Learning, Caring, Sharing: the Future is in Our Hands

Term 2, Issue 3: Thursday 2nd June 2011

Upcoming Events:

Thursday 2nd June Music is Fun Band Monday 6th June

DMC 4.30pm Tues 7th – Fri 10th June

Yr 10 Outdoor Ed Camp Thursday 9th June

SAPSASA Cross Country Monday 13th June

QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HOLIDAY

Please view the complete Calendar on the back page.

from her teachers and her level of parental support as being critical to her success. Soraya is currently attending Adelaide University where she is studying Media Studies.

Reconciliation week Each year National Reconciliation Week (NRW) celebrates the rich culture and history of the First Australians. It is the ideal time for everyone to join the reconciliation conversation and to think about how we can help turn around the disadvantage experienced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The theme for NRW 2011 is CITIZENSHIP: LET’S TALK RECOGITION. At our assembly last week Sonia Rankine our District Aboriginal Community’ Education Manager, spoke to our students about NRW and its importance. As a school we will be holding several cultural events later in the term. Recognition. Think about how much you value it. When you are sincerely recognised for who you are and what you contribute, you feel proud, validated and connected. Being recognised is good for your self esteem. It energizes you and encourages you to recognise the best in others.

Soraya Rankine receives SACE Award from Chief Executive I had the pleasure of attending a very special presentation in Adelaide on Tuesday where Soraya Rankine was acknowledged for her SACE achievement. Soraya’s score was in the top 2 scores achieved in 2010 by indigenous students in South Australia. Soraya was presented with a certificate and a new laptop by the Chief Executive of the Department of Education & Children’s Services Mr. Keith Bailey. Mr. David Rathman, Executive Director Aboriginal & Employment Services spoke about Soraya’s determination, willingness to listen, seek feedback, act on advice

Recognition comes in all sorts of ways and means different things to different people but everyone likes it when they get it. What ways do you recognise people around you and in what ways do they recognise you? For National Reconciliation Week 2011, Reconciliation Australia invites you to join a national conversation about the value of recognition. Secondary Literacy Conference On our last pupil free day all secondary staff from Moonta joined 95 teachers from Kadina, Ardrossan and 6 other sites in developing their knowledge and skills on supporting students with literary issues. The day was facilitated by Associate Professor Dr Deslea Konsea, a literacy expert from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. Staff will consolidate this by working with two of our teachers, Daniel Richardson and Hayley Spaans, who have been trained in Tactical Teaching : Reading. Daniel and Hayley will be running three 2 hour training sessions for all our secondary staff over the next 3 terms. We believe this will further improve our students reading and comprehension skills. Volunteers The 9-15th May was National Volunteer Week. (NVW) is and was the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia, and provided an opportunity to highlight the role of volunteers in our communities and to say thank you to the more than 5 million Australians who volunteer. At school we have many wonderful people who come into the school and provide us with their valuable time to assist your children. Some work with students, others in the library or canteen, some help with the school choir or represent parents at Governing Council, parent club, or on Decision Making Council. We are very grateful to all these people and acknowledge the value they add to our school. READING VOLUNTEERS WANTED Improvement in reading is a major focus of our school and we are working hard to achieve this within the resources we are provided. However we still need to

do more to work with student’s who struggle to read. Research shows that one of the best improvement strategies is to work 1 to 1 getting a student to read aloud 20 minutes a day, 4/5 times per week. We would love to be able to do this for all of our students who are behind with their reading; unfortunately our resources don’t allow us to do this. Can you help, or do you know of someone who can? If you are able to, or know someone who is able to assist us by providing 20 minutes of your time (or more), to help a student to read we would love to hear from you. You can not underestimate the importance of being able to read, a skill that often we take for granted but for those who struggle, it has a life long affect on them in many and varied ways. You will make a substantial difference to a child for life. I am looking forward to hearing from you. 2011 SITE IMPROVEMENT PLAN This week we include the first of four parts of our 2011 Site Improvement Plan; Focus on Learning Target: By the end of 2011 MAS will have: • 95 % of students without identified disabilities,

achieving the National Minimum Standard in each aspect of literacy.

• A 10% improvement in MAS students matching number of students in upper national reading band and a 10% decrease in student in lower bands.

