WHILE a trip to the snow presents a memorable trip for most kids, students from a remote indigenous community near Katherine are preparing for the “trip of a lifetime” when they swap textbooks for toboggans next month.
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The Year 4, 5 and 6 students from Manyallaluk School, about an hour south-east of Katherine, will head to the Victorian ski fields on July 22 for nine days of excitement in what teacher Stephanie Baker described as the ultimate classroom.
“The idea [for the trip] started because we were learning about igloos, and the kids had never heard of one, so we learnt about ice and snow,” she explained.
“Then we thought it would be a good idea to let them try and see snow.”
Living in a community where access to a main road is via a 35-kilometre stretch of gravel and red dirt, many of the students will experience air travel and the hustle and bustle of city life for the first time.
“Just what they learn from being there will be phenomenal - some of the kids are more excited about going on Melbourne trams than they are about the snow,” Miss Baker said.
“Everything is going to be an experience for them, even little things like frost on the ground, because they’ve never seen that out here.”
Year 5 student Cyril Rankin laughed and said he would “freak out” when exposed to Melbourne crowds for the first time.
Roper Gulf Regional Council has provided $3000 of the $13,000 needed for the trip, and Miss Baker encouraged the community to get involved in order to let the students have a learning experience like no other.
For more information about supporting the students on their snow adventure, call 8975 4438 or email stephanie.baker@ntschools.net.
