Autumn 2010 - St Luke's Anglican School

THESTLUKE’SWAY Autumn Edition 2010
6
Hayden Hopkins on top of
the world!
I recently went on a three-week journey of a
lifetime to Tanzania in Africa. The gruelling 22
hour trip from Australia to Africa ended with a
greeting by a tribe of dancing and singing Masai.
This was our first glimpse into the culture of Africa.
After the spectacular introduction from the
Masai we set off to the Kilimanjaro Children
Orphanage. The children at the Orphanage
had so little, but never complained about
their position in life. All their clothes had been
handed down or donated. It just goes to show
that even at the toughest of times, rather than weeping at the past these children somehow find the
inner strength to fight on, work hard at school and strive to achieve the dream job that they desire.
The next day was spent teaching in the Mandela Primary School in the Springlands. From here
we started on the six-day trek to the top of Kilimanjaro. All 42 of us went through the gate proud
as could be, but we had no idea what we would go through - heavy, unpredictable rainfall; loss of
oxygen; bad hygiene (six days without a shower!); freezing cold temperatures; blistering feet;
freezing strong winds; and steep, loose, slippery, icy, rocky and muddy terrain with one big blizzard!
After only a few hours of climbing the air became so thin that the only way to acquire
enough air was to breathe in as much as possible and breathe out fast enough
so you can breathe in more oxygen. After a while you get yourself into a pattern.
After a further four days and nearing the summit I sat and watched
11 people start to make their way up to the very top of the mountain.
I was totally out of energy, barely being able to sit up. As they
started to disappear into a white sheet of snow, I thought to myself
“I didn’t come this far to quit!” After four days of pushing my body
to the absolute maximum, I was not going to let an opportunity
like this slip away from me. If I could do this, anything is possible!
So, after 8 hours, 24 of 42 that started made it to the summit.
I strongly advise any student to get involved with the
association that made the trip such a life changing experience.
The organisation is called yLead. yLead will make sure that
you leave school knowing that you can make a difference.
INTERACT CLUB
The Interact Club in 2010 has continued to provide an
opportunity for students to serve at school and in the
broader community. It is very pleasing to see so many
committed students remain members of the club and
for others who have recently joined the club. At a
meeting early in the year, the board members for 2010
were elected. There were many quality nominations,
but through a rigid voting process the following board
members were elected into the available positions.
The Interact Club Board members this year are:
President – Gemma Keliher; Vice- President -
Kathryn Bonanno; Treasurer – Brooke Pateman;
Secretary – Emily Innes; Club Service Director –
Tahlea Anderson; International Service Director –
Brandon Wake; and Community Service Director –
Jessica Alchin. These students undertook an induction
on Assembly and will wear their badge with pride.
The members of the club are always working on a
number of projects. They were very heavily involved
with the Cancer Council Queensland’s Relay for Life.
The Interact Club entered eight teams this year and
the members were able to raise a significant amount
of money to assist with this very worthy cause.