Decision Making Council (DMC) The MAS Decision Making Council is an integral part of ensuring we have our community involvement in school decisions and activities. These meetings are held on Mondays at 4.30 pm on even weeks. All DMC proposals are listed in MAS media before they go to the committee for discussion and approval. Any member of the community has a right to attend these meetings to put forward their views, alternatively you can pass on your thoughts to a member of that committee. Head lice We are seeing an increase in the number of students with head lice. This is a constant frustration for parents as it for us. All we can do is encourage all parents to do regular checks on all members of their family. Head lice are passed from person to person by direct contact or on shared objects such as towels, combs, hats. It has absolutely nothing to do with cleanliness. Anyone, adult or child, can get head lice. We have sent an information brochure home to all families this week.

The following proposals will be discussed at the meeting held DATE: Monday 6th June Proposal One: Well Being Week Proposal: Run a whole range of Wellbeing activities Requirements from home: Nil Cost: Nil Date: Monday 26th – Friday 30th September Proposer: Vince Ivens Proposal Two: Yr 10 Boys Volleyball Proposal: Participate in the SSSSA K/O Volleyball held at the Mars Sporting Complex Requirements from home: Packed Lunch or money to buy lunch Cost: $15.00 Date: Thursday 16th June Proposer: Ashley Dearlove

Proposal Three: Yr 8/9 Touch Carnivals Proposal: Yr 8/9 student attend Touch Carnival held at Kadina Memorial High School Requirements from home: Nil Cost: Travel to Kadina Date: Tuesday 28th June Proposer: Raelene Stutley Proposal Four: Fundraiser Wheels Day Proposal: Students to bring something with wheels to show / display use of them Requirements from home: Something with wheels Cost: Donation Date: Friday 24th June Proposer: Margaret Pope Proposal Five: School Social Proposal: R-2 4.00 – 4.45 $2.00, 3-6 5.00 – 6.30 $3.00, 7-12 7.30 – 10.00 $5.00. Socials run by the Social Committee & supervised by staff. Requirements from home: Nil Cost: See proposal information Date: Wednesday 29th June Proposer: Brandon Shields Proposal Six: Yr 4/5 Class Camp FC & KS-S Proposal: End of Year Celebration of successes; team building; sport related Requirements from home: Information to come Cost: Information to come Date: Monday 21st – Wednesday 23rd November Proposer: Frank Camporeale Proposal Seven: Yr 6-9 Golf Clinic Proposal: Students to attend free clinic held at Kadina Golf Course Requirements from home: Nil Cost: Nil Date: Friday 27th May Approved by Principal The following proposals were approved at the meeting held DATE: Monday 23rd May 2011 1. Year 8/9 Girls K/O Netball Play a Round Robin at Minlaton District School 2. Yr 10/11 “Lemon Car” presentation Yrs 10/11 students attend “Lemon Car” presentation held at Kadina 3. Yrs 7/8/9 Activities Week Yrs 7/8/9 undertake activities for week 10, including Adelaide Trip 4. Music Concert Annual Music Concert for all Music Students 5. Yr 11/12 Austdrive Program Students in Yrs 11/12 participate in the Austdrive Young Driver Awareness Course 6. Open Girls Knock Out Netball Play in a round robin against other YP schools on Wednesday 8th or Thursday 9th June Week 6

Principal: Dean Angus Blanche Terrace

(PO Box 113) Moonta SA 5558 School No: 1488

Phone: 08 88 252 088 Fax: 08 88 252 609

info@moontaas.sa.edu.au www.moontaas.sa.edu.au

Thank You Letter I received a letter the other day from Maureen Ashby’s mother and family, I would like to share it with all members of the Moonta Area School Community. Regards, Dean

Last week all classes from R to Yr 6 participated in National Simultaneous Storytime. This annual event is organised by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), to promote the value of books and encourage young people to read, share books and become involved in other fun and engaging literary based activities.

Our students were part of the estimated 170,000 children from all around Australia who listened to the story, “Feathers for Phoebe’ by Australian author and illustrator, Rod Clement. We had a group of ‘guest readers’, Mr Angus, Mrs Westbrook, Mr Richardson, Mrs Daulby and myself. I would like to thank the readers for their enthusiasm and the listeners for their great skills and thoughtful responses to the book. Many students had fun afterwards with follow up activities involving feathers. Some of the creations are on display in classrooms and the library. Mrs Jarman and Mrs Perkins’ classes came up with various adjectives to describe Phoebe and then created some great poems. Some will be presented in the student work section of the school website. Thanks to all who participated. Tricia Stringer, Teacher/Librarian.

