I think that Clunes is an incredibly interesting insight into living as an adult, as being able to control your own learning gives you a great sense of responsibility. Cecilia B.

Clunes reflection My time at Clunes is now coming to an end. I have really enjoyed being here and really don’t want to leave. While being at Clunes I have learnt a lot about myself and who I am. I have made many new friends and memories, as well as take on challenges that were thrown in my way. I have learnt how to be independent and now know how to cook, clean and budget a family, or in this case 7 friends. I have loved being in Clunes and will miss it so much, but all good things must come to an end! I am so ever grateful that I was given this experience and will never forget it. Jacob D.

Clunes is a new and different experience that shows you what it's like to be responsible for yourself later in life. Ebru E.

Through out my time at Clunes I have had many highs and many lows. I have made new friends and maybe some enemies and had many small arguments. I have enjoyed my time at Clunes a lot but I doubt that I will return. I am glad that I had the opportunity to come to Clunes and spend a whole term here. Zoë G.

I felt that the Clunes Experience was a good one and I will deffinately remember my time here in Clunes, for me it will be hard to leave Clunes knowing that I will not be able to see the people again. Stephen K.

I have had an amazing time in Clunes and I am very glad for the experience that i have had. I have learnt a lot while I have been here and small parts of my personality have changed for the better. I have learnt about my emotional side in 'Self', been challenged by the Beckworth run and discovered how I learn best. Overall it has been great and I am going to miss Clunes a lot when I return to Melbourne. Linley M.

I have really enjoyed my time here at Clunes. I think that it was a really valuable experience - something completely different to anything else I have ever done. I hope that in the future I can look back and reflect on my time here with wonderment and satisfaction. Lachlan P.

I found Clunes to be a very helpful experience and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I think it has made me a much better leader and I hope to use all the skills I have gained here in the future. Ethan R.

Clunes was awesome! It was the best experience of my life. It taught me life skills and made me less shy around people and I learned how to budget and made heaps of friends It was awesome! Alex S.

Clunes was a very great experience and was a very good opportunity to make friends learn about things like dinosaurs, plants, animals and most importantly myself Jonathan V.

Clunes was heaps of fun, it was a bit strange for a long time but I got used to it. I think I've changed a bit from this experience and it was probably a bit for the better, I've become more outgoing and I've had heaps of fun these last 2 months. Isabel W.

Clunes has been a lifechanging experience for me - I know it gets said a lot but its true. I have learnt so much here - about me, about others, about cooking, about cleaning, about shopping, about running, about cooperating and about so much more. I've enjoyed almost every minute at Clunes and it will always be a highlight of my life. Lucinda A.

Clunes was a fantastic experience I have gained a lot from it and made some good friendships. If I could do it again I would do so. William B.

My time at Clunes is an experience that I have never had in my life so far. It has taught me many new skills. I have also met a lot of new friends that I hope to stay friends with for life. I thought that the evacuation to Melbourne spoiled our Clunes experience a little, but it was different than other experiences. I'm glad I have had an opportunity like this. Grace C.

No Reflection recorded. Brittany C.

Over the course of the Clunes journey, I have learned a lot. I have learned that I have the capabilities to do a whole lot more than I am at the moment. Also I made a bunch of new friends and learned that I like to have fun. I learned a lot about spending time with other people, and working with them. I am glad I learned so much when I did my project. Most of all I am happy that I had such a good time here at Clunes. Rachel C.

Overall at Clunes I had a lovely time. Over the self course, I pushed my comfort zone which was nerve racking while I did it, but as I look back on it I am glad that I pushed my comfort zone. Making friends was hard during the first day, now in week 8 I have made many new close friends and wish to keep them in the future. I think Clunes has been a great experience and I have learnt many new skills which I will be using for the rest of my days. Zachary G.

Clunes has been a once in a lifetime experience that has taught me so much about the environment, life outside Melbourne and myself. I don’t have any regrets about coming to Clunes and it taught me how to live more independently and how to cook and clean. Once I go home I’m really going to miss Clunes and the people I met at Clunes. Jade G.

