QCCC Tamborine hits 600!

24/02/201624/02/2016 | mzilikazi

LArge School Campsite Queensland — Outdoor Education at QCCC’s Mountain Campus

I’m a graduate of Townsville’s Kirwan State High School, back in the day when it was one of the largest State Schools in Queensland. In the early grades there were nearly 500 of us in each year level and even in Grade 12 we numbered more than 300. With the exception of some theme specific camps (eg Biology and Leadership Camps) the sheer size of each of our cohorts meant we were denied the opportunity of a camping program.

Since becoming Director of Queensland Conference and Camping Centres (QCCC) one of my driving desires has been to make sure no Queensland school student is denied the opportunity of a camping program on the basis of the size of their cohort. I’m pleased to announce a campsite capable of catering to the largest of year groups in Queensland schools. Through greater collaboration with adjoining facilities our Mountain Campus at Mount Tamborine (Gold Coast Hinterland) can now cater for single group bookings of up to 600 people. Continue reading →

QCCC: Key Statistics

30/12/2014 | mzilikazi

The Swimming Pool Complex at QCCC Mapleton has four pools, two slides and a sauna.

3 sites containing a total of 800 beds – Brookfield in Brisbane (150 beds), Mapleton on the Sunshine Coast Hinterland (300 beds) and Tamborine Mountain on the Gold Coast Hinterland (350 beds).
Growing offsite expeditions offered in Queensland and Northern NSW.
Largest single provider of Outdoor Education Programs in Queensland.
Catering to 50,000 guests annually (1000 per week on average).
More than 300,000 meals served annually.
Partnering with over 400 school groups annually.
Capable of offering a differentiated sequential program for schools – on provider with different sites capable of constructing a varied program all the way from Grade 2 to Grade 12. Continue reading →

QCCC wins major Outdoor Education Award

02/12/2013 | lovefeasts

Queensland Conference and Camping Centres is the winner of the Queensland Outdoor Recreation Award for Excellence in Outdoor Instruction and Education.

In a major coup for the Sunshine Coast Hinterland a local Outdoor Education Centre has received the 2013 Queensland Outdoor Recreation Award for Excellence in Outdoor Instruction and Education. Queensland Conference and Camping Centres (QCCC) are this year’s recipients of the prestigious industry award recognising excellence in Outdoor Education programs.

QCCC’s largest Outdoor Education facility has been a vital part of the Mapleton community for more than thirty years. QCCC Mapleton is one of the busiest school camping venues in Queensland entertaining 30,000 guests annually. More than 20,000 of these are school students attending camps with more than 200 individual school groups. QCCC Mapleton is one of Mapleton’s largest employers with 50 staff and a significant attraction to the local area.

QCCC Director Andrew Grant believes a large part of QCCC’s success comes from locating its largest site in the natural beauty of the Blackall Range. “There’s no doubt we enjoy a natural advantage by bringing city kids into the mountains where they’re immersed in the stunning beauty of the Range. We must have one of the most stunning classrooms in Queensland”.

Throughout 2012 QCCC Mapleton created and built eight new activities specifically designed around the Australian Curriculum. This was a staff-driven effort with the initial “draft activities” significantly altered and enhanced through the participation of staff members primarily responsible for their delivery.

Continue reading →

Reflections on humility

09/03/2011 | lovefeasts

Recently we’ve been writing up our user manual for the R1202 concept being rolled out at all of the QCCC sites. In the development of the R1202 one of the fingers some of us were unsure about was the index “be humble” finger because we thought it might be a difficult sell, particularly trying to explain humility to the kids at a Primary School level.

However as we developed things and took input from a lot of people and educators, the “humble” finger quickly became a non-negotiable part of the package, because it is hard to explain and this highlighted the need for greater understanding and awareness.

As it stands at the moment, the humble index finger currently has the most ideas and content of all the different R1202 concepts in the user manual! Probably because the difficulty to explain it has sharpened our focus and made us come up with good and innovative ideas. We’re also seeing that it has the most impact on kids, and they remember it easily.

