Welcome to the Boys in Blue Newsletter. In this edition of Boys in Blue we'll fill you in on everything that has happened in an exciting Term 1, gives ways for new students to succeed at Camberwell. There is also a crossword to solve based on school trivia. Why don't you dive on in?
On the 20th and 21st of February, the amazing group called Courage to Care talked to all of our Year 8 classes about the importance of not being a bystander, but an upstander through lessons relating to the Holocaust. Courage to Care has been around since 1992, and now delivers the program to over 140,000 kids in Victoria. Joined by the incredible Ken, he told students about his breathtaking story of how he survived the Holocaust because of the kindness in people's hearts. It was these people who chose to hide him and his family in their once safe house, risking their lives to save others.
It really let us know the privilege we have in our day and age, motivating students to be more of an upstander, like the people who sheltered Ken and his family. After this students were split up into groups where they tackled issues such as racism, discrimination, antiseminism and prejudice head on. It was a memorable set of three periods filled with meaningful lessons and morals we can all apply to our lives. Once again, thank you to Courage to Care for such an interesting and eyeopening experience that left all students and teachers thinking.
Astronomy has been an established activity at the School since the 1950s, but it was in 1965 that it became fully ensconced with the construction of an observatory at the School. The observatory, fashioned from a silo, had a revolving roof which housed a retracting telescope. It was demolished in 1994. The boys in the astronomy club also built their own telescope. The viewing of Halley’s Comet in 1986 was a highlight.
Our Camberwell 2011
On 1 March, Year 8 had alcohol education, where you learn about the effects of alcohol on the human body. Some of the things we were told about alcohol are that when you drink alcohol it goes through your bloodstream and goes to your brain and when you drink alcohol and get drunk it can do things to different parts of your brain depending on where it goes. Some of the things it can cause are difficulty controlling your balance, judgement on where things are, and your memory and speech. We were also told about vaping, and the danger of it, as it contains high levels of nicotine. We were also told that vaping companies make vapes look colourful and giv them lots of different flavours to trick buyers into thinking they are healthy and fun. Overall alcohol education was a very engaging and fun presentation about alcohol and vaping.
During the 2016 Olympic Games, the sport fencing was on the television. I was immediately interested, I asked my mum to start learning the sport. As any other sport, you trained then started competing in small events. Up until early 2020, I was competing in novice and state competitions, with the rare occasions of a trip to Sydney to compete at a national level. As COVID hit and we had to go into lockdown, many sports were impacted. When COVID eased and activities resumed, I started my training again though I found it difficult to get back on track. As the first competition of the new year, I didn’t expect much going into it. The Australian Youth Circuit No.1 was a good way to start the year. I thought there were a lot of good fencers out there competing on the day, and I’m very pleased to finish 3rd overall.
By Gino Yao
In March, the Year 8 students participated in a Man Cave workshop. The sessions helped the boys to understand the importance of the relationships they share with friends and family, as well as how to strengthen and maintain those relationships. The program ran throughout the whole day, which included many fun games, and also some more serious activities, where the boys shared their feelings and experiences with each other. Overall, it was a great experience for the Year 8s, and a big thank you to the Man Cave Team for coming to run the sessions.
On the 8th and 9th of March, Year 8 went down to Anglesea to attend a surf camp. At the camp, we were educated on the many dangers of the ocean as well as how to ride a surfboard. We were taught that to ride a surfboard, you need to keep your balance. The instructors told us how to do this by putting our feet off the end of the board and looking straight forward. They also taught us how to stand with two movements. First, you had to bring your knees up into the centre of the board and then slowly stand. Standing on a surfboard is a very difficult challenge that requires lots of balance and precision.
STARTING AT A NEW SCHOOL IS CHALLENGING FOR SOME PEOPLE, WHILE EXTREMELY EASY FOR OTHERS. IT CAN BE VERY SCARY, SO HERE ARE SOME REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES THAT SHOW THAT YOU'RE NOT ALONE!
"YEAR 7 STARTED OFF CONFUSING, LIKE ANY OTHER YEAR AT SCHOOL. IT WAS PRETTY SCARY. SOME OF THE NEW BOYS HAD FRIENDS FROM THEIR PREVIOUS SCHOOLS, BUT SOME DIDN'T KNOW ANYBODY. I QUICKLY LEARNED THAT THIS SCHOOL IS REALLY FRIENDLY AND INVITING,”
SAYS HARRY MARTINHERE ARE SOME TIPS FOR STARTING SCHOOL: BE ORGANISED AND LEARN YOUR TIMETABLE
1) BE YOURSELF
2) TAKE A CHANCE AND SAY HELLO TO EVERYONE YOU MEET
3) PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE
4) VISIT THE LIBRARY AND DO THE PUZZLE
5) JOIN CLUBS
6) MAKE SURE TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK
7) BE NICE TO EVERYONE
8) HAVE A SHORT BREAK BEFORE YOU DO HOMEWORK TO GET MOTIVATED
IT IS GOING TO BE HARD FOR BOYS WHO HAD A DIFFERENTLY STRUCTURED TIMETABLE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL. SOMETHING CHALLENGING TO GET USED TO AS WELL IS THE SIZE OF THE SCHOOL AND STAYING ON TOP OF ALL YOUR CLASSES. THIS TERM WE HAVE ALREADY DONE MANY THINGS. CAMP, A WONDERFUL “WELCOME TO COUNTRY”, OUR FIRST SPORTS SEASON, HOUSE SPORTS AND ATHLETICS, JUST TO NAME A FEW. IN THIS SCHOOL, THINGS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. FOCUS HARD ON YOUR SCHOOLWORK, BUT ENDEAVOUR TO MAKE FRIENDS AND TRY SOMETHING NEW.
