Grenfell Public School Stage 3 Excursion Last week, the enthusiastic Stage 3 students at Grenfell Public School embarked on an exciting excursion to Wollongong and Berry, visiting a variety of exciting destinations. Their adventure included outdoor challenges at Berry Sport and Recreation Centre, a peaceful visit to the Buddhist temple, interactive learning at Science Space, some fun and friendly competition at ten-pin bowling, and thrilling rides at Jamberoo Action Park. In the recounts that follow, the students eagerly share their favourite moments and experiences from this memorable trip. Berry Sport and Recreation Centre By Laylaa Clark On Monday we left Grenfell early and travelled to Berry Sport and Recreation Centre. We arrived after lunch, and we were split into two groups. One group went to do mountain bike riding and archery. The other group did rock climbing. After the all activities, we had a delicious dinner of Chicken Schnitzel. We then did night-time activities such as tag. We had supper before heading back to our cabins. The next morning, we had pancakes for breakfast! We then got split into groups again and did some more activities – archery, tag and the dark maze. After lunch the groups swapped for more activities and games – it was heaps of fun! On Wednesday morning we cleared our rooms ready for the next school to arrive, finished off the activities before having lunch and travelling to Wollongong. Buddist Temple By Maisie Baker We went to the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple after leaving Berry. We were met by our tour guides, and we walked around the temple in groups. Out the front of the temple are lion statues. The lions symbolise a form of protection for the temple. One lion has a ball in its mouth, and the other was playing with its baby with its paw. We had to remove our hats before entering the shrines. There is more than one Buddha. Usually, when people think of a Buddha, they always think of the big, smiley one but there are more types – some are like princes. The whole Buddhist temple was built over three years. My favourite part was the gratitude bell which is located up a steep hill. If you ring the bell, you need to think of people you are grateful for. There was this big wooden rammer that you had to push into the bell. It was quite hard to push. We were all allowed to ring the bell. The monks ring the bell 18 times fast and 18 times slow. Science Space, University of Wollongong By Noah Kilby On Thursday, we went into the University of Wollongong, Science Space. The first room we went into had lots of different activities we could try such as a bike that you could pedal and measure how much electricity you were making. Next, we went into a planetarian. The guide told us all about the planets and constellations. Next was the liquid nitrogen show. The lady first bounced a ball, then she got some liquid nitrogen and put it in a thermos, put the ball in and tried to bounce it again, but it was just like a block of ice and wouldn’t bounce. Then she put in a rubber band, tried to stretch it but it broke! Next, she poured some liquid nitrogen onto her arm, because of the layer of air surrounding her arm, it did not burn or freeze. (But she reminded us not to try this at home). Following this, there was another room with more activities like a ball throwing machine that would measure how fast you could throw a it – I got 46km/h. Someone got around 100km/h. There was a grip test where you squeezed two handles together. We then had a challenge by building Lego bridges, weight was added and it was a competition to see whose was the strongest. When we left the Science Centre, we went to the botanic gardens for lunch before an afternoon ten pin bowling. Jamberoo Action Park By Tristan Douglass On Friday morning (sadly, the last day of excursion) we strode onto the bus with exhilaration knowing that we would be spending the day at Jamberoo Action Park. As soon as we arrived, before the park had opened to the public, we were all had to do a swimming test from one end of the wave pool to the other then treading water with our hands up – we were given either a yellow or a blue wristband according to our swimming strength. My first stop was the wave pool – the waves gradually got bigger. We jumped the waves. The next was the rock jump. I did the 3m and the tiny slide. Up past the rock jump, we explored ‘Banjo’s Billabong’. The Octo-racer was next. We had to go collect our mats at the bottom of the hill and we raced Mr Cartwright and the other teachers. Mr Cartwright won but I came a close second. I then went to the ‘Stinger’ with my friend Mason. At the Stinger, you were loaded into a small, confined tube, you had to cross your legs and put your hands on opposite shoulders, there was countdown, then the floor dropped out and it was like experiencing zero gravity. I opted for the open-slide so I could see the light on the way down (after the drop). My favourite slides was the ‘Perfect Storm’ and the ‘Funnel Web’ which both had a funnel that the raft dropped through. I was very scared because the ‘Perfect Storm’ had three drops, the last of which was the biggest! I was even more terrified due to the sound effects of the wind as you fell. I felt pretty proud that I had conquered these rides. After lunch back at the cabana of freshly made chicken and salad sandwiches courtesy of the friendly Jamberoo Action Park staff, I had time for three final rides – the Stinger, the Octo-Racer and I conquered the 5m drop! At the gift shop as we leaving, I purchased a Sammy the Shark trucker cap and a funnel web waterslide keychain along with 2 packets of nerds for the long trip back to Grenfell
