CAMP PORTSEAOnce Upon A Time a group of Year 6 students went to a fun-filled camp called ‘Camp Portsea’. The bus ride to Camp Portsea was an hour and 30 minutes long.

When they got to Camp Portsea they unloaded the buses and went to the meeting area, while the year 6’s were in the meeting a lady told them all the areas that were prohibited to enter, she told them the rules about camp and then sent them to their cabins.

One of the cabins contained a group of girls, the girls names were, Johanna, Serena, Anna, Emily, Candice, Lucille, Veronica, Jordan and Irene. Inside the cabins it had disgusting looking carpet, cracks in the wall, spiders in every crook and cranny, and cockroaches on the wall, but they still coped with it. Later on during the day, the entire grade 6’s met at the basketball court to discuss what activities they were going to do.

One of the most challenging activities was the Giant Swing, most of the year 6’s went to the top of the giant swing, and the colours that were on the giant swing were Black, Red, Green, Yellow and Blue. Blue was the highest, and black was the lowest, when you go up the giant swing, your palms will start sweating, your heart will skip a beat, and best of all the giant swing made you feel like you were flying- but you weren’t. There was an awesome view from when you were at the very top of the Giant Swing. The Giant Swing had to be one of the best activities.

The High Ropes Course, and the Flying Fox were some more challenging activities. The high ropes course was a really hard activity because some people were tall and some people were short, so the tall people had the easy way out but the short people had a hard way out, most of the short people had to kick one of the ropes to make the rope come closer to them so they could reach it, when you are trying to get a hold of the rope, you would feel like you’re about to fall and lose your balance. The flying fox wasn't really challenging but they got to race each other so it was a fun activity, after getting harnessed for the flying fox, you would climb the ladder to go to the lady who was supervising and she would put you on a rope connected to your harness and then she would push you so hard you would fall and swing.

Two of the activities to do with water were fishing and beach activities. In fishing most of the groups didn't have any fun at all and found it gross, but some groups did because they caught fishes. Beach activities were one of the best activities because they got to have free time at the beach, e.g.: splashing each other, making sand castles, exfoliating and splashing the teacher.

For orienteering, they had to find letters with stamps on them to crack a code; the codes were Ghost Story and Helicopter. In initiatives we got to solve fun riddles and play games, one of the riddles was 'What goes up the chimney down, but can’t go down the chimney up.' Some games they did in initiatives were Simon Says and Get across the riverbank.

The first night, they had the disco and red faces. The person who won the red faces was Shayna, she sung a song called 'The Only Exception' who originally sung by Paramore. The disco was okay, because some people danced but some people didn't, the only time when everybody started dancing was when the chicken song came on. Later on during the night everybody got changed into their pjays and slept

throughout the night. The second night they had Trivia Night and a scary story. Trivia night was really fun and easy and had some challenging bonus activities. The scary story was really SCARY and made some people some people go into another room. The scary story was called ' Red Max'.

The third day everybody got packed up and ready to leave Camp Portsea. When they boarded the bus they stopped at Sorrento beach and had some lunch and snacks and then went down to the beach to have some fun. After about an hour they went back to the bus and left to school. They arrived at school at 2:30pm and then went to the library and had free time. At 3:15 they all left school to go to home sweet home. :)

The Adventures of Nicholas Portsea Rumble

Melbourne, Planet Earth

I arrived at The School of Australian Spies and got ready to transport to planet Portsea 5 for special training at the Portsea Galactic Camp. I was so pumped that the teacher said that we could bring spy equipment to camp. I grabbed the Grappling Hook, Plasma Rifle and a Night-vision Goggles. Before I left, my mum grabbed me and said, “You can’t leave just yet, you forgot something!”

“Is it Robo-bear, my laser proof sleeping bag, my cool Monster Republic book?” I said hesitantly.

“No. You forgot your father’s non-spy camp equipment!” Said mum.

“But who needs boring old sneakers when you have Jet Powered Sneakers?” I said.

