Snow Camp 2024 

Luck was on our side again this year at Snow Camp! 

On Wednesday 14th August, a combination of Year 7-12 students, 39 to be precise, woke up at 3:30am to jump on the bus to make the trip up to Mt Buller for 3 days. The anticipation was in the air with plenty of snow this year on the mountain with 20+ runs being open and the weather was forecast to be bluebird days for at least the first two days. It was set to be an amazing adventure from the start. 

We arrived at the Southern Cross Lodge on Mt Buller, unpacked our luggage then we all got geared up ready to hit the slopes. We had 6 skiers and 35 snowboarders, of which 25 were FIRST TIMERS! 

The students did a great job getting themselves equipped and organised for the first lesson. 

The beautiful BLUE SKY made the first day a perfect day to introduce our students to skiing/snowboarding and our veterans quickly picked up where they left off. 

Each day students participated in a 90min lesson in the morning, then they were free to practice what they learnt for the rest of the day and adventure around the mountain if they wished. 

It always takes a lot of persistence on the first day and our first timers were amazing.  They kept getting back up when they fell and showed outstanding determination to continue to practice, make mistakes and learn. At the end of the day, we were all absolutely stuffed, so it was nice to relax as a group in the hotel common room with students across all year levels mingling with one another, playing board games, cards and chatting. 

Day 2 is usually the day that the first timers start to feel like they are making some progress and we were super lucky to have some quality instructors again on Day 2 who helped our students develop faster than we thought they would.  For the rest of the day, students enjoyed clear sky and nice soft snow and were able to continue to practice and progress their skiing/snowboarding. Some of us didn’t even need to wear jackets or gloves it was such a nice day! 

After a really successful day, we enjoyed Pizza for dinner then relaxed in the rec room again, playing table tennis, board games, eating snacks and chatting. It was wonderful to see how well our students were connecting with one another, especially seeing our senior students ensure that the junior students were involved and a part of conversations and activities. What an impressive bunch of students we have! 

On Friday, despite the rain and poor visibility we were lucky that everyone had progressed so well that we still managed to make the most of the day and snowboard/ski for 3 hours before lunch.  

Our students progressed their abilities again in the 90min lesson and it was so great to see how much better they all were compared to day 1.  Their confidence had grown, they were trying more difficult skills and challenging themselves on more difficult blue runs. 

It was pouring rain at lunch, so the majority of students opted to get changed back into their warm gear, while a bunch of keen students decided to keep going for another 2 hours (with some keen teachers too) and we made the most of the snow despite the conditions…and what an awesome afternoon we had! We were able to take a lot of the students over the back of the mountain to complete some of the more challenging and longer runs.  

There’s nothing better than seeing the excitement in our students’ faces when they realise that they are actually skiing/snowboarding correctly and are able to complete more difficult runs. Their excitement was evident as they chatted together on the lifts about all the things they did on the way down the run they just completed. They were all so proud of themselves and we were all LOVING it! 

We thoroughly enjoyed the day until it was time to pack up, return our gear and head back home on the bus. 

Throughout the 3 days, students did a fantastic job of staying organised. There is a lot of equipment to manage and a lot of logistics and organisational requirements to follow and our students learnt a lot about being a member of a group, being responsible for themselves, looking after their equipment and their friends. 

Camps like this are never without challenges. The staff encouraged students to embrace these challenges, show initiative and to figure out solutions to the problems they faced. Our students did an excellent job of this. 

Students developed new friendships and solidified existing ones, connected with staff, developed independence, communication skills, organisational skills among many other skills.  We had an incredible group of students attend snow camp this year, all of which I am glad to have spent some quality time with.  

The positive tone of the camp was set by the incredible senior students who lead the way and set the standard for the younger ones to follow.  

To all the students who attended Snow Camp 2024, you did it…you can now Snowboard/Ski anywhere in the world for the rest of your lives. It was awesome to carve up the snow with so many of you throughout the camp and it was so great to see how capable you all were after 3 days of persistence and resilience! Well done Snow Crew! 

A big thank you to the staff who attended the camp, Mr O’Neil, Ms Berg, Ms Rowe and Ms Diaz. We couldn’t have enjoyed the camp as much as we all did without all of your effort, patience, problem solving abilities, organisation and commitment above all expectations.  

The plan is to run another Snow Camp in 2025. Expression of interest will be requested in Term 4. 

I look forward to helping more students learn to ski/snowboard for many years to come!