Things that build character, not just skills. On the Bronze Duke of Ed hike this last week, I saw the characters of the participants develop. Students were willingly sacrificing their own comfort to assist their fellow hikers. They would carry extra gear, check on each other, speak words of encouragement and struggle through difficult terrain to ensure that their group made it to their destination safely. Each of the students displayed perseverance and grit and it was a joy for me to watch and experience.
We left the starting point to head down towards Jellybean Pools in Glenbrook, Blue Mountains. Once at the pools we had to find a way up the mountain to hit the road. Much of the hike was like this – finding a route where there was no specific track or easy way. The students met this task head on with only a map and compass in hand and a heavy pack on their backs. The campfire debrief that night voiced many of the thoughts and feelings they had toward such an assignment. Students were thankful for their peers who helped them up and down steep terrain, for beautiful bush scenery and for the opportunity to challenge themselves in ways they had never before. Mr Gawthorne, fellow hiker and English teacher, said this of his experience of the hike:
“Descending with confident strides towards the Jellybean Pool, ascending suddenly into the sobering embrace of a hard climb, stomping through whipping bushland in blind reliance on compass bearings, stopping for an all-too-brief lunch beneath Kookaburras poised to dive, beginning our own dive down one side of a steep valley, watching the other side rise above us before hauling each other up it, and marching into our camp site at a brisk pace fuelled by weary satisfaction, all featured in our first day of the Bronze Qualification Hike. The views, challenges and open air all made for a thrilling experience, but the blessing of it was to share it with a bunch of Year 9 students who ate up every obstacle with good-humoured determination and genuine concern for each other. Even the somewhat extended course of our gorge crossing, the following day, seemed not so much an unplanned detour as another opportunity to prove mettle and forge friendships. All in all, this was a great hike and the students are commended for putting in to get that out. This will be a formidable cohort as they embark upon their bid for Silver next year.”
Thank you to Mr Williams, Mr Ward, Mr McCormack and Mr Gawthorne for accompanying us on the hike. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to hike with the Bronze Duke of Ed participants and I greatly look forward to seeing them back for Silver in 2019. I will be starting to advertise for new participants soon so Year 8, get ready!
Miss Niamh Friel.
Duke of Ed Coordinator.