“You do! Because when I was a kid, I didn’t have those in my time, so I just did it the old fashioned way and it was fun.” said mum. “Now they’re in your bag, now go have fun on camp.”

“Alright, I will take them.” I said as I entered the Spy-Bus. “Bye mum!” I shouted.

“Good Bye Vanilla Pie,” replied mum.

Every kid on the bus was laughing as I felt embarrassment on my part.

Denson Fort, Planet Portsea 5

When we arrived, I was so amazed to see different types of fish such as the Comet Fish, the Plasma Fish and the Robert Fish. Later, we did the Star Ropes Course, Black hole Giant Swing (I almost fell to my doom, but luckily I remembered to use my Grappling Hook), Teleportation Flying Fox, Sky Beach Activities, Sonic boom Orienteering and Meteor Initiatives. Our last activity was Star flight Fishing. After hours of waiting, I finally felt a bite on my Plasma line! I tried reeling it up but it was a giant bite. It pulled me into the star water and everyone was worried. My team were in panic stricken sate but hen they saw a light, and to their surprise, I jumped out of the star water with my Jet Powered Sneakers and held the fish triumphantly in my hands. As I jumped onto the pier, the Fishing Master said in a surprising tone, “You have just caught a Black Hole Shark. That’s the rarest fish in this entire galaxy!”

As we flew to the camp sight with the shark in my hand, I went to my cabin and put the shark in an electro cage.

After that, I went to the Hover Hall with my friends where we ate my favourite, Spaghetti with Star sauce and Comet Balls. After a delicious meal, I went to the Tele Room to do my part in the Portsea 5 annual 1000th talent show with my partner Henry Calub. After the talent show, they announced the winner, sadly we didn’t win, but at least our act was hilarious.

After the Talent Show, we did the traditional Portsea 5 Galactic Disco. I didn’t join in because I was too tired. After the Disco, Mr. Tyndall told us a scary story called “The Legend of Red Max.” After the story, before we went to our cabins, I heard a noise in

the bushes. As no one saw me, I grabbed my Plasma Rifle and crept stealthily into the bushes. I was about to attack in 3,2,1when suddenly I screamed, “ AAH!”

“EEEEHHHH!” I heard in a light tone. As I moved the bushes, I saw that it was a Wood Squirrel. After I had said my apology, it had ran away to a tree where it seemed to be feeding tiny micro-nuts to little babies. When I realised, I walked away and went to my cabin and got ready for bed. But just before I was going to sleep, Henry was afraid that Red Max was going to get him, so Nicholas stayed up to talk to Henry, while Steven and I went to sleep. Actually, before I went to sleep, I put on my Night-vision Goggles and read a little bit of Monster Republic. After I read a few chapters, I went to bed with my Laser Proof Sleeping Bag and Robo-bear.

When I woke up, I saw Nicholas sleeping. Henry was sleeping as well while Steven was Snoring. After they had all woken up, we had breakfast. We had Good old-fashioned Pancakes, Toast and Cereal. After breakfast, we packed up and sadly prepared to depart from planet Portsea 5.

Melbourne, Planet Earth

When it was 3:30 pm, we left to Earth and my family was happy to see me. When we got home, we had dinner and my mum asked,

“Did your father’s camping gear come in handy?”

“Yes! It kind of did.” I lied.

“See, what did I tell you.” replied mum enthusiastically. After dinner, I went straight to bed. Before I went to bed, I put my shark on a wooden board and hung it above my bed to remind me of my Portsea 5 experience and the amazing time I had.

THE END!

On the 9th of May, the blue and yellow thrill seekers from St Andrew’s sought another thrill. So they got on the bus to tackle their fears at Camp Portsea, but first they had to

survive the long and boring bus trip.

All men (and women) survived the devastating bus trip and made it to camp Portsea in one piece. We then gathered to discuss how to survive the amazing camp where we would

soon be tackling major feats.

After that we went to tackle the gigantic giant swing as a team.

