Year 9 Advance News

Awards Victoria: motivating young people to succeed 

Dukes Award – Qualifying hike at Lorne

It has been a great year for our Year 9 Advance class – who recently completed their Duke of Edinburgh’s (Dukes) Award qualifying journey in Lorne. The two day hike was a scenic delight - with breathtaking temperate rainforest; gorgeous waterfalls; giant eucalyptus trees and coastal beauty. The students are to be congratulated for their positive attitudes and for their resilience, collaborative team work and sense of adventure. Successful Dukes candidates will receive their Bronze Award next year.

Student reflection

Initially, I was reluctant to come on this camp as I didn’t know what to expect and so I assumed the worst about it being tiring and unenjoyable. I was right about the tiring bit but the whole camp was very pleasant. Compared to our practice hike, I felt as if it wasn’t that hard . The waterfalls were lovely as well.

The second day was a better hike because 1) it was shorter 2) the waterfall we went to was crazy beautiful. My new record of rock skipping went up to two! The  highlight of the camp was the Lorne beach. The ocean is truly a beauty of its own and even though I hate the smell of seaweeds, I decided to rise above it and just appreciate the people around me and the environment. I had a really nice time in town and enjoyed looking at the sky and ocean harmoniously mixing with each other at the pier. Our campsite that day was absolutely breathtaking with the rocks and trees. I felt like I came out of a movie and I caught myself in a trance a couple of times just admiring the beauty of it. The sleep that night was absolutely amazing as well. I slept like a rock compared to the first night.

I am proud that I did such a hard hike and am also very grateful for the opportunity to be in this program and my classmates for making it a memorable one. Thank you to the teachers (especially Miss Mortimer) for organising the camp and taking care of us.

Ngoc Truong, 9D

Thank you to

• Teachers, Mark Micallef and Robert Winduss for their practical skills, wise counsel and good company on the Lorne camp.
• The wonderful General Office staff at St Albans Secondary College for their professionalism, support and patience. In particular, Julie Talevski , Maree Wilke, Liz Hedger, Loan Pham and Sarah Weston.
• Kristy Le (Daily Organiser); Carmel Castorina (Breakfast Club) and Seijiro Nishioka (School Magazine) and Lynne Borle, Owen McIntrye and Damien St Pierre (camp buddies) for their support over the years.

Final message

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there, except those that sang the best.                 Henry Van Dyke.

In 2019, Mr Robert Winduss will be taking the Year 9 Advance – Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Marion Mortimer

Year 9 Advance Co-ordinator