Term 3 2013

22

Sep

Raft Building Pirates Print E-mail
Written by Rachel & Eldrain, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Yesterday I had Raft Building. 1A went down to the Slips and built a raft from logs and barrels. We dressed up as Pirates with face paint and everything. I loved it because it was so much fun! We paddled across to the dunes and followed the map to find the treasure (which I’m sure everyone was deeply ecstatic about). Paddling back was an interesting and rather freezing experience for me. Not only was the raft starting to fall apart, but most of us jumped off into the water and started to pull the raft back to shore. It was so fun. We then shared our thoughts of the day and shared the treasure… CHOCOLATE!!!! The best day I have had yet!!

- Rachel F Numurkah SC

Yesterday I had first aid scenarios, in this class we got people to fake injuries. We then went out to save them by doing the things you would in that situation. Today we have raft building like Rachel, this was our last team building activity and we all put effort into the activity. It was cold at first but we all worked as the day went on. We started laughing and injuring ourselves. Looking at our first team building activity (bridge building), you can see how people are putting forward more ideas and we were all confident and comfortable in doing it all, not like the start of SRC.

- Eldrain N Footscray City College

Raft Building Pirates

 

22

Sep

Raft Building - Our best team challenge yet Print E-mail
Written by Shea & Jordan, Snowy River Campus, Term 3 2013   

Today 1B had raft building, where we had to dress up like pirates. Everyone got into the full theme of the day and we all had a great time. We travelled out to one of the places we camped on the second expo and set sail to the high seas; or at least the lake we had to cross. We were given 8 barrels, 2 boxes of rope and some wooden beams that we were to make our raft out of, and to make it just that little bit harder it was raining while we were doing it.

Raft Building

Once we had finally created our raft we jumped aboard and with only half a map we tried to find our buried treasure. We ran across sand dunes and through the bush and even got lost quite a few times along the way but we ended up finding the X that marked the spot. The treasure was great, a block of chocolate to share between our crew (or expo team). We then made our journey back to our raft and set sail once again, back to the other side of the lake. Before we left most of our team jumped straight out of the raft and went for a swim to celebrate, never minding the fact that it was raining and half of us couldn’t feel our fingers. But we all had a great day and we work well as a team. Being the last team challenge I think it was our best one yet.

Shea (Footscray City College) & Jordan U (Yarrawonga College P-12)

 

22

Sep

Grace's Report on Expo 2 Print E-mail
Written by Grace, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

We (2B) started our journey half way up Mt Raymond. We reached the top to find the other expo group, 2A waiting for us. Today was our first day and also 2A’s last day. We stopped for a quick hello at set off through the bush. We walked in the heat and finally made it to Lake Curlip, where we found our canoes. We paddled to our campsite in the middle of a paddock and stayed the night. Stories were told around the camp fire. The next morning we paddled out onto the Brodribb River and glided across the water as a group for the whole day until we reached our second campsite. This time we stayed at the Slips. It’s just across from The Marlo jetty. We explored the dunes in the afternoon. In the morning we crossed the river and walked through Marlo until we got back to Snowy River Campus. It was challenging for many but everyone had a great time and will never forget our experience. All up we travelled 24km. We had so much fun and learnt on the way!

Grace - Mt Beauty SC

 

22

Sep

Music Workshop Print E-mail
Written by Karli & Ryley, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Today we had the music workshop. The man running it was a local musician who goes by the name of Nick. In music workshop we had to act like a band in our core groups. Core one had to go first. There was six bass drums, six snares, four hand drums and there were six people on shakers and tambourines. For the first hour we did basic rock beats, the bass drums started and eventually everyone else joined in. After we finished with that we had two volunteers come up and play two songs. During these songs we had to come up with our own little beat to that song, but we all had to do it together. For the last 15 minutes we just had a bit of a play around with the drums and guitars and things.

Karli (Mooroopna SC) & Ryley (Numurkah SC)

 

22

Sep

The Mad Rush by Lewis Print E-mail
Written by Lewis, Snowy River Campus, Term 3 2013   

This week has been full of work. We are so into our CLP’s and passports that nothing else matters. It has been great to get all the work done, and to put everything that you’ve learnt so far into the final product is just a great feeling.

These last few weeks have been great though, just getting together and working on things as a team. Everyone is getting along and the friendships are only getting stronger. I am sad that our time is coming to an end soon and we only have something like 3 days left. I can’t believe that at this time next week, I will be back in my home, with some excited pets awaiting my arrival.

I do want to go back home, but at the same time, I want to stay with all the friends that I have made here. This will probably be the hardest week so far, but if we stick together, we can pull through and persevere. These last few days will be the ones that we will define the true meaning of leadership. Who will step up in these last few days? Hopefully me.

By Lewis 1B (Footscray City College)

The Mad Rush

 

22

Sep

Community Service - Planting Fruit Trees Print E-mail
Written by Mikaela, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

For today’s classes Core Two had community service in the morning and CLP 8 in the afternoon. I wasn’t sure what we would have to do for community service and didn’t know whether it would be good or bad. The tasks that we had to complete today were planting some fruit trees in the garden, cleaning out the chook pen and moving the wood pile. Today Mr Den Otter showed us how to plant a tree properly and then we all had a go at it. We planted a different variety of fruit such as apple trees and cherry plants. After completing that we all went and trimmed the bushes on the bike track.