I was the first to go but I only went as high as the green but it was still an amazing, breathtaking view of the ocean and the horizon in the distance. After that we then set off to the

group actives with our great team. We only did two other awesome activities one of which was fishing where I nearly caught a fish. We then went to practise in our cabin for our

very good act. We were performing comedy and were hoping that we could get lots of laughs from the judges and the

crowd, which we did !!

The next day we did another four amazing, death defying feats: orienteering (not too death defying), Giant Swing, the flying Fox and the extremely high, high ropes course!

That night we had a quiz followed by a scary story that was so horrifying that everyone was too terrified to walk outside

or go back to their cabins alone.

Sadly the next day, we were leaving camp and going home. When we got back to school, I thought of what a great experience we

had had on the camp and I will never forget Camp Portsea

Camp Portsea was a splendid experience

As we pulled into the driveway of Camp Portsea the fun we were about to experience remained mysterious. Our excitement overwhelmed us all and possessed our entire bodies. But as we approached the Nautilus centre our mouths remained shut, our lips remained dry and our bodies remained still!

Giant swing

As my body shook and my legs rattled, I was lifted sky high by the swing and as it released me, I felt a rush of fear through my body and let out a cry! Once the swing stabilised and I swung from side to side, I was then able to appreciate the breathtaking views!

Giant flying fox

As I began to climb up the stairs, which seemed to never end, I stood tall upon the platform then I heard that I had to spring up into the air. To me it seemed like a cliff’s edge. I felt like I was flying through the magnificent wind and when I jumped off, I never wanted to leave!

Beach activities

As we set foot on Portsea beach, water, balls and Frisbees began to fly all over the place. Then as the wind let out a sickening gasp, the heavens opened and it began to pelt down. Soon after the terror was tamed we dived back into the action enjoying life at Portsea beach!

Fishing

As the hill down the street of Portsea was marked with our footsteps we knew this was a place we would never forget. As we arrived at the pier, the beauty of the world above began to shine down on us and as we lowered our fishing lines, the fish below were having a feast. As I reeled in a bone, the frustration I experienced, distracted me from the barracuda that someone else had caught. Just when I could not bear the dreaded frustration any longer, another fish was lifted from the water, alas not by me. Oh well maybe next time!

Orienteering

As we danced through the sandy dirt my friends and I ran through the jungle of Portsea camp. When we climbed to the top of Fort Franklin, we noticed a familiar looking sign, the letter O; we rushed back to the art room only to find we were already out of time so we walked up the stairs of shame miserably. As the girl’s stood there with pride by their sides, we stood there devastated.

High ropes course

As my legs vibrated and my face about to fall off any second, I shot up into the air beginning to feel as if I was the best climber in the world. As I reached the tightrope and sped through it. I rang the church bell alerting the world to my success at conquering this ordeal, feeling unreal!

Initiatives

Calculator game

As I rushed down to find my number my friends were cheering me on, as I ran to tag my teammate I charged passed him and as our hands collided he instantly charged

toward number 18; Our team was close to completing the course! As the last person reached their target we had broken the record of ‘CALCULATOR’!

The Talent show

As my friends and I took the stage, we cleared our throats and began to speak. Our act had begun to the delight of our audience and we witnessed great success as the judge’s rolled up their first score. - We were still in with a chance! After the last score was rolled up we knew we had lost but on the bright side we gave this show a run for its money!

At last camp had officially come to an end and we set off on our journey back to school and reflected on some of the best moments with our friends and teacher’s. As we docked back at school our adventure had sadly come to an abrupt end and it was time to go home to a nice cooked meal and the comforts of my own place. All in all it was the best camp ever.

