Year 10 Camp

After a two year hiatus, the long-awaited Year 10 Melbourne Experience made a triumphant return. The 5 day trip was packed with exciting exploits, flavoursome food and memorable moments. It was a great opportunity for the group to gain exposure to new cuisines, develop their metro navigation skills and realise new perspectives on how the day-to-day of city dwellers varies from those in Beaufort. 

On the train to Melbourne, students were met by the friendly face of John Franc, who was keen to make sure Ellie’s carriage conduct was cordial and concordant with the criteria of the coach. After arriving at Southern Cross Station, the group made their way to the accommodation, settled in and got ready for the first new experience - Teppanyaki!

Suspense was in the air at Ginza Teppanyaki as students huddled around the rectangular grills, awaiting the arrival of their chef for the evening. The evening's expectations were truly exceeded as the sit down meal quickly evolved into a circus show. Flames flew through the flue above as the food was set alight in dazzling displays of culinary craft! The boys (Bowen, Peter, Logan, Trai, Eric & Leon) were so blown away they each guzzled glass after glass of water. This eventually caught up with the boys at ten-pin bowling and laser force later in the evening. Noah Mclelland, Trai Drinkwater & Kaitlyn Schneider moved through the laser force with cunning agility - efforts to take them out were futile. With laughter and excitement in the air, a joyous first day came to a close. 

Day two started with the Amazing Race! Finding and photographing 20 landmarks in two hours posed no easy task. The places downtown to get around ranged from Crown and all the way down to Chinatown. Noah Mclelland, Fletcher Holz and Tarkyn Lee managed a mighty 11 landmarks - closely followed by Matt Oliver, Alex Holm, Ellie Franc and Tianna Blake with ten landmarks. Students navigated their way back to the corner of Bourke and Russell in preparation for the next activity.

The next activity was a virtual reality escape room at Entermission. Everyone put on their VR goggles, akin to the 2010 movie ‘Inception’, entered the mind of a deranged and comatose criminal. Their task was to reconnect his memories, connect the clues and solve the crime before his mind collapsed, with them in it! Reagan Fulford shrieked when attacked by astronomical arachnids with human heads, but Scarlett Vandeberg focused the frantic to fathom the felon’s offences and resolve the riddle. However, the most efficient team went to Tarkyn Lee, Fletcher Holz, Noah Mclelland, Mr de Zoete and Mr McClure. 

The day ended at Bounce, where everyone displayed their best tumbles, twists and turns on the trampolines. Logan Sandlant learned how to backflip, Dallas Smart dodged dodgeballs, Leon Damalas leaped on to the ledges and Siena Grant somersaulted through the air.

Day three started with Mr Schier joining the group for the day, where we began at the Shrine of Remembrance. Students heard stories of Simpson and his donkey, John Monash and many of the heroes who have served and those that lost their lives during wartime. Students conducted themselves with the utmost respect and courtesy. The day continued with a cruise along the Yarra River, accompanied by some expert commentary from the Captain of the ship. He gripped the audience with stories of Melbourne’s history; the good, the bad and the ugly.  

Afterwards, Bowen Corbett assumed the role of tour guide, taking a guerilla group of grubby eaters to grab the greatest grub on the go - a world-class HSP (Halal Snack Pack) from Southern Xross Kebabs. No-one enjoyed it more than Peter Peter HSP Eater, who was greeted by the treats left by those who could not defeat the sauce, chips, cheese and meat.

Later in the night, excitement filled the air. The group was heading to see Harry Potter and The Cursed Child!  Students were dressed to the nines, the previously mentioned boys were dressed in unison and Noah Mclelland starred in the tuxedo he had been hyping up all week. The students were all spellbound by the show!

Day four saw the students visit The Big Issue, where they gained a new perspective on what it means to be homeless. They learnt about the range of factors that can lead someone to be in that situation and were shown how The Big Issue aims to address these issues. The day ended at Witches in Britches, where students were treated to a live show and a meal. 

By day five, students were ready to catch the V/Line back to Beaufort and reunite with friends and family. On their way home, everyone reflected on the camp and what they had learned. All students agreed that their navigation skills had drastically improved (maybe not Mr. McClure’s). Students voted Riley Burrill as best-on-camp, showing great leadership amongst his friends and kindness to all those he was around.

Well done to all students for their upstanding behaviour, you were a credit to the school.