Year 10 conquer the Snowies

Last week, Year 10 headed off to Jindabyne for a week of leadership and “off the grid” adventure. And Dr Scott and Mr Staker tagged along too.

The NSW Snowy Mountains offer breathtaking scenery and a wide variety of adventure activities to challenge and inspire our students. Led by Year 10 Coordinator, Mr Kapsalis, and with guest appearances from Senior Executive, the camp was designed to support the students as they make the transition into the senior years of school, prompting them to think about leadership, to engage with the local Jindabyne community in a meaningful way and to build resilience through challenging experiences.

Mr Kapsalis was delighted with the students’ willingness to embrace adventure and step out of their comfort zones to try new things, away from the creature comforts of home.

“It was pleasing to witness students enjoy their five days being ‘technology free’, immersing themselves in time, activities and interacting with each other in different settings and environments,” he said.

“Students encountered a scenic undulating terrain walk from Thredbo to Mount Kosciusko to Charlotte’s Pass. They mountain biked at Bungarra Alpine Centre, white water canoed on the lower Snowy River and camped out beside the river itself. And they engaged and worked with local community groups, solving problems in initiative activities to help develop teamwork, leadership and communication skills.”

“I would like to congratulate the Year 10 cohort for stepping out of their comfort zones and attempting the camping period with optimism, enthusiasm and ‘a sense of adventure’. Furthermore, the week would not have been a success without the help of the wonderful ��AV teaching staff, sacrificing their time away from their families and loved ones to look after our students.”

The Year 10 students found the experience equally rewarding. Here’s what some of them had to say:

“My highlight would definitely be the white water canoeing. We all had a fun experience, as well as a challenge. I went into the activity thinking it would be an easy and simple task, but that was not the case. We had a fair few capsizes, which was both fun and exhilarating, and brought us closer together as a group as we all worked together and supported our peers down the fast rapids.”
Frida (Year 10)

“Year 10 camp was an example of our year group showing camaraderie, as the activities pushed us both mentally and physically. The 20km hike from Thredbo to Charlotte’s Pass was the highlight of my trip. As a group, we supported and encouraged our peers through the cold and the lengthy hike. This allowed us to immerse ourselves with different people and create new friendships within the year group. The hike took 7 hours to complete but was full of fun memories I will cherish for a long time.”
Lily (Year 10)

“Year 10 camp was something I ventured into with very low expectations. However, my experience was nothing short of one of the best weeks of my Senior School life. A stand out moment was the performance on the final night. It allowed our group to bond and work on something that we were passionate about all together. Not only that, but we also had lots of fun creating it and performing in front of such a supportive group of girls. Overall, Year 10 camp was so much fun, and really allowed me to expand my comfort zone.”
Mia N. (Year 10)

“Every year one of the best things about camp is spending time and getting closer with the girls outside of your traditional friend groups. For me personally, I loved hanging out with a new group of people, having a laugh and really starting to get to know more girls in my year group better. After spending 5 days together and doing all sorts of activities by the end of camp, I could safely say that these were girls I had formed new friendships with, learned more about and really got a lot closer to over the time we were away.”
Mia H. (Year 10)

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