Principal

- Mr Michael Horne

Our Year 10s returned to school this week from this year’s Central Australia camp buoyant and raving about their time away. I had the privilege of going away with this group of 47 young people on the eight-day program, which was designed to broaden students’ appreciation of the Central Australian natural environment and to learn about Indigenous connection to country and community. The program provided opportunities for personal challenge and growth and took students from Alice Springs into Watarrka country around King's Canyon, including time working in the Lilla community, and then on to Yulara to experience Uluru and Kata Tjuta. During the eight days, we learnt an enormous amount about Arrernte, Luritja, and Pitjantjatjara culture and lore and met some incredible people. We slept under the stars in swags, sat in the dirt, swam in waterholes, got red dust through everything, and couldn’t have been happier.

Opportunities to experience different cultures and ways of living are important in any full, well-rounded education. Speaking with and walking alongside people who have different backgrounds or see the world differently is fundamental to every student’s growth as they come to understand that their way is not the only way and that human dignity extends to all regardless of race, background or belief. My thanks to Abbie Cameron, Elly Dixon, Emily Hausler, Brigita Keiller and our gapper, Max St John, for being away from home for the week to allow the trip to happen. To see our students so genuinely engage with the experiences on this trip was immensely pleasing, and staff members are already arguing about who gets to go back next year.