Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Year 9 Interest Elective - Challenge Plus and Duke of Edinburgh's Award
This year’s cohort, building on from last year, have been stepping up to the challenges that come their way. Through teamwork and leadership activities we have learnt the importance of working with others in demanding conditions. Also, During our first term we established the purpose and function of the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award.
The concept of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award is framed around individual challenge. There is a expectation that students will take ownership and initiative to set and follow their own pathway through the award. Many students were quick to take up this challenge and will look to complete much of the award before the end of the year.
Our class pursuits this year included sessions on Kayaking, Rock Climbing, High Ropes, Hiking, Navigation, First Aid, Bushcraft and Skiing. The students have reported on these events and have shared some of their excerpts below:
Kayaking
On Tuesday 29 March we participated in a fun day on Lake Albert learning how to kayak and a range of other water things. I was well prepared for the day and what the day might bring. From the very beginning I believed that I pushed myself very much and I am happy that I did because I learnt a lot as a result of that. I learnt so much on this day and am so glad that I was able to participate in it.
– Timothy Goldthorpe
Rock Climbing and High Ropes
On the 30 May we travelled on the Mater Dei Catholic College bus to Borambola Sport and Recreation Centre. Our first activity was rock climbing. We used a system of belaying that I hadn’t seen before. We had four people belaying while one person climbed the wall. As they took a step backwards it would take the slack out of the rope and the person would be able to climb. Also when they stepped forward the person was lowered down the wall. That was fun. Everyone climbed twice and I got about halfway each time. The first time we were able to climb for as long as we wanted and the second time we had to reach the top within one minute. I wasn’t very good at that. I really liked rock climbing, which is weird because usually I don't like heights.
– Liam McCarthy
Ski Fall’s Creek
At 5:00am on Thursday 8 September, the Duke of Edinburugh's Award classes of 2015 and 2016 drove up to Falls Creek for a day in the snow. A few of the students in our class didn’t have a lesson and I was one of them. I didn’t need a lesson as I had skied before with my family. I went off with Clare and Stella and we skied down Drover's Dream, Highway 83, and Mainstreet. Both Highway 83 and Mainstreet were blue runs and I hadn't experienced a blue run for a long time. I had 2 "stacks", which was surprising since I thought I would have had a lot more. I did find the blue runs a bit hard, and the visibility was really bad. I could only see 10 metres in front of me.
When I got home I went straight to bed, I was so exhausted. The next day when I woke up my arms and shoulders were so sore from pushing against the wind. Overall, it was a great day and I would love to do it again with my awesome classmates.
– Makenna Irlam
On the 8 September the Duke of Edinburgh class and I ventured on a challenging journey to Falls Creek. The purpose of the excursion was to challenge ourselves by learning how to ski. For me, it was an extra challenging and rewarding experience as I had never skied before and didn’t know how to use any of the gear.
Overall, I found this excursion was really good. I’d recommend this experience to anyone who is keen to do something new and exciting. Some improvements I can suggest include pushing yourself to the very boundary and making use of all the precious time you have to ski. Awesome stuff!
– Liam Comerford
Hiking The Rock
On Friday, 23 September the Duke of Edinburgh class went to The Rock. The view was fantastic from the top and overlooked local farms, which were vibrant with bright yellow Canola fields. One thing that I didn’t expect was the number of insects flying around. The bugs were driving me crazy and they kept following me, but in the end I think I just got used to them. We were at the top for about 30 minutes and started our descent at 12:05pm. It was quicker coming down, but just as hard on your calf muscles. We didn’t stop as many times on the way day and so it was much quicker coming down than it was going up.
– Makenna Irlam.
Our group will also look to complete their Bronze level component of the Adventurous journey through hiking; firstly Livingstone National Park and later in the fourth term, the Jagungal Wilderness in Kosciuszko National Park. Well done to the students who have pushed themselves in activities over the year. Opportunities will exist to continue into the future, should they wish. A special thank you to the teachers who also assisted this year – notably Ms Hazelwood, Mr Preston and Mr Hope.
Mr Stephen McCormack
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Leader