Albany Trip

On the 28th of October 2016, we made our way to Albany for the 102nd anniversary of the Australian soldiers leaving our shores. This trip acted as a great bonding trip for the students too. From playing car cricket on the way down, to arguing over what music to play (mostly arguments between the staff and the students haha) to endless games of basketball knockout to cooking breakfasts, dinners and making lunches. All in all it was a great weekend away.

Friday saw us set up the sleeping arrangements in the Albany High School gym, then we went on a hike up to Mount Clarence. Well, that was certainly an experience, with our boys Cameron, Connor and Josh practically running the entire way up, the view from the top was amazing. We also got to see and hear the history of the war memorial from Mr Croft. When we got back to the gym, we got organised to have dinner. Hamburgers were on the menu. This is when the basketball knockout competition began. Every man, or woman for themselves. The competitiveness came out in some of the students and even some of the staff which the students thought was fantastic. After dinner, we all showered and got ourselves organised for sleeping. A couple of the girls wanted to know what bonding game we could play so Miss Thomson told all the kids to sit around the centre circle of the basketball court and we all answered some questions. The first being "If you didn't have a budget, where would you go on holidays and why?". By the end we had all sorts of questions, a gym full of laughter and the group as one. It was now sleep time, what we weren't prepared for was how incredibly cold the school gym would be.

 

It was an early rise on Saturday with the breakfast crew doing an amazing job and preparing bacon, eggs, spaghetti, fruit and toast for all of us. After breakfast we headed into town where Shanice, Paige, Connor and Mr Croft were interviewed by the ABC Radio, broadcast across the state. They did an awesome job of promoting a positive image for the group. We then picked up the wreath for our dusk service later this evening. We headed up to the National Anzac Centre on Mount Adelaide. What an amazing experience for all of us. After the museum, we were invited to a tour of the rest of the grounds - we got to see the old gun machinery and learnt so much more about the history of Albany's part in the first world war. It was heart-wrenching for some, the fact that this land was the last that some of our soldiers saw. We headed back to the gym for a sausage sizzle and to change into our formal wear ready for the afternoon's activities.

In the afternoon, we attended a Symposium about creativity and arts. It was great to listen to the different ideas that people had. We had to slip away from this for an hour or so, while we went to Rustler's Steakhouse for dinner before our dusk service. Our biggest challenge at dinner was to make sure we didn't slop anything on our formal wear. Most of us came away unscathed. After a wonderful group dinner, we walked to the Anzac Peace Park for our service. Hayley read a poem, Olivia read In Flanders Fields, Jess the ode, and Bobbie Jo, Cameron and Krystal laid the wreath. It was a nice way to pay our respects to the soldiers that gave their lives for us. We headed back to the symposium to be able to see all the art work on display, and even got to participate in a light show. We all had a great time, with many laughs during this.

We headed back to the gym for some more basketball before hitting the hay for the second night. Once again, breakfast crew prepared an amazing spread of bacon, pancakes and fruit for us to enjoy. The lunch crew then got together to prepare wraps and rolls for the drive home. We headed to Anzac Peace Park first for a photo in the daylight and then had a spend up at the boat shed markets. We then headed to Middleton Beach to walk to the Ataturk statue. "It's only 1.5km" says Mr Croft. 3km later and we had found the statue and it was definitely worth the walk. Mr Croft explained the importance of this statue and then we made our way back to the foreshore. 6km round trip, but not a single complaint, the students and staff loved it. The boys tire us out just watching them run everywhere though.

 

Our last stop before heading home was the Gap and Natural Bridge. We stopped for a spot of lunch and then got to experience the brand new ledge that oversteps the Gap. Absolutely amazing.
It was then homeward bound. About 20 minutes out of Albany we already had 4 students asleep. A little bit further out and two staff were down and out too. We stopped off in Kojonup to stretch the legs, Darkan for a quick toilet stop and then we were reunited with our families back at the school.

A weekend full of laughs, learning and good times. Bring on the tour next year :)

- Miss Thomson.