Reflections on the Year 9 Marine Biology Camp Experience

I was fortunate enough this year to join our Year 9 students on the annual Marine Biology Camp experience. I am writing this entry from my room in sunny (and sometimes rainy!) Cairns. When we first decided to introduce this experience to our Year 9 students, we did so without fully knowing just how worthwhile it would be. Having now experienced the camp firsthand, I am pleased to say that it is an exceptionally valuable opportunity for our students.

Over the past few days, I have learnt so much about our marine ecosystem, the culture of our First Nations people, and, most importantly, about our students. I have not previously had the opportunity to spend real, quality time with our Year 9 cohort. Many educators speak of Year 9 as the “lost year” — a time when students sit in a kind of limbo and need something extra to make their educational experience meaningful and real. This highly anticipated camp delivers that in spades.

I consider myself privileged to have journeyed with our students on this special adventure. I have seen them rise to the occasion time and time again. They have embraced the challenges of the camp with resilience and enthusiasm, and they have taken up every opportunity beautifully.

During our time here, we have visited a sanctuary where injured endangered turtles are rehabilitated, participated in First Nations cultural talks and activities, and travelled across the Great Barrier Reef learning about its fragility and vulnerability to global warming and other environmental impacts. Our students have thrown themselves into every activity with excitement, a true pleasure to witness.

For me, the best part of this experience has been having the time and space to get to know our Year 9 cohort more closely. Over the past week, I have had wonderful conversations with our students and learnt so much about them. I have also watched with great interest the way they support one another, lifting each other up when someone is feeling down. Our students reflect the values of acceptance, compassion, kindness and inclusivity, and it is a credit to parents, staff, and our culture at Lakeside that this is so. We truly are a special community — compassionate, open, and understanding — and I am proud to be part of it.

The staff who attended the camp certainly did not get a holiday in the sun, despite the running joke at school before we left. Our teachers — Mr Stephen Jones, Ms Maree Worker, Ms Rochelle Rabba, Mr Jack Taylor and Ms Katie Wilson — have done an outstanding job caring for our students. They have supported those who felt anxious, unwell, or homesick, and I take my hat off to them for the kindness and care they have shown.