Year 9 Pastoral Guardian

In week 4, I had the pleasure to spend four days away at ‘Adventure Alternatives Education Centre’, Kenilworth with the year 9 cohort.   I not only always value this time as it allows me to be outdoors in the fresh air, but it gives me the opportunity to spend time with the Year 9 cohort away from school.  Over the four days, I have enjoyed observing the girls working collaboratively, facing challenges positively and enthusiastically, and most importantly having fun.  All students proved they have the courage to do things out of their comfort zone.

Outdoor education is a perfect opportunity for students to swap the classroom and use of technology with the outdoors.  This camp exemplified the theme ‘Traffic Light Decision Making’, which encourages students to think deeply about the foundation on which their decisions are made. The traffic light model helps to align the thinking process with the appropriate action. Its strength is found in slowing down the decision-making process.  Developing this thought behind the decision-making process is vital for students in this age bracket as freedom in society and social outings become more apparent.  Over the four days, girls were challenged to participate in activities outside their comfort zones, foster relationships, and work collaboratively with students outside their friendship group, while building resilience and tolerance. These activities address the General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum: Personal and Social Competence, Intercultural Understanding, Sustainability, and Critical & Creative Thinking. 

A huge thank you must go to all the staff that attended, who left their families for 4 days to spend time with our students – Shelley Turner, Lee O’Sullivan, Josh White, Tom Atchison, Tess Everard, Sacha Carney, James O’Gorman and Sean McInerny.  I am sure you have heard stories from your daughter about her experience. Below are a few student reflections on this valuable opportunity of being able to participate in outdoor education.

As partners with parents/carers in educating our students, we refer you to read the School TV topics for this week: School Refusal | Mount Alvernia College (schooltv.me) and SPECIAL REPORT: Sextortion | Mount Alvernia College (schooltv.me) for relevant videos, articles, fact sheets and links to social media pages to assist you in discussing this with your daughter. 

I would like to warmly welcome Ruby Nocher and her family to Mount Alvernia College.

I encourage you to contact me at the College on 3357 6000 or via email at chrit@staff.mta.qld.edu.au if you would like to inform me about your daughter’s achievements or if  you have any questions or concerns 

Teena Christofis

Year 9 Pastoral Guardian

Chelsea Blake

On Tuesday the 2nd August we set off to Kenilworth for our year 9 camp. Although a lot of us were a bit worried to be away from family, we were reminded that this would be our last camp.   We knew we needed to make the best of it. We soon arrived and we were loving every second of it! Little did we know how fun and rewarding this camp would be! There were many highlights as we bonded quickly, tried new things and trusted each other.   Throughout the 4 days of camp I had the courage and belief in myself and my group.   We kept in the moment and took advantage of all the new activities, our stronger friendships and we were soon surrounded by our new comfort zone, and we didn't want it to end.   My fondest memories were the campfire chats and fun scary stories we shared! Our camp instructor, Brad had a great way of sharing his stories, allowing us to open up and connecting us all as one MtA family. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would agree that he helped make our camp experience more memorable as these chats and times together will never be forgotten.  Having courage and changing my mindset helped me find the confidence to have the best time.  So, if you're in year 7 or 8 and feeling uneasy about camp, just do it! You wont regret it.

Sabine Lowry

In all honesty, I’ve never really enjoyed school camp as much as I felt I should have. But this year, it felt different, more exciting. I realised that it was the last school camp that I would ever have for the rest of my life. The thought made me sad but it also gave me a new found appreciation for the people around me, the cold nights, the tents, the hikes that felt like they would never end. During the 4 days of camp, I couldn’t wait to get back home. But, now that its all over, I find myself missing it and the life long memories it gave me. The first night In the cabins, staying up later than we we’re supposed to, laughing and talking about anything and everything, waking up the next day and riding a bike for the first time in 3 years, then came the horror of hiking, which to my disbelief was actually pretty fun, swimming in the waterfall, sitting by the fire. By the end of the trip, I’ve never felt so open and comfortable with the people in my group, regardless of my relationships with them prior to camp. To sum it up, camp was exciting and it was fun and it was everything I wanted it to be, and id like to thank my friends, new and old, for that, as well as the teachers for putting up with us, I would do it all again if I could. 

