PERSONAL EXCELLENCE - DUKE OF EDINBURGHThis year HPSS is very excited to be implementing the Duke of Edinburgh Awards as part of the Year 10/11 Projects. The Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Award equips rangatahi for promising futures by challenging young people to develop skills and tools to improve themselves and their communities. Participants set their own challenges. With guidance from Award Leaders, each young person is encouraged to examine themselves - their interests, their ambitions, and set challenges for our four Award sections; Voluntary Service, Physical Recreation, Skills, and an Adventurous Journey. The Adventurous Journey needs to be an overnighter and involve at least six hours of meaningful hiking/tramping and connecting with nature. We set out on our Adventurous Journey from the Donald McClean carpark in the Waitakere Ranges and after a three hour hike with their backpacks, we descended to the Whatipu Campground where we set up camp, cooked, and then had an overnight stay. Students had to carry all their equipment needed for the night - their tents, sleeping bags, food, and cooking utensils. The students had a lot of fun and had an opportunity to connect with the outdoors. They learnt survival skills by ensuring their tent was not waterlogged with the heavy downpour and the howling wind in the middle of the night. The next morning we packed up and did a beach walk and learnt about the magnetic effect of the minerals in the black sand. This was a very enjoyable and valuable experience for our students and a great opportunity to complete the bronze medallion for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
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