In term one, our Muir class participated in the fun activity, snorkeling. To start off we practiced our snorkeling skills in the aquatic center. This is where the capability organisation is needed, however, I did not uphold this capability very well because I forgot to bring my snorkel several times. When I actually managed to bring my snorkel, we practiced duck diving, clearing our masks, and emptying our masks. We made sure to go over our brief which includes ‘safe snorkel.’ After three sessions in the pool, we were ready to travel down to Coogee beach to snorkel through the Omeo Wreck.

For about 4 sessions, we spent our double periods snorkeling through the clear waters of Coogee. Before entering the water, we went through our safe snorkel process and got into our buddies. Effective communication is a capability that is very important when snorkeling at Coogee. When our teacher would throw up a sign to ask if we’re ok, we would have to respond in a clear manner to let her know that we were still alive. I think I could’ve done this better because I often forgot what I would have to respond with or I would still be underwater while everyone else is replying. I often had to rely on my buddy to pull me out of the water as well. Communicating with our buddy is also very important. We must always reassure one another about each other’s whereabouts to prevent anyone from getting lost. It was a very enjoyable and calming experience for our class since we got to discover more of the Omeo Wreck as each session went by.

Later in the term for the last part of our snorkeling topic, we caught a ferry to Rottnest Island. We were all looking forward to this trip for the whole term. We combined with the other Muir classes for the whole day and sat with them on the ferry. Another capability used would be collaboration. Being able to collaborate with others that you usually wouldn’t work with is a useful quality to have. I think I used this quality well because I communicated with others on the ferry that I have not spoken to before. The walk from the ferry to the Basin was about 10 minutes and we saw some Quokkas along the way. Once we reached the Basin we gathered into our classes and covered our briefs. Our class was first to snorkel and as we got in we grabbed a waterproof camera and took plenty of photos. When leaving the basin we had to remember our ‘leave no trace’ principle. Making sure to pick up after yourself is vital when leaving an area. Australia is aiming to keep our landmarks clean with no damage done to the environment. We want our landmarks to last as long as possible without being destroyed by pollution or rubbish.

Overall, the snorkeling section was very fun, and it has inspired me to do some snorkeling outside of school at Rottnest again. I have snorkelled once before but it did not go very well because I nearly drowned in shallow water.