Another GREAT Week @ FHC Week 9 Term 4

Important Dates 2014

 

Year 7 2015 Orientation Day - Tuesday 9 December
Pupil Free Day for all 2014 Students - Tuesday 9 December
College Assembly: Thursday 11 December
5 Session Day
Last Day Years 7-9 (3.20pm finish) - Friday 12 December
Semester 2 Reports are Released - Friday 12 December
Year 7-9 Presentation Evening - Monday 15 December

Some useful links

FHC Website

Compass Parent Portal

FHC Moodle- Student Learning Portal

Remember you can use Compass to approve absences

Dear all, welcome to week 9 - Term 4

Schools are very much about communities of people working together. We have a wonderfully dedicated Parents Association, and they are forever calling for extra volunteers. I know in the packages all families received recently was information about joining the PA. There are many ways you can join and then involve yourself in supporting our community. I urge all parents to consider joining for next year, as there are a multitude of ways you can become engaged in providing support for the community that ultimately assists students achievements.

 

This week I would like to thank the Parents Association for two wonderful achievements. As they do every year, our fabulous Parents Association conducted the second hand book & uniform sale. The event is a very important way of supporting many families make savings on the purchase of books and College uniform. It takes many diligent and hard working parents considerable time and effort to implement their processes, collect the books and uniforms and sell them. Following the event, the counting of money, distribution of books and uniforms and the return of goods not sold also takes considerable time and energy. The generous donation of their time is something we are all extremely grateful for, and I would like to say a very big thank you on behalf of our community to all of them.

 

Secondly, Sandie and Zoran Krnic, parents of our Year 7 singing star Sasha, volunteered to arrange for our new Strength and Conditioning Room to be painted on Thursday of this week. They work at Dulux and were able to supply us with a team of painters and the paint free of charge. The College is extremely grateful to them for this, and next week when the equipment is installed, we will put some images of the room on the blog.

VEX Robotics Nationals

Last Saturday two teams of Year 7,8 & 9 students from Forest Hill College competed in the VEX Robotics Nationals facing competitors who were predominantly senior students and with bigger budget machines. Paul E, Jake D, James L, were able to use skill and strategy to get their little robot "Charles 6040A" into a top ten finish. The photo shows Charles performing a blocking manoeuvre which prevented Hillcrest College scoring 3 vital points.The second robot team comprising of Dane T, Braeden E, Lucas D and Devesh also achieved a top ten finish after having to make some hardware adjustments to stay in the competition.

 

 

Staff Professional Learning

This Wednesday staff worked together to begin reviewing the College Values and Vision statement, as part of our Strategic Review. The Review will take place on 17 April 2015, and in preparation, we are evaluating all elements of the College. Parents and students will be given an opportunity to participate in the review of our values and vision, as we are forming a subcommittee to determine them moving into 2015. I will inform all members of the community when we decide on the dates the subcommittee will be meeting and invite interested members of our community to join up. Staff worked with great enthusiasm on the task which began with a brief historical analysis of our College, which formed out of 4 schools with rich traditions. We feel that to understand and respect our history assists the College as it strives to achieve greatness on a daily basis moving into 2015.

 

World Challenge

Day 6 - 13 (the trek) - 23rd November

Distance wise, destinations are not that far in Vietnam however, time wise, it can take forever and the trip from Nam Cat Tien NP to Dalat was no different. Most road conditions in Vietnam are bad at best, but when you add traffic, bikes and roadworks (at least we think they were fixing the road) it often means speeds rarely pass 30km/hr. Also, everyone lives next to the road so it's always busy. We still haven't quite worked out the road rules yet, or maybe there are none? But, eventually you get used to being on the wrong side of the road with trucks, buses and bikes coming straight for you. The final few kilometres to Dalat however, where quite beautiful as we climbed to 1500m vertical into the pine forests and jungles that surround Dalat. This sprawling town was first established by the French two centuries ago and includes the flower capital of Vietnam. Thousands of glasshouses and acres of flowers, vegetables and coffee plantations all help to add to the vista. Today it's where people from Saigon come to weekend, holiday and escape the heat of down south.

