Year 8 Camp

Claire Wright, Year 8

Year 8 Camp was a fun experience, and time to connect with peers. I think a crowd favourite, (my personal favourite) was the stand up paddle boarding. This was an extremely fun activity to participate in and have fun. The Halls staff members also made this activity and the whole of camp so much more enjoyable. I definitely miss our camp leader from Halls, as he was very funny and always made us laugh. The other activities were also super fun, teaching us different collaborative skills to helps us in our years to come. After the first day, nearly every girl had their hair braided or were on ‘the waiting list’ to get it done the next day. This was a great way for us all to connect and meet new people we hadn’t yet met. I think everyone had so much fun on Year 8 Camp and enjoyed it a lot! 

Alby Dunbar, Year 8.

A personal highlight from Year 8 Camp was participating in the sailing, stand-up paddle boarding and hiking. These activities stood out to me because they all involved an element of teamwork and working together to learn something new. The experience of sailing was fun because I had never sailed before. I also enjoyed the group sailing games we played, and the cooperation needed with my partner to ensure that we were working in unison. I especially enjoyed the stand-up paddle boarding as we got to witness the beautiful swamp while having fun and trying to push each other off the board. Overall, the hiking was my favourite because we got to walk through a majestic beach forest, and later played on the beach where we ate a delicious lunch.  

Mason Hancock, Year 8 

I loved stand-up paddle boarding at Year 8 Camp because it was a quite relaxing and fun experience. It was nice to board over the calm water and play fun games. Despite the water being a little chilly, I still found it enjoyable to go in and play games with my friends. I also really enjoyed the hiking because of the picturesque views, sights and the feeling of walking on the sand.  

 Andrew Kakoschke, Year 8 

My favourite activity from Year 8 Camp was the stand-up paddle boarding activity. Since it was our first activity of the day the water was quite cold, but the group persevered and had a great time. I loved being out on the lake and learning to perfect my paddle boarding skills and balance. Another activity I liked on camp was the solo on the beach. I used this time to reflect on my week away from home and how the future might look for me. I loved this time of reflection as it helped me to tap into my emotions and thoughts. 

Jake Vasiliou , Year 8 

The sailing at Year 8 Camp was definitely a favourite activity of mine. I had never sailed before in my life, so it was very confronting when I initially saw the sail boats. In the end, sailing turned out to be quite easy. The steering was simple and so was captaining the boat whilst holding onto the rope. It was extremely fun when we caught tons of wind, as our sailboat started flying and picking up some speed. We played many games on the water, one of which involved the teachers throwing a ball into the water and us having to steer our sailboat next to it, pick it up, and throw it into the teachers’ boat. It was also great because if we did get it in the teacher’s boat, we got a chocolate prize. 

Georgia Birney, Year 8

A personal highlight from Year 8 Camp was the stand up paddleboarding. This was my favourite because initially I found it very peaceful, just floating on the water and watching the sunshine reflect off it. But that was only until we all started flipping each other’s boards and falling in the water. I ended up getting flipped and I was on my board shivering for the rest of our session. Even though the water was absolutely freezing it was really fun connecting with new people in my group and having fun with each other. I also won the World Domination game and ended up turning everyone into Team Greece. Another highlight for me was the sailing because it was a new activity which I had never tried before, and it ended up being so fun. Josie and I were on a sailboat together. We struggled to get started but thanks to some pivotal advice from Mr Shallcross, we ended up catching the wind and flying across the water (except for one time where we made a mistake which resulted in me basically sitting on the water and nearly going overboard). Overall, camp has been my highlight for Semester 1, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience these activities, which I am sure I will remember forever.   

 Emily Brunton, Year 8

Camping in the tents at Year 8 Camp was so fun. I really enjoyed the Thursday where we had a 2-hour solo on the beach with a nice view. During this time, I caught up on some rest, reflected on everything I’m grateful for and thought about my dreams and hopes for the future. I took in the nice view of the black swans and clear water. I took in the sounds of the water touching the shore, the trees swaying in the wind and the birds chirping to themselves. Later during the day, we walk around 2km to the beach where all the other groups were hanging out. Before we walked down to the water, we ate wraps for lunch and then walked down to visit everyone else. Hanging by the beach with all my friends was by far a highlight. In terms of time spent in the cabins I enjoyed the sailing. It was really fun and I learnt a lot of new things.    

Molly Grace, Year 8   

Stand-up paddle boarding was a big highlight for my Year 8 Camp experience. I thought I wouldn’t like it because of the colour of the water, but it turned out to be lots of fun. My group paddled around the lake for a little bit and then we played a game where we had to try to push other people into the water with our paddle. I got pushed in twice and the water was freezing. Another highlight from camp was the solo. My group went into a bush area, and I found my spot and just slept the whole 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was really nice just to have some downtime and relax after a hard day of hiking. It was so peaceful that you could hear all the birds and the trees rustling. There was no noise, just calm silence.