence in taking responsibilities.