This term we have had a student-teacher, Miss Hazel, in our classroom with Mrs Strauss-Scott. During Science, with Miss Hazel, we have been learning about the germination process of plants and the factors which effect plant growth. We have also been exploring the use of captions to describe photos. We have written a selection of captions to tell you about our Science activities.

- Mrs Strauss-Scott’s year 4/5 class These are our broad bean seeds. We made them to see the life cycle of a seed. They were made by Mrs Strauss Scott’s year 4/5 class at Moonta Area School, during Autumn, 2011.

- Tyler M These are Mrs Strauss-Scott’s year 4/5 class bean seeds. They are in the beginning of the growing stage. We made them to learn about the lifecycle of seeds.

- Aleisha M We started with the bean seeds and then we planted them in dry tissue paper and we had to keep them wet and moist. Made by Mrs Strauss-Scott’s class term 2, week 2, on the 10th of May.

- Maddie M In term 2 week 1, Mrs Strauss-Scott’s 4/5 class made grass creatures at Moonta Area School. We started making them because we wanted to learn about seeds.

- Kelsie W Mrs Strauss-Scott’s year 4/5 class made some crazy grass heads. We used them to see how the seeds grew.

- Lloyd H

Well done to the following for completing their Premiers Reading Challenge sheets Tyler Groom, Gracie Steele, Amber Woods (Mrs. Honnor), Ella Mullins (Mrs. Jarman), Sean Paget, Sarah Anderson, Bob White, Taylor Hann (Mrs. Strauss-Scott), Kai Wahlstedt (Mrs. Drechsler), Austin Shearer (Ms. Hettner), Ashton Warmington (Mrs. Hutchins), Danny Hobbs (Mrs. van Galen), Bianca Derrington (Ms. Hier), Marshall Todd (Ms. Ryan), Sarah Skinner, Luke Chapman, Kurt Daddow (Mr. Camporeale), Katie Shipard (Mrs. Hancocks) Congratulations to Brayden Elvin, Kodi Parkinson, Natasha Hubbard, Maddison Shields, Misty Dyke, Nickala Smith, Stephanie Viggor and Michael Musolino for completing ‘Beyond the Challenge’. Have a look in the library and see if you can find your photo as everyone who has completed the challenge is up on the display board now. We are closing in on the 150 mark and once we achieve that everyone will receive a Super Duper ice block - just the thing for winter! This week’s $10 voucher for Moonta Newsagency goes to Amber Woods. Well done do Barb’s class who were the first to complete the challenge. Here they are shown with Mr. Angus having a free PE lesson. They really puffed him out!

On Monday the 23rd May the year 5-12 students attended the Multi-screen presentation in the gym. The technicians set up three screens to make a huge sound and audio spectacular with the theme ‘What about me’. With music, video clips and the stories of people’s lives students are challenged to set goals and develop the resilience to keep working towards those goals. Of particular interest was the story of how Justice Crew, the dance act which won last year’s ‘Australia’s Got Talent’, overcame a range of challenges through sheer hard work to reach their goal. The Crew are now helping similar young people to realise their dreams. The production helps to reinforce the personal and social development programs which are part of our Wellbeing strategy. Vince Ivens

• Fatigue – made interesting! Seating, diet, lifestyle and metabolism.

• Mental effort (also made interesting) and driving at a speed you can comprehend.

• Car control (braking and steering techniques, how easy it is to lose control)

• Mistakes constantly made by drivers in general and how to avoid them.

• Dealing with wildlife on the road. • Knowing how and when to say NO to your peers

and yourself. You only live once. • What sort of car do you want/have?

Understanding and respecting your car. • How to maintain being a safe driver and how to

help your mates. The practical component included: • Emergency braking (ABS/non ABS), judging

distances, the effect of a 10% increase in speed, braking up to stopped traffic or obstacles (smooth linear deceleration)

• Steering; hands, vision and balance • Combining vision, braking and steering. • Steering, safe corner entry speeds, vision

techniques. • Understanding following distances. • Seeing danger early and knowing how to stay out

of it. The school’s aim is to keep us all safer on our roads. In addition to this course the Yr 10’s and 11’s attended the Lemon Car Program in Kadina, and the Yr 11’s will attend a course run by the Metropolitan Fire Service on Aug. 3rd and a program run by SA Police in November.