Our Journey to Portsea

Beach

DAY 1:Camp Portsea was AWESOME! We did so many challenging things such as the Gigantic, Giant Swing, the Humungous High Ropes course and the Giant, Fierce, Flying Fox, which were a challenge by choice and a test of our courage. The rest of the activities were a test of agility, courage, team work, patience and stamina!We were so excited and started to talk about some of the activities. As soon as we got to our rooms, we rushed to quickly set up our belongings. The other activities were fishing, beach activities, orienteering and initiatives.The first day was jammed packed with fun as we tackled the hugely challenging High Ropes course which required courage and teamwork, especially when the challenge was completed blindfolded. Orienteering proved to be a test of our location skills and our ability to solve the mystery words. At the end of the day everyone was tired and very hungry luckily the food was great but as soon as people finished eating they wondered what type of dessert they would get. As soon as the staff uttered the words, “Dessert is ready!” Everyone rushed to line up, as soon as our table groups were called up and then gobbled it up in a flash.All day everyone had been talking about the Disco and about what they were going to wear or what songs were going to be played. It was getting quite annoying!We also talked about the fabulous view of the beach and how the sun shone on the waves making them look like sparkling diamonds shining on top of the salty water.It was the end of the day but there was still more to come we had the Disco and The Talent Quest. Everyone was excited to see the different acts for the Talent Quest. There was comedy, singing and dancing lots of wonderful performances and lots of funny comments from the judges.

THE DISCO was great because everyone was full of energy which they had stored for the night’s FUN evening. Everyone joined in the fun as they did crazy dance moves and had lots of fun.

DAY 2:The next night we had the trivia night that was really fun and the scary story told by Mr Tyndall about Red Max. During the story everybody screamed and cried but we found out that Mr Tyndall was making up the story bit by bit as he went along.It was finally time to sleep but no one could sleep because they were full of excitement they were talking for so long that the Teachers were coming into our cabins to get everyone quiet. Eventually everyone went to sleep... zzzzzzzzz!

DAY 3:A few hours later we woke up from all the talking of the others in our cabins. We got an alarm from the Teachers saying that breakfast was ready in 5 mins so we got ready as soon as we heard the notice and went to the dining hall where we ate cereal and toast.After we ate breakfast, we went into our cabins to clean up and pack our bags for room inspection and then went on the Oval to play some games and explore the old campus until the buses arrived. Some of us went to the old fort and the caves and admired the amazing view of the beach and its rushing waves.When the buses arrived, it was time to go back to school. We had to sit through a one and a half hour of boringness! However we stopped at a Sorrento Back Beach to have rolls with cheese and ham, shapes biscuits and juice boxes for lunch. The teachers had fish and chips and Mrs Henderson was kind to give us some. We had some time to play and take photos on the beach and some of us found some shells to remember the beach.After playing we had to leave. Eventually we all boarded the buses and headed for our school. We will always remember the awesome times we had on Portsea Camp and we will always share the good times we had there together.

By Olivia & Jenny

Amazing Camp Portsea

As I look out of the bus window, I imagine the breath-taking view of the beautiful sunset slowly drifting down into its reflection in the pristine water…. I snap myself back into reality as I realise we have arrived at the campsite.I run off the bus, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ocean-view but instead, right in front of me is a wide building they call our “cabins”. I watch as each person is taking a suitcase and I realise I have been daydreaming-again. I rush off to grab a suitcase and wheel it down to the Nautilus Centre. I’m dying of boredom as we are reading through all the safety briefings. I’m thinking of how I’m going to overcome my fear of heights. There’s the Flying Fox, High Ropes Course and not to mention… The Giant Swing…

