The Hamilton and Alexandra College Newsletter

Middle Years

 - Mr Ben Hawthorne

Year 8 Mittagundi

Late last week, the Year 8s returned from their 7-day program at Mittagundi, which formed part of the Year 8 YOLO program. Mittagundi is a unique place that enables young people to come together and live a simple life where everyone matters to each other. The Year 8s spent three days in the “snow,” based at McNamara’s hut. Unfortunately, with the clear weather and rain events, the snow line was about a 5km walk from the hut, so they had to earn their skiing when it was time to cross-country ski. The remainder of the time was spent at the Mittagundi Outdoor Centre, working on tasks such as cooking, fencing, wood chopping, milking cows, and gardening.  

 

A few things stood out to me about our students:

  1. The students quickly and efficiently learned to get on with group tasks, making them fun with their conversations and singing. I loved watching the boys' group organise dishwashing and having fun talking and singing. Washing dishes was very loud!
     
  2. They found fun in every task or activity and loved to be adventurous. Whether fixing a fence, digging a trench, milking a cow, or wrangling piglets, the Year 8s found fun in everything. If a situation was challenging, this was when they really thrived and often laughed a lot! 
     
  3. Our Year 8s are physically fit and strong. I was worried that they might find carrying a winter pack a physical challenge, but all of them did this with ease. The Mittagundi staff were all blown away by not only how much they could carry in their packs to and from McNamara’s hut but also how fast they moved—even on uphill terrain! 
     
  4. The Year 8s were kind and caring towards each other. Unfortunately, a couple of students fell ill during the camp. I was really impressed with the care and support that other students showed towards those who were not feeling well. So many of the Year 8s checked in on their peers and offered to carry some of their equipment, etc., to help them out.

The Year 7s should look forward to their Mittagundi experience next year. I hope they get a chance to speak to the Year 8s in preparation for 2025. The Year 8s should be excited for their Year 9 Experience in 2025!