YEAR 7 CAMP  

Year 7 Camp 2021

We embarked on an incredible adventure with our largest Year 7 cohort in many years. Our destination? The Summit – a respected destination for camping in Victoria that caters for a wide range of opportunities for school students all the way to work retreats. We had the whole place to ourselves and we were able to focus on the main goal of camp – to have the students build relationships in their first year of high school. The students were incredible, showing significant resilience from overcoming challenges such as fear of heights and being on a camp for the first time. 

The staff commend the students on their great demonstrations of maturity and teamwork, especially during the fabled “Monster Run” (more accurately dubbed the “Mud” run.) 

Below, two of our students have provided their report of the events and activities of camp as well as lessons learned during camp

William Lawson - Year 7 Leadership

The Summit 

I think that this goes for the entirety of Year 7 when I say that our stay at The Summit was an amazing experience that we will never forget. We all had the best time participating in the array of different activities they have to offer including the tallest giant swing in Victoria, a flying fox, abseiling, a highwire, laser tag, an obstacle course called the snowy river challenge, a mud run and so much more. The mud run was by far my favourite activity, the giant swing being the close second.  

We stayed in both cabins and tents, most boys staying in the cabin and girls staying in the tents. I myself slept in a tent and they were quite nice, with wooden flooring and bunk beds for us to sleep in.  

All of the Year 7’s were split into 13 groups. These groups were called tribes and were what we did our activities in. Each group got to choose their team names and they competed in several of the activities to see who can get the most points. My team didn’t end up coming in the top three for any of these activities but even though we didn’t win it was still a blast. 

The Summit had five main keys. Have fun, play all in, get comfortable being uncomfortable, don’t go home wondering what if and make lots of mistakes. We were told to try and follow them as best as we could in life. Another thing The Summit taught us was that even if we are scared, we still should go for it. A method to help us accomplish this is setting a target (what you are going to aim for), stretch (If you reach your target you can choose to go a bit further) and a super stretch (If you achieve your stretch). I think these helped a lot of people during camp who might have feared heights. The Summit had amazing advice for people who might have been scared to do one of the activities. This is another reason why this camp would be memorable to most. 

Another benefit of the time away at camp were the friendships that were made. The Summit was a great opportunity to meet other students and teachers. In most activities there was always someone who needed help in some way, and this allowed others to talk and work together whilst trying to help them create new friendships. Camp also helped tighten the bonds between already established friendships. 

Overall, we all had so much fun at The Summit. It was truly an awesome adventure that we all enjoyed. 

 Avalee Curry 7C

The Summit

Stepping off that bus into the dusty parking lot, the energy, the excitement of 200 weary kids ready to stretch their legs, the rush for the top bunk. All the thrills of camp. 

I felt like I got a great cabin, the notable scene of trouble for the teachers, cabin No.3. My cabin consisted of quite a few things, a toilet and shower for one, a verandah and 14 boys. I met so many awesome kids in that cabin, we talked, and we laughed all night long. Much to the dismay of the teachers. What can I say, boys will be boys. 

There were a lot of great moments at camp, but if I had to isolate a few they would go like this: 

No.1 A chubby possum sneaks into our room in the night and knocks the bin over. 

No.2 Giant swing, the euphoria and adrenalin that came with it. 

No.3 The mud run; a squelchy barb wire filled pool of fun.  

I’ve learned a lot on this year’s camp, not just about my friends and mates, but about myself. I always fully commit myself to my work and wellbeing, but this camp proved not just to me, but to my peers and friends just how tough life can be. I set very high standards for myself, and as such I fully expected to do all the activities to my fullest. But I never realised how hard they could be. Seeing myself and those around me try their very best. And even get their new shoes muddy was just so good to see. 

Hunter Richardson