Junior School

Year 7 Camp

On Wednesday the 6th of November, 46 excited Year Seven students and four dedicated staff members met at the front of the school eager to begin our annual camp adventure. This year we were lucky enough to secure a place at the Anglesea Recreation Camp, a large and well equipped facility in a beautiful beach-side location.

Miss Jackson carefully negotiated the maiden voyage of our lovely new twelve-seater school bus and thankfully returned it in the pristine condition that was expected.

We arrived in Anglesea just after 12pm and had just enough time to settle into cabins, tour the impressive facilities of the camp grounds, eat some lunch and walk down to the beach for our surfing lesson.   

Local company; Go Ride A Wave were waiting for us with everything we’d need to hone our surfing skills and under the expert guidance of the instructors, even the wobbliest of attempts were eventually successful.

Following a full afternoon of sandy frivolities, we headed back to camp and enjoyed each other’s company during the evening meal.

The following morning brought with it less than favourable weather conditions. Determined not to let this unfortunate precipitation dampen our spirits, each activity group headed off for a full day of rotations, including: Giant Swing, Hut Building, GaGa, Volleyball and Canoeing.

We ducked for cover when the heavens opened and took full advantage when the weather eased and although some groups returned from canoeing a little wetter than planned, the conversations were full of laughter and tales of adventures.

For our last night we decided to attempt a talent show and whilst some students performed with passion and wit, others preferred to support their peers from the sidelines. With the performances concluded and everyone feeling a little weary after the day’s activities, we settled down to watch Monsters, Inc before heading off to bed.

A slight change of plans to accommodate the weather for our last sessions saw each group challenging themselves with the Crate-Climb, enjoying the boardwalk to the beach and collaborating with their teammates to solve the initiative games. It was brilliant to see so many students face their fears with the wobbly trials of the Crate-Climb and successfully stand upon their creation, to the cheering delight of their peers.

Full to the brim with stories, strengthened friendships and amazing experiences, we quickly ate some lunch and boarded the buses to head for home.

We are extremely thankful to all those at the Anglesea Recreation Camp and to the Healesville High School staff, who volunteer their time to make these experiences possible.