Assistant Principal Report Junior School 

Year 7 Camp

From Monday 29th of July to Friday 2nd August, 172 Year 7 students made their way to PGL Campaspe Downs for their Year 7 Camp. Despite the fresh weather, especially in the early mornings, students all had a fantastic time. The behaviour of the cohort on the camp was fantastic, making it a pleasure for the staff to supervise.

I would like to thank the Year 7 Leadership team and all of the staff that went on the camp for their work and effort not only whilst on the camp, but in the preparation for the camps also.

Student account 1.

Campaspe Downs camp had many enjoyable activities and included some great ideas for night time activities ran by the teachers. My favourite activity out of everything was the Bush Walking with Mr Mac, closely followed by Aero Ball and Rock Climbing. The activities were great, I just wish we didn’t have to wait in line as much as we did for others to complete the activities so we could have done more.

The food was surprisingly good, with only one meal that I didn’t really enjoy, but overall I would give the food 7 out of 10.

I wish my group had the opportunity to do water activities (even though it was cold) and the flying fox. Despite this I really enjoyed the camp and would be more than happy to go there again! 

Hunter Cooke 

Student account 2.

When we went to camp it was sunny, the sky was clear and sparkling. When we arrived at the camp we ate lunch then quickly found out our cabin and activity groups. I had friends in both, which was good.

The first activity I did was the Ginat Swing, which was the scariest, but best activity of them all. I went on the Giant Swing with Scarlett, and we went to the very top. I’m not a big fan of heights, but I did it! I screamed a lot, but I was very proud that I overcame my fear. We did Laser Tag next, which was a lot of fun.

For dinner on the first night we had Honey Soy Chicken and Fried rice. It wasn’t amazing, but it was pretty good considering it was camp food.

At 6:00 PM we all sat at the campfire toasting marshmallows then went and played some games in the gym. At roughly 9:00 PM we went on a long night walk, which was the most fun, as my friends and I were full of energy and excitement.

After the Night walk we returned to our cabins where we remained for the night. It was hard to get to sleep as we were so excited about being on camp.

On day two my activity group participated in:

• Rock climbing 
• Abseiling 
• Aero ball 
• Catapult making

Of the day two activities I enjoyed abseiling the most, because it was another chance to face my fear of heights and once I started I found it really fun!

On night two we undertook a trivia competition which was organised by Mr Loxham and Miss Payne. Although we didn’t place, my group thought the trivia was great as it had a wide variety of questions including “How many tim-tams would need to be stacked in order to reach the height of Miss Payne”.

On day three my group undertook the Initiatives Course and the Leap of Faith, before eating lunch and boarding the bus to come back to Parkdale.

My friends and I had a great time at camp and can’t wait for the Year 9 camp in a few years time.

Halle Clark

An amazing opportunity for 2025 Year 9 students 

Parkdale Secondary College have been extremely lucky in securing 5 places for 2025 students to attend the School for Student Leadership for Term 1 2025. The school for Student leadership (sometimes known as the Alpine School) is a Government school located in Dinner Plain, where students live for 9 weeks, whilst undertaking amazing learning opportunities based around leadership, personal growth and community engagement and improvement.

The opportunity was introduced to the Year 9 Cohort on Tuesday 20th August and for any students that are interested in applying, their application must be submitted between Wednesday 28th August and Friday the 13th of September. More information about the application process will be shared in the upcoming Year 8 Assembly.

For more information about this opportunity please visit www.alpineschool.vic.edu.au and check you Compass Newsfeeds.