Driving Course for Yrs 11 &12 Last Thursday May 26th, four Yr 11 and fifteen Yr 12 students attended the Young Driver Awareness Program conducted by the Australian Driving Institute at Wallaroo. The theory component was held at the Lions’ Shed while the practical component took place at the Viterra marshalling yards. Both organisations were kind enough to donate their facilities and we are most appreciative of their support. The cost of the course if the students were to undertake the course privately is $275 each. The Institute reduced the cost for our students and thanks to the DCCC who secured funding and donated it to the NYP Road Safety Group, our students were able to attend the course for free. The school is very grateful for the Council’s support of our students. The aim of the course was to make students aware of their abilities and the need to continually evaluate their driving, as well as to boost car control skills, develop a respect for speed and other road users and understand what to do in an emergency. Theory topics included: • How good are you at driving? How fast have you

been? • How much do you know about driving? • Basic car dynamics, vehicle physics • Mixing physics (the mind) and stomach (or gut

feeling) • Correct Seating, Steering and their relationship to

control.

Students were then given a sponge cake, a wide variety of ingredients and then let loose to experiment for themselves! The students soon found that it wasn’t as simple as they imagined and that they got themselves into a mess very quickly. However the end results were good and they all enjoyed the experience.

In my English class last term I set my students up for a nasty surprise… all with the best of intentions of course! As a class we wrote an exposition arguing against students being set homework, and, needless to say, we were swamped with support. Once these pieces were finished I turned the tables on them. It was a tough challenge for the class to argue for an idea they didn’t support but, after a short-lived book-

Year 12 Hospitality trip to Adelaide On the 18th& 19th May 2011, the year 12 Hospitality students joined the students from Yorketown and Minlaton for a culinary experience in Adelaide. The object of the trip was for the students to experience various types of dining which include, fine dining, tapas and a food hall. This enabled the students to experience a variety of foods and observe the varying presentations. This will assist them with their future assignments. Along with this we also attended a cake decorating workshop run by Jenny Key at Regency TAFE. Here the students observed Jenny using a variety of techniques to decorate a cake, and making it look very simple!

closing stand-off, they rose to the challenge and produced outstanding pieces that did the art of persuasion proud! I have a sneaking suspicion some students have even swayed themselves! Here is Jake Cunningham’s… I believe it is essential for students to have homework because it helps them in so many ways; it teaches them discipline, it will improve their grades and give them a chance to catch up on work and it will also help them get prepared for future study expectations. Homework is a great way to learn discipline, which is the skill of doing what you have to do before doing what you want to do. Homework will also help you develop a good routine by teaching you to prioritise. By being disciplined and doing homework first you can save arguments with your parents and teachers, allow yourself time to produce better quality work and reduce your stress levels knowing you are all up-to-date. We would all love to eat McDonalds every day, and it may be easier, but if you can discipline yourself to be healthy most of the time it will pay off and a positive homework routine is exactly the same. Homework is a great way to improve your grades. Working at home can be easier than working at school because you don’t have as many distractions and you may have better resources all to yourself. You will reinforce new concepts you have learnt by practising what you have worked on during the day at home. You will be a lot more familiar and comfortable with the work and that way you won’t be as stressed at school. Repeating times tables over and over has imbedded them in my brain and I can answer all of them in no time and homework can have the same effect for every subject. Homework plays a big part in future study expectations because without studying it is impossible to get any qualifications and without qualifications it is pretty hard to get a decent job. Study skills are a lot easier to learn now than later. Tertiary studies are very independent compared to other levels of school, your lecturers and tutors don’t hassle you to get your work finished, you have to be responsible for handing up your work yourself. You must also bear in mind that when you start your university or TAFE course you will be turning 18… all of a sudden you will: move out, be working at least part-time job, have a girlfriend or boyfriend, start paying your own bills, find yourself running a household and be allowed to start really partying. Good luck learning study skills now if you don’t already have them! For all of these reasons I believe homework is essential; it teaches discipline, helps improve grades and prepares students for future study. I believe all schools should make it part of their school policy to set a minimum of a half hour of homework per night to best set their students up for a successful future.

Year 10’s & 11’s attended a workshop at Kadina to learn about how to choose a safe second hand car, how to change a tyre, and to get the feel of how big a semi trailer is on the road and how much distance it takes to pass. All students were very hands on and time passed too quickly.

