12VCAL City Camp

The year 12 VCAL camp was not only a way for the VCAL class to meet outcomes but a great way to bond as a new year level.

We experienced many exciting and educational activities such as A Ghost Tour, Melbourne Museum, homeless walk, private dining and movie experience at Crown Casino, amazing race and learning to cook for ourselves.

To begin the camp, we started off with an amazing race experience that the students put together themselves. We created hints to get to various city locations and made up tasks to do once we arrived there such as taking a selfie or making a tiktok with the location in the back.

Our ghost tour was at the Old Melbourne Gaol. We had a spooky tour of the Gaol and learnt a lot about its history and past stories. One of the highlights from the tour experience was Cell 17, which was said to have left visitors very creeped out after standing in the room alone with the door closed. Some visitors, mostly women, even say that something tends to grab their shoulders or touch their hair. To finish off the frightening night we had a quick Maccas run before heading back to the hotel to sleep. 

On day two, our morning started with an eye opening experience called the homeless walk. We were taken on a tour around the city by an educational speaker who gave us an insight of what it is like to be homeless and the struggles that homeless people experience in Melbourne CBD. This links directly to the unit of work we were undertaking prior to the camp. We learnt the stories of specific homeless people and how they navigate through their day to day lives.

On our last night of the camp the students organised a private dining experience at Blue Train which was right alongside the Yarra River, followed by a private movie screening of Boss Level at Crown Casino. We were given a drink, popcorn and Choc top. This is a memory I think we will all cherish as it is something that feels very special and once in a lifetime. 

Throughout the camp the students were all allocated tasks to make breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone. Some of the meals that were made included burgers, sausages, kebabs, wraps and a self-serve breakfast of cereal and toast. This part of the outcomes helped us to understand budgeting, timing and preparation of food on a large scale. We were able to cater for all 40 members on the camp.

Overall, the camp was a memorable experience not only for the students but the teachers too. It was a great way for everyone to bond as a whole group and to experience things that a lot of us have never experienced before.

Anastasia Lambrou 12V & Nicole Mladenovska 12W