Health and PE News

On Wednesday the 18th of August, the Year 11 VCE Outdoor Ed class set off for an adventure on Mt Stirling. We arrived in Mansfield where we did our food shopping for the whole trip. Then arriving at the lodge, we settled in and some of the students got the Mexican fiesta dinner prepared. 

The next day we woke up, had breakfast and cleaned up the lodge and took off to tackle the slopes of Mt Stirling. We skied up to our campsite and dropped our bags off in the tents that would be our home for the night. We had lunch and then left the campsite and headed up the mountain to the summit. I personally had a boot problem where my shoe had broken away from my boot and we had to bandage it up and wait for the Ski Patrol to bring me a new pair of boots! Everyone made it to the last shack before the summit and then 10 of us trekked up to the summit of Mt Stirling. Eight of us made it and were so ready to see the beautiful views of Mt Buller and surrounding areas, but then the fog came over and we could not see anything! It was still a very big accomplishment. 

On the way down, we all struggled to stay on our feet and actually get going as it became quite icy and slippery. There were many stacks (including a whopper myself) but it was all fun and part of the process. We made it back to the campsite and some other students started cooking dinner. We all went and sat in the kitchen tent and reflected on the day. 

The last day was very foggy which made the snow very slippery. We had our breakfast and took off again for the last time. We fell over multiple times again but had loads of fun. We made it safely down the mountain and got picked up by a bus to head down to the ski hire. We arrived, dropped off the ski equipment and got our shoes back. We then got another bus down to our school bus where we changed and left to go back to Mansfield. We got lunch and then headed for home. We arrived back at school, unpacked the trailer and went home just in time for lockdown 7.0. The camp overall was amazing, everyone had so much fun and we all had smiles on our faces the whole time. The best part was being able to ski down a hill without falling over and watching everyone do it as well. If I had the chance to go back, I would in a heartbeat. 

Gemma Christiaans Year 11

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On Wednesday August 18 the year 11 outdoor ed class set off on our way to Mount Stirling for an experience that all of us are so grateful to have had. For what was a first time at the snow for many of us and the first-ever time skiing for almost the whole class, we all had the best time and created so many memories and great relationships. Accompanying us in the snow was Mr Dyson, Mr Dangerfield and Ms Toone, who didn’t really feel like teachers and more like friends while we were away. Sleeping in tents in the snow was something I never thought I would do and you probably won’t believe me, but it was so much fun! 

Together we all shared so many laughs, for each time everyone slipped over in the snow, and trust me there were many falls. We lived like a big family for the three days while we were away, cooking together, having big ‘family’ dinners and of course Mr Dyson made us share a highlight of the day and one thing we learnt every night at dinner. Before we left I set myself a goal to climb to the summit of Mount Stirling (and I’m sure many others did too), wow it was a challenge but many of us did it and it felt so good! The whole class enjoyed watching Mr Dyson and Mr Dangerfield ‘show off’ and try to tackle some pretty hard slopes and we all had a great laugh when they fell over! We also got a laugh when Ms Toone had an encounter with an Antechinus. 

Being separate from the crazy busy life that we all live in reminded me, despite all these lockdowns right now, what a lucky place we live in - to be able to drive 5 hours north and be in the snow or 30 minutes south to be on the coast is pretty amazing. We are all feeling pretty lucky right now that we got to hit the slopes right before lockdown, couldn’t have timed it better Dyso!

Chloe Visser Year 11