Maddison.T+Reflection+Page


 * __ PORTSEA CAMP EXPERIENCE __**


 * This task asks that you reflect on the two day outdoor experience and respond in detail to the following questions. **

I was looking forward to the Portsea Camp because it seemed like a different experience to other camps and we were doing fun activities as well. I also felt a bit nervous, because I only went snorkelling a few times and wasn't very good at it, therefore I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of my class. I usually don't really like camps either, so it was a different experience to other camps, because the activities were more fun and in reality, more outgoing. I think I was probably looking forward to this camp more than 7 and 8 camps. Also, people in previous years said that the camp was the best they have been on, so I got a lot of positive feedback from other people who went. Apparently the best part was the Giant Swing so I was looking forward to that the most out of all the activities presented to us on the PowerPoint. So, really, I was looking forward to the experience, then again I was also nervous about some of the tasks we had to achieve but I knew that I could do them even if they were quite scary and daunting. I was nervous about a few of the activities on camp; such as the snorkelling, canoeing and I was a bit nervous of the giant swing. I was a bit nervous about snorkelling I'm not very confident snorkelling, or in the ocean in general. I'm a confident swimmer but I don't like putting my head underwater. Also, I was nervous about canoeing because I've had bad experiences with canoes before and I'm not very confident steering them anymore, I guess it wouldn't be as bad this time at camp because we had two people in the canoe. I'm not really afraid of heights so I wasn't really scared of the Giant Swing until people said it was really scary and it hurts your back. So I was a bit nervous but I thought I could handle it easily, because one of the main things people are afraid of (heights) wouldn't be an issue. I was also excited about high ropes, because I love heights and climbing even though I struggle at climbing sometimes. I've also never done anything like that before so it was a good experience. Since I was second to do it in my group, I saw Connor do it first so I had an idea of how difficult it was when he came back down and told us what it was like; the hardest part and the easiest part. 3. **What do you think St Mary's is trying to achieve by taking you on this experience?** I think St. Mary’s is trying to achieve by teaching us quite a lot of things in this camp. Mainly, qualities which we will carry out in our everyday live when we're older and also when we're at school. Some of the qualities they were trying to teach us is; teamwork, bravery, using your initiative and facing your fears. The quality of bravery was shown in such activities as the giant swing, high ropes and also snorkelling for people who aren't strong swimmers. Giant swing and high ropes were really challenging people who had a strong fear of heights or were afraid of falling from a high distance, which showed a lot of bravery as well as facing your fears. Teamwork was shown in such activities Initiative and snorkelling as well as canoeing. In Initiative you had to work as a whole class, even though only a few people really tried to solve the problem. Also, in snorkelling, you need to work as a class to find fish and other marine life and to sticking one group and now let your partner drift away in the current. In Canoeing, you and your partner have to work together to steer the canoe and not let you drift behind the group and keep up with the strokes of the paddle, and make sure your both paddling at the same pace as one another 4. **Do you think these experiences achieved these things? Why/ why not?** I personally believe they did achieve these things, because a lot of my friends were afraid of heights and doing the giant swing and high ropes was a massive step for them, and most of them even went to the very top of the giant swing! It really brought classes together in some aspects, and a lot of them worked in efficient teams and worked together, especially in initiative activities. A lot of people enjoyed the activities and had a really good time which was an achievement in itself. Also a lot of people went snorkelling for the first time in their lives which was a massive thing for them individually and possibly gained more confidence and might be more outgoing in future tasks. The high ropes was a challenge for everyone, if you were afraid of heights or not, it was still a hard activity, because you had to climb the rock wall first, then climb the pegs, then go across the rope. (Depending on which course you went on - There were two high ropes tracks you could complete). Canoeing was also testing people, because they had to flip the canoes over and some people would of been really scared to do that because of the freezing water and the fact that they might get trapped under there. So in all, I think they achieved the things the wanted to at camp. 5. **What was your favourite activity? Why?**
 * 1. How were you feeling prior to this experience? **
 * 2. What were you nervous about? What were you excited about? **