“It’s a long way around this semi”

Most important thing is a working seatbelt

“Make sure you get them tight William”

Elle is investigating the various breeds of horses and what they

are used for. Here she is interviewing a local horse

breeder, Josie Chamberlain.

SENIOR SCHOOL NEWS -THE RESEARCH PROJECT Year 12 students in 2011 are the first to embark on this stage of the New SACE (South Australian Certificate of Education) and as part of this change a new subject has been introduced called the Research Project. This is an area that has been included in the curriculum after consultation with the tertiary institutions and employers. It asks the students to step outside of their comfort zones and rather than simply follow teachers’ instructions, make some decisions for themselves about what it is that they wish to study, (within certain guidelines and processes), and to complete an outcome which allows them to follow an area of interest.

Dylan is working on

his golf game by

investigating new training programs,

putting them into practice

and analysing the results.

Breanna has taken on the task of becoming a junior netball coach with the CJ’s Netball Club and is

shown here at one of her training sessions.

Adele is investigating volunteering in the

Netball Club. Here she is interviewing past

president, Sally Hackett.

The four parts of the research framework are:

• initiating and planning the research

• carrying out the research

• producing the research outcome

• evaluating the research.

Mr Daddow (Teacher), Michael Williams, Jacinta McPeake, Blake

Pedler, Michael Scarce, Aisha Cooper, Kim Green (Trainee),

Alice Raunic and Jakob Russell. They weather was great. Even

with a couple of ankle injuries we managed a very tough walk. As

you can see the views were spectacular.

‘She’ll be right mate’

Year 11 Bushwalking Camp Patawarta

Hill

Last Thursday our annual Cross Country was held in ideal conditions. The competing students did very well, and were ably supported by a group of parents and Year 8/9 students. Congratulations go to the following students on winning their age group event. From these many will be selected to compete in the YP Cross Country to be held at Maitland next Friday 27th May.

5 year old Girl 5 year old Boy 1st Isabel Hobbs 1st Thomas Allen 2nd Asha Johns 2nd Brock Pollard 3rd Kasey Hutchinson 3rd Jayden Varcoe 4th Eve 4th Anthany McKay 6 year old Girl 6 year old Boy 1st Mackenzie Jones 1st Jett Smith 2nd Saranna Rhodes 2nd Jacob Chambers 3rd Chloe Oxspring 3rd Kai Wahlstedt 4th Maddison Shields 4th Jayga Warmington 7 year old Girl 7 year old Boy 1st Olivia Elsworthy 1st Harrison Hatcher 2nd Emma Prout 2nd Tate Daddow 3rd Elizabeth Flink 3rd Kodi Parkinson 4th Graycie Dall 4th Michael Musolino 8 year old Girl 8 year old Boy 1st Ashleigh Groom 1st Rhys Stodulka 2ndMichaela Woodward 2nd Tom Cockshell 3rd Jemima White 3rd Sean Van Der Veen 4th Shayla McKay 4th Blake Keywood 9 year old Girl 9 year old Boy 1st Libby Adams 1st Aiden Turner 2ndStephanie Sonntag 2nd Alex Elsworthy 3rd Zoe Linke 3rd Oliver Mullins 4th Karli Nicholas 4th Tom Hancocks 10 year old Girl 10 year old Boy 1st Maddison Benn 1st Jack Hobbs 2nd Kelsie Woods 2nd Braden Aldridge 3rd Kara Hackett 3rd Jakob Elvin 4th Mataya Pollard 4th Harry Williams 11 year old Girl 11 year old Boy 1st Claudia Hatcher 1st Joel Campbell 2nd Madelyn Keast 2nd Lochlan Appleton 3rd Sarah Skinner 3rd Drae Hopkins 4th Jordy Taylour 4th Dylan Simms 12+ year old Girl 12+ year old Boy 1st Georgia Ivens 1st Bayden Cross 2nd Sasha Glasgow 2nd Riley Hatcher 3rd Gemma Ivens 3rd Dylan Slack 4th Carron Daveson 4th Brandon Shields

Last Friday 27th May, 48 of our students travelled by bus to Maitland to compete in the annual YP Cross Country.

The weather was kind to us for the day’s competition and the excellent behaviour and enthusiasm of the students added to the enjoyment of the event.

