Middle Years 

Year 7 Camp:

A Students Perspective

On the first day of camp my group did raft making in the pool. My group accidently used four wooden planks when we were meant to use three. So, the other team were allowed to use four and my teams raft kept on falling apart and we lost. We had free time in the pool. It was fun and was my favourite activity. 

We went on the giant swing. It was very thrilling. I also liked the muddy challenge course. I loved the food, it was delicious. My favourite meal was dessert, the chocolate cake with coconut was good but the absolute best thing I ate was the delicious chocolate mousse. It was light and airy and I was blown away. It was very hot at camp but I was happy I didn’t get sunburnt. 

Active activities included archery tag, mud run and canoeing. I loved archery tag. We had bows and arrows with padding and it was like dodgeball, if you were hit you got out. If you caught the arrow, one of your teammates could come back in. 

I loved the challenge course the most because it made me do something that I would not have done like making me swim in mud. It was fun going down the slide and getting muddy. I also loved the raft making and the giant swing because they were fun to do. It was good to get to know my peers and make stronger and new friendships with people.  

Year 7 Camp:

A Teachers Perspective

After just 8 days of high school, Year 7 students bravely ventured off to Mylor Baptist Camp for their first high school camp. After several years of interruptions and modifications, it was definitely nice to have a camp where the word ‘COVID’ was not mentioned once. Perhaps a good word to replace ‘COVID’ would be ‘heat’, however, it was incredibly pleasing to see the Year 7 students completing all activities without the heat hampering their enthusiasm and enjoyment.

The main theme of camp was meeting new people, and all Year 7 students had plenty of opportunities for this to occur. 

Camp was also an incredible opportunity to practice and discuss the four Endeavour Way values of: Love, Courage, Forgiveness and Hope. 

Love was in abundance as students stepped out of their comfort zones to meet new people and make more acquaintances. 

Courage was all around as students had a go at activities that often took them well beyond their comfort zones. 

Hope was ever present as staff hoped for a good night sleep, while students hoped for a decent meal at the end of each day. Fortunately, there was not too much need for Forgiveness required.

The Year 7 students should be very proud of their efforts while on camp. At the end of the camp everyone was quite tired and exhausted, but also thankful for the opportunity to try new things and meet new people. 

A special thanks to all staff for their efforts on camp, and also to our surprise guests who made a special appearance, Shrek and Princess Fiona! 

Congratulations also to the Spence Village for winning the Village Shield for Year 7 Camp.

Rod Dissel

Year 7 Year Level Leader

Leadership in Action

The 2023 Middle Years Village Leaders have hit the ground running. 

They have already participated in a training session, which introduced them to Endeavour’s pastoral objectives. Part of the day was spent planning how they could achieve the objective, 'we build positive relationships with Year 7s.'

The result? Each Village pair created an activity that they ran on Day 1 of the Year 7 camp. It was wonderful to see the student leaders ably supporting the Year 7s to break the ice with each other and start to build Village spirit. Their activities were thoughtful, well-planned, and extraordinarily successful. The Year 9s also assisted the campers by helping them to create Endeavour Way dorm agreements with their new dorm buddies. 

This is a powerful example of student leadership in action!

Louisa Mulligan

Director of Middle Years

Middle Years Leaders Training Session

Middle Years Leaders Year 7 Camp Involvement

Happy Families:

Transitioning into High School

See the PDF below for the latest insight from Happy Families, titled Transitioning into High School.

Dr Justin Coulson from Happy Families has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Wollongong, is an author of 6 books, co-host of Channel Nine’s Parental Guidance and also came to Endeavour last year to share his wisdom around anxiety in children.