General News
27 July, 2023
“A time of huge growth”
A TEAM of students from Camperdown College have recently returned from the Alpine School of Student Leadership program.
A TEAM of students from Camperdown College have recently returned from the Alpine School of Student Leadership program.
The program, which ran for eight weeks during term two, included a variety of activities designed to build leadership skills.
The students went to the Dinner Plane campus in Mount Hotham and made lasting friendships during their time.
Assistant principal Vicki Angus said schools had to apply to be involved in the program, with students sent to one of five campuses statewide.
“You send a team of students, and it’s like a camp for eight weeks,” she said.
“While they’re away, they have to plan a community learning project, and they come back and conduct the project in their community.
“We’ve had students going for the last 10 years.
“We just find the experience is a time of huge growth”
Students were kept busy with days filled with classes, outdoor activities, reflections, and duties in the laundry, bathroom and kitchen.
Outdoor activities included bridge building, day hikes, bike riding, skiing and mountain climbing.
During the classes, students learnt skills related to nine core learning concepts, including:
• Learning strategies;
• Emotional management;
• Resilience;
• Identity;
• Empathy;
• Respectful relationships; and
• Collaboration.
The students that attended all shared positive words about the experience, including Gigi Gleeson who said the experience was good.
“It helped me learn a lot, and I met a lot of new, different people,” she said.
“Setting goals and completing them was a great way to learn new things.”
Aregawi Chivell said he struggled with the adjustment period but made genuine friendships afterwards.
Luis Maskell enjoyed meeting new people and participating in activities he wouldn’t normally do at home.
Dana Wood said at the start she missed home and having personal space.
“By the second or third week, I really enjoyed constantly having people around and having someone to talk to,” she said.
Sybella Gavin said the program was fun.
“At first you were a bit nervous, but then everyone feels like they’re just a big family,” she said.
Jayivi Senarath started off nervous, soon feeling at home amongst the others.
“I got really used to seeing all the people, and it was a bit of a shock when I came home because there was no-one here and it was so quiet,” he said.