This term, three year nine students, Elizabeth Tran, Tyrese Tanoa and Cindy Vu, are attending the School for Student Leadership program at the Alpine School Campus in Dinner Plain. They have written the following article to share their experience with our school community.

The School for Student Leadership Program by Elizabeth, Tyrese and Cindy

Our experience while living at the Alpine School has been full of new opportunities, which we would not have received while studying at St Albans. We are living with 40 students from all around Victoria and we share a room with someone who comes from a different area to us. This means that the SASC students are paired with students from country schools.

The classes do not just focus on academic subjects but also on topics about identity and self with themes like racism, sexism and why people have stereotypes discussed during classes. We have learnt about a variety of ways to improve our mental health and wellbeing, as well as how to mingle better with other people and different leadership styles. Another key part of the program is skiing. Skiing is a big thing here and we all participate in cross-country and downhill skiing during the week.

The schedule is quite compact, with strict guidelines. We go to sleep at 9:30pm and wake up at 6:30am. There are a total of 3 classes, morning, afternoon and night and in between these classes we have mealtimes, DEARR (drop everything and read and reflect) for 30 minutes as well as a large slot of free time for anything from laundry to showers. The most challenging thing upon arrival was adjusting to these times, as they are so different to back home.

Finally, to any year 8 students that are considering signing up for the program next year, please do it, you will not regret it, we promise.

Elizabeth, Cindy & Tyrese