The Year 8 students are preparing for the inaugural Year level camp to Central Australia this Term.

The students will leave on Sunday 29 April and fly to Alice Springs where they will stay for two nights before moving onto Kings Canyon and then onto Yulara. The group will participate in a wide range of activities including sightseeing some of Central Australia’s natural wonders such as Uluru, Kata Tjuta, the wonders of the Australian desert, as well as a range of natural and geological features.

The students will walk around the rim of Kings Canyon and ride bicycles around Uluru. The experience will be six nights under canvas tents, returning to Melbourne on Friday 4 May.

The key objectives of St Catherine’s Central Australia tour are as follows:

Personal and Social:

• Develop an awareness of one’s own feelings and emotions
• Develop responsibility for one’s own health and wellbeing
• Develop independence and personal organisation
• Socially interact and work co-operatively with peers
• Prepare students to be ‘responsible and considerate’ travellers
• Broaden and develop friendships across the Form and Year level.

Cultural:

• Develop an increased awareness of the traditional land owners in areas visited
• To develop an understanding of the importance of traditional landowners – spiritual connection to country
• Develop a greater awareness of the cultural differences and similarities within communities

Educational:

• Develop an understanding of the geographical landscape of Australia and the size of the country
• Develop an awareness of different climatic zones and the impact these have upon how people live
• To develop an awareness of the history/cultural significance of the areas visited

The Year level looks forward to providing photographs of their Central Australia adventures on their return.

Image: Wayne Sorensen Photography