Amie Peters

The year nine cohort recently went on a 4-day camp to Kenilworth’s adventure alternatives campsite. Throughout this experience we learnt about the importance of the red, yellow, and green light system as well as experiencing many new, challenging, and group bonding activities. Over the course of the 4 days, we each hiked 21 kilometres to a variety of various locations and despite the fact that these hikes revealed many personal challenges for each and every one of us, the reward of reaching the end was definitely worth it. Particularly, on the day where we hiked to a waterfall, and many of us made the best of the opportunity, jumping into the ice-cold water, with an added bonus of our saturated clothes keeping us cool on the way back down. At camp we also took part in a dance competition, where each group had to come up with a  dance and perform it to the teachers with Ms Turner’s group obviously being the best, especially with charlotte taking one for the team and doing the worm on the concrete. Overall, our cohort extremely enjoyed our final camp at Mount Alvernia, and I know myself and many others will forever look back at the amazing memories we made at year 9 camp.

Martina Vitale 

My personal year 9 camp experience was one to remember. The theme of the 4-day experience was ‘decision making’. We were encouraged to overcome personal obstacles as individuals as well as overcoming others as a team. We had to adapt to the environment we were emersed in and the resources we were given. During the experience I reflected on my personal actions and emotions. We were compelled to stop, think, and ground ourselves in nature. The extended, all-day hikes were challenging especially with the weight of our hiking packs on our backs.  As a team we lifted each other up when the hike became difficult and persisted until we reached our destination. In the final days of camp, we compared our group dynamics, how we were as a team on day one – compared to day four. We observed that by the end of the camp our group was like a mini family. We had endured tough situations which brought us together and created new lifelong connections. I left the camp with a valuable lesson.  When I believe I can’t tackle a problem, and the mountain seems too high, don’t give up, if I share it with my team, they can help me overcome the problem and make it across the mountain.  My group (#7) lived by the motto ‘live in the moment’ and ‘attitude is a choice’ inspired by Ms Turner. Having these verses’ in the forefront of our minds reminded us to keep going and work together no matter what. The Year 9 Camp experience was extremely valuable and perfectly run for our age group. Thank you, Ms Turner and all the staff, for your dedication and commitment to this experience. 

Hannah Yiannakis 

Overall year nine camp has been one of the best experiences so far. I was scared going into camp in case I was put with people I did not know well. Although by the end of camp, I wished we had longer together. The most challenging yet rewarding part of camp was definitely the hiking, I think our group would all agree that we contemplated rolling down what felt like Mt Everest quite a concerning number of times. Mr White was great support and would always hang back with us even though we all knew he was in his element and probably would rather be trooping ahead with ginger. From canned fruit on wraps to Mr Whites toe socks, I think it’s fair to say year 9 camp was a blast and we would experience it all over again if we could.

Amaeh Reed

In week 4 of term 2 our year 9 students embarked on an amazing adventure! After weeks of excited anticipation and one buzzing bus ride, we arrived at the beautiful Kenilworth, ready for 4 days of outdoor activities with friends, teachers, and our expert camp leaders. Over the few days, we spent our time participating in team building and problem-solving activities, mountain biking, bush-walking, hiking, playing games, trying high-ropes courses, perfecting our cooking and tent skills and taking the plunge into the gorgeous, yet freezing, Artist Cascades. Ultimately, we all had a wonderful time on our very last school camp and loved getting to know one another better in fun and exciting ways. A huge thanks to our brilliant teachers and Kenilworth Camp staff, for making this experience more wonderful than ever imagined!

Petra Falcnik

2022-year 9 camp was my first and last camp at Mount Alvernia. Going into the week, I was nervous and not excited for the experience ahead. I was told that camp would be “boring” and “a waste of my time” and that a shouldn’t go at all because camp was something that everyone dreaded. I was also nervous because I have never experienced camp at Mount A before. But I don’t understand what they where on about because once we all got there, camp was one of the best memories I made at Mount A, and I could even say for everyone that went. Although we had to share toilets, and tents, go for day long hikes and not shower for what felt like years, camp was so fun. Spending four days together, testing our limits and building new connections with everyone around us really made me feel more confident about the people I would be spending the next 3 years with. Being new at an all-girls school, I didn’t know many people. After camp, I no longer feel like I am “new”. I met new people, became friends with others that I did know of. The friends I made at camp will be friends I will know for a long time after. Camp was one of the most enjoyable moments at Mount A and I strongly encourage for everyone to go. 

Imogen Poole & Isabella Anderson

During week 4 of this term, the year 9 cohort got the opportunity to participate in our last school camp. After an eventful bus ride to Kenilworth, half of our team set off hiking and making camp for the first 2 nights, while the rest of us unpacked into our cabins, and got to participate in activities like guessing games with our teachers, dance competitions, mountain biking and shelter building. Of course, most of us were pretty unexcited about bucket lunch (which still isn’t a favourite). Overall, it was a great week of fun and lasting experiences that I’m sure will stick with us all for the rest of our high school years and beyond!