Community Service - Tree Planting

Our CLP lesson was very productive today and we have pretty much finished everything. With a few adjustments and run throughs we should all be confident and ready to present on Wednesday!

Mikaela (Mt Beauty)

 

22

Sep

My Time Here at Snowy - Jordyn Print E-mail
Written by Jordyn, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

My Time Here at SnowyOn the 21st of July. We all left our families, and begun a new life with this new family. It was scary and a little bit challenging during the first couple of weeks. Still getting to know everyone and being a bit home sick. But that wasn’t really the case; everyone included each other in all activities and gained really good ‘friendships’ with others. At the start I was really unconfident and wasn’t really positive. But as the days and weeks went on, I gained more skills. I have become more confident, a bit more organised, most of the time I am positive and half of the reason why this has happened is because I have an amazing, caring, supportive, beautiful group of people in the community that supported me and helped me get this far. Always challenging myself to do better and improving on things that I may not have been the best at, at the start. Going from a shy and scared person and stuck in my little shell. To always being out there, talking to everyone and making the most of my time here at Snowy River.

It will be challenging to go back and not have everyone around you, but you have to move on some day right?... Having a great night at the formal, and making memories and friends that will last forever. I have gained so much coming to SSL, and I can’t thank the staff at SRC, the students (my brothers and sisters) for making this experience a great one, I am going to go home having learnt a lot and not think I wasted my time here. But lastly I can’t thank my parents and family enough for sending me here to Snowy and hopefully when I go back they will see the change and the improvements that have happened to me. This is a great once in a life time opportunity, so make the most of it whilst it lasts.

By Jordyn - Sunbury Downs College

 

22

Sep

Liam's Report on Coastal Environments Print E-mail
Written by Liam, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Yesterday we had Coastal Environments and we all went to West Cape beach and find something that we wanted to know more about or wanted to tell people about. There was heaps of interesting stuff everyone found like crabs, starfish, shells, shark eggs, seaweed and heaps more. It was a really good day. I think everyone enjoyed it a lot and learnt heaps about the creatures on the beach and about the beach.

By Liam - Sunbury Downs

Coastal Environments

 

22

Sep

A Day of Many Experiences Print E-mail
Written by Joby & Georgia, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Yesterday we had CLP, Passport and Coastal Environments. In the morning Core 1 had CLP and for that they worked on their presentations for CLP day. Core 2 did the same until morning tea when they swapped that for passports. After a magnificent lunch of chicken rolls and salad we went onto afternoon class. Core 1 had a passports class and everyone was working very efficiently. Core 2 went down to Cape Conran and explored the boardwalk for Coastal Environments. We did a scavenger hunt and with what we found we took back to the circle and showed the group, some of us were intrigued by other’s findings and were interested to know more about species such as corals, sponges, shells and sea stars. After our little share circle we went to the rock pools and explored them. For night class we all split into our boys and girls groups for Gender Night, this was our third and last gender night that we would have here at SRC. To celebrate this special class we wrote down some questions that we thought we would like the opposite sex to answer for us. After looking through the questions we had to answer we all went down to ‘Grandma’ (our fire circle) and gave our answers. All round it was a really good night and we think everyone appreciated the answers given.

From Joby (Copperfield College) and Georgia (Yarrawonga College P-12)

 

15

Sep

Michael's Yoga Session Print E-mail
Written by Michael, Snowy River Campus, Term 3 2013   

My Group 1A and I went to the aerodrome just behind the school and did some yoga because it was quiet and there were no planes going. So when we first got there we put some mats down and did some yoga stretches. Then some people in the group were playing around so they went back to school and there were only eight of us left. We did some more stretches but they were more intense. When we had all done enough stretching we did some yoga ningra and that’s just relaxation yoga. So we got our own comfortable spot in the room and listened to a CD telling us some stuff to try to relax us, then our teacher came around and put a lavender pillow on our eyes. I felt like I was losing it a bit because of the fumes from the lavender. And when we took the pillows off and got up I didn’t really know what to think because my mind was a bit messed up. And that’s my yoga session.

By Michael - Swifts Creek

 

15

Sep

Mock Lesson for CLP Print E-mail
Written by Rachel, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Today all the students from Numurkah went to the Orbost Primary School to do a mock lesson for our CLP.

We are going around to different schools in our local area and giving lessons about cyber-bullying to the Year 5’s and 6’s. We had a practise run today and it went really well. We started off a bit shaky because we were nervous and so were the kids but by the end it was going really well. We got more into it about half way through when the kids could have more of a say because we had split into smaller groups. At the end we told them all about Snowy and we just couldn’t shut up because we were so excited to be telling people about how amazing it’s been.

All in all, it was a great lesson and it will really benefit our CLP because we now know what to improve on when we’re at the schools in our local district.

