Year 7 Camp - Lady Northcote

Timothy Roach

Year 7 Coordinator

The Year 7 Camp is a fabulous opportunity for the community of staff and students to spend time together  - far from classrooms, homework, uniform checks and tests! This year’s camp was a great success – all the students (and some of the staff) stepped up to challenge themselves at new activities, both individually and as part of team activities. Along with this,  they consistently and loudly supported each other along the way, while in quieter moments they chose to spend quality social time in smaller groups and pairs.  No matter what they were up to, the positive attitude and enthusiasm was always evident!

Check out the fabulous photos in the  gallery below - click to enlarge them.

Sarah Fishlock

Integration Aide

I have never  before attended a Year 7 camp (even at my own high school) and I signed up knowing that this would be a valuable opportunity to not only get to know students but also to engage in some fun activities that I have never before experienced!

Little did I know the challenges that I would face... stepping off a giant pole off with no more than a harness to save me (Leap of Faith), being raised via a rope and then released without mercy (Giant Swing), plunging headfirst into a forest on two wheels (Introduction to BMX Riding)!

Needless to say, the students were far braver than I and they watched on with delight as I squealed my way from one activity to the next.

Thank you to all  the Year 7 students, Tim Roach (Year 7 Coordinaotr) and all the wonderful teachers who made this camp possible -  they were so enthusiastic and such great company. 

I made new friends, challenged myself and learned a lot... I had a ball! 

Mila Clark

Home Group 7R

I don’t think that I was the only Year 7 counting the sleeps left on their calendar in wait for the day that they would head off to Lady Northcote recreation Camp. Raft building, high ropes and archery were just some of the awesome activities the Year 7s (and teachers!) got to participate in. Some of us laughed, some of us cried and we all ate too much dessert (or was that just me?) 

Even though camp was fun, I think that we were all happy to be reunited with our families… and wi-fi!

Charlie Fredrickson, Home Group 7N

School camp – where we got to get away from school and get to know our Year 7 collective. 

We did awesome activities like the Giant Swing, high ropes, low ropes, canoeing, archery and more - but my absolute favourite was biking.

We explored the camp on bike - sometimes we would go on paths, and sometimes we would make our own paths through the forest over rocks, around trees and past people. It was super fun!  It really depended on where the road took you and that’s why I liked it so much.

Velvet Bath, 7S

Year 7 Camp was amazing! I enjoyed all the activities! My favourite was the Giant Swing, where you were harnessed to a rope and the whole class had to pull you up 18m into the sky and then you would pull a cord and off you went! Going so fast all you could hear was the air rushing past you, like ginormous gusts of wind! I also really liked mountain biking and raft building, because both challenged me to reach my full potential and strive to go further! Plus, I made so many happy memories I will always remember, like when I fell into the river, or when I did an obstacle course high in the air! I can’t wait to see what Year 8 camp brings as this year’s camp experience was probably the best camp I have ever been to!

Matthew Threlfall

Home Group 7W

Year 7 Camp was fun. Some of the activities we participated in were archery, raft building, low rope and high ropes course and giant swing. My favourite activity was the giant swing. Your activity group pulled you up to the top and you got a good view of the camp. But the best was still yet to come. When you pulled the black cord, you could hear the wind whistling past you as you swung through the air. It was so much fun.

Millie McMonagle, 7C

Year 7 Camp was full of fun, social, exciting activities, but the one that really stood out the most for me was the Leap of Faith. 

In this activity, the activity groups were combined and split into two groups, one being if you wanted to do the high ropes course and the other for the people who wanted to do the Leap of Faith. The majority of the group chose the high ropes course, but not me. No, I chose to willingly jump off a really tall (I think about sixteen-metre-high) pole, just to hit a big red ball. 

Don’t worry, I was wearing a harness!

Camp was really fun! I had a great time and I’m really glad I got the chance to go and bond with my fellow Year 7 students

India Pappas, 7U

The standout activity for me was raft building. In this activity we were put into groups and had to build a raft that could hold up to 12 people. I really enjoyed watching everyone contribute ideas into the group so that we could make the best raft possible. Each team had a 30-minute time period to build their raft, and once the time was up we put them to the test. When in the water I thought that my raft would stay afloat but it all went a pear-shaped! A barrel flung out from underneath the raft which meant the whole thing fell apart in a matter of seconds. Even though the raft didn’t float for long I still had loads of fun with my group and really enjoyed the activity. 

Hendrix Gauci, 7B

The first night of camp was activity night, and I chose to put my knowledge up to the [Trivia] test. Groups were starting to form and there tension because every group wanted to win. In every group there were book and movie enthusiasts, geographers and experts in every other category you could possibly think of. 

We didn’t quite know what sort of questions there would be – would they be about the current political climate, or comic books and movies, music, or Brunswick geography? [The quiz ] ended up containing all of them! At the end of each round the scores would go up on the board, and there was either a massive cheer or a big grunt – there were definitely mixed emotions.

At the end of the quiz, there was nervousness all around the room and once the final results came in the winning team just jumped and cheered so loud you could probably hear it 3 kilometres away! The Macarena played, and people started to dance, and then Blinding Lights by The Weeknd came on and everyone else joined in, so it was a very fun and exciting night.

Hamish O’Halloran, 7K

2021 - Year 7 camp was by far one of my favorite school camps. My friends and I had a really good time together and all the activities were super fun. On the first night of camp, we had free time before we had to go into the cabins and everyone was doing different activities – my favourite was the Gaga pit. 

Gaga-Ball is a really fun game, and me and some of the other kids in our cabin were playing. Everyone is inside an 8-sided stall, and you have to hit a ball with your hand to hit other people’s legs and it is a last person standing - a game similar to dodgeball. It was a really good bonding experience from me and some of the other people in my cabin, it was a blast!

 I cannot wait for Year 8 camp - it will be so much fun!