Beyond Boundaries
Year 8
One night camping in the Cathedral Ranges, four days camping in the Grampians National Park
Theme: Teamwork and responsibility
September and October 2009
The Year 8 program builds on the positive experiences of Year 7 by extending the students over two separate periods. Having the program run over two distinct phases provide us with:
- an opportunity for students to experience and contrast / compare different mountainous environments (Cathedral Ranges and the Grampians)
- the ability to expose students to varying climatic conditions (important in their preparation for the Year 10 expeditions).
The first program is held at the Cathedral Ranges National Park, situated only two hours from Melbourne. The two-day program is designed to introduce students to a bush campsite, as well as prepare them for their five-day program later in the year.
The bush campsites are well set up with tent sites, drop toilets and fire pits. Students progress with their outdoor camping skills and partake in a bushwalk with reduced-weight backpacks.
The highlight of the program is the rock journey, up to the top of Mt Sugarloaf. The focus is on challenge and teamwork as it requires everyone to help the group get to the top.
The Year 8 program has strong links with the School's Health and Personal Development program. The positive and integral qualities of a leader are openly explored during this program and are directly related to the activities at hand.
The English curriculum continues with the use of the Journal to relate the girls' experiences in the field to the major themes found in class texts, with courage being just one example.
The second experience is set in the majestic surrounds of the Grampians National Park and takes the form of a five-day multi-activity program. Students are based at Camp Acacia, a hardtop venue situated in Halls Gap, where there are cabins, showers, toilets and a dining hall.
Girls spend two nights at the Camp and two nights out at bush campsites. They complete more extended bushwalks in some of Victoria's most spectacular country and also get a chance to challenge themselves with a rock climbing session around the Halls Gap area. Students are also taken on a rock journey with easy scrambling to the high vantage point of Hollow Mountain.
The girls spend time at the Camp doing team building activities as well as visiting the Brambuk Centre, an Aboriginal cultural centre that highlights the importance of the area to the Indigenous people of the Grampians.