My favourite activity was the giant swing, because it was a challenge for everyone, and it was funny to see everyone’s expressions and they fell down, and also interesting to see how high they would get before they said to stop, or if they went all the way to the top or not. After a while it got tiring pulling the rope back and forth all the time, but it was still enjoyable. When it was my turn to go, I think the worst part was going up, because it was so high when you actually get up there and you don't realize, but I wanted to go to the top so I kept going. Once you're at the top, when the man starts counting, when he gets to three you just have to sit there and close your eyes until he pulls the string, which is probably the scariest part. At first it feels like you're falling straight to the ground but you actually swing instead of falling straight down so it was really fun. You also get a great view of the beach if you turn your head around. It was probably the most exciting activity out of all of them, because it was the one everyone wanted to do first. Even though it was our last activity, it was the best. 6. **what was your least favourite? Why?** My least favourite activity was initiative. Mainly because most of the people were confused and had no idea what they were doing, and just standing there talking, while you had about four people who tried to solve it. Most people didn't understand the task and found it really boring. Even though it was extremely boring, I guess you did learn to use your initiative and think through what was the question, not just jump to a conclusion straight away. Another thing which I didn't enjoy about initiative is the log activity, where you had to order yourselves from tallest to smallest on the log without your feet touching the ground. It was really awkward and didn't have much meaning to the whole point of it. Initiative wasn't all bad though, the lily pad one was alright, because since everyone got a lily pad we all had to take part in some way to get to the other side of the "lake". The maze activity, which we actually did on reflection day at school, was pretty fun, because everyone got to have a go at the path to take and we all had to guide them. It was pretty hard but we managed to do it after about half way, because people sorted out the pattern of where to go. Yes, I believe this experience will help me at St. Mary's because I can use a lot of the qualities and skills to help me in future assignments, especially group work, because I know a lot of the assignments are group assignments so working as a group is a crucial skill to have as well as keep in your life. The experience has also increased my confidence and I feel like I can achieve a lot when I put my mind to it, and have enough faith in myself. I also believe the experience will help me at St. Mary's because now I know my classmates more than I did before the camp and can get along with all of them, as well as learning some new things about them. I believe the camp has benefited everyone’s time at St. Mary's and since it went so fast, It takes how fast your time at St. Mary's goes and how the first camp is already over. Also at camp, I learnt to sue my initiative, so in trick questions, I can stop and think about the answer before just jumping in with a given answer, and without really thinking what the question is actually asking me. I think that camp has improved everyone’s experience at St. Mary's in some way. I have learnt that I'm not afraid of heights, because before camp I was unsure of it. I wasn't generally afraid on heights in the first place, but whether or not I wouldn't be scared to do the activities (such as high ropes and giant swing) was another thing, therefore heights wasn't an issue. I also learnt that I jump to conclusions too quickly, the activity about Initiative proved this. I think I need to take more time to do things, not just rush into an answer, because there are probably shortcuts if you think it through properly, and you don't always have to do things the hard way if you really put your mind to it, but not in all circumstances. I learnt that I can also have a lot of fun without even trying, such as the Disco and almost all the activities on camp; I really enjoyed myself. Also, not to jump to conclusions was a big thing I learnt, as everyone has an image in their mind of what camp will be like so it's hard not to jump to conclusions until you actually experience it and see for yourself what it's like, because it can be a lot better than what you thought it would be, even though I thought it would be really good. I learnt that Bianca was really afraid of heights as well as Trent. But they both did the high ropes course and got through it like everyone else. Bianca was really nervous to do it because of her fear but she overcame it and did it anyway, which was a big achievement for her, because she thought she would have a panic attack. As for Trent, he was just nervous about it anyway, but everyone in my high ropes group completed the course which we were all really proud of. I also discovered that Connor isn't really afraid of heights, as he was first to go in our high ropes course, he did it quickly and didn't show that he was scared at all which was good. When it came to the giant swing, Trent went almost to the top - about three quarters up, which was good considering he was scared of heights and was really scared about doing the giant swing. Bianca went a bit below Trent on the giant swing, which was still a long way up considering the high ropes, which was a good effort considering how scared she was. I learnt that anyone can conquer their fears if they set their mind on it. I think I was supportive of my classmates in most of the activities, such as high ropes, giant swing and initiative. In initiative only a few people were pitching in, which was good, because we were all really encouraging each other that we could solve things, so I guess initiative activities were really good for showing support. Unfortunately, I couldn't do all the activities but I was still there on the sidelines. I think I contributed support and guidance to my classmates. I know some of them were scared of heights, and with enough support they could overcome their fears and keep going. A lot were afraid of high ropes and giant swing, but the whole class pitched in and supported one another, like when people rang the bell at the end of the high ropes course and everyone cheered (including me) because of what they accomplished. I think supporting people can really help them accomplish the task which they have to do, and there were many things in camp which might of scared some people, so supporting them was the best you could do to help them really, so that was what I was trying to contribute in the experience. Some things that could be improved could be; the disco could go for a bit longer, I understand the fact that there's a set time to go to bed, considering that we've all had a big day and were probably tired. But it took people a while to really get into it so in most peoples eyes it was really short. Maybe we could have started it earlier? Then again, the day was pretty packed full of activities. I think it was pretty funny making us think it was a liturgy when really, we entered a disco, and it took a lot of people by surprise. People were really rushed around a lot; I think there should be less time of one activity so that we could have more time to have showers etc. I still think the days were planned out really well, just a bit squished, but I know there's no way to really fix that. There isn’t really a lot of improvement you could make on the camp; it was really well set out really well, even though it was tiring, it was worth doing all five activities, not just four. It was a rush to get all our bags packed the first morning but at least we knew they were packed, and didn't have to come back from our activities knowing that we had to pack them.
 * 7. Do you think this experience will help your time at St Mary's? Explain. **
 * 8. Discuss something you learnt about yourself while on this experience. **
 * 9. Discuss something you learnt about someone else while on this experience. **
 * 10. How do you think you contributed to this experience? **
 * 11. What do you think could be improved for next year’s portsea experience? **

