Up and ready to go

By Kath Gannaway
WOORI Yallock 12-year-old, Nicholas Dunn needed no prompting at all to get his gear packed for a week of beach fun at Portsea Camp last week.
“He’s been ready to go all week,” his mother, Sonya, said.
Nicholas is one of 25 Yarra Valley children who departed from Healesville police station on Friday for seven days of beach fun at the Portsea Camp.
Healesville Police Sergeant Tony Van Gorp has organised the trip for the past five years as a community partnership between police and local schools.
School principals nominate boys and girls for the camp both as a reward and for the benefit particular children will gain from the opportunity.
Sgt Van Gorp said 250 children from all around Victoria attend the camp providing an opportunity for everyone to socialise and develop new friendships.
“A lot of long-term friendships and life-long memories are created on these camps,” he added.
Nicholas, a student at Woori Yallock Primary School, last featured in the Mail under less happy circumstances after receiving serious injuries, including head injuries, in a road accident five years ago. Nicholas said those injuries can make him a bit grumpy at times and so he was looking forward to a holiday.
Enjoying a bit of independence and jumping some big waves were on his ‘to do’ list.