Year 8

Term 2

Heralds in the start of the Year 8 Camps at Cypress Lodge on Phillip Island.  The nine Homerooms in Year 8 travel to the island for 2 nights and three days of camp activities.  Six of our Class Captains have written about their camp experience.

My class 8.1 were the second class to go on camp. We arrived at Cypress Lodge on the Wednesday morning at around 10:30 am.  At first, we were surprised by the renovations and we all went straight into the improved games room as that was a big addition.  We all started playing pool and table tennis. Other activities we did on Day 1 were surfing and a visit to the Vietnam War Museum. That night, we went to Wonthaggi pool and we did three activities which were: scuba diving, underwater hockey and water polo. On the second day, Ms Moloney visited our camp and we did a bike ride which took around 3-4 hours.  Ms Moloney loved a game of pool and she handed out canteen vouchers to any student who could beat her.  We had a movie night on the second night and we watched Jason Bourne.  We all loved this camp. 

Riley Snell (8.1) & Bishaal Gurung (8.1)

My Year 8 camp definitely topped last year’s camp.  It started when we got to the newly renovated Cypress Lodge…..and boy was it renovated! They had put in a new fence, completely re-done the games room and added a TV, along with a pool table, and they had replaced all of the carpets and bought new wetsuits and surfboards.

The first thing we did when we got to the lodge was being assigned our rooms.   After that, we had some free time, followed by a surf at the beach.  After a quick surf, we had some dinner, then we went to Wonthaggi pool to play underwater hockey, a pool game that involved throwing a ball at a foam mat and we got to try out a SCUBA tank.  After that we returned home and pretty much just went to bed.

The next day, we had breakfast, then went out for another surf.  After that, we got back, dried off and had some lunch.  After lunch, we went out for the 18 km bike ride with a quick snack and a drink in between. When we got back from the ride, we grabbed our money and headed off to Woolworths to grab two items for the movie we would be watching later that night. The movie watched was Fast & Furious 8.

The next day, we went to the Phillip Island Adventure Resort to go on the massive “Giant Swing” and it is exactly what the name suggests.  After that, we went on a twin flying fox.  When it was my turn to go up on the platform and get ready to ride the flying fox, it started raining, it was windy, and it was ten metres in the air.  So it was also cold.  It was still good fun though.  After that, we moved on to the third and final activity, a high ropes course. There were two parts to the course, a balance part, and a strength part.  I liked the strength part more.  

Following that, we grabbed a pie each for lunch and then wished Mr. Strom a ‘Happy Birthday’.  Once we had all eaten, we headed home.

Jake Herft (8.3)

The Year 8s went on camp at Phillip Island.  Since we had been there last year it has had a massive renovation.  They have improved the inside area adding on a number of rooms and they have also improved the courtyard and the games room.  They have a number of new wetsuits and surfboards which were great because we had amazing weather for surfing.  Mr Anderson and Mr Strom did a great job of keeping us on our feet with a number of activities such as long bike rides and underwater hockey.  The food was fantastic - every meal.  On the last day, we went into Cowes and we all got to buy two items of food from Woolworths for our Movie Night.  Overall, it was a spectacular camp and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Earl Delahunty (8.3)

From Tuesday  1 to Thursday 3 of May, the class of 8.8 went on camp to Philip Island and we participated in lots of fun activities in fantastic weather.  When we arrived, after an hour and a half drive, Mr. Strom and Mr. Anderson explained to us the extent of the new renovations, stating there were two new rooms, and a new bathroom and there were new hot outside showers.  However, by far the biggest renovation was the games room!  It had doubled in size and a pool table had been added. All the activities were fun and we really bonded as a class especially when we went surfing.  All of us really encouraged each other and it was good to see that.  On the first night, we went to Wonthaggi pool to do some cool stuff, like under water hockey, and we got to have a go at an oxygen tank.  The bike ride was the biggest challenge and the most fun.  During it, we rode up steep hills, and shot down the other side, unfortunately near the lunch point Dan crashed into a ditch that he didn’t see, his front tyre didn’t survive and he scored a massive bruise.  Luckily, we had the best homeroom teacher ever (Ms. Matthews) to lend Dan her bike so he could finish the ride.  Overall, it was a fantastic camp.

Harry Griffin (8.8) & Daniel Tanti (8.8)