We arrived late after and the students were keen shop at the night market, taste the local delicacies (like beef betel leaf skewers and Vietnamese pizza/omelette), and also buy supplies and snacks for the trek that would be starting the next day. After shopping we walk to our trekking guides office and were briefed on our hike. The rest of the night was spent packing our packs and preparing for the hike.

 

Day 7 (24th November) of our hike was met with excitement, fear and quite a bit of trepidation. We walk with all our gear to the trekking office, dropped off a few bags we wouldn't need and filled what space we had left in our backpacks with group food. We travelled back down the mountains to a small village with a massive statue of a chicken (ask the kids to explain why). We watched the locals making local textile crafts, bought some and then started our hike through the chilli and coffee fields towards Elephant Mountain. The first 90 mins was fairly easy and relatively flat however, the sun was hot, very hot and shade was at a premium. By the time we reached the bottom of the hill most of us were drenched in sweat. The next 3 hours presented a whole new challenge. We eventually reached the banana trees which provided some relief from the sun and once we got into the jungle, there was even more shade. But, it was steep and relentless and only flattened out when we reached camp. So as you can imagine, there were some very exhausted tired bodies when we stopped for the day. To add insult to injury, the last ten minutes of the walk we were each given 10 litres of water in plastic bags which, of course added 10kgs of weight to our already heavy packs.  Bed was very early tonight.

 

Day 8 (25th November) of the hike started much as it ended the day before, uphill! Most rose early due to uncomfy sleeps, and once we broke camp and ate breakfast, we headed to the top of the mountain. The relief of finally starting downhill was short lived however, as the kids soon realised that downhill is often harder than up hills as toes and knees get a beating from heavy packs continually braking. Jungle eventually gave way to 6ft high long grass and our first views of our night's campsite beside a beautiful mountain lake. Two hours later we arrived by the lake which, was reminiscent of a North American view with pine trees, horses (which kept trying to eat the food from our packs) and even dogs. We set up camp, had lunch played some trust and team building games and then relaxed by the lake. A large group of us played a card game called Pineapple (which is similar to twos). Dinner was in a smaller bamboo restaurant which looked more at home in a tropical island setting, but was quaint. Mozzies eventually got the better of us and we headed to bed early again.

 

Day 9 (26th November) of the hike started this morning with a five minute boat ride across the lake which, was a nice change up. We however, ended up hiking up another hill for an hour and it was another hot day. We followed the top of a ridge line for another hour then as we popped out of the jungle we were presented with an incredible panoramic view of Dalat. A few dozen photos later we headed downhill for half an hour and found our campsite ate lunch and relaxed for the afternoon. This campsite was a little bland when compared to the night before, but a campfire and a night of roasted marshmallows and teaching the guides nursery rhymes kept everyone entertained. It was a relatively easy day which was probably good considering the next day was going to be our longest. Our Vietnamese guides, catered pretty well to our western kids which, the kids loved. Bananas and bread with jam and peanut butters, and Oreos was the staple breakfast. French baguettes with pork, tomato, cucumber, cream cheese and chillies with pineapple, bananas and dragon fruit was lunch. Dinner was a bit more varied and ranged from spaghetti bolognaise, fried rice, noodles and soup.

 

Day 10 (27th November) of the hike started with a bus ride through Dalat and to the other side. We then hiked through about 10kms of pine forests, coffee plantations and vegetable farms. Another hot day made going tough and plenty of hill kept us all honest. We reach the park gate of Lang Bieng, the highest mountain in Dalat and a very popular tourist destination. Which we watch as jeeps ferried car loads of tourists up to the top and felt a little jealous knowing we would have to hike that same path with our packs. A rain deluge gave us an extra half break, but once it cleared we set off and reached our fourth nights campsite half way up the mountain. The summit would have to wait till tomorrow. Lang Bieng actually has three summits, the smallest one has a restaurant and is where all the tourists go, the middle is quite a bit higher and must be hiked too and the final and highest peak is quite a workout. Early night again.

