Outdoor Education

St. Andrew's Camps Program

St. Andrew’s provides an exciting camps programme for all our Prep to Year 10 students. The Camps are a compulsory and fun part of each child’s education. The aims of this program are to improve:

• Self-confidence
• Social skills
• Bonding within year groups
• Environmental understandings
• Outdoor skills
• Understanding of self and others

 

The program is sequential; designed to build on skills and provide increasing levels of challenge and self-reliance as children progress through the year levels. Locations and activities are chosen to be age-appropriate as well as to provide a variety of environments and activities. Camps are learning-rich experiences where students achieve incredible personal growth.

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PRIMARY CAMPS
Overview:
2013 Dates:

Grade	Date	Duration	Location
Prep	25th October	1 day	Australia Zoo
1	8th November	1 day	Camp Maranatha
2	22nd March	1 day	Apex Camp Mudjimba
3	2-3 May	Overnight	Apex Camp Mudjimba
4	15-17 May	2 nights	Kiah Park
5	13-15 February	2 nights	Mon Repos
6	Year 6 travel to Canberra for their investigation of our nation’s capital.

 

Prep visit to Australia Zoo

The first Outdoor excursion at St. Andrew’s is a trip to Australia Zoo. This is a BIG day out for our little Preppies. They have a special Zoo-Keeper’s talk about what animals need to keep them healthy, they then explore the Zoo in small groups. Each child gets the chance to get up close and personal to some special Australian animals. The Crocoseum show with spectacular birds and leaping crocs is another highlight of the day.

Year 1 Day Camp- Maranatha

With the confidence of a year and a half of schooling behind them, the Year 1’s are ready to take on some big challenges on their camp day. Rock climbing, bush cooking, dam hike and the dizzying heights of the ‘Possum Pull’ keep everyone busy. Staff are amazed at how their charges take on the challenges as well as the responsibility of looking after one another on this camp.

 

Year 2 Day Camp- Mudjimba

The Year 2 Camp Day introduces students to the venue where they will have there first overnight camp in Year 3. Children particpate in fun group activities. There is also bird watching and environmental challenges to keep the Year Twos on their toes.

 

Year 3 Overnight Camp- Mudjimba

Year 3 students are off for their first overnight camp experience. The theme for this camp is ‘Coastal Living’ and the focus is on coastal environments and water activities. Students will explore the Maroochy River wetlands via canoe. They will also compete in a Beach Olympics and the Team Challenge Course. At night time the students enjoy a campfire and games.

Year 4 Camp- Kiah Park

Year 4 students enjoy a farm stay experience at Kiah Park. This is a two night camp where one night is a sleep-out in tents at a remote site where students prepare and cook their own roast dinner in the campfire. Activities include horse riding, cow milking, team challenges, a flying fox into the dam and a bush hike.

 

Year 5 Camp- Mon Repos Turtle Hatchery

Year 5 students are travelling to Bargara Beach near Bundaberg. From this base we will visit the Mon Repos turtle hatchery each night as well as enjoying an afternoon of surf lifesaving and a full day of activities at the Riverside Retreat Outdoor Centre.

 

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Secondary School Camps


Secondary Camps Week- September 16th to 20th, 2013
The compulsory Outdoor Education curriculum component of the College continues into the Secondary years with all Middle and Senior Years students required to attend their annual camp. These camps are held within Southeast Queensland in order to make use of the wonderful variety of wilderness areas in the region. 

We are very fortunate to have the contribution and skills of our very own Mrs Jane Cooksley who is highly experienced in coordinating and managing Outdoor Educational experiences for students of secondary age. As such, students and parents are assured that the annual camp provides a simultaneously safe and challenging range of activities tailored to meet the needs of our students.

In 2012, this program continues its work in expanding the life experiences of our students, developing their group social skills, encouraging their personal development and targeting an enjoyment of outdoor activities ranging from forest/bushland navigation to mountain biking.

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Year 7- Eco Camp

 

Year 7 go inland to Woodford for five days of fun. Students are based in an eco-camp where they experience loads of personal and group challenges. They also participate in a remote camp-out in small groups, where they have to load their packs with all essential items for an overnight camp in a bush location. This is the first camp that students have to self-cater. At school they plan for the meals they require during their overnight camp out.  They have to shop for these before camp, then prepare these meals at camp. A lot is learned about suitable foods and what works best while on camp.

 

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Year 8- Rock On!

Year 8 students are spending five days in the Granite high country at Girraween National Park. We travel to Castle Rock Camp ground where students set up tents for the week. Activities are mentally and physically challenging and include the "Tunnel of Terror", scaling the Pyramid and climbing Turtle Rock. This is a truly majestic landscape that provides the perfect environment for an exciting school camp.

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Year 9- Survival Camp

Year 9 Camp is a big step up for our students. Every day is a new challenge- canoeing, hiking, sailing, abseiling, mountain biking- that has to be conquered to get to the next campsite. Campsites include Boreen Point, Noosa North Shore, Elanda Point and the Noosa Sea Scouts. Students travel and camp in groups of around 20 students with 2 staff. Specialist instructors meet the groups each day to take them on a new adventure.

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Year 10- Elective Wilderness Journeys
Our Year 10 students have 3 camp options to choose from:

1. Sea Kayaking
Moreton Bay is a wilderness jewel on our back doorstep. Before the camp even begins, students must work with buddies to plan their menus and buy their food. The journey begins in the sheltered waters of the southern bay, then they venture out to campsites on South Stradbroke Island. They learn paddling techniques and by the end of the week are navigating themselves and planning their route depending on tides and conditions.

2. Fraser Island Hike
Traveling in small groups of 9 students with 1 teacher, this camp provides a unique wilderness experience on World Heritage listed Fraser Island. Approximately 40 kilometers is hiked over the five days with each group staying in a new location every night. Students (and teachers) must carry everything on their backs including food, tents and clothing.

3. Mountain Biking

Based in the Noosa Hinterland region, students travel a trail network through forests and small towns. Each night sees us setting up camp

in a new location and each day brings a mixture of relaxing fire trails and more technical single track. Students self-cater for the entire week and navigation becomes their responsibility as the week progresses.

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Years 11 & 12
Students in Year 11 undertake a targeted development of their group (social) and leadership skills, albeit in an appropriate and inspiring outdoor setting, with their Leadership Retreat. This week-long course is pivotal in assisting each Year 11 cohort to strengthen their skills and capacity to become the best leaders possible in the pending school year to come, and also to help them focus their personal goals for their final and vital year of schooling. Students in Year 12 attend their "Futures Week" - a series of events targeting issues and skills specific to the needs of Year 12s. This includes a 3 day trip to Brisbane to explore a variety of tertiary institutions.

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Contacts for further information...
For information about Outdoor Education activities from Prep to Year 10, please contact the Outdoor Education program co-ordinator, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Alternatively please contact the Head of Primary School, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
For information about the Year 11 Leadership Retreat, please contact the Head of Secondary School, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
For information about the Year 12 "Futures Week" activities, please contact the Deputy Principal, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .