The 18th– 19th and 25th-26th has seen the entire Year 10 group travel to Melbourne to participate in a range of activities related to Religious Studies and Humanities.
Traditionally this excursion has included the whole year level on one trip, but this year with the Year 10 cohort at its all time record of 175 students it was decided that two trips were necessary.
The 18th and 19th of August saw 10.1, 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 on excursion and then the following week on the 25th and 26thAugust 10.5, 10.6 and 10.7 travelled to
Melbourne to participate in the different activities on offer.
Day one of each excursion included a visit to either the Temple Beth Jewish Synagogue or the Tara Institute Buddhist Temple with roughly half of the Year 10’s attending one venue and the remainder the other. Depending on their choice of venue students were exposed to some of the rituals, cultures and religious teachings of Judaism and Buddhism.
The second excursion destination on day one was the Jewish Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust Museum is fascinating. Not only is this a highly informative presentation but it is also very powerful and at times confronting. The lecture, the displays and in particular the heartfelt testimonials from Holocaust survivors is indeed a moving experience.
Thursday evening of the excursion presented students with the opportunity to dine along Lygon Street and then participate in the activity of their choice from ice skating, indoor rock climbing, ten pin bowling or the cinema.
Friday morning began with a beautiful walk of about 45 minutes from the accommodation at Urban Central, along South Bank to St.Kilda Road and The Shrine of Remembrance. This activity engages students in a short seminar on aspects of World War One followed by a guided tour of The Shrine. Following this was lunch at South Bank and then a late afternoon return to Wangaratta.
The behavior and attitude of the Year 10’s on this excursion was terrific. They were interested, cooperative and participated in all of the activities very enthusiastically. Organisation of excursions such as this is vast and thanks are extended to Mrs Morrow for all of her hard work along with Mr Murphy, Mrs Byrne, Mr Samon, Ms Scarce, Ms Larkings, Mr Heath, Mr Faithfull, Mr Hovey, Mr Maher and Ms Rodway for their attendance and generous support.
By Keith Willett
