14 Feb 2023
Co-curricular activities back to full steam ahead
(The Age, Saturday 11 February 2023)
Students are getting stuck into music, arts, drama and sports – and overseas travel, writes Megan Breen.
It’s not hard to imagine the level of disappointment felt by those students who were lucky enough to be preparing for an international study trip when co-curricular activities ground to a halt during the prolonged lockdown periods of the pandemic.
But, with borders opening again, the good news is that international opportunities are back on the agenda.
Senior students at Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak, are packing their bags for an art trip to New York City and Washington DC, and a STEM program at NASA later this year. Others are looking forward to a language tour of Italy.
Closer to home, cultural trips are being planned to explore Uluru and Cape York Peninsula and experience Indigenous history and culture.
“The co-curricular programs are a really important adjunct to the academic commitments of the students,’’ says Loreto Mandeville Hall principal Angela O’Dwyer. ‘‘While we paused our overseas programs during COVID-19, we commenced with vigour last year and ran three tours for year 9, 10 and 11 students.’’
As a supplement to the official curriculum, co-curricular activities are designed to broaden a student’s interest in a topic and can range from running student newspapers to participating in musical performances, mock trials and debates, or joining chess clubs, drama groups and international study tours.
O’Dwyer says the school is pleased to be able to offer a broad range of co-curricular activities, including the Summer Loreto Academy, which runs during the holiday period and allows students to choose from a range of one-off modules.
“The theme for the 2023 Summer Loreto Academy was ‘ideation’ – that not all great minds think alike,’’ she says. ‘‘It is an academic program with a difference that provides challenges whilst fostering excitement in learning a core academic program.
“The students that flourish have a balance in their life. And it’s not just academic. It’s a combination of music, arts, drama, and sports. Co-curricular activities are about developing the whole student - it’s about learning how to manage different interests.”