The best piece of advice I've ever been given is to "Never Give Up". I've used this advice a lot in my life, it can be transferred into almost an situation because of the simplicity of it. "Never give up" may seem like a simple thing to say, but it's actually quite complex because sometimes you just can't be bothered and feel like giving up just because you think you can't do it, when really, you can. The person who gave me this advice was my Uncle, when I was about 8 years old and have carried it through my life since then, and I consider it a really good piece of advice to have with me. Whenever people tell you that you can't do anything or that you aren't good enough, you should never give up and keep going through life, because one day you will prove them wrong and they'll probably come off second best in life. And also if you were given something really hard to do and you feel as if you aren’t smart enough to do it, you can at least give it a go and don’t give up on trying, because you might actually get it right, rather then not even trying your hardest.
 * Reflection questions:**
 * Week 1**
 * What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?**

**﻿Week 2**
If everyone threw pieces of trash on the ground, then it would all pollute the earth. But some people would actually pick it up, but the trash which was just left there would go mouldy and eventually they would just sit there and then you would have trash all over the ground. Also it could be washed down stormwater drains and could be washed into the oceans and pollute our marine life and things in the ocean. No one would think they're doing any thing wrong either; since everyone would be doing it. Bins wouldn't be necessary anymore because of this and our marine and ocean life would suffer greatly. Also, if everyone littered, it would be a massive job to clean up the beaches because most of it would wash up there anyway, potentially killi9ng marine life or damaging their environment to an extent where it isn’t liveable anymore, and their species in that area get’s wiped out, or, they have to relocate to a different spot, further away, and the journey to get there could be fatal. That’s why it’s important not to litter, most people wouldn’t think about the consequences, and if everyone was to think that way, our oceans would be a very unfortunate place to be, and swimming there would be disgusting.
 * What would happen if you threw a piece of trash on the ground? What if everyone did?**