“Alright everyone! Go to your cabins and unpack.” A voice breaks through my thoughts and I rush off to the cabins just to see that my friends are already unpacking, and once again, I’m the slow one. Our first activity is The High Ropes Course and I’m dying of fear, hoping I won’t fall, face-first on the ground. As I’m about to grab the nearest rope, I feel as if someone is punching me in the chest. I immediately grab and hold onto the rope as if my life depended on it. I find myself swinging in the air helplessly screaming for help. All of a sudden, I feel a tug on the rope and I hear someone telling me to keep going. I break through my fears; swing to the next rope then slowly abseil to the ground. I have never been so happy to reach the ground-in my life!We quickly move on to the next activity, Fishing. I’ve never been a big fan of fishing and I have never caught any fish. We had been walking for ages when we found ourselves standing on the pier. As we sit on the pier waiting… waiting… waiting… * TUG * I feel a sudden yank on the other end of my reel and with great speed, I wind up the line and find that on the hook of my line there is….. a pile of gruesome, slimy, green seaweed! The rest of my group is laughing at me as I unhook the seaweed and dump it back into the motionless water. We walk back empty-handed, ashamed of ourselves.“Time for afternoon tea everyone!” Finally, I’ve been so hungry I barely have the energy to walk to the dining hall. As I look around, I can see everyone eating hungrily and finishing their food in a flash. I feel my stomach turning inside out eating itself while I’m thinking about how the Giant Swing is going to feel. “Alright everyone! Back to your cabins, you have one hour of free time.” I’m on my way back to my cabin when I feel a sudden gush of wind whirl past me. I’m nearly being trampled to death as all my friends are stampeding towards our cabin. Although they’re quite far ahead of me, I’m determined to find out why they were running so fast.I enter the cabin and find that it is pitch black, I can’t see a thing.I feel an immediate impact on my right leg; I swing my body around to see what hit me. BAM! The light turns on and I feel pillows being swung towards me. I’m in a pillow fight and I immediately grab my pillow and prepare to defend myself. The fight was chaotic and now the room is a

catastrophe. We hear loud banging on our door and our whole cabin goes crazy like a wild pack of animals. We quickly grab what we can and stuff them in random places. Mrs Maio walks in and says that we have half an hour left. We act normal as if nothing ever happened and say goodbye. Half an hour has passed and now our cabin group is heading towards the dining hall for dinner. In there we are told that we are having our Talent Quest tonight. The room bursts into excitement and chatter fills the whole room. We all finish our dinner waiting delightedly for dessert. Mmmm! Ice-cream cake! We are told to go back to our cabins and get prepared for the Talent Quest. It’s been 15 minutes now and all the group acts are called to get ready. We are finally called to assemble at the meeting area for the Talent Quest to start. When we arrive there, our hosts Sandra and Henry, are standing there waiting for us. As the acts go by, I am wondering when this will end so that I can go back to my cabin and creep into my snug sleeping bag. I was lost in a world of my own dreaming in my warm snug bed and how tired I was, when I suddenly realised that I had been left sitting in the room all by myself. I slowly exit out the room, walking into what seems like another dark black dimension. I make my way back to my cabin to find my friends laying out their sleeping bags and putting on their pyjamas. Chilled to the bone, I change into my warm pyjamas, brush my teeth hastily, climb into my puffy sleeping bag and fall into a deep sleep.I wake up to hear a loud knock on the door, “Time to get up everyone! Breakfast is in half an hour!” Still not aware of my surroundings, I clumsily get out of my sleeping bag, fall to the ground and stumble to the shower to wake myself up. Finally, I’m ready for the day.As I’m walking, I stare at everyone; they all look like they stayed up the whole night. I’m glad that I slept through the night besides the fact that, strangely, I felt home sick. Yummy! I can smell delicious mouth-watering pancakes calling out my name. Speedily, I race to my chair, waiting for my favourite meal. The hot butter is melting down to my plate to flavour my pancakes. I finish my breakfast and we get dismissed to our cabins.I hear the people in other cabins yelling to hurry up and I walk over to ask what’s happening. I’ve been off in my own little word again because up until now I didn’t even know that activities start in two minutes. Great…*sarcasm* The Flying Fox is my first activity and I am so scared I’m shaking in my boots. We make our way to the meeting area and split into our groups. All of the groups go into their own direction while our group walks towards the oval ground. I get harnessed first and I walk up the hill ready to jump off the platform. I’m standing on the edge of the platform-ready to take flight into mid-air as I see everything go in slow motion. I concentrate on my heart beating heavily against my chest. * BOOM * * BOOM *I can feel my heart beating, faster and faster by the second. I shut myself off from the rest off the world and take a leap of faith into the blue cloudless sky. I sense a rush of adrenaline through my body and I feel as if I’m flying. The rest of my group have their turn and we walk towards the dining hall.

