Year 9 Camp
The last two weeks have been full of activities and events across the Secondary School, keeping all students engaged and active. This included our Year 9 students who were on camp along the Great Ocean Road where they hiked between 45 – 60km (depending on which group they were in) over the five days. This challenging trip is the progression from Years 7 and 8 where the skills and competencies in hiking, packing of equipment and, the carrying and cooking of their food for the week are developed. It also forms part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award program as it ticks off their ‘adventurous journey’ aspect for this year. It was great to hear of the success stories upon their return, and to have many students express a real sense of fulfilment upon completing the camp. It is an accomplishment that they can look back on very proudly, read our student reflection below.
Going into Year 9 we all knew about the hiking camp at the start of the year, almost all of us dreading the thought of hiking tens of kilometers each day. However, when we eventually arrived, we were greeted with a beautiful campsite bordering a crystal blue sea.
The first day was straight forward, we set up our tents cooked our dinners and even went for a dip in the ocean. When we woke up the next morning, we were faced with our first hike of the camp. This being our first time, we were slow to pack, and co-ordinating the group was hard. But after a while, we eventually started the 5km hike.
Our first day of hiking was really tough. Our legs were not yet accustomed to carrying such a heavy pack The hike felt slow, and we all grew tired very quickly. Along the walk we could overlook the seemingly endless ocean and beside it was heaps of lush trees and vegetation. The beautiful views and scenery made the hikes more enjoyable. As we did more and more hikes, we got really good at packing our backpacks efficiently and also our endurance improved, this meant that we had more time to soak in the environment and also complete harder hikes with more ease.
Towards the end of camp everyone’s food supplies were low, and everyone was eager to go home. After one last hike we arrived at our bus. Once we boarded, we were taken to see the 12 Apostles. The huge rocks towering out of the sea and was definitely one of the highlights of the camp. After about five more hours of driving, we all arrived back at the School where we all reunited with our parents.
Overall, this camp was a lot better than we were all expecting it to be. We learnt a lot of skills on this camp like how to pack a backpack properly and how to hike as a group, but this camp really helped us to get closer as a class which is what we all needed after not seeing each other during the summer break for two months.
Ryan Jayarathna | Year 9 student
The Year 9 Camp was an incredibly fun, adventurous, and challenging experience and was definitely a camp not to forget. The week was set to run through a 30 kilometre hike (distance can vary) along the Great Ocean Walk. The track runs along the stunning surf coast, with campsites to stay the night along the way. A great thing about this camp is the location, almost everywhere you look, you would be greeted by stunning scenery and incredible views. Every morning, you would wake up to the sounds of waves crashing, one after the other, birds chirping beautiful music from their beaks, and also the teachers telling us to get up, very relaxing. At the start of the year, Ms Lowing explained to us that we would be pushed outside of our comfort zones as much as possible, and on this camp, we sure were. Most of the time during the hikes, I just felt like dropping my incredibly heavy pack and giving up, but I stayed resilient and kept fighting through each kilometre one by one. Overall, the Year 9 Camp is an incredibly awesome and beneficial experience which is definitely a camp to look forward to for the up and coming Middle School students.
Sebastian Humphrys | Year 9 student
Year 8 Camp
Our Year 8s have begun their camp preparations for this year which is held in the beautiful Grampians National Park on the week beginning 20 March. As the second of their outdoor education Middle School camps, students are stretched from their Year 7 experience by camping out for the 5 days and therefore planning, carrying and preparing food for the entire 5 days. They will be involved in activities such as rock climbing and abseiling, hiking, canoeing and mountain biking over the exciting week.
It is important to find opportunities to engage our students in learning experiences outside of the classroom that help to consolidate the desired learning outcomes. For this reason we often look for excursions or incursions that help to consolidate the learning of particular outcomes. Over the last two weeks we have seen our Year 10 Commerce class visit Holey Moley in Eastland to understand the business aspects of the company, our Year 12 Geography students travelled to Martha Cove to collect data for their important field work assessment and our Year 12 Biology students travelled to Swinburne University for a masterclass on DNA manipulation (read more). Our VCE Drama students have seen a number of live performances to help reinforce stage direction and management.