**﻿Week 3** I'd probably confront the friend, and tell them that I don't want them cheating off me. If it was for something minor, like a worksheet or a task, I usually wouldn't mind, but for a test or an individual assignment, then I'd probably tell them to do their own work, or help them out so they can get started on theirs if they needed help in the first place. I think telling them is more appropriate than reporting it, unless if they don't stop after you tell them and continue to look at your work, then it would be the time to report the issue. It's not only because you want them not to copy your work, but if they copy you, they're not benefiting from it at all, and won't learn how to do it for themselves, which is a bad thing for them. If they need help though, and that's why they're copying your work, or anyone’s work, then you could report it or help them yourselves, depending on how comfortable you feel teaching them it. What do you think courage means? Courage means to be brave, and to stand up against your fears and take them on. It can be shown in many forms or ways, and can take a lot out of a person to actually show courage or let it out. What do you think makes a good friend? There are heaps of factors that make up a good friend, such as loyalty, honestly, optimism, someone who can take a joke and other factors like that. You want a friend who is honest, because if they're dishonest that makes them untrustworthy, and that can be a risky thing, to have an untrustworthy person as your friend. Also, someone who can take a joke is a big part of it, if you have someone who never laughs or can't laugh at themselves then they're really not that fun to be around. Loyalty's probably the biggest, because if you have a friend, who isn't loyal to you, and will ditch you for another person/group, or leave you, then it's probably a good idea not to be 'good' friends with them, for that sake.
 * What would you do if you saw a friend cheating - report it, confront the friend or nothing - and why?**

Week 4
Probably my iPod, because music is a big part of my life, and without my iPod, I couldn't listen to my favourite songs wherever I am. Also because it's portable, which means I can take it anywhere and not really have to worry about how heavy it is, because it's not that big either, so it could fit in my bad or pocket. I take my iPod almost everywhere, music can change people’s moods as well, so it's a good thing to have in case something happens and you need to calm down or cheer up. Since most people have iPods, it's not unusual to see people on the streets with them or listening to them on busses or trains or in cars. I can't live without music so I think they're a great idea and a real convenience to have. Also, listening to my ipod can help me work better and more effectively because I don't have people distracting me because I probably won't be able to hear them anyway, and on long trips they come in really handy, and tend to pass the time quicker than just sitting in the car/bus looking out the window.
 * What is your most indispensable possession and why?**

**Week 5**
I think it's bad, because they're ruining it for everyone. People think that throwing something on the ground won't affect the environment, but that rubbish could float into a pond, or a stormwater drain, or somewhere like that. Obviously, most people wouldn't even consider thinking about what happens when they throw it on the ground, but the fact of what a huge impact it can have on the environment, makes it important to hold onto your rubbish till you find a rubbish bin to dispose of it properly. Throwing out rubbish in a rubbish bin means that it can be taken away, without overly affecting the environment, but actually throwing it on the ground means that it could go anywhere from the second you drop it. It could end up anywhere, and destroy small environments, obviously not just one piece of rubbish can do such a thing, but since people pollute the environment all the time, the affect with increase over the years. Littering isn’t the only factor of pollution; big container ships or other large ships can have massive oil spills, which is terrible for marine life. Some can be prevented, which means that we need to look into safer ways to handle things like that, if it ever did happen.
 * What do you think about people polluting the environment?**

Week **6**
Pretty disappointed, depending on what I did wrong. If it was something minor then I would still feel disappointed but obviously not as disappointed as if I did something terribly wrong. I'd still feel bad, no matter how wrong I was, or however wrong the thing that I did or said was. Usually I would feel upset, but with time it would wear off a bit. When I do something wrong, I also feel happy that I know I've done something wrong, so I can learn from my mistakes and hopefully try not to do it again. I feel proud and accomplished. When I do something very good I guess it's a great feeling of achievement and, depending on what it was that I did, I would still feel extremely happy. Also, when I do something that is good, I feel happy, because at least I didn't do something wrong, and I can look back on it in the future and know that I did something good, and also learn about what I did so that I can improve on it in the future.
 * How do you feel when you do something wrong?**
 * How do you feel when you do something that is very good? **

I wish there was a law that said that people can't smoke, and banned cigarette’s; because then there would be a massive reduce in people who get cancer, and it would save many lives. It would be a good law because, obviously everything else they're doing trying to make people quit, such as the commercials, cigarette packets and ads in magazines aren't working, because you see people still smoking because it's an addiction and many don't want to stop. By taking this away, they have no choice but to stop, but it would also increase the chances of people importing them from other countries and trying to illegally bring them into Australia. It would save lives though, and people can use patches and gum to calm their addiction and soon probably wouldn't have the urge to smoke anymore, and future generations wouldn’t even know what smoking really was, so there would be a lower risk of cancers and other dangerous chemicals, which could some day kill them.
 * Week 7**
 * I wish there was a law that said... This would be a good law because...**

Week 8
When I'm angry I look... Angry? If it's publicly, I usually hide it, so I don't really look much different. I usually don't show my emotions too much, and just get over being angry quickly, and move on. I would rather not look angry and get over the situation than look angry and hold a grudge, sometimes when you look angry it can just make things worse so I think it's better not to. I am usually happiest when I'm with my friends at lunch and recess, or when I'm out with them at the movies or shopping or the beach. Mainly when I'm having fun, and not at school. I don't really feel lonely cause I have my friends here for me, but sometimes when I'm at home and everyone’s busy I do, but not very often. I feel proud when I achieve something which I didn't think I could do, or get a high score on a test or exam, or when I win an award or something along those lines; usually when something good happens to me, or, my friends or anyone in my family as well, like when people at the Olympics win medals for Australia, you feel proud of them.
 * When you are angry, how do you look? When are you happiest? When have you felt lonely? When do you feel proud?**

**﻿Week 9** Probably the fact I'm unorganised. I usually leave things to the last minute, or forget to write down homework off the board and have to rush it when I finally remember to do it at home. And the fact my lockers a mess and usually takes me a while to find my books and keep all my sheets in order. I hate making my friends wait when I get things out of my locker because I always get my locker combo wrong which takes longer, and it's hard to find things in my locker because it's pretty untidy. It's usually worse at Main Campus because I have more books and sheets; I mainly make sure my sheets are in the back of my books so I don't lose them. Also when we have homework, I usually leave it till the night before unless if I happen to finish it before the due date, which is annoying about myself, so it can sometimes be stressful and my homework can be rushed as well. I clean my locker every week quickly, but it still seems to get messy again, and I really don’t know how that’s possible but it happens.
 * Which quality do you dislike most about yourself - laziness, selfishness, childishness - and why?**

**﻿Week 10** Mainly because everyone automatically judges someone, whether they admit it or not. We're all human so we all think differently about different people. Some more cynical than others. Prejudice is part of life, not everyone’s going to like you, whether you want them to or not, and everyone has a judgemental side. Everyone you meet is going to judge you sometime in your life, but you might judge other people too without fully realising it. If there was no prejudice, then no one could have opinions about others, without actually having a conversation with them, and getting to know them, there wouldn't be a lot of judgement in the world, and people would actually make an effort and go and talk to others without judging them straight away. But unfortunately, that won't ever happen, and it's unlikely it will ever change. Prejudice exists because people judge others to see what they think they're like without actually knowing them, whether what they're judging is true or not. Prejudice happens everywhere in the world, not just in a certain area so all humans do it sometime in their lives, it’s just a part of society and whether it’s fair or unfair everyone’s going to do it.
 * Why do you think prejudice exists in the world?**


