Maria Island 2019

The four day Maria Island camp is part of Anglicare Victoria’s ‘Hike to Higher Education’ program, which aims to encourage secondary school students to discover their passions in life and build their academic journey. Six of our students recently participated in this fantastic experience.

Year 10 students from Ararat, Frankston and Wonthaggi College have once again completed the Hike to Higher Education across Maria Island, Tasmania. This year mentors from Tennis Australia joined the adventure to inspire our students with their journeys from regional schools just like ours, to working within a big corporation like Tennis Australia. Staff from each school, as well as staff members from Anglicare Victoria, also shared their journeys and experiences with completing higher education and the opportunity and freedom of choice that comes with it.

The Hike to Higher Education program aims to improve school attendance rates, reinforcing the benefits of remaining in school and obtaining a VCE or TAFE qualification.

This year we had six adventurous students: Hannah Burns, Daniel Leggett, Liam Hutchins, Jasmine Day, Tyson Makovec and Kate Sellon. Staff member Tahni Skewes attended with the students for support and encouragement as they successfully completed two challenging hikes on the beautiful Maria Island.

The first hike consisted of walking over twenty kilometres to end up on some of the whitest beaches in Australia and to cool aching feet in the crystal clear water. After the brave few ventured a swim, we were picked up by our own personal charter boat to take us back to our accommodation.

The next day, students had to back up their efforts with another challenging fourteen kilometre return hike up to the peak of Bishop and Clerk, which reaches an elevation of 700m. After rock scrambling the last 100m to the summit, we were treated to spectacular views of mainland Tasmania and the Tasman Sea.

Successfully climbing Bishop and Clerk highlighted a clear metaphor which students were able to mull over by the fire once we once again reached our base camp. ‘Many things may seem out of reach, but with a bit of hard work, perseverance and resilience you can achieve anything you set your mind too.’

Our thanks to Anglicare for their continued support of our college through this program as well as thanks to the Ararat Lions Club and Ararat Anglican Parish for the monetary donations they made to ensure no students missed out.

Miss Skewes