I thought that Clunes was really good for me. It changed me in many ways and when i get home I think i will be a diffrent person in a good way with getting alot of my work done and cleaning up after myself a bit more. Daniel H.

For me, Clunes was like one action packed major blur that if I think back, seems ages ago that it started despite the stay here feeling so short. Clunes has made me open I guess and is something really different from year 8. Hopefully this and CCP will change me for the better and make me be prepared for VCE or IB in the Senior School. Samuel J.

Clunes has been an amazing experience for me. I have loved every minute of it. Every challenge has only made me stronger. I have had too many highlights to mention, but some would include going crazy with my housemates, Solo day, Running, movie nights, Collective Potential, social events like the Harmony Day Ball and Presentation Day. I will always remember Clunes as this great adventure, and will carry the lessons I have learnt with me for my whole life. Melanie J.

i thought that clunes was an awesome experience and i learnt lots and i really enjoyed the ride. Lauren K.

Clunes to me was very unique. I didn’t get many friends I chose on the list at the start, which meant I needed to be social; I was very glad and happy about that. That meant that I now have a new group of friends. Also the Clunes courses have been great fun for me. Even though not all of them are that great, looking back on them, it was great fun. I really will miss my friends from Clunes and I really will miss all the activities we have here. For me, I really grew as a person, not just physically, but mentally as well. I'm a lot more mature and I learned to take responsibilities of my actions and I learned many new tasks such as cooking and cleaning. I’m really happy with how I grew and I’m really happy that I have experienced this great journey. Andrew L.

Clunes Self-Assessment I have really enjoyed Clunes this term. It has been one of the best (if not the best) experiences of my life. It has been so fun to be away from the structured life of school and to be around friends a lot more. It was really nice to talk to people in other campuses that I normally wouldn’t have the chance to talk to. Living in a house with eight other people has been a great experience, even doing chores and cooking was a valuable experience. My time in Clunes has been a blast and an experience I’ll definitely never forget. David M.

My time at Clunes has been challenging and hugely entertaining. Nicholas M.

Well, now that I've come to the end of Clunes, I have to find a sentence that sums up Clunes. Here go's: "A journey of new discoveries and wonderment." Ruth M.

Clunes is probably the greatest and most unique experience that any student will ever face as being a part of a Wesley College education. Make the most of it. Callum M.

My Clunes experiences as been fun, exciting, thrilling, entertaining, bit boring, scared and proud. Sean M.

Clunes has been a worthwhile experience for me and it was enjoyable along the way. I have made at least 20 new friends and hopefully I will see them back in Melbourne. My house has been one of the best parts at Clunes we have so much fun and have quite mischievous at times. Clunes has given me new skills, such as cooking, cleaning and new ways to look after myself. Jake M.

For me Clunes has been absolutely crazy. I’ve had some of the best times of my life, and some of the worst. I’ve learnt about myself, but also about the people around me. I’ve made new friendships and improved old ones. I’ve laughed and cried, often in the same sentence. I’ve challenged myself in many different ways and been amazed at the things I can achieve when I put my mind to it. I’ve pushed myself, but also found time to relax. I’ve done so many things I never imagined possible and some that I still don’t think are. I also made sure I found time to just have fun! I’ve become part of a community and created memories that will last forever. Clunes in one word? Indescribable. Samantha P.

The Clunes experience has been life changing for me. The once in a life-time opportunity to come to a small rural town and live 7 other people in a house. The time here has been great and there are many lessons and skills that I will take back with me to Melbourne. Clunes has been great and I would strongly recommend everyone going to Wesley to be a part of the Clunes program. Vivak R.

Clunes was a really great experience. I will definitly miss seeing my friends everyday and the Clunes curriculum. Anastasia S.

