Year 9 Daborra
Daborra was held over 3 nights/four days from Monday 18 March to Thursday 22 March 2024. This year there are 303 students in Year 9. Out of these 303 students - 259 students attended and 44 students did not attend for various reasons.
The students were able to select one of the five locations to attend with the following activities:
- Barmah – Murray River Journey – 2 days canoeing, 2 days hiking
- Cathedral Ranges – Rock / Rope Discovery – 1 day climbing, 1 day rock journey, 2 days hiking.
- Falls Creek – Alpine Journey – 3 days hiking, 1 day mountain biking.
- Gembrook – Rock / Rope Discovery – 1 day climb/abseil, 1 day bouldering, low ropes/initiatives.
- Yarrawonga – Murray River Journey – 2 days canoeing, 2 days hiking.
The programme consisted of 20 groups of students, made up from between 14 to 16 students, depending on the location. This required 20 group leaders and 7 base camp staff – a total of 27 staff in total.
Daborra provides students with an opportunity to connect and form new friendships with peers from their cohort they have not previously known due to the structure of their classes within their respective houses.
Many of these students have rarely, if ever, engaged in conversations with peers outside of their house, let alone know their names.
By mixing students across the Daborra groups, this event encouraged the students to initiate conversations and cultivate new friendships. These newfound connections have the potential to break down barriers in the future when friendship issues arise, as their social circles have now expanded due to this opportunity.
Overall, the programme was a success, and we believe that through this opportunity, students were not only able to build on their resilience, independence, social skills and life skills, but were also able to create lasting memories.
John Cortese
Principal
