The Duke Of Edinburgh’s International Award

Advance is a program that encourages participants to be actively involved in the local community and complete recognised  training.  As part of this exciting program students complete the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (Dukes Award).  The Dukes Award has four sections: Community Service, Skills, Physical Recreation & Adventurous Journey.

The Advance class has participated in a range of activities during Term 1 Lady Northcote Recreation Camp, Clean Up Australia Day & North West Communities for Climate Action School Summit.

 

 

 

 

 

Year 9 Advance – Lady Northcote Recreation Camp

On the 7^th of February, the 2022 Year 9 Advance class left for Lady Northcote Recreation Camp. We stayed for two nights and participated in a wide range of activities such as canoeing, archery, Frisbee golf and games that helped us develop our teamwork skills. The camp was a lot of fun and many new friendships were made.

Here are some camp reviews:

“We attended YMCA Lady Northcote Recreation Camp at the start of the year. Initially, I was nervous about attending a camp with many of whom I hadn’t interacted with up until that point. We all formed new friendships right away. Within a day of arriving, my class and I began taking part in a range of outdoor activities, which developed our leadership and team-building skills. Participating in archery and meeting new people were my personal highlights of the camp! Taking part in the Advance program and camp allowed me to create many great memories that I will hold onto for a lifetime.” – Haily Le 9C

“My first camp this year with my Advance class was absolutely amazing, we were joined by 2 lovely teachers, Ms Papagianopoulos and Mr Cooper. Although we, as a class were very quiet and didn’t know many other people that well in the class, we had an amazing experience to remember. We made memories and got to know each other. The cabins and area surrounding was very environmentally friendly and we had delightful staff greet us too, our main leader being Jordan. He helped guide us through many activities and ensured both our safety and fun. We had 3 whole days packed with activities to do. We did things such as canoeing, team building, high ropes or leap of faith, archery (my favourite), had free time and The Amazing Race. There was also always food right after each activity which ensured we stayed full whilst participating and energised. One of the toughest challenges for everyone was high ropes or leap of faith. I decided to do the leap of faith, which was a mental challenge rather than a physical one. I had to climb an 8m pole and jump off with the extra addition of reaching the balloon. Although I was held up and ensured I was safe by some of my classmates, I had fallen the first time and I feared that. This didn’t mean that this wasn’t a great experience nonetheless, I really enjoyed it. After each day, after all the activities and food we also had fun playing card games with each other, things like mafia and speed which was very chaotic. It was exciting and filled with tension but it helped bring us together and learn about each other.” – Kayla Le 9C

 

 

 

 

Clean Up Australia Day

On Wednesday the 9^th of March, the Year 9 Advance class participated in Clean Up Australia Day, which contributed to their community service for the Dukes Award. We worked as a group to help clean up the local area, which included the Errington Reserve Children’s playground. We kept each other motivated by trying to collect the most rubbish and recycling in groups. It was very rewarding knowing we were helping our community and learning about waste issues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North West Communities for Climate Action School Summit

On Wednesday the 30th of March, our Advance class was able to participate in the Climate Action School Summit. We were introduced to CERES (Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) and together as a class along with many other participating schools in varying council areas, created an image of what we wanted our 2040 to look like. This included different ideas such as using solar panels and electric cars. Additionally, there were many guest speakers who talked about their contribution to the environment. We learnt about how Pygmy Possums are endangered due to a reduction in the possum’s key food source, the Bogong Moths. We also heard from young advocates around our age who were making a significant difference to the environment by raising awareness and creating solutions for the problems we have in our environment. We were able to speak to our mayor of Brimbank Council and speak about our environmental concerns in our environment. We were also able to hear ideas from other schools about their concerns and see their 2040 images.

 

 

Articles by the Year 9 Advance Class