Blue Mountain College - Activities & Subjects

Outdoor Education

The Opportunities we offer at BMC

Year 7 - 31 August to 2 September 2011 Coronet Peak: Southland and Otago Ski Club Lodge

To develop skiing skills
To provide an opportunity to develop independence and responsibility, cohort collegiality and cohesiveness as well as skills in co-operation in what is, to most of our Year 7s, a new environment.
To provide an experience which acts as a transition in overnight stays before the Year 8 Pounawea Camp

Key Competencies: Managing self, Relating to others, Participating and Contributing

Values: Excellence – by aiming high and persevering in the face of difficulties; Community and Participation - for the common good; Integrity – being honest responsible and accountable.

L4 Health and Physical Education: Movement Skills & Positive Attitudes

Year 8 A week long camp held in late November at the Keswick Convention Centre at Pounawea.

The students experience:

camping out in tents,
cooking over a camp fire,
canoeing,
abseiling,
orienteering,
beach cooking,
hiking,
confidence course ropes,
beach skills at Kaka Point
And always put on a great concert.

The main aim is teamwork and building friendships, as is the Health theme for Year 8. It is a great way to learn new skills and make new friends before the classes are reshuffled for year 9.
Year 12's who attend as student leaders act as role models and make friends in the junior school, ready for their roles as our senior leaders in Yr 13.

Year 10 Borland Lodge

This camp builds on the skills learned at Pounawea.

Students participate in the following activities:

Caving
Rock climbing
Abseiling
Rafting
Kayaking
Solo experience
Tramping
Camp out

Students focus on working together and are challenged to participate in these activities.

Students participate in a responsibility programme in the week prior to camp to learn aspects such as first aid, mountain safety etc and to develop good skills in interacting with their peers.

Year 12/13 Snowboarding Trip July Coronet Peak (3 nights -2 days)

This trip allows students from the Level 2 and Level 3 Physical Education classes to complete 2 Achievement standards/Unit standards (each level gets the chance to gain 7 credits)

Year 12 –complete an assessment on risk analysis and how to stay safe in an outdoor activity. They also get assessed on the practical skill of snowboarding.

Year 13 – complete a unit standard looking at the skills of snowboarding and how to develop them. They look at self analysis of these skills and safety. They also get assessed on the practical skill of snowboarding.

Year 13 Biology Field Trip

Year 13 Biology spent 3 days in Dunedin at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre from the 18th – 20th May, completing work for one of their NCEA internal assessments. They spent the first day handling varieties of crabs found on the shoreline and finding out about factors that affect them. They also trialled possible investigations they could carry out on theses crabs. By the end of the day they were confidently handling the crabs and had come up with a hypothesis and plan for an investigation they wanted to carry out over the remainder of the time.

After a long day we travelled by boat to Quarantine Island with Fiordland college where we spent the next two nights accompanied by some chickens, sheep and ghosts of sick children. We had a fun time staying on the island exploring, “planking”, eating far too much, watching DVD’s and even doing a lot of homework.

The next two days the students started straight into their experiments in the lab and gradually became confident in carrying out their methods accurately and with precision. The crabs cooperated on the most part and the class obtained some good data over the two days of experimental work. They also discovered that being a Scientist has a lot to do with patience, organisation and thinking ahead. They returned to school late Friday afternoon and are now busy analysing their data and writing their reports.

Year 13 Leadership Camp Early February Waihola All of the Year 13 class attend this camp to help them prepare for the leadership roles that they will take on in the coming year. Students take responsibility for organising the menu. During the three days a number of challenges are set, house leaders are decided, students decide which delegations and committees they think the school should have, the fire service spend a morning talking to the students and the Board traditionally come for tea on the last night.

Year 13 Tramp Late February Tramping from Borland to Manapouri (Group 1) and Manapouri to Borland (Group 2)
This voluntary EOTC activity has been part of the BMC programme since 1992. It has evolved and been adapted over time, particularly to meet the demands of larger groups of participants. A unique feature of this activity is the use of community outdoor experience and expertise.

Rationale
To offer an opportunity to Year 13 students to undertake a highly challenging outdoor pursuits activity in a remote environment.

Participants will overcome the physical and mental demands of a very challenging tramp in a wilderness area.
To provide opportunities for personal growth and development
To develop leadership skills
To provide opportunities for team building and the development of positive group dynamics
To foster and promote self esteem and self confidence
To provide positive interactions between the adult leaders and the young adult participants
To provide enriching intercultural experiences for international students

This is only a small sample of the activities that go on outside the classroom. All sports trips are EOTC.