So on our 3rd rest day a group of 22 students went to the beach and they all came back with big smiles and lots of stories about how fun swimming in the ocean was and how they were body surfing, walking along the sand looking for shells and splashing around in the shallower water. The rest of the students stayed at the campus and explored the surroundings, painted pictures and some of us and even caught up on some sleep! It was good to see everybody getting outside enjoying themselves and having fun. At about 2:00 a community game was held and we all played a massive game of gang-up chasey which lasted for a while keeping everyone entertained and giving us something to do. After the game finished there was a bit of free time before we all had to get ready for a walk to Spirit spot for DEARR. This was our second time there it’s quite relaxing, but the walk had a lot of us complaining especially walking up sand dunes. At night we watched a movie and settled down ready for bed.  The movie was The Incredibles, as soon as the movie finished everyone helped chip in to pack up the seats. This was the end of our day and everybody went to bed.

- Nadine and Jake (17/05/2014)

Today 2B headed down to East Conran for our second surfing lesson. Many of us were determined and excited to stand up on the board again and carve up the waves. For some of us, it would be our first experience of standing up. The waves weren’t as big as last time, but they were still great for beginners.

We began by doing our usual stretches (focussing on our arched back) before hitting the water. With the help and guidance of surf instructors Pete and Phil, and Mr Dooley, some of us caught a few waves while also Mr. Dooley carved it up. None of us complained about the cold and stayed warm in the awesome wetsuits, although when we first entered the water there were a few squeals. Mr. Dooley was eager to get many snapshots of us surfing on his GoPro camera, just another way to make these memories last a lifetime. We had an awesome day. We enjoyed surfing and it was good to see that deep down everyone was a natural surfer.

Overall we had a radical time and can’t wait to hit the gnarly surf again.

– George and Will (16/05/2014)

Today everyone had their 3rd day of Naplan, this time it was maths and most found it rather dull.

One thing that everyone enjoyed was having ranger Mike come in and share his knowledge and stories about being a park ranger. He was very enjoyable to listen to and it was good to hear about the many different things he does as park ranger. We also got to see his pet water dragon Steve, which everyone really enjoyed. 

However, for most the worst part of the day was food for thought.  The majority of us were peasants and were left without lunch which was difficult for most to cope with. Although we understood the message that the teachers were trying to get across about world hunger and poverty, many of the students were too tired and hungry to understand.   
Morgan and Harry

Today everyone had their second day of Naplan. The reading test went for about 65 minutes and everyone thought it was a bit boring.

The one thing everyone really enjoyed including the teachers was Gender night. Gender night was about getting your ideas out about what you thought about your gender and their characteristics. All the boys had a great time mucking around and giving ridiculous answers to the questions and the girls had heaps of fun laughing at the questions and some of the answers that they wrote down in their groups. Then we shared our answers up at Grandma (the fire on the edge of the property.) It was really interesting to hear some of the opinions of the opposite gender and to hear what they really thought about some things. All in all, everyone had a really enjoyable time and we’re all looking forward to our second and third gender nights.

-by Jess and JT (14/05/2014)