WOW - What a great time! On Wednesday, 15 May 2024, one hundred Year 8 students were excitedly waiting at the front of the school to begin our adventures for the C8 Camp to Ern Halliday. The following three days were fun-filled and packed with activities!

Day 1 saw us get into our teams and begin the experience with team building activities including Nerf Wars, Scavenger Hunts, Jump Rope, Creating Shapes and doing the Best Dance Moves to ‘Texas Hold Em’. Honourable mentions go out to Bayden and Nash, where Mr Winch was amazed at their jump rope skills.  

Following this, the students began the rotation of activities led by the Ern Halliday staff, which continued through on Thursday. Students spent time Paddling, Coastal Bike Rides, Flying Fox, Archery, Pump Track and Orienteering. All staff and students had wonderful adventures and thoroughly enjoyed these activities.

Wednesday night included teams competing against each other in small challenges such as keeping balloons off the ground for the longest time, moving an Oreo from forehead to mouth without using their hands, and building the largest structure with spaghetti and marshmallows. The cheers, creativity and critical thinking throughout the evening was fantastic to see.

Thursday night, as the sun was setting in the sky, many students were getting in as much volleyball as possible while the main event was being set up. The students were delighted when they saw their music video – made up of all their dance moves from the day before! This was followed by the outdoor cinema airing of Night at the Museum, with popcorn and all.

After breakfast on Friday, we packed up and let our bags return to school while we headed to Whitfords Nodes Park for more adventures. Breaking up the teams to compete against each other, students rotated through the Ninja Course, using catapults, playing cricket and playing games such as Jenga and Spikeball. A sausage sizzle cooked by Mr Chen and Kayla (thank you!) was enjoyed, as well as delicious Krispy Kreme donuts.

And then before we knew it, we were on buses, heading back to school, tired from all the fun but grateful for the opportunity. Bags were collected and we all went home to get some rest!

After some much needed sleep, the results were in and tallied – to see which team won overall, based on all activities, the cooperation and commitment shown throughout the camp. Team Yellow, led by Mr Richardson, were the winners! Staff also awarded students from each group prizes for three categories; Most Transformed, Most Encouraging and The Happy Cup. Well done to those students, and to all who participated and developed their courage, confidence and sense of Community.

A massive thank you to all staff who came along, stayed with us and led groups to help make all this possible; Mrs Hall, Mr Richardson, Mr Winch, Mr Chen, Miss Warren and Mr Cheeseman. Thanks to Mr Notarpietro, Mrs Baczek, Miss Hughes and Mrs Miller for also popping in and helping at some point. Thank you to all staff who were involved along the way. And thank you to all parents for your support along the way, helping to fundraise last year and making sure they all packed what they needed for camp!

Rebecca Edmonds
2IC – Years 7 and 8