Rachel - Numurkah SC

 

15

Sep

Caving in a New Perspective Print E-mail
Written by Jordyn, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

On the 2nd of September, core 1 went caving. Caving was a great experience. At first I was a little scared and knew it was going to be challenging. We were all set to go into the caves, in the Royal cave we didn’t wear overalls, but in the wild caves we did. The Royal cave was really nice. It had stalactites everywhere and every now and then you would get a cold, little drop hit you in the face. In the cave, we saw all different types of limestone rocks, from a camel to Santa, from a crocodile mouth to a plain rock.

It was very interesting to learn about the rocks and how old some of them were. It was a good, cold and interesting/informative tour. We had a nice BBQ for lunch, and the place had a playground, which is always good, no matter what age we are.

Caving in a New Perspective

Now about the wild cave, the cave was actually pretty wild. It was dark, cold and a little bit muddy. We had to go through little gaps, big gaps, letterboxes and if you wanted a challenge, through a wombat hole. You worked with your team to get through some parts of the cave, and you used a lot of communication. You helped your teammates get up walls, fit through holes, and just being a very supportive team member. The day was fun; we ended up having muddy overalls and hands. But I think everyone had a good day, challenged themselves to give everything a go and lastly got closer with their team. All together the day was fun, informative, interesting, cold and hot and lastly a great day.

Jordyn - Sunbury Downs

 

15

Sep

Max's Inspiration Print E-mail
Written by Max, Snowy River Campus Student Term 3 2013   

A big part of our stay here is meeting and hearing inspirational speakers, and their stories on how they became who they are. We have had Debby Grey, a local Lakes Entrance woman, who was born with no arms, and half sized legs. Although she had no arms, did NOT make her disabled. She has lived her whole live with no one to drive her round, to cook her meals, or to dress her. She did it all herself, with a smile on her face! She is by far the wittiest person I have ever met; she loved a laugh and a conversation with anyone. She spoke to us about how she grew up, how she travelled the world, how she fell in love, and how she raised a daughter on her own. She spoke to us for a couple hours, and then she showed us her car. There were levers and things right up under the steering wheel so she could “reach the peddles”. Just as she was about to leave, I said to her “you have completely changed the word disabled, I will never see someone as disabled because of their appearance, I will get to know them for who they really are, not for what they look like”. That is the first time I have ever said something like that to someone. This was an extremely valuable lesson for me, which will be so important in the future as an adult.

Max - from Swifts Creek School

 

14

Sep

Enviro Bike Ride with 2A Print E-mail
Written by Tayla & Will, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Today 2A had a day of riding, also known as ‘Enviro Bike’.

Throughout the day we looked at varied landscapes and states of foresting around local plantations. In the morning we stopped at a few different places to find out about the history and backgrounds of these areas, some dense forest almost rainforest like, scrubs and the devastation caused by tree clearing, as well as farming lands. And we did all this while riding our bikes. The bike ride was approximately 27kms and we began at Cabbage Tree Palms Track and finished back at the Snowy River Campus. All throughout the day there was a lot of positive discussions as well as a range of encouragement from the team.

A big thank you to Will who stepped up even more as student leader whilst I was away on Enviro Bike. Will and I were very happy with our community and personal goals.

By Tayla -Yarrawonga and Will - Mt Beauty

 

14

Sep

GPS Challenge Print E-mail
Written by Melissa, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Another day passes here at Snowy River. Just as fast as the rest of the days but what a day it’s been. After Core 1 and 2A departing the campus 2B were left with the whole campus to themselves. Seeing as though the weather was another one of those fine sunny spring days we went up to the basketball court to start our class on GPS navigation. Racing through the bush, facing the heat, battling the mosquitos and competing against the other teams it was a race using our GPS to collect all the codes before anyone else. It was neck and neck until card 5 which was sneakily hidden under the bench. Pushing on we raced on through the cards to reach card 9 which was already being written down by another team. It was even and the last thing to do was to run, a dead race to the finish line or more like the picnic table but that didn’t bother us as we fought against the wind while running to the table….and then we crossed the line and the race was over had we done it…YES! We had come in 2nd place completing the GPS challenge in an incredible time that was not recorded.

The fun, the joy and smiles were shared all round and the competitors despite the odds life to see another day at Snowy River Campus!

Melissa – Alexandra SC

 

14

Sep

Snowy River Poem Print E-mail
Written by Noah, Snowy River Campus Student, Term 3 2013   

Snowy is the Ocean  

Looking out over the water gives an impression of sharp rocks hidden beneath
You build up courage and stray out into the strange water
At waist deep the water becomes clear,
You see how the water has changed you.

Rough tides and bad weather may knock you down,
But you trust the soft sand to catch you.
Mysteries and insight lay behind the intimidating surface,
Waiting to be found, uncovered by flowing water.
 

The ocean will smooth and shine even the roughest of stones. 
These stones will be forever-changed. 
Forever remembering their journey 
Forever remembering their past-selves 

Noah O’B - Mt Beauty SC

Snowy is the Ocean

 

02

Sep

Photography - Learning to use a SLR camera Print E-mail
Written by Karli and Isaac, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

The last two days everyone has tried their hand at photography and becoming a pro photographer.

