Parent Information - Introduction 2023 Print E-mail

Welcome Parents

Congratulations on having your child be chosen to represent your school and community at the School for Student Leadership, Snowy River Campus.

The following is a brief overview of the Snowy River Campus experience from a Parents/Guardians perspective; however, more detail can be found in the following booklet available to download:

The Snowy River Campus (SRC) Experience

During their eight or nine week stay, students will live and work in a very close environment with up to 45 of their peers. There are challenges and lessons on human relationships that will arise from this lifestyle. Great friendships are made, tolerance is learned and teamwork and leadership is created. It will be rare to find a student who will not be proud of his or her involvement or to find an ex-student who does not readily identify with the Snowy River Campus.

Personal Accident Insurance for Students

Parent should be aware that the Department of Education Victoria nor the Alpine School (School for Student Leadership) and its campuses DO NOT provide personal accident insurance for students. Parents and guardians are responsible for paying the cost of medical treatment for injured students, including any transport costs.

Student accident insurance policies are available from some commercial insurers. These cover a range of medical expenses not covered by Medicare or private health insurance.

Neither the Department nor the School can advise parents/guardians on whether to purchase a student accident policy or which policy to purchase. It is recommended that parents seek assistance in this matter with their insurance broker or find a suitable personal accident insurer in the Yellow Pages or online.

Communication With Your Child

Students develop greatly at the SRC by managing the various challenges in a relatively independent manner. As such, regular contact via email and hand written letters from Parents/Guardians is crucially important in providing support and encouragement during the Snowy River experience.

All students are encouraged to write to or email their families on a regular basis. Family members may send faxes to students at the Snowy River Campus although students are not able to send faxes in return. Postpacks may be sent.

Arrival at The Snowy River Campus

Families may need to plan ahead and perhaps consider car pooling to deliver students to the Snowy River Campus on the starting date. Parents/Guardians should plan to arrive between 10 am and 12 pm. There is often a rush at 12 so it is often much more relaxing to arrive closer to 10am.

On arrival students will meet and be briefed by the student’s Snowy River Campus teacher, this will be followed by lunch and a campus orientation. Parents/Guardians will be required to depart by 1.30pm.

Visiting Weekend

The visiting weekend is a vital component of the Snowy River Campus experience as it draws the family into the experience of the student. It can and usually does cause a great deal of angst with Parents/Guardians and students. Separation anxiety is often revisited for both students and Parents/Guardians. We feel it is well worth the effort, as it achieves a shared understanding of aspects of the Snowy River Campus experience for family that needs to be communicated face-to-face. This is a vital insight into your child’s experience which will assist you with the reintegration process upon their return home.

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[Updated: June 2023]

 

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School For Student Leadership

School for Student Leadership is a Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) initiative offering a unique residential education experience for year nine students. The curriculum focuses on personal development and team learning projects sourced from students' home regions. There are four campuses in iconic locations across Victoria. The Alpine School Campus is located at Dinner Plain in the Victorian Alps. Snowy River Campus is near the mouth of the Snowy River at Marlo in east Gippsland. The third site is adjacent to Mount Noorat near Camperdown in Victoria’s Western District, and is called Gnurad-Gundidj. After consultation with the local aboriginal community, this name represents both the indigenous name of the local area and an interpretation of the statement "belonging to this place". Our fourth and newest campus, currently known as the Don Valley Campus is located at Don Valley, Yarra Ranges.
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Our school community acknowledges the Gunaikurnai and Monero-Ngarigo people as the traditional custodians of the land upon which our school campus is built. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their Elders past and present, and especially whose children attend our school.