Sport & Outdoor Education

Golf

On Monday the 28 May, I was able to attend the Independent Schools golf round. I teed off on the second hole, which was a short par three. During the round of golf, my shots weren’t as good but I still managed to get through and get a score in the 80’s. One thing I was really proud of was my shots. My ball would go straight and then only thing I needed to do is pick the right club and choose a good spot for the ball to land. I met some of my good friends that I have played with before, I’ve played with them and I’ve competed against them so it was a good chance for me to see some of my friends and play some golf. I ended up coming 9th but at least I had fun and got to see the people that I know.

By Alexandra Phanuruk Year 8 Providence

Year 11 Outdoor & Environmental Studies Semester Recap

For the VCE Outdoor & Environmental Studies class, the past few months have been jam packed with many excursions and camps. At the start of the year, we went snorkelling at Pope's Eye and Chinaman's Hut out in Port Phillip Bay. It started with a short boat ride from Blairgowrie before arriving at Pope's Eye where we were swimming around looking at different species of fish and learning new snorkelling techniques. We then snorkelled around the outside of the rocks to an adrenaline pumping 15 metre drop off where there was no chance of seeing the bottom but there were a lot more fish to see and observe. Then we hopped back on the boat to Chinaman's Hut to swim with the seals and a big smooth stingray which wanted to say hello. The experience was unforgettable, being able to play with seals and seeing them in the water.

Then during the last week of Term 1, the Year 11 Outdoor Ed class and Silver Duke of Ed girls completed 3 days of the Great Ocean Walk. It was an early morning wake up on Tuesday morning arriving at school at 7am and leaving soon after that, stopping at Apollo Bay for a quick toilet break before leaving the world of phone service, Wifi, flushing toilets and showers.

Starting the walk at Blanket Bay, we took a shortstop after about 2 hours in at Parkers Inlet, a small beach area only accessible by the walk. Continuing along we walked along the cliffs with the view of the water almost always in our sights. Getting to the campsite just before 5 o'clock in the evening, we set up our tents quickly before having dinner. We played a few games before heading to bed as there was another big day of walking. Waking up the second day was difficult with sore hips and shoulders, we did our best to keep our spirits high and encourage each other knowing that the only way out was to keep walking.

Again with very picturesque views, we stopped every now again to be filled with awe as we looked out to what appeared to be endless water. This day was difficult but by encouraging each other along, we finally made it to the campsite where we had a fair amount of free time which we spent fishing and trying to nap before having dinner and heading off to bed. The third day went by in a blur, we were just so excited to go home and have a shower and flush a toilet. Walking through a lot of uphill, we hardly felt the pain as the excitement of going home took over our bodies. Many naps were taken on the way home and although we were all excited to go to the bathroom with a flush and have a shower, it was safe to say the camp was an amazing experience where new friendships and bonds were made.

Then on the first Thursday of Term 2, the Year 11 Outdoor class were off again for another new experience this time kayaking and caving. Kayaking was a big hit. Going through white water rapids and occasionally getting stuck on rocks or going down backwards was definitely a learning experience. After a 3 hour kayak we went caving or as it is officially called spelunking. While many people in class enjoyed this experience of being 8 metres underground with rocks overhead and cramming through tiny cracks and occasionally in an underground river, it still amazes me that people willingly do this as a hobby. Leaving the caves exhausted and covered in mud, we had just had another amazing experience that I know I would  have never done had it not have been for choosing Outdoor Education & Environmental Studies as one of my subjects.

A huge thank you to Ms Bowring, Ms Tagell and Sue Sofarnos for organising and coming on these camps and excursions with us.

By Layla West Senior Kincumber 3 & Jessica Saunders​ Senior Providence 3

Year 9 Duke of Ed/ Outdoor Education Camp

The Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh / Outdoor Education classes recently completed a two day hike from Bells Beach to Point Road knight in the Great Otway National Park. Overall the hike was roughly 18 km, although some will argue that it was at least 50 km.

 We experienced beautiful views along the coast and of the star lit skies at night, which were perfect for photos and was definitely worth the effort put into getting there. Luckily the two groups did not experience any harsh weather during the camp, although the nights were cold and we had to layer up.

Although we were allowed to bring our phones for emergencies and for taking photos, we had limited use. This made us actually talk to one another and pay more attention to our surroundings, which definitely was a positive.

We were sent off in our groups, with 5 minute intervals between us, with only a map and  a track to follow. We knew that we were walking for roughly 4 hours and when we finished the first steep hill we had not known the time and had thought we had walked for a solid 30 minutes. We had only been walking for five minutes!

So after many pointless conversations, bad jokes and even worse attempts of being Bear Grylls, the rest of the day shot by in a flash. That night the satisfaction of setting up our tents, making a hot meal and personally the delicious smores (a marshmellow and chocolate campfire treat) was worth everything we put in.

The next day we were set off to walk 7km mainly downhill thankfully. By the time we reached the last stretch it had not felt as if we had been walking very long and we were told that we just had to go to the top of this hill and that would be it. Everyone cheered for joy as we saw the finish line and made our way back to school on the bus. Overall it was a great experience that was definitely challenging but worth it.

By Elizabeth McIntyre Year 9 McCormack

Aerobics State Finals

On Saturday 2 June two MSJ Aerobics Teams Ignite and Adrenaline went to State final with our aerobics dance routine. We were all very nervous and couldn’t wait to go on. MSJ Ignite was in the Year 7-8 Category and they did really well. The team made up of Year 7 students did a fantastic job going from regional qualifiers to state finals on their first time. In the Years 7-10 category was MSJ Adrenaline, made up of Year 8 and 9 students. Most of the students in Adrenaline had done aerobics for 2-3 years and were so happy to come first at regional qualifiers last month. We performed our very hardest. When it came to decision time we all felt like there were butterflies in our stomach. Third place was called out and it was not our team which made us feel even more sick in the stomach. Adrenaline from MSJ came in second place with 71.6 points. We were so excited and proud that we got second out of the whole state for our division.    

We had a great experience and would love to thank Miss Hawkins for helping all MSJ Teams for teaching us with the aerobics dance and helping Ignite and Adrenaline get to State finals.

By Lauren Griffin 9 Penola