David Tatnall came in and showed us how to use the cameras and all the different functions of a SLR manual camera. He taught us how to get the lighting and clarity of the photo just right, as well as how to use a tripod. He told us about all the different cameras and why they differ and the uses of them. He also showed us a bunch of photos that he had taken from all around the world, with different lighting and colour to give us an idea of what we could do.

David, with the help of some teachers took us down to the beach to take photos with the SRL cameras. We climbed over rocks and waited through water to get the perfect shot. When we were at the beach we saw a seal and a dead crab and took photos of both of the animals and all of the other interesting things at the beach. We have no idea what the photos look like and there is no deleting them because the cameras use film which is something I have not used in years, so we will just have to wait for the photos to come back from being developed but as David said at least we looked like pros doing it.

Karli - Mooroopna SC and Isaac C.- Footscray City

 

02

Sep

Some Food for Thought with Barry Heard Print E-mail
Written by Cain and Laura, Snowy River Campus Students, Term 3 2013   

Today was a good day. We had a Vietnam veteran come to SRC and talk about his life experiences. At first, he spoke about his teenage years growing up in the Omeo/Swifts Creek region. He told us about his amazing dog Rover. Then he went on to talk about his 2 years serving at Vietnam and how horrible it was. After that, he spoke about how it was after the war and how everyone hated Vietnam veterans and didn’t help with the war effort. He then spoke about his four books and let us put our names down to buy them.

He was an amazing man and a very, very, very inspirational person………all in all it was a fantastic time listening to him but I won’t spoil it for any future leaders coming to SRC.

By Cain

Later on in the day, we played an activity which represented wealth, poverty and hunger in third world countries. We were separated into three groups. There were four wealthy people, six middle class people and the rest of us were in poverty. We each ate lunch according to our role. It was an interesting activity and made us all think a bit more about wealth and poverty.

By Laura

Some Food for Thought - Mr Reeves Breaking the News

Thank you for reading this. I hope future students look forward to this day.
Cain - Numurkah SC and Laura - Alexandra SC.

 

01

Sep

Indigenous perspectives class Print E-mail
Written by Hannah Snowy River Campus Student Term 3 2013   

The other day we had an Indigenous perspectives class, we went down to East Cape beach and met Kylie and Jade. They are two Indigenous relatives who live in the Marlo area. We split into two groups; one group went with Kylie and learnt about “women’s business”, she showed us different types of weaving and baskets and what sort of materials they use. She told us stories about what it was like to be an Indigenous girl growing up. It seems like it would of been really hard for them. She told us what they do around the fire and how there is a special connection with them and the land.

Indigenous Perspectives

The other group went with Jade and we learnt about the different shields of each tribe. He showed us weapons that they made out of sticks and a rock. They were used for killing animals and also as an axe.

It was an interesting day and I enjoyed learning more about the Indigenous culture. It will also help us with criteria 3 in our passports which is Indigenous. It was good to be outside on the beach as well!

Hannah - Mount Beauty Secondary College.

 

01

Sep

A Six Word Story Print E-mail
Written by Tayla and Isacc, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

Laptops, Community game, Orienteering, Jokes, Charged

--

By Tayla - Yarrawonga and Isaac H - Footscray City

 

01

Sep

A Happy Day Print E-mail
Written by Matthew & Jasper, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

Yesterday core 2 did LLP (Local Learning Project). This is where kids from Marlo and Orbost primary school come to the Snowy campus and we run a day of activities for them.

Each group has a topic and some of them are; animals around the area, environment, aboriginal culture, beach safety, bush safety and the ocean/beware reef.

Each group runs a twenty minute activity based around their topic, playing games and teaching the kids about their area.

1A got back from expo at late afternoon exhausted and ready for bed. 1B had beliefs and values where they talked about what they believe is right and what they believe in and what they value in people and things. After the break they had movie making which everybody enjoyed. Passports were done in the afternoon and everyone worked hard for a long time. In night class we watched a documentary about food and what happens to it before we eat it. It showed how the animals are treated and what it is the foods we eat every day. 1B had passports and 1A had some down time as they were exhausted.

Over all everyone seemed happy and we had a great day.

By Matthew - Mooroopna SC and Jasper - Alexandra SC.

 

31

Aug

Seeing the outside world! Print E-mail
Written by Harrison and Brianna, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

Today was our LLP day and it was a brilliant success.

We had primary students from Marlo Primary School and Orbost North come to the Snowy River Campus and we split them into 3 group: Octopus, Squid and Jellyfish. Each student listened to four presentations that were prepared and shown by Snowy students. We all had great ideas to engage the kids in learning about the local area and some problems we may have had. All the activities were great fun for the kids and we think everyone got to know to someone new and a few facts about them.

Seeing the Outside World - LLP Day Seeing the Outside World - LLP Day

Everyone participated and had a bright and happy smile on their face all day. As well as knowing new information from the activities, the students got to get outside and play a few minor games in the fresh air. The LLP committee did a great job at organising and running the day. A special thanks to Erin for being MC for the day.

