Northern Beaches Christian School
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Welcome to the Northern Beaches Christian School Year 10 Urban Challenge Page!
Are you a student? Please have your parent/guardian read the information below and complete the details with/for you.
Please find below:
- information about your upcoming Urban Challenge and general information about programs with The Urban Challenge.
- an online form to be completed with your child/ward's details.
- the opportunity to hire/purchase any equipment you need.
Northern Beaches Christian School Information
Monday 19th to Thursday 22nd May 2025
A 4 day program filled with fun and adventure. The students will be involved in an unfolding journey taking them around Sydney CBD and surrounding suburbs. They will organise their own food, travel and selves as they navigate and negotiate their way across the city. The students will learn about team work and real life lessons (such as public transport won't wait for the slow team!) whilst being supervised by a school staff member and guided by an Urban Challenge guide. All this will happen while with friends and learning skills and methods in self-sufficiency, leadership and followership, team responsibility and much more.
Keeping Track of the Urban Challenge from Home
As a parent you will have the opportunity to watch the progress of the teams and play along to help your child/ward's team earn extra points. Using the login details below you can access parent challenges, read the teams' daily blogs and view photos and videos of the program. This portal will be open closer to the program and remain open till long after it has finished.
At the end of the week, students and parents alike will be able to log in here to download the images from camp, see the final presentation and be one of the first to find out the winning team!
Username: nbcsurban
Password: nbcs2025
GENERAL INFORMATION
About Us
The Urban Challenge organises school programs for many of Sydney’s leading schools, in a variety of locations around the CBD and surrounding suburbs. The Urban Challenge is designed to be an evolving adventure for the participants, one that will create pure unexpected joy as they travel through our beautiful city! This program will see the students participating in an odyssey throughout the Sydney CBD completing a range of activities and challenges which may involve external activity providers around Sydney.
What Happens on the Challenge?
For specific information about your child’s program, please contact your school or our office. The school group will be broken into small teams, each of which will travel with a school staff member, with a number of Urban Challenge staff members also present to assist with supervision and conduct of activities.
The students will move via several forms of public transport throughout the Challenge. The nature of the activities that the students will engage in and the instructions for meals and overnight accommodation will be presented to the teams as unfolding clues. Some of these are sent via text message over the team’s mobile phone, some are found in envelopes at certain places and others are downloaded via our interactive website once the team has uploaded certain information from their day.
Overnight the students will stay in YHA hostels (or other group accommodation places) within the city area. These have been selected for their specialised set-up in dealing with school groups and the international standard they need to maintain to be a part of the Youth Hostel Association. All bedding will be provided for throughout the programme. All meals for the students will also be provided for.
All food is provided on the program. Some meals will be pre ordered for the team (such as breakfasts in the hostels for overnight challenges) and others will be bought by the team with specific instructions to meet the criteria of a challenge. If your child/ward has any dietary requirements we ask that these are noted on the medical form to ensure they are well catered for. The Urban Challenge guide for your child/ward's team will talk to them at the start of the program about these requirements.
Within the team, the students will be allocated various roles such as leader, navigator, treasurer, journo, photographer, task master etc. These participants will be responsible for that function within the program. For example, the treasurer holds the team’s cash for the entire program and must allocate money, keep records and receipts and account for all spending. All job roles will contribute to the team earning points for their team and hopefully will lead to them winning the entire Challenge!
The program is an excellent opportunity for the students to work as a small team, take responsibility for a broad range of decisions and functions, and to have an exciting, fun adventure in Sydney.
Safety
- Our staff are trained professionals, qualified in relevant First Aid, verified according to the requirements of the NSW Working with Children Check, and supported with a 24 hour support system.
- Participants are required to wear a lanyard at all times which indicates the emergency number to call if they are lost or separated from their team.
- Our guides will facilitate safety briefings with their teams and accompanying teachers.
- We maintain a comprehensive Safety Management Plan.
Staffing
- Each Urban Challenge is personally attended by a Program Coordinator.
- For the entirety of the program each team is accompanied by a teacher from your school and each pair of teams is facilitated by one of our Urban Challenge guides who are specifically trained to facilitate the progression of the program.
- Other activity or logistical support staff will meet with the teams at various points throughout the program.
Support
- The Program Coordinator is on-call 24 hours for support.
- Each team also has face to face facilitation from the Urban Challenge guides.
- The school may also have coordinating teachers to 'rove' through the program and along with the Program Coordinator, provide respite to teachers as well as help with unforeseen issues such as sick students etc who may need to leave the program.
- The Urban Challenge will also have a number of behind the scenes staff who are able to help out with the logistical movements and ongoing coordination before and after the program.
Communications
- Each Urban Challenge team is provided with a mobile phone to communicate with our staff as needed.
- A confidential contact sheet is also provided to all attending teachers and Urban Challenge staff to enable easy communication during the program.
- The Program Coordinator is on call 24 hours a day for the duration of the program and can be contacted for support for any situation.
Collection of Information
- In order to run a safe and efficient camp for your child/ward, The Urban Challenge requires the collection of certain information. As we want to ensure this information is handled correctly, we have developed a detailed Privacy Policy and is available here:
Equipment
- Bedding (for residential programs) and program specific equipment (such as mobile phone, iPad and cameras) are all provided by The Urban Challenge.
- All meals and snacks are provided by The Urban Challenge.
- Please read the Equipment List for items to be brought to The Urban Challenge.
- Below you will find the opportunity to purchase any gear you may need.
- Please note that The Urban Challenge cannot be responsible for the loss or damage of any unnamed equipment, items listed not to be brought to camp or lost property. Any lost property found will be returned to the school (however please understand that the majority of the Challenge occurs in public spaces).
Teachers
- The school's teachers and coordinators will maintain a duty of care for students and their general wellbeing whilst on the program in such areas as pastoral, discipline, illness, medications, etc.
COMPLETING PERSONAL & MEDICAL DETAILS
Please take the time to complete your child's/ward's personal and medical details accurately. Please also refer to further information available in the below form in respect to asthma, allergies, dietaries and other issues.
Medical Assistance
In the event of a student requiring further medical assistance, The Urban Challenge will access care through the closest hospital to the location of the incident, local private medical practices, private hospitals or ambulance if required. The Urban Challenge is typically run within the CBD and its surrounding suburbs allowing for ready access to medical assistance. Parents will be contacted in the event of a student requiring medical assistance.
Prescription Medications
Please ensure medications are brought in sufficient quantities with instructions and spares to cover the length of the program. In general, behaviour medications should not be suspended. The supervision of prescription medication is the teacher's responsibility. Please note details of any medications below and ensure your child/ward checks-in with their team's teacher at the start of The Urban Challenge to arrange and determine the supervision of doses, etc. If required, with prior notice we can organise medications to be refrigerated and transported (please provide ice packs for transport).
Non-Prescription Medications
The Urban Challenge guides may administer non-prescription medications as deemed appropriate. These will typically be paracetamol, antihistamine, bite creams, antiseptic creams, betadine and gastrolyte hydration sachets. Please indicate any restrictions or concerns in the administration of non-prescription medications to your child/ward. If your child/ward is bringing non-prescription medications on the program such as ibuprofen or a preferred antihistamine, please note these in the medical section. Please also ask you child/ward to check-in with their team teacher at the start of the program to arrange and determine the supervision of doses, etc.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For more information please use the menu to the left to navigate through our detailed website or feel free to contact us.
We are looking forward to seeing the students on The Urban Challenge!
