Outdoor experiences at Castle Hill

Outdoor experiences at

Castle Hill

The four Year 8 classes were among the first groups to take part in some exciting outdoor activities at the Castle Hill Outdoor Education Centre, which is back in full operation in 2022.

Year 8 Team Leader, Morgan Sheppard, says the camps, held right at the start of Term 1, were a great way for students to bond with each other, and their teachers. “The children appreciated being able to take their masks off while they were outside and to interact with each other in a more pre-COVID-19 way. The teachers also formed positive relationships with the students as they negotiated the unfamiliar environment together. These connections can take much longer to build and maintain in a normal school situation.” COVID-19 limits, but luckily some students were able to stay at the lodge at Mt Cheeseman to escape the ferocity of the weather.”

Morgan is full of praise for the team at the Castle Hill Outdoor Education Centre, led by Operations Manager, Jo Parsons. “Jo has assembled a great team of instructors, who were patient and caring as they worked with the students and guided them through the various activities. The camps were very well run, and there were lots of contingencies in place. Our Year 7 students are already looking forward to their camps at Castle Hill later in the year.”

Abseiling off rocks, building and sailing rafts, stream investigations, tramping, cooking outdoors, and sleeping in tents were some of the challenging activities the students engaged in. “They were split into five different activity groups and most enjoyed being pushed outside their comfort zone. There were lots of new experiences for them to try, which is so important at this age,” says Morgan.

Two out of the three nights at the camp are usually spent sleeping in tents or bivouacs, however the first group of two Year 8 classes had an extra night indoors due to a severe thunderstorm and heavy rain. “We weren’t able to accommodate all of the students in the Alistair Sidey Mountain Lodge at once due to