By Harrison from Yarrawonga P-12 and Brianna from Numurkah Secondary College.

 

31

Aug

Local Learning Day with Marlo and Orbost North Primary Schools Print E-mail
Written by Matthew & Georgia, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

LLP Day

Yesterday (21/8/2013) the students of Snowy River School for Student Leadership ran a wonderful Local Learning day for the kids of both Marlo and Orbost North ranging from grade 2-6. The SRC students split into team of 4 or 5 and picked a topic ranging from bush safety to bike and even days at the beach.

Local Learning Day with Marlo and Orbost North Primary Schools

Georgia:
I was in a group with Harry, Laura and Abby and we talked about Bush Safety. To introduce ourselves we did a little bit of role play with some characters called Wildman Stubby and Baby G Bush. We showed the children a video that Abby had made about the amazing scenery and wonderful wildlife but then it proceeded to show some glorified images of ticks, snakes, drop bears and other horrific things. It sounds entirely inappropriate but the kids found it quite amusing and went along happily with our interactive lesson which included them “modelling” some appropriate and inappropriate clothing choices at the end we played a wildlife version of fruit salad. Overall I thought the entire day was a huge success and I really hope the kids enjoyed it as much as we did.

Matt:
I was in a group with Trent, Noah and Chloe, we talked about sustainability and climate change. First we tolled then that we were going to see some guest speakers. Our guest speakers where Noah and Trent who were sitting in one of the huts in zone 3. They told them all about sustainability and climate change then we took them down a path to a small to an area we had raked out and told them to make a village, then we showed them how natural disasters work. We showed them how phonemes and floods work. We pored a bucket of water on them both.

By Matthew - Mooroopna SC and Georgia - Yarrawonga

 

31

Aug

The Positive Bucket Print E-mail
Written by Chloe and Joby, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

Yesterday our community goal was ‘positives in a bucket’.

Positives in a bucket was an activity where Joby went around and gave everyone a number, with that number they were supposed to find out who it was and write something positive about them. Our community goal was a success and everyone but 3 got a positive note. At the end of the day we read them all out and everyone was happy with it.

The Positive Bucket

Also, last night a group of students from Orbost Secondary College came and performed for us. The theme was crazy dress and everyone loved it. The next morning we had a guest speaker, Barry Heard. He is a Vietnam Veteran who has written 5 books and published 3. 1 of them “Well Done Those Men” is going to be produced into a film. He was very inspiring and also quite a comedian but everyone appreciated his appearance in SRC. After Barry Heard’s speech we did an activity about poverty. 4 people were “randomly” chosen to be rich another 4 were “randomly” picked to be the henchmen and the rest of the 37 students suffered eating nothing but rice while the rich had the privilege of having a nice lunch. Others got upset and others felt guilty but the message in this activity was that we are the rich people and there are others that have nothing at all and that die due to lack of food.

Chloe - Yarrawonga & Joby- Copperfield College

 

31

Aug

Connect Four Challenge Print E-mail
Written by Matt and Megan, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Today as student leaders we set a community goal of filling a row of the connect four challenge and asked the community to contribute by being quiet during headcounts and being early for headcounts. We also set ourselves a personal goal of being the leader when doing CLP (Matt) and to speak confidently to the community (Megan).

Throughout the day we organised the community for the bush dance that took place in the common room. It was a very interesting night filled with laughs and dances and people dressing up in country styles clothes. Mrs Beck taught us different dances and gave us some free time to dance to some songs with our friends and become closer in the community.

I think that we went well as student leaders by fulfilling our community goal and our personal goals. We managed to fill a whole row of the connect challenge by being early to headcounts and being quite at headcounts. We both completed our personal goals as well. We both hope we get the opportunity to be student leaders again.

By Matt - Mooroopna SC & Megan – Numurkah SC

 

28

Aug

A Normal Day at SRC for Max Print E-mail
Written by Max, Snowy River Campus Student Term 3 2013   

Today I started the day off like most people do, have breakfast, have a shower and prepare yourself with what the day has to throw at you. We here at SRC had what is called ILP (Individual Learning Plan) interview, which is basically when you sit down with your liaison teacher, and talk about your personal goals, and how you are going so far at SRC. It is similar to a job interview, you come prepared and with evidence of things you have done. We spoke about my goals, and how I have achieved them, about the challenges I have faced while being here, and a new goal I can work on for the next 4 weeks. I was very surprised with the feedback I received from my liaison teacher. He basically said since you have been here, your leadership skills/qualities have gone through the roof. So I am very happy with that. It really makes you smile how other people notice the little things you do to benefit the community. Whether it is giving someone a “Good on ya”, or helping someone to stay motivated. People here do notice the little things which are more often than not, the most important.

