It was a one-hour drive to get there from Launceston. Some students went on the bus and some went in cars. After we arrived, we all met each other, then some people went for a walk and others stayed behind and did colouring in and chatted.
The people who went for a walk got to go to Aboriginal sites of historical significance, which included carvings in the rocks which dated back thousands of years. They also went to a lighthouse and we all ‘hugged’ it, to see how many people it took to reach around it.
After the people returned from the walk, we all came together for lunch. There was a barbeque with sausages, hamburgers and veggie burgers.
When lunch was finished, some people (students and teachers)played cricket on the beach. Others chose to sit at the tables or on the grass in the sun to talk and socialise with each other, which we don’t get to do that often. One group made a sand sculpture of a turtle, with help from some parents and teachers. Later on, there was also a game of students versus teachers soccer. Quite a few people went to the rock pools to look for rocks, shells, crabs and other sea creatures.
At around two o’clock, it was time to say goodbye, jump back on the buses and head home. We arrived back in Launceston at around 3:30. It was a really fun day, full of energetic activities, so we were really exhausted when we got home.
Students were presented with physical challenges which they could only satisfactorily complete if they worked together as a team to find ways to conquer these challenges. It was great to see the students thinking and discussing how they would work together and many came up with some creative solutions. The students were particularly excited when they were told by the organisers that they could send teachers and parents/carers to the ‘naughty corner’ if they interfered or tried to tell the students how to solve any of the challenges. Robert Madigan found himself looking very sheepish when he was removed to the naughty corner!
In the afternoon we all went on a short bush walk. We met around a campfire and were given the opportunity to cook up a damper on a stick over the hot coals while Greg (music teacher) played music on his guitar. When cooked to a golden brown the damper was smothered in butter, honey and jam. YUM! Some even went back for seconds.
Students did the eSchool proud by taking up the challenge to walk across a swing bridge and nobody managed to fall into the creek below! At the end of the day some students and staff went one step further and walked across a more challenging swing bridge to the resounding cheer from onlookers. We all had a wonderful day, the weather was amazing and the students met many of their peers and came away knowing that when presented with challenges there are ways of solving problems if you are prepared to work at it.