IF YOU ARE FINDING YOURSELF WITH NOTHING TO DO AT LUNCHTIME, A GREAT WAY TO FOLLOW YOUR PASSION AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS IS TO JOIN A CLUB! HERE ARE SOME ON OFFER:
1) RUNWELL (THIS IS AN EARLY MORNING RUNNING CLUB)
2) CHESS CLUB
3) MUSTARD CHRISTIAN GROUP
4) ROBOTICS
5)CODING CLUB
YEAR 7 CAMP WAS A TIME FOR THE BOYS, OLD AND NEW, TO INTERACT, SOCIALISE AND MAKE NEW FRIENDS. WHEN WE ARRIVED AT CGS, YOU COULD FEEL THE EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR. WE WERE GOING TO CAMP AFTERALL! AFTER A LONG BUS JOURNEY, WE FINALLY ARRIVED AT OUR DESTINATION: CAMP KANGAROOBIE, A WORKING FARM AND OUR HOME FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS.
THE CHALLENGE COURSE WAS DEFINITELY A TOUGH EXPERIENCE, WITH MUDDY TRENCHES AND UNDERGROUND MAZES, BUT IT SURE WAS EXCITING! WITH TERRIFYING NAMES SUCH AS MUD PIT OF MISERY AND HURDLES OF HORROR, THE COURSE LIVED UP TO ITS NAME AND OUR STANDARDS. AFTER CLIMBING OVER HURDLES AND CRAWLING THROUGH A MAZE, WE WERE BUZZING. IT WAS A BLAST AND SURE, WE GOT QUITE MUDDY AND WET ALONG THE WAY, BUT WE ALL AGREED THAT THE CHALLENGE COURSE WAS DEFINITELY WORTH GETTING DIRTY FOR.
THE BUSH CAMPOUT WAS AN ICONIC FEATURE OF CAMP KANGAROOBIE THIS YEAR, WITH A LONG HIKE TO GET US TO OUR CAMPSITE. IT WAS LONG AND TIRING, WITH THE ONLY FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT BEING IMAGINING WHAT THE CAMPOUT WOULD LOOK LIKE. THE HIKE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY SEE WHAT WAS AROUND THE ENTIRE FARM THE CAMPSITE WAS SITUATED ON. WE HAD GOOD WEATHER, BUT I CAN’T SAY THE SAME FOR THE OTHER CLASSES. ACCORDING TO SOME OF MY CLASSMATES, SOMEONE SHOOK THEIR TENT IN THE MORNING, TELLING THEM TO BE QUIET. IT WAS HILARIOUS TO IMAGINE. A FREE SHOWER INSIDE YOUR PERSONAL TENT!
AFTER CAMP KANGAROOBIE, WE WERE ALL EXHAUSTED AND EXCITED TO GO HOME. BUT WE HAD SO MUCH FUN DOING ALL THE ACTIVITIES AND SEEING ALL OF THE SITES. THE FOOD THERE WAS… DECENT ENOUGH, BUT THE MAIN HIGHLIGHT WAS THE BUSH CAMPOUT, WHERE ALL OF THE FORMS HIKED THROUGH THE FARM TO REACH A CAMPSITE. WE EXPERIENCED A WEEK OF CLASSIC MELBOURNE WEATHER. ONE MOMENT IT WAS SUNNY, AND THE NEXT POURING DOWN WITH RAIN. IT COULD BE A STILL DAY, AND THEN WINDY ENOUGH TO BLOW AWAY TENTS. LUCKILY, WITH THE HELP OF TEACHERS AND STAFF AT THE CAMP, ALL THE STUDENTS MANAGED TO MAKE IT THROUGH ALIVE. CAMP KANGAROOBIE WAS CERTAINLY AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE.
7G AROUND THE FIRE ON THEIR CAMPOUT-ABOVE KYAN DOING THE TYRES OF TERROR ON THE CHALLENGE COURSE- RIGHT
THE RAFT USED TO CROSS THE RIVER ON THE HIKE TO THE CAMPOUT- BELOW
SAMMY RAMSAY, TOM WEICKHARDT, CHARLIE MALIC, HARRY MARTIN, ALISTAIR
HERBERT, ALEXANDER ZABOJEC, ETHAN
ZHAO
