About Vision Valley

The Vision Valley campus is based in Arcadia, 45 minutes’ drive from the College at Pymble, and comprises:

• 100 acres of native bushland • a creek that is dammed to create a lake • four lodges with sleeping accommodation for 210 people • auditorium • classrooms • outdoor activity areas including an oval and a beach volleyball court • extensive adventure elements including high ropes course, abseiling and rock-climbing site and archery range • walking/running and mountain bike trails • two swimming pools and a waterslide • campsites.

The easily accessible site offers facilities and opportunity to enable:

• any level and type of outdoor education programs • residential experiential learning programs • curriculum studies/links, such as environmental science and sustainability, agricultural science, geography, art, creative writing and First Nations Australian studies • exploration of themes, including leadership and impact, connections with others, positive mental health and environmental stewardship.

Vision Valley’s proximity to national parks and rivers allows program extensions in the form of expeditions which can be undertaken on foot, in canoes or on bikes. These expeditions can be day trips or overnight trips.

ACCOMMODATION FOR PARTICIPANTS

Whilst onsite at Vision Valley, students will be accommodated in lodges. For the Term 3 Residential Program, Pymble students will be accommodated in the newly-renovated Stringybark Lodge and Riverview students will be accommodated in Koala and Wallaby Lodges. These two locations are located on opposite sides of the campus, providing a geographical buffer. Staff will be accommodated both in the student lodges for supervision, and also in Echidna Lodge which sits between the two areas.

Rooms are typically four-share with two bunk beds per room. The schools may decide to have two, three or four students per room depending on available space and friendship groups. Amenities in the lodges are shared.

AVERAGE ON-CAMPUS LEARNING DAY AT VISION VALLEY

TIMES ACTIVITY 06.00 to 06.30 Rise 06.30 to 07.30 Exercise/showers 07.30 to 09.00 Breakfast/duties 09.00 to 10.30 Learning/activity block 10.30 to 11.00 Break 11.00 to 12.30 Learning/activity block 12.30 to 13.30 Break 13.30 to 15.00 Learning/activity block 15.00 to 15.30 Break 15.30 to 17.30 OEP/projects/academic intensives 17.30 to 18.30 Free time/dinner duties 18.30 to 19.30 Dinner/dinner duties 19.30 to 21.00 Learning/activity block 21.00 to 22.00 Bedtime

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF THE CAMPUS DUTIES AND SERVICE

The Vision Valley residential program has many interlocking parts, one of which is living successfully in a community. Each member of a functional community does their part to contribute to the success of the group and, as such, daily duties will be a feature of the program. These duties also teach life skills. Small groups will rotate through duties in their time on program, including: - cleaning - food preparation and service - gardening and tending food gardens.

It is also expected that all communal spaces, including bedrooms, bathrooms, classrooms and living areas will be kept neat and tidy. This is a safety and wellbeing consideration as well as a general principle of shared living.

There may also be some service-learning opportunities in the local community during the residential program to further emphasise the importance of giving back and being a constructive member of society.

Students will undertake a Safe Food Handling course before departure for Vision Valley.

As an integral part of the life skills program, participants will be involved in every part of the catering process, from meal preparation, cooking, food service, cleaning and packing down the kitchen and dining area. Students will work with qualified food professionals to learn valuable proficiencies in the kitchen. In addition, students will work in the food gardens to be part of the ‘field to fork’ philosophy that Vision Valley seeks to embed, with a focus on environmental sustainability and minimal impact.

Average daily meals onsite will consist of: - continental breakfast, self-serve - morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, which (will likely) be packed after breakfast and taken with students for the day - dinner, cooked and served by the catering team and duty groups.

On expedition, all meals will be carried by students and prepared in small groups with some meals requiring cooking on camping stoves. Where required, food drops may be included for expeditions to keep the groups supplied.

PERSONAL EQUIPMENT

All participants will require a standard set of personal equipment to ensure safety, enjoyment and the meeting of program outcomes. For technical outdoor equipment, a special wholesale purchase plan will be established to offer high quality equipment at prices well below retail. As a guide, the equipment listed over the page will be required for the program and items marked with an asterix (*) will be offered on the purchase plan.

Mr Stuart Clark HEAD OF CAMPUS – VISION VALLEY

ITEM

Hiking pack* Day pack* Long-sleeved shirt with collar* T shirt/polo shirt Shorts* Long pants* Broad-rim hat* Jacket* Jumper* Waterproof rain jacket* Waterproof pants* Underwear and socks Pyjamas Swimwear Hiking boots* Sports shoes Water shoes Thongs or sandals Water bottle* Hand sanitiser Sunscreen Insect repellent Headtorch* Pillow with pillowcase Single fitted bed sheet Doona Sleeping bag* Sleeping bag liner* Sleeping mat* Towel Personal medications

Toiletries Personal First Aid kit* Laptop, notebooks, pens, textbooks Books QTY Notes

1 Minimum 65 litres 1 Minimum 25 litres 2 Lightweight, quick dry 4 2 No ‘short shorts’ 2 Lightweight, quick dry 1 1 A weatherproof jacket is ideal, such as a soft shell 1 A fleece jumper is ideal 1 Must have a hood – no ponchos 1

1 pair A pair per day on camp

1 A one-piece costume or board shorts and rash vest 1 pair Good quality, broken in 1 pair 1 pair An old pair of sports shoes is OK 1 pair To wear when in the shower 2 Must be one-litre hard plastic 1 Small tube 1 We recommend SPF 50+ 1 We recommend a brand with DEET 1 Plus two spare sets of batteries 1 1 For use on mattress 1 1 Comfort level of 0 degrees Celsius 1 Increases warmth 1 Inflatable is best 1 1 E.g. Asthma or allergy medication/s. Please do not send paracetamol or ibuprofen, as these will be available as required

1 1 Set TBA from Academic team

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which Pymble Ladies’ College and Vision Valley stand. We pay respect to the Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to other First Nations people within the Pymble Ladies’ College community.

pymblelc.nsw.edu.au/pymble-life/visionvalley

24 2022-VV-1V7 Year 9 Residential Program at Vision Valley 7 Vision Valley Road Arcadia NSW 2159 Australia +61 2 9855 7788 visionvalley@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

A SCHOOL OF THE UNITING CHURCH ACN 645 100 670 | CRICOS 03288K