Later that night, Jesus was there alone, 

and the boat was already a considerable distance from land,

buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified.

“It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: 

“Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Matthew 14:23b- 27

The passage above from last Sunday’s Eucharist (the one after the Year 8 Camp), could have been purpose written for the experience the staff and students shared at Golden Valleys Adventure Camp last week. The simple command, ‘do not be afraid’ is a remarkably frequent one in the Christian Scriptures, and is a metaphor for the experience of Year 8 Camp for both staff and students. Fear was a constant theme: the activities were scary (but safe!) and all the Year 8 girls were challenged to overcome their fears throughout their time away.

As we know, almost everything that Jesus tells his followers to do is the opposite of what they would expect. In many ways this encapsulates the role of a teacher: to challenge students to do things that they would not otherwise choose to do, and to provide the boundaries to make sure they do them safely.

I was privileged to have the opportunity to do just that on the 2026 Year 8 camp, to see our girls continually overcome difficulties and do things they thought they couldn’t. Notwithstanding that all the activities were perfectly safe, they were also very scary! From a terrifying giant swing to a challenging high ropes course, jumping from a high platform after a seriously vertical climb, letting go and then trusting that the harness would hold them, everything was scary and everything was hard. The camp pushed everyone to challenge themselves in new ways. All the Year 8 girls should be very proud of themselves.

For the girls who found everything easy, I can only say well done. For those girls who found everything hard, but had a go and completed the challenges, you should be exultant! Next time you face a challenge and every time thereafter, remember the Year 8 Camp; the camp that showed you what you were capable of, and showed that what you thought previously were limitations, were in fact opportunities to challenge yourself and achieve success that you didn’t know you were capable of. Never hide your light under a bushel again!

The success of the 2026 Year 8 Camp is due primarily to the wonderful Kilbreda staff that looked after the girls:

• Camp 1: Kim Bucknell, Alanah Crockett, Phil Devlin, Carmel Fraser, Sonya Hood, Michela Mandarino, Louise Mansfield and Joel Savage

• Camp 2: Catherine Devine,Simon Gurowski,Daniel Kelly, Francine Nugent, Emma Robinson, Christine Vaughan and Christine Wilksch

We hope that throughout 2026, every Year 8 girl can look back on the Year 8 Camp and say that they embraced all the opportunities that they were given, and feel like they’ve had a real adventure. May they say to themselves, “Yes, that was hard, but I had a go, and I was able to do it!”. I hope that the Year 8 Camp was so much of an adventure that they’ll become used to their light being on a lampstand shining brightly, because that’s where it belongs.

Bill Fitzsimons

Level Leader: Year 8