The Year 8 Experience
Dolphin spotting in the mangroves of South Australia, scaling the heights of Mt Wellington Tasmania, and a Masterchef Challenge through the aisles of the Queen Victoria Market, was all in a week’s work for St Catherine’s School’s Year 8 students.
Last week, the girls had the opportunity to explore the sights of three Australian cities as part of the Year 8 Experience.
The program gave a large number of students the chance to participate in an interstate exchange with fellow Year 8s from St Michael’s Collegiate, Hobart and The Wilderness School, Adelaide. At the beginning of the week, many St Catherine’s girls hosted a student from St Michael’s or The Wilderness School, showing their guests the various attractions in Melbourne by navigating and racing their way around the CBD in the ‘Melbourne city Spectacular’.
The roles were reversed mid-way through the week, with St Catherine’s girls travelling to either Hobart or Adelaide to spend some time in their exchange student’s school and home. The girls in Adelaide kayaked the St Kilda Mangroves and forest, catching a glimpse of the dolphins that reside in the waters there, while in Hobart, the girls fed the animals at Bonorong Park, visited the Salamanca Markets and admired the view at the top of chilly Mt Wellington.
As part of the Year 8 Experience, some students also tested their culinary skills in a ‘Masterchef’ style challenge at William Angliss Institute of TAFE. Working in small groups, the young chefs were allocated a budget and were required to purchase their ingredients at the Queen Victoria Market. They then returned to the kitchens at William Angliss to prepare a two course meal for judging, with some truly delicious results!