There are too many self-assessments and reflections in Clunes. I'm giving myself an A+ on every single subject in Clunes. Why? Because I'm Awesome and there is nothing you people can do about it. Owen S.

Clunes has been very interestingly frustrating. It’s almost like a holiday but it isn’t, the rules and classes annoy you but you have to follow to get the best out of the experience. I learned a lot from Clunes, being with a house with seven other people, cooking, cleaning, and many other things. Although I didn’t like Clunes in the start, and I complained for weeks, it turned out one of the best things that has ever happened. Living with other people isn’t as hard as I thought and our house is good because we hardly have any fights. What I didn’t enjoy was some of the classes and also these assessments kind of annoyed me. Not all the classes were bad, craft, self, and hot chooks were awesome. I learned a lot in Mentor Class, I learned to write an essay and do a speech properly in those few short classes and I was thought that presentation day was quite good as well. I really liked Clunes and I hope there is something like that in the future. Maggie T.

Clunes is a great experience and if I had the choice I would do it again. Tayla W.

I think Clunes has been a very challenging experience but also very fun and useful. I found it difficult at first but came out on top and got the most out of my experience and learnt a lot from it. Milo A.

I think overall Clunes was a really cool and fun experience for me. There was always something to do and it’s a good way to make new friends. Martin A.

Overall my Clunes experience was really good, I enjoyed just about everything we did, even if it was boring at the time, when you look back on it you realize that there was a purpose to that activity or that particular rule. Clunes, so far, has been the highlight of my time at Wesley College and I hope to remember it for as long as I can remember stuff. Eve B.

Clunes is what you make it. I made it a fun, exciting, challenging and unique experience that I will never forget. Moriah B.

Reflection on my time at Clunes. I had a great time at Clunes, the best part has been after our presentations on Presentation Day to now, the part I don’t like is how we have to clean everything up now and do a lot of reflections, I find it really depressing and the reflections signify that our time at Clunes is over. There havent been any bad parts about Clunes apart from the week before Presentation Day where there was pressure to get all the work done before Sunday. I’ve had a lot of fun throughout Clunes and I am sad that I have to leave. Simon C.

When I first came to Clunes I didnt realise that I would have so much fun and I learnt a lot of new things about myself, and I achieved self independence. Inanc C.

Overall my clunes jounrey has been a very enjoyable experince. Amanda C.

Clunes has been a very good experience for me. I really enjoyed this term long camp and I have leant a lot not only about myself but living with housemates, cooking, arguments and socialising as well. I have had some very good times up here, varying as they may be and bad times spread out across the whole 8 weeks. I will take away more than just living experience from here. I have really begun to understand myself as a learner. Plus, now I finally know what that previous sentence means. If I had never come to Clunes up here I don’t think I would have been able to understand myself as I do now and adapt as well as I have in regards to meeting new people. The frustration with living with people was probably the hardest part of living here. I am beginning to understand that you need to learn about all of your housemates in order to keep peace and a good schedule in the house. Some housemates however that shall remain nameless require special treatment in order to get them to do their jobs. I think Clunes will give to me a lot of what I need to know when I move out and become independent as it teaches you some of the trouble of living with housemates. Honestly, I don’t want to leave here and I have had a hugely good time here. Haydn D.

I think Clunes was amazing. It has been the best eight weeks of my life. I got so much out of all the activities we did. What a great opportunity to learn to live for yourself. I'm glad to have come to Clunes, i don't think there is anything like this anywhere else. Make the most of it. Emma D.

My time at Clunes has been an enjoyable and informative experience. I’ve gained skills in social, working and house areas, and it’s something that I won’t forget. The biggest thing I gained was the social skills, which weren’t very strong before Clunes, and that’s I skill that I don’t want to lose. I’d come back here for the next three terms, just to see if my experience is any different. Adam E.

My whole Clunes experience is one that I will never forget. I will always cherish the laughs and memories that I have shared with friends. Clunes was an experience of a lifetime that taught me a lot. It is an experience that will be remembered forever. Tiana F.