 * Community Links:**

On Community Links, I got paired up with Bianca and went to the Salvation Army Thrift Shop in Werribee. On the first day, we were introduced to the staff members who worked there. They rotated around day by day, but by the end of the first week we knew all of their names. On the first day Bianca was told to fix all the things 'out of place' in the store, and I did the vacuuming. Then, we were led into the warehouse and were told how to use the price tagging gun, which took a while to get used to, but once you got the hang of it, it was pretty fun; until you had to price about 6 racks of clothes. There were a lot of things to be done around the store on the first day, and a lot of walking around the store, by the end of the day our feet were really sore and we were really tired. Also on the first day, a lot of customers asked us questions about the store which we couldn't really answer which we felt bad about. We both really wanted to work the cash register because it looked like the most fun part of the whole place. At recess time each day, we usually sat in the staff room, where we kept our bags, or outside on the concrete, depending on how cold it was. At lunch, everyday we went out and bought lunch, since we were so close to Watton Street. While working there, we also got taught how to use the cash register, which was fun. We had to be supervised while we did it, in case something went wrong and we didn't know how to fix it. It was quite rare for us to be able to use it, because usually Sue (Our manager) would need help in the warehouse; tagging toys, or hanging or tagging clothes. But on a few occasions we both got a go at it. Also while we worked there, we had to colour code all the clothes so that it would be easier for customers to see where the colours they wanted were on the rack, but we had to keep fixing it up because people would just throw the clothes in any order back on the rack without consideration. Once, a man tried to steal a DVD so Sue had to come and tell him off, then he payed for the DVD and left. We were told that happens a lot here. Overall, it was really fun - and tiring - working there.


 * Melbourne Experiance:**

Day 1:

First day, we all didn't really know what to expect, so we were all excited about the activities we were going to do. When we all got off the train and walked to Federation Square, we had to get into our tour groups and we were all given tour notes. Our first place to go was the Cathedral which was just across the street, we took the tour around it, then headed off and got our picture with the statue. The map confused us which ended up getting us lost, but we found a Melbourne lady who let us to the Graffiti Lane. On the way Bianca took pictures of sustainable objects, while Trent took pictures for our Japanese assignement, and I read the map and took pictures for the sun icons. We finally arrived at the park and found the statue near the pond where we got our photo with, then by the time we went and got our cookies, it was time to walk all the way back. After our break it was time for our second activity, which was the Queen Victoria Market, which was really fun. We walked around for ages looking at all the different stalls and we all bought something. Before we knew it we had to get back on the tram and back to Federation Square just in time to catch the bus home.

Day 2:

We all shared our stories of yesterday properly with each other on the train to Flinder Street Station. When we got the Federation Square the same thing happened as the previous day. We were all given our notes then we all set off. Our first tour was Arcades and Lanes, which was really fun. Bianca wanted to find some 'witch' shops, so we found about three, which was really cool. It was harder to follow the map this time, and we didn't ake it all the way to where we had to be, because we didn't have hardly enough time to. We got the appropriate pictures we needed, and happened to run into teachers on our way back, so we just followed them all the way. Our second activity for the day was 'On the Waterfront'. This activity we all stayed in a group, until we got our Boost smoothies with our vouchers. At first we got seperated from the big group, so had to run to catch up again, luckily we found them and had a quick break and got our passports stamped and we set off again, we took the way the map told us to Boost, which happened to be the extremely long way. but it was worth it. We were one of the first to get there, and by the time we got our smoothies, the line was massive. After that, we were ahead of time so we had a look around some of the shops there, then headed off back to Federation Square, which wasn't that far from where we were from. When all the groups had arrived back, we all boarded the busses and went back to Main Campus.