Camps - Current & Future

Grade 5/6 Canberra Camp

Last week 98 Senior School students and 11 staff travelled up to Canberra for a week of fun and learning in our Bush Capital. It was an incredibly busy week, with 12 hours of exploring scheduled for each day. We got to visit National Gallery, National Museum, National Botanic Gardens, the War Memorial and AIS just to name a few! We also enjoyed experiences that are not typically available to the public, such as visiting the Governor General's house and role plays at both Old and New Parliament House that helped us understand preferential voting and our different levels of government. To offer a change in pace, we also enjoyed activities such as rock climbing or playing laser tag - some of our students now know how to play Dance Dance Revolution! 

Thank you to the students for your impeccable behaviour; the school staff who attended camp were blown away by the fantastic behaviour of our students throughout the week. We received compliments from virtually every tour guide we interacted with and felt incredibly proud to be connected to your children. 

We love these opportunities to see students outside the school environment and to connect with them on a different level, but this was the last camp where teachers' time is unpaid. So we want to extend a big thank you to the staff who attended the camp. You volunteered a huge number of hours to help this camp go ahead, sacrificing time with your families and loved ones. 

Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. 

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $45.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion, which has made this excellent educational experience something that is accessible for all our families. We hope to be able to continue to offer this program in the future.

Future Camps

Many of you would be aware from our newsletters and other news platforms, that the new Victorian Government Schools Agreement (VGSA) provides time in lieu for staff who work in excess of their scheduled hours each week. While we are most pleased to have this time recognised, this change has ripple effects for schools across the state, particularly for school camps.

An update to the parent payment policy this year indicates that schools are unable to charge families for the costs incurred by time in lieu. As there is no funding provided to schools for time in lieu, we do not see an avenue for government schools to continue providing a camp program to students.

For BNWPS, like many schools, this is an incredible shame. We highly value camps and everything they provide our students academically, physically and emotionally and have worked very hard to develop a camp program that supports the development of our students from grades 1-6. It will be an incredible shame to have that program end.

As camps need to be booked in advance, we are letting our families know that it is highly unlikely that we will hold any camps in 2023. As all schools are in the same situation, we hope there will be updates from the Department of Education to have more positive news for you all over coming months.