Year 7 Camp

Last week the Year 7 students travelled to Somerset Dam for their camp. This is what two of our Year 7 students thought of the experience:

Last week, the Year 7 students went on camp. The camp was all about getting outdoors, making friends, challenging ourselves and most importantly, having fun.

The activities were mountain biking, high ropes, archery, canoeing and raft building. All of these were fun, challenging and involved working together. Mountain biking and high ropes made most people nervous however, with the encouragement of friends and the thrill of the experience, students pushed themselves out of their comfort zones. Other activities like raft building and canoeing involved great teamwork and encouragement. They built friendships and trust between all the students.

Another challenge that the students faced was no access to technology, no TV, no luxury and no parents (which was good sometimes).

One thing that was really interesting was that before high ropes our instructor asked us to form a circle. Then the instructor asked those who felt comfortable to step forward, those who felt a bit uncomfortable to stay where they were and those who felt out of their comfort zone to step backwards. I thought this was really great to know how others were feeling and who needed some encouragement.

Over all this was a great camp, my favourite!

- Alessandro Papallo

At 8.30am on Wednesday 3^rd February, the Year 7 students set off to camp Somerset. The objective of the camp was to give students an opportunity to bond with each other, as there are a number of new students who join the grade each year. The number of students in our year has dramatically increased from 70 to nearly 100!

Somerset Dam is a beautiful camp with luxurious cabins to stay in and food cooked by a chef over eight feet tall – well, really only seven feet tall! The lunch itself was so magnificent! The camp is set in a valley, surrounded by mountains and a long stretching fresh water lake that reflects the golden sunlight. This is in fact, Somerset Dam.

The Somerset team offers some of the best activities to keep us busy and entertained like raft building, which should come in handy for our Year 8 camp, high ropes (which was terrifying for Mrs Layfield), canoeing, group activities, mountain biking and archery for all those Katniss' and Legolas'! There is no end to how spectacular Somerset camp can be and the amazing things you can discover about yourself there.

On our final day of camp, we ate burgers and chips for lunch then were sent back on the bus. We came home tired and exhausted, relieved to have our own bed back. There is no doubt that Dr McMahon worked incredibly long hours to organise this camp for us and all the teachers who attended appreciated his hard work and effort as well. Thank you to the teachers who came with us and spent time away from their families, this is very much valued.

- Imogen Layfield

Mr Brendan Delaney, Director of Students