 

Day 11 (28th November) of the hike was a surprise as we only had to walk 50m with our packs! A truck was waiting for us and we loaded our heavy packs on the truck and swapped for day packs. This put a bit of spring into the kids steps and we reached the first summit half an hour later. A well-earned cold soda was enjoyed by all, a few pictures in army fatigues was taken and then we headed to the second peak. This was considerably steeper and less trodden but everyone made it fairly comfortably. The last peak was going to be a different story though. It was a there and back route and the guide said he has done it in 45 minutes. It took us closer to 2 hours. It started off easy enough, flat with even some downhill, but as we got closer and closer with little gain in height we knew it was going to be a steep climb. The stairs started about 650m from the top and they were steep and hundreds and hundreds of them. Add the rain from the afternoon before also made slippery and muddy. Thank goodness many said for the 1000 steps training lol. By the time we reached the summit it was an interesting mix of excitement, relief and pure exhaustion. The photos will pay testament to that :) 45 mins downhill back to our lunch spot and then a 90 minute knee breaker downhill to the bus ended our trek. I don't think a shower and bed ever felt so good for many of our Trekkers. We did convince the kids though to try this highly recommended restaurant though before they crashed, which was delicious and new to many (hotpot).

 

Day 12 - 29th November

After a well-earned comfy sleep in a real bed and shower, we left early to catch the bus from Dalat to Saigon. It took roughly 8 hours to get to our hotel, which we splurged on because everyone felt they needed something nicer as a reward for trekking and camping for five days. But first, being a Saturday night, that means markets and shopping. So we took the kids back to the Banh Thang market precinct, enjoyed some street food for dinner and shopped and shopped. I just hope some of those purchase are gifts for friends and family back home, lol.

 

Day 13 - 30th November

No rest for kids today, in fact back onto a bus and another three hour bus ride south of Saigon to the Mekong Delta. One of the largest river systems in the world, it's a whole new world, where highways and roads are replaced with rivers and canals. Also know as the rice basket of Vietnam we took a boat cruise and checked out different ways they use rice to make everything from paper, to sweets, to savoury snacks, to spirits. To say the least it was quite delicious and weird at the same time. Oh and don't worry we didn't touch the spirit, I think the snakes, scorpions and frogs they put in it put most off lol. We continued our boat journey across the Mekong river, sampled some traditional music then transferred to small dugouts and where paddled (Venice style) through narrow canals past homes, schools and shops that line the the banks of the numerous islands. Once out we got back onto the bigger boat and motored for another hour to another island and found our home stay where we would be staying the night. Oh I forgot! Lunch! We stopped at this small place for lunch, but found out we had to catch it first! So shoes came off and shorts rolled up and the kids jumped into these small muddy ponds and felt with hands and feet these mud fish that live in the mud and shallow waters of the delta. Was quite amusing to watch lol. After catch about 15 of these fish, each about a foot long, we washed up and enjoyed a seafood banquet. Dinner was just as good and after showers a group meeting we hit the sack for another night.

 

Day 14 - 1st December

After a few really big days, most of the kids were pretty tired, so this morning was a lazy one. We slept in till 8.30, had a yummy breakfast and some of us went for a bike ride around the canals and paths that made up this island. 11am saw us back on the boat and by noon we were back on the bus and making the 3 hour journey back to Saigon. As this was our last night in Vietnam, we wanted to make it memorable. So the kids spent the remainder of their Vietnamese Dong and then we headed to a well known restaurant to try some local delicacies. These included, frog, goat, ostrich, crickets and lets not forget scorpion. To the kids credit most of them tried everything and even really enjoyed some of it. Watch out parents, they might be wanting goat and frog for dinner when they come home! Tomorrow we head to Cambodia.