Outreach Mentoring Camp 2022
The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School High Ability Outreach Program runs throughout Term 3 and 4. The program provides extension and enrichment opportunities to Grade 5 and 6 students from areas in rural and regional Victoria.
The High Ability Outreach Program aims to:
Support and engageGrade 5 and 6 students to excel in Science, Tech and Engineering and to develop STE-related skills.
Provide an extraordinary opportunity for Year 10 students from Mac.Rob and Melbourne High School to develop their leadership and mentoring skills.
Facilitate meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships between Primary students and older like-minded Year 10 mentors from Mac.Rob and Melbourne High School.
On Monday, June 6th, we held our 3-day city camp, where our mentors and mentees met face-to-face for the first time.
Rochelle Day, Outreach Program Coordinator
Year 10 Mentor Reflection
A camp like no other, Mac.Rob and MHS students experienced two days of fun, excitement and laughter with fellow mentors and mentees. The numerous formations of new friendships made farewells bittersweet, but knowing the program wasn’t over alleviated the gloom. After meeting our mentees on Monday, the groups embarked on a rainy tram trip to Melbourne Museum, where a scavenger hunt awaited them. The exhilaration of finding fossils, zeolites and insects intrigued many! We then returned to the accommodation to enjoy dinner and end the night with a riveting mentor-led trivia, where our mentees were tested on their STEM knowledge. It was a night of laughter and certainly some competitiveness between groups.
The second day opened with a bang. The mentees were surprised with many fun facts about the mentors. We continued the journey at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV, where the mentees explored detailed, intricate art pieces through time. History was explored and interest was displayed. We followed the art exhibit with lunch at Macrob and a lesson about types of reactions and energy conversions. We watched as demonstrations of jelly babies igniting and cans retracting were shown, and background noises of thrill and amazement could be heard. In the lab, mentors and mentees worked together to create straightforward methods for an exciting science project. How can we speed up a chemical reaction? Mentees were overwhelmed with joy to get work on a science experiment with their mentors and watched as alka seltzer tablets foamed and settled in acids. The camp wrapped up with a melancholy mood back at our accommodation. As mentors hauled their luggage out, they turned to wave at the mentees, closing the boisterous camp.