Kickstart Music Camp
On Friday 3 and Saturday 4 March our music students were involved in a Kickstart Music Camp where a large number of our musicians (players and singers) spent two days planning and preparing for some of our major Semester 1 events such as our Easter Service, Cathedral Service and Generations in Jazz. It is a huge commitment by both students and staff; however, the sense of fun and satisfaction is one that they all enjoy (read the music report).
Chicago
Our School musical Chicago is in its last month of rehearsals, with the first of four shows premiering on Wednesday 29 March. We were fortunate on Friday to have a sneak preview of four songs from the show at our Principal’s assembly and after seeing this preview, I have no doubt that tickets will sell very fast. It looks like an incredible show that highlights the amazing talents of our students in singing, dancing, acting, playing music and running the backstage. It takes a lot of commitment from students and staff, beginning their involvement in Term 3 of 2022. They are all very excited for the upcoming performances. Book your ticket now.
World Music Incursion
On Monday 6 March our Year 7s and 8s were involved in a World Music incursion. As part of their subject Music, they are exposed to different styles of music from across the world, often looking at the more traditional music from other countries. This year the focus was on music from India where our two guests provided an amazing experience for our students that was both engaging as well as being interactive. It included traditional singing and instruments, as well as some classic Bollywood dancing which was very entertaining.
News from the Careers Department
The Careers Department provides assistance for students via one-on-one interviews but the staff also work with Year Level Co-ordinators through the Pastoral Program. Year 12 students interested in studying Medicine, interstate and overseas have participated in a general discussion and an outline of the year has been provided to all students in an Assembly. Year 11 students will be attending the VCE and Careers Expo on Friday 5 May at Caulfield Racecourse after our Annual Cathedral Service in the morning.
Year 10 Work Experience
Year 10 Work Experience will be held from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 June 2023 or the last week of Term 2. The initial form needs to be submitted to our Work Experience Co-ordinator, Julie Ennor by Thursday 6 April 2023. The legal contract will be then be created for the student and this must be signed by a parent, employer and the Principal. The focus for Year 10 students at present is securing a Work Experience placement. Students have generally completed their safe@work General Module test as specified by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Julie is available to assist students to organise their placements. It is still a difficult environment for employers so we are encouraging students to be proactive and implement suggestions outlined last year to students.
Save the Date: Tintern Grammar’s ‘Find your Future’ Careers Expo will be held on Thursday 18 May from 6.30pm in the CM Wood Centre for Years 9 to 12.
More information will be provided in Term 2
Career News
Subscribe to ‘Career News’ to find out information about courses in the higher education and TAFE sector, general careers material such as obtaining a Tax File Number, industry-based events and at the end of each edition a summary of courses, for example, Occupational Therapy Courses offered in Victoria in 2023. Copies will be added to the Careers tab on the Portal. Senior College students are also emailed a copy of the CareerNews content each week so that they can easily access material from the hyperlinks. The first five editions are now available at MyTintern – Career News the latest editions include the following items:
Number 4 Career News 24 February 2023
- Medical Work Experience Overseas for High School Students
- Group of Eight Universities
- Discover Monash Seminar Series in March
- Studying Law at Bond University
- Careers in the Australian Defence Force (ADF)
- Dental Technology and Oral Health Courses in Victoria in 2023
- Snapshot of Swinburne University in 2023
Number 5 Career News 3 March 2023
- News from ANU
- Applications for 2024 Entry
- Open Day 2023
- Studying Sport, Physical and Outdoor Education at Federation University
- Studying the Built Environment at the University of Melbourne
- Where will the Jobs be in 2026?
- The Difference between a Physiotherapist, Chiropractor, Osteopath and Myotherapist
- Animation & Gaming Degrees in Victoria in 2023
- Snapshot of Deakin University in 2023
Heather Ruckert | Careers Consultant