Senior School News

YEAR 11 PORTSEA CAMP

During Term 4 2023, the Year 11 Outdoor Environmental Studies classes went on a 2-night camp to Portsea. Mr Garton’s class luckily got to enjoy the beautiful sunny weather while participating in many recreational activities, whilst unfortunately Ms Riddle’s class nearly got hypothermia as we had to go snorkeling and stand-up paddle boarding in the freezing cold weather. However, it was a great learning opportunity as Ms Riddle’s class had to show persistence with participating and completing our set activities.

On the first day of our arrival, we were welcomed to the private apartment by a lovely team who guided us through our day-to-day itinerary. We unpacked our luggage and got ready to start our first activity which was stand-up paddle boarding. Ms Riddle’s class got given wet suit jackets to keep us warm as we headed out to the bay, there were many battles as our classmates pushed each other off the boards into the water, it was a fantastic experience. After we washed up and put on some warm clothes, we made our way to a local park to cook our dinner on Trangias and wrapped up our night by playing some class games such as Empire.

The next morning, we couldn’t wait for the day ahead as we luckily got to participate in snorkeling. We had to fight our way into the wetsuits, it was quite a struggle, but we got there in the end. We collected the rest of our equipment and made our way to the bay. It was a first-time experience for most of us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We learnt many fun facts about sea creatures and got to spot sea flora and fauna such as the weedy sea dragon, pufferfish, starfish, stingrays and many more fascinating creatures. After snorkeling, we had a class barbecue where we shared many laughs and ate delicious food. To end the night, we watched the movie ‘Up’ and devoured some popcorn.

On our final day of camp, we drove up to Point Nepean where we rode bikes at our scenic location and learnt fun facts about Point Nepean and its history. We got an opportunity to take some group photos and enjoy our last day on camp with our friends before we packed our things to go back to school.

We had an amazing time taking part in the activities that were organised for us by our lovely teachers. We created some unforgettable memories, and we would like to thank Ms Riddle and Mr Garton for giving our classes the opportunity to have an incredible experience at Portsea Camp.

By Mia and Christina

GERMAN EXCHANGE PROGRAM

We have just returned from a four-week trip to Germany. The group consisted of eighteen students from Years 10-12 and three staff members. For the first two weeks, we travelled around catching trains and staying in youth hostels. We visited Frankfurt, Göttingen, Dresden, Prague and Nuremberg. We then spent two weeks at our partner school, Schäfersfeldschule in Lorch and stayed with host families. Here are some reflections from the students who travelled:

Persistence:

“Speaking German, especially the students who don’t learn German.”

“We kept walking in the snow to and from hostels even though we couldn’t feel our toes.”

“Mr Robinson persisting through all his falls.”

“Carrying our suitcases up and down stairs and through train stations.”

“Getting to school on time. The 7.25am starts were quite early.”

Excellence:

“Ms Stokes and Ms Pridmore showing excellence in directing us to places.”

“All the students who directed us from place to place.”

“Learning new German words.”

“Speaking in German in front of the whole school.”

“Exceeding in our English classes whilst we were at school.”