Leadership Centre

5/6 Camp, Old Priory in Beechworth

During Week 10, 5/6 students travelled to the historic town of Beechworth. It was a wonderful experience for our students to listen to locals and learn about key events which had taken place around the area. Our students listened with curiosity and respect and enjoyed asking questions to further enrich their understanding. Whilst the camp had its challenges, teachers were prepared to ensure students enjoyed their experience to the fullest. Teachers felt nothing but pride taking our well mannered students around town. Feedback from the town members and tour guides was that our students were extremely well behaved and respectful of the area. Enjoy reading the recount of events from our students as we share, '10 things we loved about camp!'

1. Sweet Shop & Telegraph Station

The sweetshop was a little downtown lolly store with all kinds of delicious sweets and toys. Inside, it was colourful and well decorated with blooming candy placed nicely on efficient looking shelves. It was hard to make up our minds on what we should get with the limited money that we had. It was an experience of our lives. 

The telegraph station was a little station filled with morse code systems and differing machines built for communicating to long distances in the olden days. We tried all the systems to see how they worked. It was interesting discovering all the ways of how technology used to work. We were blown away by all the possible ways of communication. It was truly amazing. 

2. Old Beechworth Gaol Tour

The Beechworth prison also known as the Old Beechworth Gaol was an astonishing prison built by the prisoners. It had strong brick walls to prevent prisoners from escaping. This was also used to hold the well-known Ned Kelly, the gang, and Ned’s mother, Ellen Kelly. The building had smart protection and security measures. We learnt about the history of the whole prison including some of the Ned Kelly history. It was quite disturbing for some students but it was very interesting. 

3. Historic Courthouse

The historic courthouse was a built for serious crimes committed in the local area. This was the courthouse where the famous Ned Kelly trial began, lasting for a long time, and ending up in Melbourne. It had a tall roof and there were different areas for the different roles of the court. We re-enacted the famous Ned Kelly case in which students played a role of the court. Students were lawyers, judges, prosecutors, sketches, and the man himself, Ned Kelly. Selected students read from a script to read and we had enjoyed the show! 

4. Movie Night- Snow Dogs 90s special

On the last night of our camp, we had an epic movie night with all the lollies we purchased earlier. The movie was Snow Dogs which is an incredibly filmed and well-acted movie. It is movie filled with hilarious twists and dramatic moments. Everybody loved the movie and by the time it was finished, everyone was tired and needed to get to bed asap. What a memorable night!

5. Cartoons

Cartoons was an incredibly fun art lesson. The owner of the well- known Beechworth commissions store called Oz came and gave us an important and well needed lesson on illustrating cartoons. We learnt all kinds of methods and tips to the secret of drawing cartoons. Oz had a great sense of humour and made us laugh a ton. We had so much fun and most of all we instantly became better at drawing.

6. Gold panning

Gold panning was by far the most popular activity. We caught the bus to Spring Creek where gold was found in the past. Even though the gold was rather tiny, we were all very competitive on who found the most gold. It took a lot of patience and effort with the panning but it was all worth it. 

7. Honey Shop and Honey Discovery Centre

At the Honey discovery centre, they take care of lots of healthy bees and lots of delicious honey. We did all kinds of activities with stations and everyone experienced honey tasting. Some of us also purchased honey to take home and share with our families. It was great to listen to how important bees are to our environment also.

8. Burke Museum

The Burke Museum is the home to many artefacts from many different eras. We explored the museum which included a replica of the Beechworth streets from the 1920s. This included fashion from the time, furniture and trinkets from people's homes and there was even a penny farthing! We even saw a stuffed Tasmanian Tiger which was pretty cool. The curator shared with us that even though the Tasmanian Tiger was mainly found in Tasmania, Indigenous drawings of the Tasmianian Tiger are found in the local areas proving that Tasmanian Tigers was around this area many years ago. We also saw a very special and delicate piece of Egyptian history. This was amazing! If you love history, put the Burke Museum on your list of places to visit.

9. Historical walk around Beechworth

It was great to take a relaxing walk around Beechworth, exploring what makes up this town. With the expertise of our tour guides, we learned and discovered different parts of Beechworth that we wouldn't have known about!

10. Old Priory

The Old Priory is a historic building which is now used as accommodation for varying purposes. The Priory which was our home for the week provided us with many stairs, long hallways, high ceilings and detailed cornices and wall features. It is quite a beautiful place to stay. Our hosts Angela and Remo were lovely and we enjoyed catching up with them at meal times. It was the perfect place for us to relax with our friends after very busy days exploring Beechworth. Thank you Old Priory for being an amazing home!

Have a wonderful week,

Mrs Brisbane, Miss Walker, Miss Campbell, Ms Bennetts, Mr Burrill and Mr Dix 

Pupil of the Week

5/6B: Kevin E -

For displaying maturity, love of learning and curiosity whilst participating in the activities on 5/6 Camp at Beechworth. Thanks for displaying a positive attitude, staying organised and showing great friendship to all your peers. Nice work, Kevin!

5/6C:  Brock W -

For displaying independence and curiosity whilst on our Beechworth Camp. Well done for ensuring you and your cabin were organised for the day and listening attentively throughout all of the different experiences! A brilliant effort, Brock! 

5/6D: Indi P - 

Well done on using your strength of kindness to help and support other members of your activity group to settle in and have a great time on camp. You have been an excellent role model and shown high-level interpersonal skills Indi! 

5/6EB: Ethan R -

For displaying curiosity and love of learning during our camp experience. It was wonderful to watch you explore the area Ethan, with great enthusiasm. You asked interesting questions which at times challenged our tour guides. You were always polite and respectful of your friends and teachers. Well done for fully immersing yourself in our camp!

5/6W: Yianni I -

For embracing many different opportunities whilst on 5/6 Camp and demonstrating the character strength of curiosity by asking interesting and relevant questions to learn more about the history of Beechworth.