Camps

Participation

Students are able to participate in camps and Retreats in their six years at St Patrick’s College. 

Philosophy

The philosophy of the Education Outdoors experience at St Patrick’s College can be summed up through the words of Academic Philosopher, David Sobel, who said “Children need to learn to love the world before we can ask them to heal its wounds”. The three key tenets of Outdoor Education is for young people to learn about Themselves, Others and Nature. At St Patrick's College, each camp is designed to attend to the three pillars of Outdoor Education as well as provide a learning experience that is unique to each camp.

A wide variety of venues throughout Tasmania are utilised as part of this exciting, challenging and compulsory program of outdoor experiences. The sequential nature of the camps program from Year 7 through to Year 10 gives students the ability to further develop important life skills including resilience, self confidence, empathy, leadership, initiative, cooperation, resourcefulness and independence.

Year 7

The aim of the Year seven camp is to create a connection with others by providing quality time to connect with fellow students in their Core classes and what it means to be a St Patrick’s College student. The camp facilitates connection to Nature through introducing students to basic camping skills that they will need for future school camps such as cooking on camp stoves, setting up and camping in tents, navigation and fire safety. A period of solo time is porvided to help students reflect on their journey so far and make personal plans and goals for the future.

Year 8

The aim of Year eight camp is to provide a time where students can further connect with the other students in their House and get to know their House Head in a different environment. This is essential as the student’s House and its members are an integral part of their school experience. Each House camps in different locations, completing similar activities including a bushwalk, group bonding and team work activities, camping and cooking.

Year 9

Year 9 has 2 distinct camps/experiences over the year. In term 1 students travel to The Tasman Peninsula for a 4 day camp. This camp is one of the camping highlights of St Patrick’s College. It involves visiting the Port Arthur Historic site and a Pennicott cruise around the waters of Tasman Island where students see in real life the places that they are learning about in English and History class, bringing education to life! This camp also involves a lot of beach time and a bush walk to one the world famous Capes Hauy or Raoul. Meanwhile, in term 4, Solo camp is the culmination of the Rite Journey Program. It is a 24 hours immersive experience where students spend 24hrs in contemplation. It is a time for students to reflect on how they want to relate to others, their impact on Nature and what kind of person they want to be.

Year 10

The year 10 camp builds on all the students previous camp experiences. Over 4 days students travel to the magnificent West Coast of Tasmania, visiting areas of natural beauty on the way. On the West Coast students will see places that they have learnt about in History and Geography, on the topics of post World War 2 immigration, forestry stewardship and geology. Students will also have the opportunity to undertake activities such as kayaking and bushwalking along with an immersive session with First Tasmanian elders, soaking up the rich history, and environment of this outstanding area.