Year 7

Jenny-May Wilson

Year 7 Year Level Leader

Year 7 Camp 2020

The Year 7 students travelled to Camp Marysville for their annual camp on the 10 - 12 February. On the first day, we participated in a walk under blue skies and visited the museum to learn about the Black Saturday Fires.  Learning about environment as we walked, visiting Stevenson’s falls and even seeing and hearing some Kookaburras’ was a great start to the trip. The next day the students worked in activity groups divided according to homerooms. This was the first opportunity students have had to work with students in their homeroom who are all in the same year level. It was an ideal opportunity for the students to come together and share experiences within their new homeroom friendships.

The students engaged in mountain biking, bush building skills, rock wall climbing, initiative activities and problem solving, grow it and cook it from the camp vegetable garden and canoeing. We also learnt about the importance of sustainability and recycling. There was plenty of opportunity for team building through both physical and strategic problem solving. The focus of the camp is to build relationships through shared experiences. The activities are set up to create discussion through shared planning and then to encourage both individual and group reflection at the conclusion of the activity. All the students worked together and so they become responsible to each other for either the success or challenge of many of the activities. Camp is extremely important in teaching our students to have the courage to try new things and the resilience to take ownership of difficulties and not see this as weakness. It is all about the growth through trying new things and having a growth mindset, which is one of the key themes of personal learning at Marian College.

The camp was a tremendous success and enabled students to challenge themselves and try new experiences and activities. Students returned speaking of new experiences, about the fun they have had and the new friends they have made. Each individual student has been challenged in some way on the camp and have learnt through these new experiences. We hope that has learnt new skills that will remain with them throughout their entire school journey. All of the students have all been enriched by the challenges they have faced and are now a more tightly knit year group as a result. Camp is difficult for some students whilst for others it is the best three days of the year. Regardless of where a child sits on this spectrum, camp is a wonderful opportunity for growth and a tremendously important aspect of each child’s school experience. Huge congratulations to all the students for their participation and engagement in the camp this year.  It was a wonderful success.  A big thank you to all the staff who attended and gave up their time to ensure the camp was a wonderful experience for our New Year 7 students. Also a thank you to the Senior Sport and Recreation students who came as peer leaders to mentor and encourage our new students.