Hey Camp

Our Year 9/10 students in the Hey class took their turn for a camp in the first half of last week.  It was relatively quick but plenty of activity was jammed into their three days in Melbourne.

After a very early start leaving Mildura on the Monday morning we arrived in time for our booking at the Icehouse.  We strapped on the skates and after a quick lesson they let us loose on the ice.  Not many of us had skated before so loose is a pretty good way to describe us.  Many were quick to pick it up though and were soon charging around at speed - though we left the pirouettes to others.

From there we jumped into some 3D artwork (literally) at Artvo before heading to our accommodation in the heart of the CBD.  It was a magnificent spring evening in Melbourne at this stage, so after checking in and having some dinner we walked along the river to our next destination - the Melbourne Skydeck.  It really was a gorgeous Melbourne evening looking out over the You Yangs as the sun set in the west.  At the same time, a magnificent full moon was rising in the east over the Dandenong Ranges - a spectacular sight from near the top of Melbourne's tallest building.

The following day we visited some of Melbourne's graffiti art laneways, the National Sports Museum, the botanic gardens, a virtual reality escape room and the Melbourne Museum.  That evening we had the really special treat of a visit to Her Majesty's Theatre to see the musical Hamilton.  I think our students went into the theatre with pretty low expectations but walked out buzzing.  It was brilliant.

The weather turned rather wet on our last day in Melbourne, but we still had plenty of fun competing in an Amazing Race around Melbourne's CBD.  Students had three hours to complete as many challenges and answer as many questions about important places and historical sites around the CBD.  They caught trams and walked all over the place.  Starting at our accommodation in Collins Street, the City Discovery activity saw them go to Southbank, Parliament House, China Town, Bourke St Mall, Treasury Gardens, and the Queen Victoria Building and more before finishing up at the State Library.  In the end, Pink team won by the barest of margins.  This team was made up of Anabelle Hawcroft, Katie Doolan, Gordon Valente and captained by Toby Deroon.

Even though the trip was quite short, it was filled with many activities - some of them quite expensive. Combined with our super comfy coach service to and from Melbourne, the cost per student was in excess of $1300.  Such a trip would not have been possible without financial assistance from the Vic government's Positive Start Program.  We're so glad that our students who have had the highly valuable experience of camps taken away from them in the last couple of years, have been able to participate once again.