Year 5 Camp

SOVEREIGN HILL REPORT

The 28th of April was a day you could very well remember for the rest of your life. For many in Grade 5, it was the first and most spectacular camp they have experienced....

The morning we departed, the Grade 5 pupils’ hearts were thumping as they were about to embark on a new and dazzling adventure. 

We arrived at Sovereign Hill at roughly half past ten, relieved and excited that the 2-hour journey had finally ended (partly because some of us were bus-sick).  The Grade 5s were then split into separate groups (our classes), but at the end we all completed the same activities. 

First, we went underground into the Red Hill mine to learn about the 'Welcome Stranger' nugget found near Moliagul in Central Victoria, long after the initial rushes. Then, in our valuable free time, we went to the gold panning creek, expecting to find loads of gold, but most of us were unlucky, as we only found specks, if any gold at all. 

Thirdly, we went to an Education Session, when a man, insisting we called him “Sir”, taught us lots about both the horrible and interesting parts of history. As the man quoted, “History is a great place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live in it." In the interval between the education session and the Gold Pour, we were allowed 10-20 minutes of shopping at the vintage shops. Most of us spent our money on the delicious lollies.  And last, but certainly not the least, we went to watch one of the goldsmiths of the Sovereign Hill Quartz Mining Company (SQMC). The gold pour was entertaining, as well as knowledge-filled. He melted down gold into 22- Karat gold bars, also explaining to us what Karat means. We asked questions regarding the goldsmith’s work and why he chose to be a goldsmith. 

 After that, we were sent on the bus, and, after a long 20-minute drive, we arrived at the camp with the friendliest staff ever, Log Cabin Camp. 

It was the grade five’s first camp experience. At camp there were 8 cabins. The food at camp was extremely delicious. There were 4 different activities. All of them were so much fun. At camp there was time with friends, it developed our independence because we were away from our family. 

 On the second day, we did three out of the four activities, made damper which was delicious and we made billy tea. The activities were the zip line, archery, milk crate stacking and the commando course.  

Zipline - On the zipline, we strapped on our harnesses and helmets then we clipped the harness onto the wire and went shooting down the line. Some people threw a ball to each other while going down and the record for how many passes was 32. 

Archery - In archery, we all took turns having 4 shots at a target, but sadly no one hit the bullseye. 

Milk Crate Stacking - In milk crate stacking, there were two teams, red team and yellow team. In each team, for one round, there was one climber 4 pullers and the rest were helpers. The climbers would put on a harness and be clipped onto a rope while the pullers would pull the rope to lift the climber up. The helpers would create a stack of milk crates for the climber to stand on and the winner would be the team with the most milk crates stacked in a certain amount of time. 

Commando course - In the commando course, we had to do lots of obstacles such as the tyre wall climbing, balance beam and much more. 

Also, during the second day, we visited an island on the lake. During the days at camp we sometimes had free time. In our free time, we could do many things such as going on the trampolines, playing basketball or 2 square on the asphalt or playing volleyball. After breakfast there was usually free time and we could feed the animals. The animals that were there were ponies, ducks and goats.  

Then on the third day, we did our last activity, had lunch and were back to school.  Overall the camp was a fantastic experience! 

We would like to thank the Year 5 teachers for organising and attending the camp, looking after us and making sure we were having fun. Thank you to Mrs. Houghton, Mrs. Baker and Miss Hodgson for attending the camp and supporting us. Thank you also to Amanda, who came with us, too, and made sure we were all feeling very safe and well!

Finally, thank you to the Log Cabin Camp staff - they were amazing... Thank you Grant (the manager of the camp). Thank you to the really nice and helpful Tegan and Aidan, who were brilliant instructors. They helped us to feel comfortable, but also to challenge ourselves during the activities. Thanks also to Louie, who made our brekkies really delicious and enjoyable!!!