Camp Howqua

Year 12 Camp 2023

Being the first large scale event for Year 12s this year, Camp Howqua was an extremely memorable and enjoyable experience for everyone. It allowed students to further develop relationships with teachers and with their peers that will no doubt continue for the rest of the year. It is certainly one of the best experiences that we have had during our time in secondary school.

Upon arriving, we immediately began to participate in activities run by the incredible Camp Howqua staff, pushing us all beyond our limits. For some of us, this meant conquering heights through the flying fox or high ropes. For others, that was crawling on our palms and knees through the mud of the survival course, riding a horse or going down the rapid waterslide (or the “wedgenator”). In addition to these, we also had the opportunity to participate in a range of other activities including archery, frisbee golf, low ropes and a study session. 

Our first night concluded with an amazing trivia night run by Ms Tarquinio. Everyone felt the competitive energy in the room that night! Even here, we were pushed out of our comfort zones with people competing in mini games comprised of singing, dancing and limbo in front of our entire year level who supported them by cheering them on thoroughly. However, the highlight of the night was definitely Mr Hudson’s unforgettable Elvis performance. To top off the already incredible night, we enjoyed some of Camp Howqua’s hot chocolate that was to die for, before returning to our cabins.

The following day consisted of more and more activities, rotating around the different ones. As the day came to an end, the student leaders ran team building activities including, but not limited to, body balloon, Just Dance, Karaoke & cup pong . They taught everyone how to cooperate and work efficiently within a team but most of all, caused an abundance of laughter. As dusk fell upon Howqua, we ended our final night with lots of laughter and memorable moments such as Mr Hunter’s rendition of a Justin Beiber’s classic, Ms Murphy and Ms Massarotto’s version of Livin’ on a Prayer and “Eye of the tiger” dance moves with Ms Watkins.

Overall, the camp was by far one of the biggest highlights of school. It was filled with laughter and smiles and there never seemed to be a dull moment. The scenery we were exposed to itself was unforgettable. We were able to wake up to kangaroos right outside of our cabin and a sunrise over a beautiful array of bushland. We will all undoubtedly cherish these memories for a long time. 

On behalf of the Year 12 cohort, a big thank you to Ms Tarquinio, Mr Laganga and Ms Massarotto for organising this for us and also thank you to all of the other staff members that came! And of course, thank you to all of the Year 12s for making this one of the greatest experiences we will ever have.

Belle Botoulas, Caitlyn Derks & 

Ava Josifovska

College Captains