Term 1 Week 2 2021

Hello everyone!

This week we were very lucky to have come out of lockdown just in time for our camp at the Cathedral Ranges!

Unfortunately, we were not able to have face-to-face learning on Wednesday but we all caught up on Google Meets in the morning and the students were given tasks to complete at home via Google Classroom.

On Thursday morning we spent some time learning about self-sufficiency, the importance of appropriate gear and what we were expected to do whilst on camp. Everyone needed to pack what was necessary in their hiking packs in order to keep themselves safe, warm and dry for our overnighter. The important items to carry were tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, spare clothes and some food. Everyone did really well at carrying their packs, especially on such a hot day! We started at Sugarloaf Saddle and took the Messmate Track to Cooks Mill and followed through on the Little River Track to our final destination - Neds Gully. The students took turns leading throughout the day. The walk was between 6-7kms and it happened to be in scorching hot weather. We were very impressed by the students' efforts to push through it. We focused on building high resilience responses and each student managed to show that multiple times on the hike. There was a lot of encouragement between the peers which was nice to see. Once we arrived at our campsite, the students were eager to put up their tents straight away despite their exhaustion. After setting up camp, we had a quick dip in the river to freshen up and then cracked on with dinner. The students cooked a yummy chicken stir-fry. It was Francis's birthday and so we were also treated with a caramel cake for dessert :) We went for a stroll before bed and was able to appreciate the beautiful night sky that was completely covered in stars which was a really nice end to the day.

Today we went to Steavenson Falls in Marysville - one of Victoria's highest waterfalls. The location was beautiful and the young people showed great interest in the appreciation of beauty in nature. The students continued to take turns leading the group to the bottom of the falls and then to the top to the viewing deck. It was a great end to our camp. Once we made it back to Melbourne, we unpacked the bus and organised all the gear. Everyone seemed to be pretty pooped, so a great sign to a great camp!

Thanks for an awesome first camp! Have a great weekend everyone :)