Greetings from our Year 9s at Gnurad-Gundidj the school for Student Leadership

At Truganina College, Year 9 students have an incredible opportunity to apply for attendance at the Leadership School. This program provides a unique and enriching experience for students to:

Enhance Leadership Skills: Build on their existing abilities and develop new ones in a supportive and dynamic environment.
Connect with Like-Minded Peers: Meet and collaborate with students from schools across Victoria who share a passion for leadership and community involvement.
Participate in Team-Building Activities: Engage in activities designed to foster collaboration, communication, and problem-solving.
Create a Community Project: Plan and implement a meaningful project that positively impacts their local or school community.

Read about what our current Year 9 students are doing.

We had an awesome 3-day adventure paddling down the glorious lower Glenelg River.

Expedition 2. On day one, we travelled from campus to our starting point at Battersby camp site on the Glenelg river. This was a long 3 hour drive. Upon arrival, we unloaded the canoes, had lunch and got ourselves ready. The day was a little overcast but warm and there was a nervous anticipation in the air. For logistical and safety reasons two groups, Moyjil and Tarnpirr completed this Expo together. It took longer to get on the water with two groups. Kids were worried about getting wet, muddy and who their paddling partner was. Once underway we noticed we were blessed with a tail or side wind which certainly helped our travel time. Many students started paddling with a familiar partner, someone they had worked with before and were comfortable with. This did not necessarily equate to perfect steering and many boats had to work on their communication, teamwork and paddling skills to improve the control of their canoe.

Our camp for night one was Forest Camp South and with good conditions we were there with plenty of daylight to spare. The teamwork and collaboration required to get all the gear, boats and people off the water is significant and our two teams started to understand this. Later that evening, some wonderful meals were cooked on the Trangia (camp) stoves including pastas, curries and rice dishes…..admittedly, some tasted better than others!

We spent the night listening to grunting koalas, rummaging possums and pesky wallabies and woke up the next morning a little worse for wear! Back on the water and again we had good weather. Students were asked to swap partners and to swap between front and rear seats. This was a bigger day in terms of distance travelled with over 8kms to be paddled. A distance we did with ease! So much so that swapping partners, changing roles and rafting up together was all done in a relaxed, collaborative manner with a lot of fun had along the way. Our destination of McLennan’s Punt camp site came up in no time, in fact, our Team Organisers and Team Navigators decided we should push on until the finish instead of stopping for lunch. The fact that the students were in charge, this is exactly what happened. Once at camp we set up our cooking area, unpacked, set up our tents and then had time for a swim or a spot of fishing! Marshmallows around the campfire finished the evening.

The final day saw the students lead at every turn! They determined what time we needed rise and what time we should be on the water. We were met with mist hovering over the river as we escaped the cocoon of our tents. The finals days paddle would finish at Sandy Waterholes, a 5km plus trip. We accomplished this in a glorious morning of skilful paddling, laughter, comradeship, and collaboration. Once we were off the water, canoes cleaned, gear sorted it was time for a swim! The temperature had risen above 30 degrees and the water was warm. What a way to finish our time on the river.

Amanda Williams

College Principal