Year 7

Had an absolutely fantastic time away, getting to know more about each other.

Year 8

Camp was fun!

We braved three days of intrusive goannas, chafing, rain, sunburn and extremely thin bedding. It was all worth it though, for surfing, tubing and bush survival skills. Our days began early with learn to surf lessons, followed by free time, ghost crabbing and finally, devotions. Our memories of camp will be of cold showers, Mr. Warner’s bad camp jokes, giant inflatable surfboards and pancake and damper cook-offs (some done well, some done a little too well).

A big thank you to The Endless Summer Surf School, Mr Warner, Mr Donaldson, Mrs Attard, Mrs Boots and Ms Amber.

From the students of Year 8

Whilst on camp we did many fun things but I want to start this right at the beginning. In the morning on the first day we arrived at school and put our bags in C3. Soon after we were getting ready to get on the bus. When getting on the bus we were partnered with a bus buddy and that was who was staying in my tent. Once on the bus it was a quiet trip for me and my partner. When we arrived at the camp we sat down with everyone and were shown how to setup our tent. After me and Ethan got our tent and started to set it up near the middle of the area where we could set up. Ethan and I quickly setup out tent and could put our stuff in the tent. After everyone had setup their tent it was then time for lunch. We had sausage sandwiches, after lunch we split into 2 groups B and M. Group M went surfing first and B went on a Survival Walk seeming as I’m in B I went on a survival walk first. We started off walking on the beach then we went behind some rocks. We were talking about things you can use to survive if you got stranded on an island. I learnt a lot of things and one was you can eat a plant. I’m not sure of the name of the plant but it was sharp and at its roots you could eat and it tasted like snow peas. After that we walked a little longer along the beach and were looking at more things to use and survive with. After the Survival Walk it was time to surf. I however don’t like the beach and didn’t surf so I went walking up the beach a few kilometres and saw some interesting things. I saw I tiny fish and a jelly fish. I then started to walk back and didn’t see much. After that we had free time and did whatever we want so I played cricket. After I finished playing cricket we started to make pancakes. I however made mine a little runny after making them I ate them and that was it for the day until dinner. At dinner we had burgers. soon after dinner we went crab hunting on the beach and did crab races. After that was bed (I didn’t sleep well because of my sunburn). On the second day we woke up and had breakfast it was cereal or sausages I had sausages. After that it was time to go hang out on the beach. I spent most of the day in the shade because of my sunburn. Later the teachers said to me I was going home because my sunburn was so bad. The rest of the day was spent on the beach and talking to friends. Just before I went I got to cook damper with George, then I left for home. I slept most of the way home.

Sampson Day

Year 9

It the sites of Sydney and were very busy!!

Year 10

I had a great time at camp.

We did lots of fun activities such as rock climbing, archery and abseiling.

It was a great opportunity for us to try new things and challenge ourselves, and we also learned more about God and each other.

Eleanor Ovey

“Camp was great last week! Our staff had an absolutely wonderful time with your students. The students personally thanked our staff for teaching them new skills and activities and were a pleasure to spend time with. Our staff also really appreciate working alongside your teachers as it is clear how invested they are in the students and the whole camp experience. Please pass on our sincere thanks to everyone for a great camp.”

Youthworks Outdoor Camp

Springwood, Blue Mountains

Seniors

On Wednesday last week all of the senior students set off to Camp Elim at Forster for our

‘2018 HSC Preparation Camp’. Although it sounds daunting, with the help of ‘Elevate

Education’ and our teachers, the seminars held over the three days were engaging

and gave us practical strategies on how to learn and study productively. ‘Elevated Education’

taught Year 12 how to ace our exams and the most productive ways to memorise our notes. We

also learned how to deal with the stress of the HSC and how to balance work and school life.

During our down time we canoed on the beautiful lake by Camp Elim and also took turns

going on the huge blow up waterslide that the camp also had to offer. Although we always learn a lot

from these camps, the time we spent during our down time are also very memorable moments,

especially for Mr Day who always seems to enjoy capsizing our canoes every year without fail.

Also during our down time we went on a beach walk organised by Mrs Rorison, played basketball

and ping pong.

This year the camp has not only assisted me, but also the majority of my class mates in optimising our

study times and learning in the most productive ways possible to study and get ahead. The most important thing I’ve learnt is that as long as you break down your study and allocate specific times for each subjects, the work load is much more manageable and I will be able to achieve my set goals.

I’d like to thank all the attending staff, Mr Day, Mr English, Mrs Duffy, Mrs Burns, Mr Grant, Miss Rorison and Mrs Wallis, for giving up their time to enable us to enjoy our camp. I would also like to thank them

for encouraging and mentoring us not only during camp but consistently throughout the school

year.

Annie Duffin

Senior Student

Senior students feedback...

Here are some of the comments made by our senior students on camp when asked the following questions…

What was the most important thing you learned today?

How to make study easier by highlighting and making long notes into key words
How to motivate myself
I learnt to use my time appropriately by doing my time management
How to prevent procrastination and how to effectively get study/ work done
Heaps – study groups, time management, setting goals
To know what sort of studying we should be doing before exams and how far out, eg. Last week before exam should be just doing practice papers

How would you rate the overall program?

Helpful for students to learn about how to study and put time into studying
Extremely inspiring and useful
Overall the program made me learn a lot about the upcoming years of schooling and how to overcome difficult situations – learnt a lot
10/10. It was fun, funny, insightful and extremely well informed. It really helped me get my head around things
Pretty good and really helpful
The program overall was really helpful and useful
10/10 I got a lot out of this program – more than I thought I would
Pretty useful learning new techniques for studying
10/10 very relatable and easy to apply
10/10, I found it very helpful and every talk was well presented and engaging. All the information was easy to understand and take on board
Easy to understand and kept our attention to what was being said 10/10
Would say it was helpful. The time management talk was just what I needed
Amazing! Helps with new tips and tricks. It was interesting and well involved
Amazing, really helped with studying better. Having a younger person present it felt more relatable
10/10 it was so great, for once I actually enjoyed sitting for an hour and listening to a talk
10/10, I got a lot out of this program. I definitely know I’ll be using most of these methods
10/10. It was heaps good, I learnt heaps and it wasn’t boring sitting and listening
Probably a 9/10. Found it very helpful and interesting
It’s a great program cause the presenter gets the audience involved. It changes my perspective on studying and how it is done properly you can save time
I would give it a good rating because I first thought I wouldn’t enjoy it a lot but after doing it I really found it great and very helpful 10/10

Year 12 Graduation

The Formal, Year 12 2017