By Max - Swifts Creek

 

28

Aug

Parent Visiting Weekend - Tayla and Shea Print E-mail
Written by Tayla and Shea, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   
An image from Parents Visiting Weekend

On the 24th and the 25th of August the students got to see their parents for the first time in 5 weeks. Some of us were looking forward to just seeing family, while others were hoping for a bounty of sweets and soft drink (Mountain Dew), most of which we had little to none of here. It was a glorious time for us and everyone enjoyed it. Many of us stayed at Lakes Entrance, therefore almost taking over the town, while some stayed at places near Marlo and Orbost, meaning a smaller drive from the school and local areas that we have been. Although some of us might have gotten a little more homesick than others from the visit, everyone seems to be getting back into the usual routine here, and life is good.

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
-Dr Seuss

By Tayla and Shea

 

19

Aug

The Days Go By Print E-mail
Written by Lewis, Snowy River Campus Student, Term 3 2013   

The Days Go By

In the past week or so, we have done many fun activities. I was student leader yesterday with Erin. It was great fun controlling everyone, and the fact that everyone goes quiet when your hand goes up. It just feels different in a good way.

A few days ago, we had our first expo day. It was a very tough day, but we managed to get some great weather. (Unlike the other groups) The packs were heavy and the sand was just slowing us down, but we pushed through and we got there. Things are going well up at snowy. Everyone is getting along and the friendships are only getting stronger. People are enjoying the activities and the food around here is great. Everything is a mad dash, and it feels like the journey has only just begun. The first week seemed like it would never end, but then the second week I didn’t even remember! It was all so fast. Things are great the way they are and I can't wait till tomorrow.

The last few days, everyone has been really tired from their expo experiences. Some are a bit more sensitive than others, but we all know what it feels like when you just want to sleep. But there is always something to do and you never get bored. There is no time to get tired up here, and if you do, remember to get as much food and sleep as you can because that really helps.

Canoeing was great fun as well and was definitely one of my main highlights so far. Can’t wait until the next activity with these wonderful people.

By Lewis - Footscray City College

 

19

Aug

Battle of the Sexes Night Print E-mail
Written by Hannah, Snowy River Campus Student, Term 3 2013   

On the 10th of July it was a rest day so we all did different things during the day but for night class we were all brought together to play a game that 1A held, it was a battle of the sex’s trivia night. We were split into two teams, boys vs. girls. It was an extremely competitive but fun game that everyone got involved with and had a great night. Sadly the girls lost by only 1 point but the game brought us all closer together and created trust between us all. We all had a great night chatting, getting into the game and getting to know each other better that the score didn’t even matter. In the game there were different sections; Music, Sport and History. Some teams did well depending on their strengths and other teams depending on their weaknesses. By the end of the night we just sat in the common room talking with each other or singing together. It was the most fun and many students hope we get to do it again.

By Hannah – Footscray City College

 

19

Aug

Michael's Time at Snowy Print E-mail
Written by Michael, Snowy River Campus Student, Term 3 2013   

Michael's time at Snowy

My time at Snowy has been great and I have done lots of things like Surfing, Canoeing, Bike riding, Expos, Community games and lots of peer skills activities.

The days I like most are rest days and the days that we go on Expos, Surfing etc.… and yesterday was a rest day, so in the morning after head count some of my friends and I went to the bike track in zone 3 and made the jumps and the whole track better. Then we went in for lunch and we had pasta and salad. Once we had finished lunch a group of us went fishing at the Marlo jetty. Some people caught fish like silver trevally and tailor but I didn’t catch any. After tea which was chops and vegetables 1A (my group) was running the evening class so we had a battle of the sex’s trivia night. There were two groups of boys and two groups of girls and the group of boys that I was in won the trivia.

Michael - Swift Creek School

 

18

Aug

Expo Experience by Erin Print E-mail
Written by Erin, Snowy River Campus Term 3 2013   

Yesterday I was student leader for the day with Lewie. I had to make sure everyone was organised for each class and headcount. I also had to help Mrs Hopkins with the linen as we had to change our bedding. Last week my group went on our first expo which was so much fun. We hiked 7 kilometres through the sand on the first day, camped overnight and the second day we once again hiked 7 kilometres but this time it was on the gravel as we followed the power lines back to campus.

Expo Experience

The second day was a lot easier than the first as we didn’t have the sand. Camping was different. We had to cook our own food on the Trangia stoves, use a circle on the ground as our table, use the bush as a toilet and sleep in a tent. It was one of the best if not the best experience I have had here at Snowy. Once I had completed the expo I felt really good about myself because I completed something I thought would be a real challenge. It put me out of my comfort zone, I tried something new and it ended up being fantastic.

by Erin - Sunbury Downs SC

 

14

Aug

Canoeing the Yeerung River Print E-mail
Written by Max, Snowy River Campus Student, Term 3 2013   

Canoeing the Yeerung River

Today 1A had intro to canoes. We loaded up the trailer and headed down to the Yeerung River.

We had a briefing as soon as we got there and spoke about how to paddle correctly, how to care for the equipment, and also how to care for yourself, and others. We hit the water and headed up stream to come across a bridge! It was a tight squeeze under it but we made it. We kept on trekking to find another problem, a tree! Yet again, we managed to get under it and keep going, just to find another problem! There was a branch just above the water. Our options were: turn around and have lunch early, or push through for a real challenge. We took a vote to see how many people wanted to trek on, and sure enough, nearly all of us decided to keep going. So over the branch with lots of teamwork, communicating and determination we went. We kept on going for a bit but it got so narrow that we could barely turn around. So we made our way back to the launch zone for lunch.