During my time in Clunes I have learnt heaps about myself, such as that I am not very good when it comes to sitting down and being quiet simply because I am surrounded by people like me and we all have the same idea and like running around going crazy. Clunes has been an amazing experience, which I will never forget. I am going to miss everything about it from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night with my bestest friends. I don’t have a favorite part of Clunes because the whole experience has been awesome. Jordan G.

Clunes is a great experience, there are definetly ups and downs but in no way is it a bad experience, living with a house of 7 girls and living within metres of 70 other students on campus for 2 months is something that is hard to explain and unless you have experience it, you will never truly understand how amazing it really it is, sometimes living at Clunes it can be a bit boring and the cleaning can drive you crazy, but the friendships you gain and the things you do with your friends are some of the best times of your life, if it is getting dressed up like an idiot for cluster or dressing up to go to a dance or just dressing up around the house because you feel like it or all sitting in the pit and trying to get away with sleeping in the pit all night, or just hanging around during the day in your house with a whole bunch of your friends these memories though at the time where just having fun and hanging with friends these memories are so important because clunes is a once in a life time opportunity and we will all never be 14 in term 1 at Clunes ever again and knowing that for 8 weeks we all lived together as a community, as friends having fun that just makes Clunes worthwhile Sofia G.

Clunes has been a great opportunity to work outside my comfort zone. Julian H.

Clunes was quite enjoyable for me I could cope but I don't think I handled the whole experience as well as others, but i definately did it to the best of my ability. I have grown as a person but i don't know how exactly I have grown. Kerim K.

Clunes has been a wonderful experience that I will never be able to have again. If I ever had the chance to do it again, I defiantly would. The atmosphere, the people, the classes, the town; everything in Clunes is truly remember able. I haven’t changed a lot but I think I have had a great time, and people have learnt about me. I’m looking forward to receiving my letter in a years time, and I hope I vist clunes one day just to look back. Tayla K.

Clunes is an excellent experience I will never forget. Every activity, every place I visited, will stay with me forever. Natalie L.

I lived in Clunes last eight weeks. When I first arrived at Clunes, I was worried about lots of things. Clunes was a new place for me. I thought I might miss my family and friends so much. But I didn’t actually get homesick. I really enjoyed the eight weeks in the Clunes. I did my Clunes project, which was really interesting. I felt pleased about it. I learnt a lot from it. I also learnt lots of new things from indigenous history, environmental sustainability and “Self” focus. I spent much time in my house. I had some nice housemates. We worked together, got along with each other. We challenged ourselves a lot and enjoyed it during the time. I did lots of jobs I never did before. I finished my goals which I had before I went to Clunes. I tried new things, learnt new things and made lots of new friends. I had a really valuable time at Clunes. Ziyi L.

Clunes was fun most of the time. Grey L.

I learnt a lot of live skills and it was fantastic during two months. Suchi L.

During these 8 weeks in Clunes, I guessed that would a good time to reflect a little bit about Clunes. So, my favorite class was pretty much Music, we recorded our songs in Ballarat, we presented it in Presentation Day, and even so, we’ve got a lot of free time in Music class each week, we could do whatever we wanted, and finally my band was going pretty good, and even my solo part sounds lovely. How about the community? I guessed I didn’t get in any trouble to anyone, and I also felt good about being with those guys in house 11, that was always great. I thought we had been in a lot of trouble in house, but in the end, we were still friendly to anyone as any other house. I thought I had been trying a lot of new stuff during Clunes, such as environmental sustainability, which really helped about learning how the environment works for us and how we treat them. I guessed that would be lovely to receive a letter after a few years from my past. That did sound interesting, anyway, I really appreciate about the life in Clunes and I hoped I could come back some day. Wei L.

Yeah mate, I really liked it! Christopher M.

Clunes has been a very rocky road but overall has been an amazing experience Sidney M.

