Secondary School

Rowing Program Takes Off at Lake Weeroona

On Tuesday, 4 December, the Moama Anglican Grammar Rowing Club launched its inaugural training camp at Bendigo's Lake Weeroona. Over two days, a dedicated team of Year 9 students participated in the school’s new rowing program under the expert guidance of coaches Wynstan Gilbert, Deborah Duncan, and Scott Balmer.

This camp marked the culmination of six months of meticulous planning, including the acquisition of new boats and essential support equipment. Students faced a range of challenges as they trained in three classes of boats—quads, doubles, and singles—while navigating demanding rowing sessions, enduring the occasional blister, dodging sailing boats, and even rescuing a drifting boat during their lunch break.

This initiative would not have been possible without the generous support of the Bendigo Rowing Club, who kindly provided access to their boats and facilities. Moama Anglican Grammar extends its heartfelt gratitude to the Bendigo Rowing Club and looks forward to continuing this valuable partnership in the future.

Wynstan Gilbert

Head of Rowing

Year 12 Camp Reflection

A variety of moments were experienced at the Year 12 camp. From being flung off a giant swing in the rain to bus ride karaoke, the week was a learning experience in resilience and teamwork. We set off on Monday, still tired from our early morning, and headed to Howmans Gap. The constant exclamation of “waterfall,” as heading up the mountain - while untrue - made us all excited for the experiences to come. 

We started our camp adventures with initiative games, which helped strengthen bonds within the groups and encouraged us to work together with resilience. Later on, we cooked damper around the campfire. Despite a number of burnt pieces and a few poorly constructed fires, our first day at camp was largely a success. 

On Tuesday, we all sat down to listen to the leadership and study skills seminar, which was significantly helpful - as well as interactive - in inspiring us to be the best versions of ourselves, both in and out the classroom. 

Wednesday brought a variety of activities - as well as rain - and we kicked the day off with a rock climbing competition. Later, we tackled another challenge, this time archery, and a couple of missed arrows (and missed targets) later, we headed back to camp for lunch. The afternoon was spent in raincoats and pants as we attempted the high ropes course. Some more confident than others, and ended the day with the giant swing. Many of us had to overcome our fear of heights in achieving this, and the rain certainly tested our patience, but we tackled each activity with resilience and excitement. 

On Thursday we headed home, all with newfound memories, sense of selves and skills. What a way to start Year 12!

Dakota Moses

Carrousel Theatre Puppet show 

On Wednesday 20 of November, the Year 6, 7 and Year 8 students who study Italian were treated to a bi-lingual puppet show. Anne-Maree from Carrousel Theatre visited our school and performed 'The Jungle Book' story. It was an interactive performance with the students encouraged to participate in Italian. Here are some of the student reflections:

It was great! Very interesting but kind of hard to understand but still really enjoyed it! -Logan Wise

I really enjoyed how interactive the play was and appreciated how Anne-Marie and her assistant from Carrousel took the time to come and present this play to us. Il libro della guingla (the jungle book) was a great puppet show and it related nicely to what we are learning in our Italian Class. – Lyla B 7.

On November 20th the year 6’s, 7’s and the year 8’s that study Italian went to the hall to watch a puppet show by Anne-Marie and her assistant from Carrousel. The puppet Show was about Il libro della giungla (the jungle book). Watching the show was an eccentric experience that broaden our Italian vocabulary. – Keisha Hall 7.4

The show was pretty interesting to me. It was fluent Italian which I loved and the lovely ladies did such a great job with the acting and the different voices for each of the characters. – Olivia 7.4

The puppet show was interesting and exciting Anne-Marie from Carrousel Theatres displayed a bilingual rendition of the Jungle Book in English and Italian. – Lyla Harris

The puppet show from Anne-Marie from the Carrousel Theatre was an interesting show in Italian and English. - Darius van der Nest 7.4

2 people came to do an Italian Puppet Show in was very complex and interesting but hard to understand sometimes. – Ashton N 7.4

The Italian puppet show performed by Anne-Marie from Carrousel was an overall good experience. It was very interesting but also got a bit hard to understand at times. – Nate Murphy

Anne-Marie was very talented. It was very interesting and I had fun. – Sadie Laffy

I enjoyed the puppet show because it was funny and enjoyable. You could tell that they had put a lot of effort into it and was interesting hearing behind the scenes. – Peaches 7.4

The puppet Show of the jungle book was very fun and entertaining. – Carlese 7.4

I thought the play was very joyful. I was able to pick up a few Italian sentences in the script. Everyone was having a laugh and enjoying it as much as I was. The people controlling the puppets were extremely talented. Anne-Marie did an outstanding job organising and acting the whole play. – Violet McGillivray 7.2

The play was very interesting in how they used both English and Italian while also interacting with the audience. The script was very well thought out and the background and puppets were all handmade and all had very amazing designs. Anne-Marie was a French puppeteer who had been doing performances for 20 years. She is doing performances in Echuca-Moama and other places in Victoria. Overall the play il libro della giunglo was an amazing experience. – Charlotte

The play was performed by Anne-Marie from Carrousel Theatre. The play was about the Jungle Book and was performed in Italian, the performance was very interesting and funny and Anne-Marie done a very good job of keeping it interactive throughout the show. Overall it was a fun experience to be able to be a part of. – Harper Watson

The play was performed by Anne-Marie from Carrousel Theatre and was about the Jungle Book which is Il libro delia giungla in Italian. The play was very interesting and cool to watch. The details of the puppets and play were very good. The play was performed in Italian but with some English words and sentences. Anne-Marie is a very talented lady and was very good to remember every single word line. Overall it was an interesting, amazing performance. The play was a fun experience to be able to watch. – Lila Courts 7.2

The Italian puppet show was alright as it was a little bit childish. But I really liked it as it was very funny and how everyone was interested. Anne-Marie the performer came from France which is a very big effort to even make it here. – Lachie Nagle. 7.2

It was good but it was a bit unusual at the same time. - Ava 7.2

Road Smarts Cricut Crafts

Year 10 students took on the challenge of learning new skills with the school’s Cricut machine, creating intricate vinyl stickers to make personalised glassware as a thank-you gift for the Road Smarts sponsors. The project put their patience and precision to the test as they tackled the tricky task of weeding the tiny vinyl details. It was a fun and creative way to show their appreciation while picking up some new skills along the way!

We look forward to sharing a Road Smarts recap with the community next week!