After lunch, we headed off downstream for a change in scenery. All of us had different partners for a bit more of a challenge. We reached the beach so we went for a run around and to do some exploring. During our time on the beach we found a shark egg, fishing tackle and some amazing shells and seaweed. After a look around we jumped back in our canoes and headed back to the launch site, where a few people practiced capsizing the canoe. We practised a couple different ways to do it for a bit more experience. After that we loaded up the canoes on the trailer and headed back to campus.

Max - Swifts Creek

 

14

Aug

Guest Speakers Print E-mail
Written by Grace, Snowy River Campus Student, Term 3 2013   

Guest Speakers

We had the pleasure of meeting an inspiring guest speaker, Deb Gray. She was born with a disability. She touched all our hearts. She had a positive outlook on life. She is proud of whom she is and nobody can change that. She has turned a negative into a positive, her life has had its ups and downs but she is very capable of looking after herself and getting out into the world doing things that one of us wouldn’t even dream of. She calls it diff-abled, she is just different.

We have had other guest speakers come in and share their knowledge. David Whyte who was an Ironman, Darren McCubbin came to teach us about our beliefs and values and Ranger Mike who is very passionate about his Parks Victoria job, talked about what he does to help the environment and control it.

The guest speakers are only a tiny part of what we have been doing here at Snowy. Canoeing at Yeerung, Surfing at East Cape Conran, bridge building at Marlo jetty near the angling club and plenty more!

Max and I were student leader yesterday. When you are student leader both of you stand up in front of the other 43 students and staff and lead for the day. At the end of the day we change student leaders with another pair and they take on your role. We lead headcounts, explain the activities for the day and control any other actions. My first time being student leader was nerve-racking but a great experience! I can’t wait to do it again.

Grace – Mt Beauty SC

 

14

Aug

Student Leadership Conference Print E-mail
Written by Shae & Cain, Snowy River Campus Students, Term 3 2013   

Today in class we did the student leadership conference.

It was awesome, we had rotating groups taking about how we are leaders and what good leader’s traits are, but the best part was when Debbi Grey came in to give us a speech. I won’t give away too much information in case future students are reading this but she is so inspirational. She is one of the few people, who come into your life that you will never forget and who will change your perspective forever. So any soon to be students out there look out, this is one to remember. I know I will never forget this and in her speech you hear her life story which can bring a tear to your eye even if you’re hardly an emotional person. So as I’ve said watch out for this because it will change a heap of your ideas on people.

Shea- Footscray City and Cain- Numurkah SC

 

12

Aug

Ride to Marlo and CPR Print E-mail
Written by Mikaela and Hamish, Snowy River Students, Term 3 2013   

Ride to Marlo

Yesterday I was student leader and it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. My personal goal was to be more organized as student leader and to get everyone to headcount on time. I think both Hamish and I did a very good job at managing our time and getting everyone early to headcount.

After morning headcount 2B headed out for a bike ride to Marlo, we rode along the main road and went through some of the tracks on the side of the road. When we got into Marlo we stopped at the playground for well-deserved morning tea. We all enjoyed ourselves and had a positive outlook on the day, and everyone was grateful for each other’s support.

After we rode back we did CPR with Mrs Francis and learnt all about DRSABCD which was interesting. I’m a little nervous about the exam coming up on it but with a bit more practice it should be alright!

By Mikaela - Mt Beauty SC

Yesterday I was student leader and my personal goal was to be patient when we went on our bike ride in to Marlo. Our ride was really good fun then after that we had CPR. Which was a bit boring but it is a good thing to have in a job resume and it could come in really handy. My favourite thing to do is to work on the push bike track that is around the campus when I’m not working on it or in class I’m riding it and having a ball.

By Hamish - Alexandra SC

 

12

Aug

Chopping Wood Print E-mail
Written by Noah and Abby, Snowy River Campus Students, Term 3 2013   

Chopping Wood

Here at SSL everybody has been enjoying the little things, one of which is cutting wood for the fire.

Call it peculiar if you like, but being stuck inside without internet connection and Facebook can make you a little crazy at times. There isn’t a day that goes by without having people crowded around the wood pile in a line, even the city kids are trying to satisfy their need for something to do in their free time. Despite having an increasingly large amount of fuel for the fire, it’s slightly concerning that the community has acquired such an unhealthy obsession with chopping wood.

Noah - Mt Beauty and Abby - Alexandra SC

 

12

Aug

Thinking and Learning Print E-mail
Written by Trent and Jordan, Snowy River Campus Students, Term 3 2013   

Today we had Thinking and Learning in the morning session, and in that we discussed what our perfect learning environment is and what quadrant of the brain we use to remember things. It was interesting to know how our brain remembers best and in future classes we will be able to remember the ways we do this and help us in class works. In the afternoon session we had Presentation skills and we wrote little speeches and read them out to the groups we were spilt up into.

