Tuesday 26th October
(Day 3)
Well hasn’t mother nature turned it on for our cohort over the past two days. Today was thirty degrees with a clear blue sky. Obviously, this created a more challenging task for our bushwalkers however as you will read later they all passed with flying colours.
As we approach the halfway mark of the camp we have really begun to see the development of our students in the strengths that are spoken about and awarded each night. For your interest they are:
Bravery, Humility, Humour, Appreciate of Beauty and Excellence, Curiosity, Creativity, Gratitude, Honesty, Hope, Judgement, Kindness, Leadership, Perseverance, Perspective, Teamwork.
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9A completed their bushwalk at lunchtime today, which was much to the delight of Mr. Buckley whose now 40-year-old body wasn’t pulling up quite like it used to. We thank Ciaran for guiding this class through the walk and he will now return home to Senior School duties. Glowing reports have come from this class and their ability to support each other so generously through the more difficult components of the trek. They spent the afternoon kayaking around the inlets of Hindmarsh Island as the wind proved too great to complete their expedition to Godfrey’s Landing. They will spend the evening at Investigator’s Landing and cook their own meals for the last time this week. Justine Forrest has now joined this group and will spend the remainder of 9SHINE with them.
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9B (put your hands together) completed the full day section of the Cove trek today in trying conditions. Miss Clark has spoken glowingly of the teamwork and leadership that has been on show. At different stages this bushwalk is a low grade climb and Kobe Bannon lead the way helping many students with their packs. Kobe is one of many who took it upon themselves to help their classmates and showed the true spirit of the program. Credit must also go to Miss Clark for preparing the students for the tougher climb and the Wilderness staff for their support. 9SHINE is all about learning life skills and a VERY small pocket of this group learned the hard way that applying fake tan to your face in a tent by yourself on solo night without a mirror probably isn’t the best idea. No names will be mentioned.
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9C bounced out of bed from their solo night and have enjoyed Mountain Biking and Rock Climbing today. After a couple of subtle behavioural reminders this morning the group have come together as a class and are well on their way to getting the most out of the program. Credit must go to George Adamopoulos for his drone footage today, which I’m sure you have all enjoyed. 9C will enjoy a visit from Ian Ross tonight who has missed them greatly since leaving TWC at the end of the first semester.
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9D completed their bushwalk today and like 9A have spent the day kayaking around the inlets of Hindmarsh Island. Students have spoken about the tremendous support they have received from both Steve Primer and Ange Queale. Rumours are circulating that Rajat Pandey likes to be the front man for the cooking challenges but not so much the cleaning duties.
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9E had a fantastic solo experience and were all accepting of the benefits that the challenge provides. Scott their Wilderness instructor has been incredible for this group along with Nick Patzel and Alisha Gasparini. Those at the Hindmarsh Island property yesterday were treated to Dom Gertners and his incredible ability to play the Piano. Dom treated the class to a special rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody with Rhys White on vocals. Rhys might not be the next Harry Styles however we enjoyed his enthusiasm. These students enjoyed a snorkel this morning with Nellie Badenoch and Jye Ferrari being the stars. They also went mountain biking this afternoon with Harry Drew making the instructors look bad. Barriers continue to be broken almost on the hour with this group and their growth has been astounding.
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9F (put your hands together) also completed the full day section of the Cove trek. Nathan Fleetwood set a goal two days ago for the group to accomplish this and for anyone that knows him he does not like to lose! Nathan has spoken like a proud father about his students and their ability to support each other in different ways. Jack O’Loughlin is one student who all week has been so willing to get out of his comfort zone and his humility has rubbed off on other students. Sometimes it takes the quietest student in the room to make the most noise. Well done Jack!
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It must also be noted that staff are competing in a photography competition throughout the week with the winner being awarded a sugarloaf voucher from David Mezinec. Keep an eye on the socials for your chance to vote.
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Today can be summed up in a singular word: Growth.