The Clunes experience for me, has been so much fun. I have enjoyed every second of it, met loads of new people and learnt many life lessons. Before coming to Clunes I had been to told so much about the experience and was looking forward to it extremely. The bonds and friendships that I have made and matured here will stay with my forever, and I am sure that everyone I have met here has had an impact on me. There is not one negative thing that I can say about Clunes, except maybe the cleaning. I loved every part of it. Annabel M.

My Clunes experience has been a really memorable experience with lots of proud moments. Lachlan M.

Clunes was an awesome experience and I am so glad to have this chance. Thea O.

Reflecting back on Clunes is hard. I had a lot of fun here. At first I thought that it would be boring or I wouldn't have fun because I wasn't happy with certain people that were going my term. I went to Clunes thinking it would be hell and I'm leaving knowing I've never had so much fun in my life. On the whole I will miss Clunes and everyone here. I wish I didn’t have to say good-bye. Marina P.

Clunes was a once in a life time chance, it was a really good expirience and I will always remeber my time here. Darcy R.

Overall I think the Clunes experience was a good learning curve for me. I enjoyed doing the challenge by choice day the most as all we did was do rock climbing which was hard for me because I am afraid of heights. I didn’t like doing community service because I thought that was really boring. I loved doing the movie night every night (if I even made it). Doing the house day was really boring and I would try to get out of it so much. The fitness program was really fun but walking up mount Beckworth was really bad and I wouldn’t do it again. Doing the solo day was really boring and I spent the whole day killing bugs. The Saturday night fevers were good to start with but after the first one they just got boring. I found it very easy to take care of my plant but that might be because I have plants at home that I take care of. I thought the self course was very rewarding. I enjoyed the dad’s camp out a lot I thought I got a lot of good advice from all of the dads. I enjoyed the making of the movie in gold era because we got to choose what we did and I love doing things like that. The harvest festival was really good but I think it would have been better with more food. I found doing the project really hard because I would prefer hanging out with my friends but I eventually do it and I am happy with the result which was a power point a good speech and a excellent essay. Edward R.

I have enjoyed my time at Clunes, there have been highs and lows although the time that I have had here is unforgettable. I will never forget the challenges that I have faced and the project that I did and accomplished, although as I look back it is something I have learnt from and it is apart of my future. Madeleine S.

Clunes was an excellent experience because it brings people together and strengthens friendships. I learned to cook, clean and be more independent while I have been up here. My house is a great bunch of people and I’m so glad I was put into a house with them. I went through a stage during the 6th week with the presentation going on, where I wanted to go home because I was getting sick of being stressed out. But now that Clunes is coming to an end I am going to miss it, and that I’m glad that I came. Anthea S.

The Clunes journey has been a wonderful experience and I’ve learnt a lot from it. I’ve learnt lots of things to do with living in a house with out parents, things from my project, things about others and myself. I’ve had lots of fun and I’ve made lots of new friendships. There are many memorable moments that have taught me lots of things that I can take away into my future. Overall I have loved the whole of Clunes even the challenges I’ve had to overcome. Georgina S.

I found Clunes experience was good , fun , a bit hard ,and learning. Jakkarin S.

In Clunes, I have learned many things for example, flexibility. Sometimes I had to be patient because I could not do what I wanted to do. I have learned how to get along with others and my English has dramatically improved compared to when I was in Melbourne. Although my English has improved, I found it hard to communicate in English but I made friends. I studied about gold mining and I succeeded my presentation. There were so many problems to overcome but I did it. My highlight was bike riding. I went to Mt, Beckworth by bike and I enjoyed it. Cooking and cleaning skills have improved and I was responsible for my housework. I am happy to have experienced many things. Before I came to Clunes, I had not seen country of Australia but I saw many beautiful views. I went to animal farm a few times and fed animals. Running program was good. I could run up the Mt, Beckworth and I was 8th. I am happy with the outcome because my goal was to be in top ten. I was happy to come to Clunes first and I am also happy to go back to Melbourne. I enjoyed Clunes program very much. Koji T.

