RAID Yr 9 Program

On the 23rd of August the whole of the year nine level got themselves down to Melbourne for the long-awaited overnight city stay as part of our year 9 RAID program. We were fortunate enough to explore some of Melbourne’s main attractions like the Eureka Skydeck, Yarra River boat cruise, ACMI, the Melbourne Zoo and a movie at the Jam Factory, not to mention staying at one of the oldest hotels in Melbourne. The overall event was rated very highly! 

My group started at the Melbourne Museum, we explored the historical section first and then moved to the ‘Bugs Alive’ section later on, where we saw heaps of fascinating things to learn about and pose next to. Speaking of posing, plenty of students were doing just that in front of the entire view of Melbourne on the Eureka Skydeck as our next activity. Students got to both feel and see Melbourne from 92 floors in the air, with some thrilling features such as angled windows, and outside decks, it was a surreal start to the day. When we were back down again, we walked over to the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) which was a fascinating museum of artworks portrayed through holograms and moving images, with this month’s theme being from the past, students were in awe of the vintage video games, old clips, optical illusions and unique light shows shown through holograms.

Our next activity was the boat cruise up the Yarra River. So, after getting ourselves some lunch, we headed to the boat deck where we then enjoyed watching Melbourne move past us whilst learning about the history of it all, and I think we all admired the boat driver’s patience with trying to teach us through the ruckus. The year nines took turns to see the cruise from the deck of the boat, waving to passing canoeists and feeling the cold breeze of Melbourne. After each group had finished their day activities, we then joined together at the Hotel Claremont to unpack before heading to the Jam Factory for a deluxe dinner leaving us all feeling spoiled; and they kept us feeling this way when we then watched the new movie “Nope” in some of the comfiest chairs ever to exist. 

The movie was a thrilling end to the night, and eventually all the students were in bed around 11pm for the painfully early start in the morning, with the first group having to be downstairs at 6:30am. They were greeted by a delicious variety of breakfast choices, with a crowd favourite being Coco Pops. When all students had finished getting themselves and their rooms ready, we thanked the owners and left for our final activity at 9am where we then spent 3 hours at the Melbourne Zoo exploring each enclosure and greeting every cultural creature before finally heading home. The overnight stay had students raving on about it for days after, and overall, it was a great 2 days of learning and bonding! 

By Evie B 9E