STUDENT VOICE AND LEADERSHIP

The Alpine School For Leadership

HAMISH Y. 9D  

Tell us a bit about your experience at The Alpine School?

In Term 2 I went to The Alpine School which is near Mt Hotham for 10 weeks. It’s a leadership camp for year 9 students from Victoria. Altogether there were 43 students from 10 schools. Of these, 5 schools were from suburban areas of Melbourne and 5 schools were from regional Victoria. It was really interesting to interact with kids from the country. Given that we were brought up with different surroundings, we discovered that we saw things quite differently. We were divided into four groups of 10 and we had 2 core teachers that remained with us throughout the course of the camp. There was also the principal, Mr Shem and two different student leaders each day.

What made you interested in applying for the program?

Initially, it was because I wanted to get out of the end of semester Maths exam but by the end of my time at the Alpine School, I realised it was an experience of a lifetime and somewhere I met some really great people and friends.

What your biggest take away from The Alpine School?

Gratitude. Being grateful for the things I already have, like my family and friends. I don’t want to take things for granted and make sure I am appreciating all the small things I have.

How is your CLP (Community Learning Project) going and tell us a little bit about what it is?

The Community Learning Project (CLP) was given to us because the leaders at The Alpine School wanted us to carry on our learning from the school into our lives back at home.  Cameron, Dom and I decided to work on a project involving new water bubblers for around the schoolyard. We thought we would conduct a survey to see if it would have an impact on other students and from there we would like to take the idea to the school council.

What were some of the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

In our CLP group, we had a few minor disagreements and some issues around managing our time. We overcame this by working together to set some goals for each lesson. We then collectively decided if we didn’t meet these goals, we would work overtime until we completed them. By doing this we were able to complete our tasks on time. 

In what way has this experience had an impact on your life? 

If I hadn’t been, I think life would be very different for me. Some of the life skills and the friends that I made over my time at the school have changed the direction of my path in life. I’ve learned not to slack off on tasks and that the things you do learn in school do matter. We were taught about leadership building, looking at yourself and finding out who you are. I thought I knew who I was but when I reflected on this it taught me a lot about who I am as a learner and more importantly as a person. I  definitely feel that my values have changed for the better!

What advice would you give to those students interested in this experience?

Give it a shot, you have nothing to lose!  You might be a little nervous but that’s normal. You might be thinking 10 weeks is a long time to miss out on life at home with your friends and family but to be honest you’re missing out more by not taking up the opportunity.

What are your goals for next year?

To stay connected to my friends because I feel like some of my older friends I drifted from. While you’re at Alpine School you are away from all your friends and family and it makes you think about the positive impact they have on you and your life.

Community Learning Project (CLP)

Year 9 students, Hamish, Cameron and Dom, who attended The Alpine School For Student Leadership earlier this year, are collecting data for their Community Learning Project (CLP). They would like to find out what DSC students think about getting new water bubblers for the school.

Students can complete the short survey in the link CLP - New Water Bubblers Survey