Woodlea Year 7 Camp

What a start to the 2025 school year for our Year 7 cohort! Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, the Woodlea students boarded buses to head down to Anglesea on Monday 10th February. After many questions of “Are we there yet?” we finally arrived and started by setting up tents, organising cabins and preparing for an afternoon of activities.

Students were pushed out of their comfort zones, hiking to the water-based activities while other groups remained at camp to enjoy mountain bike riding and team initiative activities. Our nights saw students cooking their own dinner, some for the first time ever, and staff members were impressed with a variety of food including some clever students who made s’mores for dessert.

A camp at the beginning of the year brings with it the opportunity for students to form strong friendships within their Tutor Group, for our Tutor Group teachers to build connections with their students and to step out and find joy in the outdoor environment.

“Camp was really fun as I went out of my comfort zone. My friends made sure that my birthday was one of my best! I’m excited for camp again next year.”
Dia 7WA

“My favourite activity at camp was bike riding as we were able to navigate the terrain and socialise while doing physical exercise.”
Ethan 7WB

“Surfing was a cool experience on a hot summer’s day. I’ve made stronger friendships and have learnt more about my friends’ personalities.”
Shashank 7WC

“When we did canoeing it was really fun to see the fish in the water. It was a bit hard to use the paddles to turn and it was funny because we were all screaming at each other.”
Peyton 7WD

“I enjoyed mountain bike riding. It was a little scary at first because sometimes I didn’t know how to control the breaks but later on I started getting used to it.”
Emilie 7WE

“It has been fun to witness nature and be amongst our friends. We can learn more about different activities whilst being away from our parents.”
Noorpal 7WF

Maddingley Year 7 Get To Know You Day

Year 7, and school in general, is a journey, as are the relationships we make during this time. Experiences like these must be provided for students to allow them to learn together and bond as a cohort with each other and their teachers.

At the beginning of the 2025 school year, our Year 7 cohort of approximately 260 students visited the Staughton Vale Campus for a “Get to Know You Day”.

Students were able to participate in a variety of activities that promote the importance of culture, belonging and service, which are some of the key principles of Bacchus Marsh Grammar. It was also a terrific opportunity for students to begin settling into Year 7, getting to know their peers and thus laying the foundations for new friendships to form.

One of the activities that students enjoyed participating in was orienteering, where students worked in groups to find specific locations around Staughton Vale. They also undertook some friendly competition in a round of disc golf and succeeded in completing numerous initiative games with their classmates. Yabbying was another highlight for many students. They caught quite a few yabbies, some being quite large, and all of which were returned to the dam unharmed.

A huge thank you must go to Ms McMahon, as well as all the Staughton Vale and camp/co-curricular staff for organising and assisting in running the activities.

Mr Scott Bayne – Head of Middle School and
Mr Matthew LaFranchi – Head of Year 7