Parent Letters & Bulletins

Hello again! We trust you all enjoyed the visiting weekend a couple of weeks back, despite the long distances involved for many of you? The weekend was for you. We have heard many varied and mixed reports from your sons and daughters about the weekend, but more good than otherwise, which is totally normal! Some said, “It was great to see my family, but I couldn’t wait to get back to the Alpine School!” You need to be assured that the time of real settlement at the Alpine School Campus is now happening for your son or daughter. Paradoxically, the time of departure is also rapidly approaching. I am sure you will notice the difference in your son or daughter between the recent visit and the conclusion on Saturday June 30th.

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The program following the visiting weekend deliberately focuses upon the concepts of separation, mourning and overcoming aspects of adversity. Many of the challenges of the program are used as metaphors for the part of their “Portfolios” dealing with risk and challenge.

DEPARTURE DAY

Lastly, in preparation for the departure day (Saturday June 30th) the broad outline of the morning proceedings at the Alpine School will be as follows…. Please take note of the Saturday June 30th running sheet as per below…. 9.00am – 9.30am • Alpine School staff will hold a departure ceremony for students 9.30am – 10.00am • School doors open for parents to arrive and reacquaint with their children 10.00am – 11.00am • All parents and students meet in the dining room for student presentations. • Student Presentations will involve a summary of their CLP as a group (1 minute), then each individual student will talk about their most important learning from the program that they will take away with them to use in the future. • Show the end of term movie. • Staff to read a ‘farewell story’ 11.00am • All parents and students depart. NOTE: If you arrive after 10.00am, please enter the school building quietly as presentations will be in progress. As the departure day rapidly approaches, some parents and families may wish to make arrangements for their son’s/daughter’s travel off the mountain with other families. In the past, some families have mentioned buses and other arrangements. Can I remind parents that if you intend making this arrangement, that you please advise our Business Manager, Sally Doyle at the Alpine School of your intentions. We look forward to seeing you reunited with your son or daughter on the morning of Saturday, June 30th between 9.30am – 10.00am in the morning.

2nd Letter Home - May 4 2018

Letter Snapshot...

Welcome again to the community of the Alpine School Campus. Congratulations again on the achievement of being personally, as a team, as a family and as a school selected to participate in this Alpine School experience. The purpose of these letters is to provide you with a perspective of the intended program here at the Alpine School. What your son or daughter experiences, and then of course what they may communicate to you, may vary! This is quite normal! We will not be writing about individuals, more about the experiences of the community as a whole.

It seems amazing that a couple of weeks have passed already. As we indicate to your son or daughter, the time here seems to pass at an accelerating pace. I think it is something to do with the familiarization of the living situation here. And familiar they certainly seem to be! I am very pleased with how readily our students this term have settled-in. Nonetheless, they are pleased to be ‘online’ now with the recent introduction of laptops after a short delay.

Sunday 22 April 2018

A Snapshot of Letter 1 - Arrival Day!

Welcome to the community of the Alpine School Campus for our Term 2, TEN week program.

During the next ten weeks we shall be writing to you several times. These letters will also be posted on our website for you to see and read about current and daily events. The content of the communications is to assist you with your side of the Alpine School Campus Experience. The letters will not necessarily deal with individuals and their achievements, but more about the living and learning process all students will be undertaking. We want to provide you with some early reminders and information for your arrival day and to perhaps help you on your return and continued journey.

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Students are involved in a number of important processes this term; discovering their learning preferences, expeditions, selection of the teams for later terms, hosting a range of guests, developing a personal passport of their learning, presentation of their learning and ultimately a Community Learning Project presentation for important school and community leaders.