3 minute read
JOURNEYS OF PERSONAL GROWTH
Outdoor Education Co-ordinator (and Old Grammarian, 1995) David Marriott is feeling a strong sense of hope about running a full Outdoor Education program in 2022 as COVID restrictions ease even further.
David says that spending extended time out in the bush away from the pressures of modern life gives young people the chance to fully immerse in the adventure and embrace both the challenges and the joy. “Experiential learning provides valuable opportunities for self-reflection and personal growth. Resilience has been battered during the pandemic, and young people need opportunities to build character and resilience that support their wellbeing. A lot of our students don’t get to go into the bush much or go camping, so it’s great that we can provide this opportunity for them.”
Students being with their peers and adults away from school in a challenging environment highlights the need to work together. “I love watching them support each other when someone is struggling, or pushing themselves for the sake of the team… seeing students from different backgrounds and experiences connecting and working as one unit. For the small minority of students who struggle with the idea of going on camp, there’s a big sense of achievement when they come out the other side having had a positive experience and one of personal growth.”
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Always looking for ways to offer more and better learning experiences for students, David has been working on new and exciting changes to the program, developing more extended, journey-based opportunities that involve a real purpose of moving from point A to point B.
Year 9 Extended Journey
Plans for an ambitious 15-day extended journey for all Year 9 students will be ready to go in 2022. The multi-leg journey will start at Mount Stirling with students spending six to seven days bushwalking in the high country, working their way down to Lake Eildon. They will then spend three to four days journeying across the lake in sea kayaks before embarking on a cycle touring leg and ultimately paddling down the Yarra River to finish at City Cite, linking in with their Year 9 Melbourne Experience.
David says the challenging adventure is designed to take students well away from their normal lives and push them out of their comfort zone. “Students will need to use teamwork and communication to achieve their goals, providing plenty of opportunities for selfreflection and personal growth.”
THE VALUE OF STAFF ON CAMPS
David says the students benefit enormously from seeing their teachers and other adults from the School in a more relaxed environment. Sharing activities and facing challenges together leads to connections on a different level.
While Grammar teachers go on camp as part of their role, increasingly, non-teaching staff are taking up the opportunity.
School Registrar Sue Clifford loves school camps. Since starting at Grammar in 2017, she has been on a Year 7 Lake Eildon camp, a Year 8 Murray River camp, and a Year 8 Timber Creek trip.
“Students are the whole reason I work in a school. It brings me great pleasure to see a young person growing and thriving outside their academic environment."
"I love that it’s often the students you don’t expect who come away shining. Camps are a chance to step away from behind the computer and into our great outdoors. They’re a great way for teaching and non-teaching staff members to engage with and guide our students – to walk beside a student who is out of their comfort zone is a great privilege.”
Registrar Sue Clifford with Timber Creek School students.
