Year 7 camp

By Mr Brett Lamson, Head of Year 7

Last week, Year 7 students travelled to the beautiful bush retreat of Biloela, a grassy valley within the NSW state forest near Moss Vale. Students were excited, a little nervous and full of energy as they boarded the buses, bright and early on Monday morning. After a two-hour bus trip, they met their camp leaders and started learning about map reading and navigation in preparation for the roughly six-kilometre hike to the campsite itself. The walk through the bush was beautiful, and the weather couldn’t have been better.

After arriving at the campsite, students quickly set up their tents and divided responsibilities for the first day. Some students were responsible for cooking, others for cleaning, hygiene, or navigation. It was wonderful to see so many students taking a proactive approach to the camp, showing initiative by looking for ways to get involved and collaborate.

Over the course of the week, students took part in a wide array of activities, all of which helped students bond and build relationships with their mentor group. There were relaxed activities such as canoeing, hiking and catapult building, while other activities were more adrenaline-filled, such as abseiling and the giant flying fox. The motto for the week was ‘challenge by choice’, inviting students to challenge themselves to a degree they felt comfortable with. Many students surprised themselves with what they were able to achieve.

At the end of the week, students hiked back to the staging area, and the pride and sense of achievement radiating from the students as they completed the camp was clear for all to see. I couldn’t have been prouder of the way students stepped up to the plate, undertook challenges and supported one another to help make the camp a resounding success. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Director of Student Experiences, Mr Dylan Mordike, for all his hard work in the planning and execution of the camp, as well as to all the Year 7 mentors and additional staff members who attended. The camp would not have been possible without these people.

It has been an outstanding start to Week 4, and I’ve been delighted to see how comfortable, happy and connected students are within their mentor groups, having been through such a seminal shared experience that is Year 7 camp.