We have our morning tea-muffins and a piece of fruit, and then we go to our next activity. My group’s next activity is the Giant Swing. I’m not quite sure how I’m feeling because I feel sick in the stomach but I am excited to see if I will conquer my fears. It’s the smallest people to the tallest so I’m obviously first. I get harnessed and strapped up onto the swing. I’m trembling as I am being pulled up into the air. I realise I’m hanging in mid-air and I’m wondering why nothing is happening… “Three, two, one!” My head jerks back and my stomach flips. It stops, my stomach is turning and my head is throbbing. Although I feel sick in the stomach, there is such an amazing view from here. It is exactly how I imagined, with blue skies, looking as if I can touch them at my fingertips, and the beautiful, calm, pristine blue sea. Even though the view was spectacular, I did not enjoy it at all. So I go to sit down. All my friends are asking me how it was but I feel so horrible I can’t respond. Everyone else has their turn as I am thinking about how happy I’ll be when we arrive back at school.DING * *DING * *DING * We’re all called to the dining hall for afternoon tea. As I walk into the room, I hear chatter about how awesome The Giant Swing was. Even though I did go to the top, I regret it now because of how bad I feel. It feels like I’m still swinging in mid air waiting for something to happen while I’m looking down feeling terrified. I manage to eat half a cookie and a piece of fruit.I’ve eaten and now I feel great. Now we’re heading to our next activity, Orienteering. While we’re walking to the Art and Crafts centre, we organise our partners. I decide to partner up with Serena. We arrive at the Art and Crafts centre to meet our group leader. The second she gives us each a map and a sheet of paper to write the letters on, we all run off like the wind to find the stamps. Serena and I find all the letters quite easily and we run back to claim our prize. We each receive a Freddo Frog and are directed back to our cabins to have free time until dinner. I take this spare time in my cabin to clean and pack up. By the time I finish, all my friends arrive back to our cabin. We all gather on our bunk beds and start to sing One Direction songs. Just as we finish our last song, we hear a knock on the door. “Time for dinner!” We all hop off our bunk beds and head to the dining hall. My second favourite meal is being served! Chicken schnitzel and mash potato. A plate arrives in front of me and I immediately dig in. My piece of chicken is so tender and moist on the inside but at the same time, golden and crispy on the outside. As soon as it touches the tip of my tongue, I taste the incredible flavours of the mash potato and chicken schnitzel complementing each other. What a gastronomic experience! I’ve finished the last spoonful of my chocolate ice cream and now I am heading back to my cabin to get changed for The Disco. I’ve changed into my jeans and t-shirt and now I’m lying on my bunk bed imagining how amazing the disco will be. There will be lights flashing everywhere and balloons floating around, everybody jumping around having fun with music BLASTING through the roof.* KNOCK * * KNOCK * There’s knocking on the door and Mrs. Maio enters our room. “Girls, it’s time to head up for the disco.” All of us answer

“Okay.” As I’m walking towards the meeting area, I look around and see everybody dressed nicely, ready for the disco.The music is so loud in here that you wouldn’t even be able to hear thunder. Everybody is already dancing, so I join in and start dancing too. The disco is coming to an end, the last song is… The Chicken Dance! Everybody forms a circle, finds a partner and starts DANCING!The disco was so fun but now we’re heading back to our cabins to get ready for bed. Everybody brushes their teeth, changes into their pyjamas and hops into bed. “Goodnight!” “G’night” “Night-night! sleep tight!” I wake up in the morning and I see the beautiful sunlight shining through the blinds. I wake everyone up and tell them to look outside the window. I see an abstract sight of the sun rising and the glistening water swaying side to side.Everybody gets changed quickly and starts to pack their belongings into their suitcases. We all finish packing up and we all sit on our beds and talk about how the camp has been. We have cereal for breakfast and now we have arrived back in our cabins. We all wheel our suitcases down to the bus, which is taking us down to the beach.We arrive at the beach, eat lunch and now we are heading down to the sand to take group photos. We have taken the photos now and now we are heading back to the bus. We all board the bus and now we are about to head off.The bus has just taken off and I have just realised how much I’m going to miss Camp Portsea. Good-bye Camp Portsea.

The EndBy: Anna & Emily 6M