2017 Year six tour

The 2017 year 6 & 7 tour group.

As a parent of a small child here on Norfolk Island, the rite of passage of the year six tour at Norfolk Island Central school seems like something that will happen sometime in the distant future. Then suddenly all of the planning is upon us. After 12 months or so of fundraising and working out a practical itinerary out of imaginative wish lists,  whoosh, the time is finally here. Our ‘babies’ are in year six and off on tour. Even quicker is the fact that all that hard work is done but not forgotten, they have had 12 days of learning, friendships, fun, adventures and experiences and the entire year six crew head home today! They are coming back already?

Jasper waving goodbye to his sister.

My two got to catch up each other for the first time in 4 months.

In days of old before social media graced our lives, parents would glue themselves to the local radio station in case today was the day that the children and teachers would ring and talk on radio and give all the tour news. Nowadays we are blessed with instant images and updates along the way. We can see the adventures as our children experience them first hand thanks to the school facebook page. Each child had a roster of when they would write about an experience which included pictures of them doing so.

As well as following the school page, the parents left on island formed a facebook messenger group and gave extra updates & photos to each other based on conversations with the kids via phone or instagram.

It really is a wonderful way to watch and experience our children grow. I have never been to Uluru but now both my eldest children have had that opportunity thanks to the year six tour.

With thanks to the dedicated teachers who take the year six’ers on tour especially Year six tour stalwart Roz Tierney. What a bonding experience for you all to take into your high school years

It is a very expensive exercise to give the children a tour experience in this way but if the children can find a way to earn it themselves in some way, that makes the experience more the richer. With thanks to the Norfolk Island community for your support of children on the island.  So advice to other parents? Start saving early. If the year six tour gets outpriced eventually due to the 6 flights included over recent years, my hope is that a Norfolk Island year six tour can continue to be a bonding experience, even if it remains locally using local industries, resources and museums.

This year’s 2017 Year six tour started on Monday 9^th of  October. After 4 nights in Sydney at both the Sport and recreation camp and in the city, the tour departed for Uluru and remote Lilla community with traditional land owners . The children slept under the starts and experienced outback sunrises and sunsets as well as traditional customs, language, art and foods. The hikes through Kings Canyon & Kata Tjuta would have been spectacular and eye opening for island kids. A flight from Yulara to Sydney and then on to Canberra took them to the war memorial, national portrait gallery, Questacon and parliament house where they got to meet Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten. Their dab with him earned them a spot on the channel 10 news last night!

How much fun is that packed into 12 days.

We look forward to our weary troupers arriving back safe and sound. We will be glad to have them home with tales of travelling running through their heads..

Thanks again Roz Tierney and Jo Howell for rallying them at all hours of early morning and nights. We hope you had fun too!