Something we’ve discussed as we worked on ‘humility’ is that Australia probably has claims to humility as a national trait more than most nations, particularly so if you were to compare the stereotype of the Aussie and the American.

Continue reading →

Who we are

03/03/201103/03/2011 | lovefeasts

2011 is shaping up as an exciting one for Queensland Conference and Camping. The year is off to a flying start with record guest numbers through February. Some of the new initiatives we’ve been working on for several years are being launched and are quickly growing.

And we’ve started this year serving our new vision and mission statements.

Vision statement:

As a ministry of Queensland Baptists, QCCC exists to create life-changing experiences through excellence in hospitality, service and teaching.

Continue reading →

Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition details

18/02/201118/02/2011 | lovefeasts

QCCC intends to conduct several Duke of Edinburgh Award Expeditions throughout 2011. Details of proposed dates appear below, however please note the proposed trips will only proceed if minimum participant numbers are reached. For more details please contact QCCC Mapleton.

Camping on a sea-kayak trip

Canoeing:
Bronze:
Training Day- 8^th July 2011

Training Exped- 18^th-19^th July 2011

Assessment Exped- 1^st & 2^nd August 2011

Silver:
Training Day- 19^th September 2011

Training Exped- 11^th-13^th October 2011

Assessment Exped- 6^th-8^th December 2011

Gold:
Training Day- 10^th October 2011

Training Exped- 17^th-20^th October 2011

Assessment Exped- 5^th-8^th December 2011

Continue reading →

What makes it worthwhile ….

10/02/2011 | lovefeasts

School camp, canoe lake, Queensland, Sunshine Coast — Particularly impressed with the dedication and professionalism of your activity leaders .....

One of the most rewarding parts of our job is the feedback we get from guests about their enjoyment of our programs, and how it builds into the lives of those we host and teach. Here’s a small sample – a letter we received from a school this week:

Dear Neil,

I would just like to thank you and your staff for the fantastic camp that our school experienced this week.

As discussed with you I was particularly impressed with the dedication and professionalism of your activity leaders. It is clear that they love and are passionate about their work. It is great to see them passing on their individual skills to the students they assist by being friendly, caring, disciplined and polite. Continue reading →

QCCC’s R1202 pilot

31/01/2011 | lovefeasts

QCCC is piloting now a new concept we hope will become the backbone theme of our programs from 2012 onwards, across our three camp sites at Mapleton, Tamborine and Brookfield (Brisbane). The working title for the concept is “R1202“, a reference to the biblical Romans 12:02:

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within.”

Also known as “The Hand” we believe the R1202 theme will enable us to partner with visiting groups to reflect on the key attributes and values required for a successful life.

As it is developed we will make it a flexible tool that can fit the objectives and outcomes of each group who visits us. We will also develop resources so that the lessons learned from R1202 on camp can last long after it concludes.

R1202 will become the major tool used by QCCC in our teaching and service to clients. Our staff have identified approximately 70 object lessons that can be drawn from R1202 using colours, fingers and other concepts.

Continue reading →

2010: A good year!

31/12/2010 | lovefeasts

As the curtain closes on 2010 it’s a good time to reflect on a record year of camping and conferencing for QCCC.

school expeditions duke of edinburgh — QCCC Expeditions are hotting up, driven by our provision of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Here’s a little of what our great team has managed to achieve this year:

Hosted over 500 individual groups across our three sites, that’s an average of 10 groups each week using our facilities.
Provided a quality accommodation experience to more than 35,000 people, an average of 700 people each week staying with us.
Served more than 200,000 meals. We’re convinced quality hospitality is a vital part of any successful camping and conferencing program.
Facilitated more than ten outdoor education instructors as they provided programs for more than 200 schools through the year.
Made great strides in building partnerships with like-minded organisations, the fruits of which will start to be seen in 2011 as we roll out new services and programs.
Developed a pilot theme for all of our Centres that will add significant value to the programs and outcomes of groups using our facilities (watch this space).
Further developed our Expeditions program and taken several groups through their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Kicked off our training program for future staff – providing a Certificate III in Outdoor Education.
Had an awful lot of fun in the process!