Prior to the start of the events, all students walked their respective courses.

The competition began with the 5,6,7 year olds (1km) and progressed through the age groups to the 12 years and older age group (3km).

Well done to all of our competitors for their efforts. Their teamwork and encouragement of each other was fantastic.

Congratulations go to the following students for excellent results in their age category: 5,6,7 year old Girls 1st place Olivia Elsworthy 3rd place Emma Prout 8,9 year old Boys 3rd place Aidan Turner 10 year old Boys 2nd place Jack Hobbs 4th place Braden Aldridge 10 year old Girls 4th place Kelsie Woods 11 year old Boys 2nd place Joel Campbell 11 year old Girls 1st place Claudia Hatcher 12+ year old Boys 2nd place Bayden Cross

In addition to these results, many of our age groups were successful in the team competition – the first 4 from each school to cross the line.

Congratulations to 5,6,7 year old 2nd place Harrison Hatcher, Tate Daddow, Kodi Parkinson, Michael Musolino

1st place Olivia Elsworthy, Emma Prout, Elizabeth Flink, Graycie Dall 8/9 year old 2nd place Aidan Turner, Oliver Mullins, Alex Elsworthy, Tom Hancocks 2nd place Stephanie Sonntag, Ashleigh Groom, Libby Williams, Karlie Nicholas 10 year old 1st place Jack Hobbs, Braden Aldridge, Jakob Elvin, Harry Williams 3rd place Maddison Benn, Kelsie Woods, Kara Hackett, Mataya Pollard 11 year old 3rd place Joel Campbell, Lochlan Appleton, Drae Hopkins, Dylan Simms 3rd place Claudia Hatcher, Madelyn Keast, Sarah Skinner, Jordy Taylour 12+ year old 2nd place Bayden Cross, Riley Hatcher, Dylan Slack, Brandon Shields 3rd place Georgia Ivens, Gemma Ivens, Kendra Dall, Samara Elsworthy

Thursday 2nd June Week 5 Music is Fun Band Friday 3rd June Aboriginal Health Checks Monday 6th June Week 6 DMC – 4.30pm Aboriginal Health Checks Tuesday 7th – Friday 1oth June Yr 10 Outdoor Ed Bushwalk Camp Wednesday 8th June Science Competition Thursday 9th June SAPSASA Cross Country Kindy Transition

Senior Knockout Netball Friday 10th June Questacon Maths Squad Program Yrs 3-7 Monday 13th June Week 7 Queens Birthday Holiday Tuesday 14th June Questacon Maths Squad Program Yrs 7-11 Thursday 16th June Kindy Transition

Calendar Now the Kernewek is over… If you have ANY Kernewek Lowender style clothes or accessories that no longer fit, or want, please drop them off at the Front Office for Jane to add to the collection in the Costume Room. Don’t forget good, clean school clothes are also appreciated. Thank you Indoor Soccer MAS Gym on Fridays from 4pm to 6pm, for ages 5 to 13 years. (Information to follow - start date) Anyone interested in playing please see Tracy Cutting at the school canteen. Southern Cross Cultural Exchange Families urgently needed to host a German boy and a German girl, a Spanish girl and three Spanish boys. These children are arriving in Adelaide on July 9th for 11 weeks. They are aged between 15 and 17 years and will attend high school in the area you live. You do not need to have children the same age for you to host, or even have children at all. These students are waiting anxiously in their countries hoping for news that I have found them a family. If your family could possibly help I would be very grateful and I know you will be putting a very big smile on a child’s face on the other side of the world. Please contact Jenny Hanson, SA State Manager on: 85561268. Science Assessment This competition will be held on Tuesday 7th June, beginning at 11.00am in the Middle School block. The competition is of 60 minutes duration. Student participating in this competition is: Patrick Ellard.

On Tuesday 17th May we boarded the One and All tall ship from Port Adelaide. We sailed to Marion Bay then sailed past Wedge Island and had a beach day at Reevesby Island. We slept on anchor that night for an early start to sail across the gulf the next morning. We got into Wallaroo early Saturday morning because there was a storm coming. We learnt all the ropes and lines to the sail. We also climbed up to the top of the mast multiple times; we also climbed out onto the bow net and undid the flying jib sail. It was a good experience and we hope to go back and volunteer to be a watch leader. Mandy Whale and Alex Harvie.