Outdoor Education
Outdoor Education
New Zealand Expedition December 2015
In December last year, nine students, two parents and two staff members completed an 18 day traverse of New Zealand’s South Island (west coast to east coast). Poor weather had a major influence on the first several days with rapidly rising rivers and sleet halting our progress. The first three days of tramping from Arthur’s Pass to Kiwi Pass were particularly hard. Long days with heavy packs became the norm for the group, but we were rewarded with beautiful scenery, great mountain biking and a wonderful group of people to share the adventure with. There were several days of very cold and rainy weather and whilst crossing Fowlers Pass, the group tramped through a snowstorm!
Over the trip, the group hiked or mountain biked across eight alpine passes, all over 1000 metres high. The troupe completed the journey exhausted but with a real sense of accomplishment. The expedition included 126kms of tramping, 97kms of mountain biking and 270kms of rafting. There were many highlights along the way but standout was the five days of rafting down the Clarence River.
The College community and the families of the students who attended can be very proud of the way in which the young adults handled themselves. This was the toughest of the five New Zealand expeditions that I have been on. Thank you to Mrs Denise McMahon for her assistance over the eight months leading up to the trip and everything she did whilst we were on expedition. Also, thank you to Mrs Elisa-Jane Brown for being the Australian based safety and logistics coordinator. Elisa-Jane’s job was a very challenging one and the staff and students were very blessed to have her assistance.
Members of the College community can view the expedition DVD by visiting: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzNzED2s0E. It is very good viewing and well worth a watch. It is hoped that the College will undertake another adventure in New Zealand in 2017.
Outdoor Education Expeditions 2016
The College will again offer a number of expeditions over the school holidays this year. The expeditions are open to all Year 10, 11 and 12 students and their parents. Information about these programs will be advertised here in the Compass newsletter and at meetings held during lunch breaks.
The first of these is the White Water Canoeing Expedition in the Easter school holidays. Members of the expedition will paddle 120kms of the Nymboida River in Northern New South Wales from 28th March to 2nd April. Students and parents wishing to receive information about this expedition are asked to contact me directly on 5436 7381 or 0448 277 789.
Other holiday expeditions offered in 2016 include:
- Tramping Mt Barney National Park from 27th June to 1st July.
- Mountain Biking Stanthorpe to Sunshine Coast from 17th – 23rd September.
Year 10 Outdoor Education Camp (13th – 24th June)
The planning for this two-week outdoor education program has already commenced. Over the next couple of weeks I will meet with students to provide information about the camp. Students will have the opportunity to select either white water canoeing or mountain biking as their major activity and will also choose between a 24-hour or 48-hour solo experience.
Year 6-12 Personal Development Classes
Each week, students in the Middle and Senior College participate in a Personal Development class. At present, each year level is working their way through the contents of the Student Handbook. Particular emphasis is being made to the Student’s Rights and Responsibilities and the Student Expectations. Year 10 and 11 students will also closely look at the College’s Assessment Policy, referencing, researching techniques and how to avoid plagiarism. Later this term, each year level will look at study techniques, different learning styles and setting home learning and study planners.
All year levels will also undertake parts of the Mindstar and Smiling Minds programs, which are aimed at assisting students to deal with stress and teach them techniques on how to ‘bounce back’ after set backs in their lives. Parents visiting the College will also see PERMA posters on the walls of classrooms. This term the staff and students will focus on Positive Emotions.
Dr Peter McMahon, Head of Personal Development and Outdoor Education