Senior School

Year 12 Formal

On the last day of Term 1, Friday 8 April, the Year 12 students were all glammed up for their night of nights!  They all looked amazing and had a wonderful time at Merrimu Receptions dancing the night away! Here are some fun photos from the photobooth...

VCAL Bounce Excursion

On Thursday, 10th of March, during period 3 and 4, my VCAL personal development class attended Bounce, which is located at 1 Fiveways Boulevard, Keysborough. Bounce is a huge indoor trampoline park that has something that is suitable for all ages. 

In class before we went, we discussed a number of places to go to and in the end we all decided that Bounce was the best option because it was less expensive, suited the double period, and would be loads of fun. Once the decision was made, we just needed to get our parents to provide consent and payment.

Even though I had been to Bounce before it had been a few years ago, I was still excited about going this time because I had really enjoyed myself jumping around with my mates at birthday parties and just getting together. I did wonder if I would feel the same this time and I wasn’t disappointed. It was fun to be there with the class and having Mr. Collings there to join in as well. 

There were loads of trampolines, a dodgeball court, an area with slam dunking lanes, climbing walls and a Ninja Warrior course. Before we started the activities the staff told us what we could not go on and discussed safety procedures. I had a go on everything, but what I enjoyed the most was the Ninja course because there were a number of different obstacles to challenge myself as well as the dunking lanes because in the end, I managed to dunk on the hardest one, which gave me a sense of, “I could do it.” The obstacle course gave me the same feeling, it was good to complete it.  Jumping on the trampolines was also fun and gave me a sense of freedom. 

The best part I found was successfully dunking on the highest ring and completing the high ropes on the Ninja course as it made me feel I had pushed myself to complete something harder.

It was a bit sad when the activities came to an end, and I feel that we could have had a bit longer. We all seemed to get to know each other a bit better, had loads of fun and encouraged each other to complete the course.

I feel that it was a great activity, it seemed to bring us together as a group, and we had loads of fun. I would recommend this to any of the VCAL classes because it was a bit of downtime and it allowed us to get to know others better.

Harrison F.

VCAL Tree Tops Excursion

On Monday the 22nd the Year 11 VCAL class went on an excursion to Treetops Adventure Belgrave. 

What planning was completed and necessary before attending this excursion. 

Your feelings and anticipation leading up to the trip?

In the days preceding up to the trip, I was torn between feelings since I saw it as an opportunity to confront my fears. Because I am frightened of heights, I was originally concerned, but I was able to overcome my fears.

How easy/difficult did you find learning the skills and safety requirements?

At first, I struggled to understand the concepts being taught, such as changing hooks, but after demonstrating this multiple times, I understood. Despite the fact that it is completely secure.

What were your physical experiences and emotions in the treetops, with an example of a specific thrill or challenge that you conquered?

It was difficult to walk across the obstacle since it was moving so quickly, and it was difficult to maintain my balance in order to reach the other side. I was gripping the rope so firmly, my hands were starting to hurt.

What were your feelings after having completed the activity?

After completing the high ropes course, I felt as though I had achieved the pinnacle of achievement. Because I don't go to locations that are high, I have a severe fear of heights, but I challenged myself to take the high ropes course, which I accomplished.

A final reflection on the day, and recommendation for other VCAL groups/classes.

I would recommend attending any future year 11 VCAL excursions lessons because it is a nice day off from work, you get to have lunch afterwards, and it is a pleasant day out.

Chris B.

On Monday 28th the VCAL class and Mr Collings went to the “Treetops Adventure Belgrave''. We left school at around 9:00am and had about an hour bus drive there. Once we arrived Mr Collings showed us his beautiful bus skills trying not to fall down the very steep and paired with Harrison's directions it was on point. When we got down to the place they gave us an introduction and helped us put our harnesses on. Then they made us do a little tutorial on how to clip on and not fall off when doing the obstacles. Leading up to this I wasn’t particularly excited but once I got there it was a lot of fun. Since we were wearing harnesses, if we were to fall off you would be held up by the harness but you had to use your balance and strength to get you across the obstacles as well as mentally not being scared and if you already don’t like heights just don’t look down. I was kind of nervous doing it for the first time but when I got going it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but some of the obstacles were quite challenging. Overall this was a fun day (also getting Maccas and KFC on the way back) with Mr Collings and the class and I would definitely recommend other classes or students to go if you have the opportunity.

Mateo H.