By Trent - Yarrawonga and Jordan - Mooroopna SC

 

12

Aug

Dance Night! Print E-mail
Written by Taylor and Karli, Snowy River Campus Students, Term 3 2013   

On the 30th of July, the students at Snowy River had a dance night for evening class, where we learnt about ballroom dancing which was held by Mrs Herbert.

We first all met in the common room and had to help out to prepare the room. Once we moved all the tables outside, and we split into a boys side and a girls side. We were told to get a partner and to get into a circle. Once everyone had a partner and was in position, the teachers began to go through the moves. It was quite interesting watching people trying to learn the moves, and also trying to learn it ourselves, as some of them took a bit of getting used to, but eventually most of us got them.

There were three songs that we learnt the dances to, one of them which was Candy Man, which some people named as their favourite, and two others which could be classified as classical songs which were still good. After we finished the third song, the teachers decided to leave the songs on shuffle and let us do some free dancing, where people just danced however they wanted to which was very fun. Most people say that they were all quite fun to do so some of the students might even plan for a second dance night which would be interesting.

By Taylor - Copperfield College and Karli - Mooroopna SC

Dance Night

 

04

Aug

Our First Surf - A Report by Liam and Rachel Print E-mail
Written by Liam and Racehl, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

Today our expo group had surfing at East Cape for our morning class. It was so fun and we all enjoyed it so much!! Our instructors today were great; they were so nice and helpful! We had a lot of fails and falls but some of us eventually stood up!

S-standing up
U-under water
R running in the sand
F-FUN!!!
I-intense waves
N-narly
G-getting so much better by the end

Surf's Up

Liam - Sunbury Downs & Rachel .C - Numurkah

 

04

Aug

Six 4’s - By Scott Print E-mail
Written by Scott,   

I was student leader yesterday but I was away on bridge building for the whole day so I can’t really tell you how I went or what it was like, so I’ll tell you guys some advice about if you come to this school or if you are going away for any longer period of time. My advice is, find something to waste time. I’m not meaning muck around in class but you will have a lot of time just hanging around and it will start to get really boring. So a few friends and I started to play cards and soon we had up to 10 different people coming to play. I think cards are good because it is a very social thing and we have a good laugh. It’s most likely one of the best things you could do here in your free time.

Six 4's

So just start doing something fun and simple; something you enjoy. I hope I have helped a few of you out and I hope everyone has a good day.

By Scott G - Numrukah

 

02

Aug

One Day TAFE Students Print E-mail
Written by Rachel & Harry, Snowy River Campus Students Term 3 2013   

Yay!!!!! We didn’t even need to pay for it – and guess what we were smart enough to just enrol into a TAFE course. We all just completed (with top marks) a Safe Food Handling course and graduated all in just one day. We thank Mrs Hock for her activities which helped us ace the test. We saw how much germs were actually on our hands (which was gross) and learnt how to wash them properly. We were grateful to get rid of them, we assure you.

Our learning about safety with food will give us a better experience (so long as no one forgets about it and gives us food poisoning) here for the next 7 and a bit weeks. So long everybody follows the Safe Food rules, we should be good…

Rachel F - Numurkah and Harry W- Yarrawonga

 

02

Aug

Not Nerve Wracking Print E-mail
Written by Chloe, Snowy River Campus Student Term 3 2013   

Yesterday l was student leader. My personal goal for the day was to show good public speaking skills by speaking clearly and having good voice projection. I achieved this goal which was good because as a part of my ILP l want to gain more confidence through public speaking. I was student leader with Scott and our community goal was to have everyone in the community participate and enjoy the dance class that was run as our evening class yesterday. I think we achieved this goal because everyone found a partner and joined in yesterday evening.

My favourite part about being student leader was that l was able to video conference with the other campuses and talk to other student leaders. I look forward to next time l am student leader as l have now seen how it works and that it is not as nerve wracking as l thought it would be.

By Chloe F. - Yarrawonga

 

01

Aug

Our First Rest Day - Eldrain and Brianna Print E-mail
Written by Eldrain & Brianna, Snowy River Campus Students, Term 3 2013   

Today was our first rest day of the term.

Our First Rest Day by Eldrain & Brianna

We were the student leaders for the day and had to let everyone know about all the activities we could do for the first rest day. Some people went fishing, some worked on bike tracks, some went for bike rides, played tennis and some just stayed back at campus catching up on washing, kicking the footy outside or went for a walk around the school. It was good to see that a lot of people were outside enjoying the beautiful warm weather too. Usually our days were full on and everyone has to do something at a set time, but today we were just relaxed and everyone had a calm vibe among themselves. Our community goal was to get everyone to sign the Community Agreement on rights and responsibilities. We got majority of the community to sign it but had to catch up with a few the next day. Thanks to all the staff who helped out and took us to the activities and/or hosted them! :)

All in all, everyone had a good day, and we’re looking forward to the next eight weeks ahead.

By Eldrain N and Brianna D.

 


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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.