Compass & Duke of Ed.

Compass Award and Bronze Duke of Ed Celebration Afternoon

It is always a pleasure to take students out who really get engaged in the activities and give their all on adventures.  This was what we saw on our Celebration Afternoon on Friday 28th November.  Many students raced around the orienteering course at Ruffey Lake Park and tried to collect as many checkpoints as they could. They were tested in terms of their navigation skills; they really had to take account of where they were, the features they could see on the map and work together to decide on which checkpoints to target in the time limit. I was very impressed!  Upon return to school, we continued to run through some team building activities – it was great to see how much our awardees have grown together as a group; all working, laughing and encouraging each other!   This continued through our presentation; all students were recognised for their achievements throughout the year, achieving the Level 3 and Level 4 Compass Awards. Anastasia L. achieved her Bronze Award.    Such a special program to enable to students to grow.  Well done to all awardees.

Compass Level 3

Max W., Leon W., Violet R., Sehaj Kaur R., Alex W., Joseph C., Hazel L., Grace M., Pippa C., Elsie C., Charlotte M. and Hiromi N.

Compass Level 4

Charlie D., Tyla P., Alex M., Huxley B., Xavier F., Jessica Q., Pippa C., Hazel L., Elsie C., Charlotte M., Sehaj Kaur R., Hiromi N., Gemma K. and Grace M.

Completion of the Final Assessed Gold and Silver Exploration

Our groups recently completed their final assessed explorations; four days of being self sufficient and exploring the Bass Coast.   The students walked over 60km over the four days – great work!

The exploration began from Wonthaggi;  we walked around the Desalination Ecological Park to Powlett River Campground on Day 1.   An extremely hot start to the walk with the temperature being 34+.  Day 2 involved walking from the mouth of Powlett River along the Bass Coast Rail Trail, George Bass Coastal Walk and then to San Remo ready to go on to Phillip Island to camp.  Day 3 involved taking the ferry to French Island and exploring the remote parts of the island.  30 koalas were spotted, along with lots of other wildlife.  The exploration finished on Day 4 by walking onto Churchill Island, completing the circuit to check out the RAMSAR sites and then continuing around Newhaven and off the Island to Griffiths Point.   Overall over 60km were completed – such a great achievement for the adventurous journey part of the students' Awards.

All of our students have demonstrated the College Values and have clearly showed independence, loyalty to their peers and determination to see things through come rain, hail or shine. It is a pleasure to work with all of our Award students; I wish them luck in completing their final sections!