IEF goes to the Blue Mountains

The purpose of this excursion was to reinforce a Project Based Learning unit on mountain ranges and provide an opportunity to students for the practical expression of social skills taught within the Life Skills syllabus.

An overnight excursion with the entire faculty was unprecedented prior to Head Teacher Kathryn Dobb and SLSO Deborah Hill organising the trip. Their hardwork was rewarded with favourable weather conditions and overall success; each activity, accommodation and transport executed without obstacle. 

IEF2 student Liam recounts …. 

Day one

The IEF students and teachers set off for a two day excursion from Bondi Junction to Katoomba. We have been learning about the Blue Mountains, the history and exploration of the area. We have also learned about the three European explorers: Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth.

First, we met all the IEF students at Bondi Junction station for the train journey to Katoomba. It was a very long train trip to get to Katoomba. Once we arrived we got on the Blue Mountains explorer bus to Scenic World. Here we rode the Skyway, Railway and Cable car. Afterwards we got back on the bus and had a little tour around Katoomba and we had dinner. Finally, we had showers and watched Peter Rabbit.

I shared my room with Maddison, Will, Braeden, Fred and Oscar. I had fun with my friends. We all played on our phones and IPads and our beds were comfortable and I slept well.

Day two

It was another beautiful day. We had breakfast at our accommodation and got on the Blue Mountains bus to the Chocolate Factory. Then we walked to the park in Leura to have lunch. Once we were full of food we had a long walk to our next location.  Our long walk took us to the Everglades Park. We toured the park and hiked to the waterfall where we took photos. Afterwards we got on the Blue Mountains bus to Leura station where we received our snacks and got on the train back to Bondi Junction to see our parents.