Clunes has its good and its bad days. It challenges you, and lets you take it easy at the same time. Leah T.

Clunes was pretty fun. The 8 weeks I stayed here with my friends was the biggest challenged for me because I never live far way from Melbourne with 8 different peoples in the houses. At the first week, I hated Clunes really bad because I was home sick and I missed all of my friends. I missed all my families and playing soccer with my friends from school. I also sick of cleaning the house everyday because it was tiring but it changed myself to be more mature little girl. For me, the people at Clunes are really nice and I loved them. Some of local people here are really nice and held my problems, which made it as my Clunes memory with the local people. I also loved the Ice Cream shop down the town center. It was really good to eat it and it wasn’t as good as Melbourne’ ice cream. The classes that we all had was so much fun because I was in the class with different people that I didn’t know bored and by having the same class as them, I got the know them and I found them really nice and cool. I didn’t like the village pay back on Sunday because we had to clean some of the venues at Clunes from 8.30 am to 10.30 am and I was very sleep at that time. I just hated the weekend here because it was bad and sad and some of the days made me homesick. I’m actually really excited to go back to Melbourne. I loved all my house mates, they are amazingly crazy and friendly to me, I felt that they are my family for such as long time and don’t want them let go because we had heaps of fun together. Irene T.

My time at Clunes is going to be something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Clunes has taught me many things such as how to take care myself, how to step out of my comfort zone and more. I have had memorable moments that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I also have made friends that I hope to keep forever and forever. Clunes was a great experience I am happy that I was happy to have it and be with my friends during it. Katarina V.

I feel Clunes has been a really good experience for me because I have learned many things about myself and how to cope in different situations I think I will come back to the town of Clunes someday in the future Felix V.

Overall I’ve really enjoyed Clunes. I’ve learnt heaps about life and have really enjoyed doing it at the same time. There have been challenges I’ve had to face but I’ve managed to overcome them and in the process gotten to know myself better. Some of the bigger challenges I’ve had to face were some people in my house and my project. I over came the conflict with the people in my house mostly by ignoring them, although when they were particularly annoying I’d tell them to stop or I would just leave. My project did prove to be a lot harder than I expected, but with a fair bit of organisation and determination I managed to complete it and be very happy with the end result. If I were to live Clunes again I would try and be way more friendly and out there and not worry at all about work. From my term at Clunes I’ve learnt about managing conflict. I’ve learnt about managing conflict because I faced it every day for 56 days. This although at times testing will prove invaluable in the future because I started to gradually get the very important skill of empathy. This has allowed me to see things from other peoples view, and it has really enlightened me as to how ridiculous I can be over the smallest of things. When I go back to Melbourne I will try and see things from other people’s view, and if I can’t I won’t assume my way is always the right way. Clunes has been amazing and I will be sad to leave it. Timothy W.

The Clunes life is coming to an end now. This term I have chosen to learn about the history of Clunes and indigenous history. These are very fun projects. In these two projects, I have learned Australia’s history, now I know Aboriginal people are the first people who lived in Australia nearly 40,000 years ago and they got water from wells. I learned about the first Europeans who came to Australia about 200 years ago and the miners who came in the 1860's. I have learnt ‘how has gold affected Clunes’. Clunes has mullock heaps that protrude from ground, that look like a mountain. But we can’t find any trees on the mountains. Those trees have been chopped down, people needed to make roads and build mines to find gold, so the mountains still don't have many trees. Everyone knows. Gold is a very valuable and scarce thing. After Clunes find gold. Clunes get rich. They build big buildings in Fraser Street. Built from money made from the gold. But after Gold Rush finished, people left Clunes, so there no many people at here. This is a quiet town. And I have done the training wheels, that is very funny too and after training wheels, I have enjoin BBQ at outside, that is really interesting. This is my Reflection at the end of Clunes thanks for teachers help at here, this really is a good camp! Luan Y.