WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING (2 of 3)

A CATHEDRAL EXPERIENCE - A YEAR 10 OES HIKING ADVENTURE

BY JAMES MATHEWS (HEAD OF ENVIRO)

On Monday, three days before our hike to Mt Stirling I had just finished a teachers meeting, flipped out my phone and checked the weather forecast, a standard thing that Outdoor Educators need to do before a trip. A deep sigh followed…. Snow, hail and excessive wind! I am fairly used to being flexible with weather but I needed to find an alternative in this situation, quickly. So after checking a number of forecasts I found that I wasn’t able to eliminate the snow but I could substantially eliminate the wind. The answer... The Cathedral Ranges.

So after a few days of working through the range of organisational things teachers do to arrange a trip (plus changing the trip location) we were on the road, three staff, 18 excited students and I. To our absolute delight as we ventured across the Black Spur just beyond Healesville, the rain and sleet began to turn white and fluffy and there was a slight coverage of snow on the ground. The forest we were traveling through took on a new wintery persona and the tree ferns became much like popsicles as their leaves folded down with the weight of the snow.

The Cathedral Ranges is a special place made from wet to rain forests and incredibly sharp rocky mountain ridges. The ascent out of the valley is quite demanding for hikers and I was aware of the dropping conversation as we headed towards the ridgeline as my students focused more on their breathing. I set my students a 4 peak challenge, where at the end of the camp we would have hiked to the summit of 4 summits that our trail came near, and my students truly matched this challenge with their incredible determination.

On arriving at the summit of our first peak, Neds Peak, we were blessed with a beautiful thin layer of snow in which my Year 10s created snowballs out of, made snowmen and played with, enjoying the beautiful gift that snow is. As the snow turned to intermittent rain that night the students cooked their meals at the campsite that nestled between two of our final summits. It was a cool night but the students met the challenge of sleeping in freezing temperatures through their excellent preparation.

There is something about mountains. Standing on the summit, viewing the world from above. On this trip the students were able to do this but also, connect with the intention that God has for humans and mountains. They were able to discuss and discover that God uses Mountains in the Bible to display his special relationship with his people. When Jesus stood on the mount and delivered his famous sermon, he explains what it is to be in a relationship with God, what it is to live a blessed life. I think for me after the troubles of changing the location of this trip it was completely worth it because my prayer for each of these students… that is that they would have ‘blessed’ lives, and remember how to do this from their mountain top experiences at the Cathedrals.

CSEN SOCCER DAY - SWEAT, SKILL AND THE SMELL OF KEBABS 

BY ANDREW LOCKREY (HEAD OF HOPE - Health, Outdoor and PE)

On a crisp Melbourne morning, with the unmistakable smell of kebabs drifting across the pitches like a motivational speech nobody asked for, BHCS headed to The Home of The Matildas for the recent CSEN Soccer Day.

We fielded three teams across the day: Junior Boys (Years 7–9), Junior Girls (Years 7–9), and Senior Girls (Years 10–12). Across every game there was effort, determination, teamwork, and varying levels of controlled chaos.

The Junior Boys put together a strong day, winning several games and showing plenty of grit and skill throughout the tournament. The Junior Girls had an outstanding campaign, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal after battling their way into the playoff match. Their teamwork and persistence across the day was exceptional.

The Senior Girls may not have won a game on the scoreboard, but they absolutely won the tournament in spirit. Their enthusiasm levels remained dangerously high from first whistle to last, and they produced one of the moments of the entire day thanks to an absolute screamer of a goal from Olivia. The celebration that followed was so joyful and infectious that even the opposition goalkeeper joined in — despite technically being the person most negatively affected by the goal.

Special mention must go to all students who represented the school with effort, resilience, encouragement and sportsmanship throughout a long day of football. Playing at The Home of The Matildas was a fantastic experience, and every student contributed to making it memorable.

Also, respectfully, whoever was cooking the kebabs deserves their own medal.