Jindabyne - August 2007

Down The Slopes in 7 Days

On the 3^rd of August 43 year 11 students endured a gruelling bus trip, travelling from our humble Armidale High School all the way to the excitingly promising Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre, no less than 13 hours away. They were there, no doubt, to participate in the school's famous annual Jindy excursion, where students had the opportunity to learn to snowboard or ski down the slopes at Thredbo.For many students, it was their first time experiencing such large amounts of snow, but there was plenty of time to get used to it. For 5 days, everyone was involved in 2 hours of group lessons with a qualified instructor each morning, followed by an afternoon of free skiing time to practise what they®d been taught.

Though only one of the group experienced the seriousness of a broken arm, there were many sore muscles and bruised bottoms as beginners spent much of their energy on the first day falling over and getting back up again. Having said that, it wasn®t long before everyone was confidently skiing or snowboarding like pros, with the majority of the group eventually conquering the steep and sometimes intimidating ®High Noon® run.

Food was provided by the Centre and all meals were of excellent quality. Not only were all meals included in the excursion cost, which was very good value for money, but the group also received their own organiser and leader from the Centre, Anita, who became a close friend over the week and did an excellent job. Our bus trips just wouldn®t have been the same if it weren®t for her singing, jokes and story-telling.

Throughout the week there were also night activities planned and supervised by the Sport and Rec. Centre, including a dance night, trivia, Jindy Markets and of course our own school organised crossroads work. With various other schools also staying at the centre, there were over 200 High School students to socialise and share the experience with. Any rivalries between the other schools were forgotten in the end as the Armidale High students had to concentrate on push-starting our bus in order to get back to Armidale.

On all accounts, it was an excellent excursion where we all made memories and had fun with a great bunch of people. Year 11 would like to say a big thank you to all the teachers who helped and attended, especially Mr Hemmings, whose continued effort makes this excursion possible.

Lauren Stephens