This year in Muir we did three courses which were snorkelling, orienteering and archery. The main course we focused on took up all of Term 1 which was snorkelling.

Link to PowerPoint: Moore_Ryan_Snorkelling PPT.pptx

At the start of the snorkelling course, we went through all of the general knowledge and safety of what we needed. At first, we practised our skills in the pool at school, then we went to Coogee for a couple of weeks in a row and went along the snorkel trail but mainly focusing on the Omeo shipwreck. Finally, we went to the Rottnest Basin for a whole day and cycled through got to see everything around it. We did this because we started with a closed water environment so there was minimal risk (school pool), then we moved into a more open but still closed environment so we could get a feel of what it would be like in an open water environment without it being the real thing so there was risks but not as much as an open water environment (Coogee beach) and Rottnest.

Our Trip to Rottnest:

At Rottnest, there was a mix of three different classes. Each class would go into the water at separate times and each class got to go in twice. Each class would go in to snorkel for around 40 minutes and the classes on the shore would take the time to eat, play around with mates and get ready for their next rotation. At the start, we went through SAFE SNORKEL to make sure everyone knew it and knew what to do. Overall it was a great experience and I learnt loads of new skills and would love to do it again.

Skills Used and Sustainability:

Over the course, we learnt loads of new skills including how to clear and put on your mask underwater, various hand signals, how to duck dive effectively and how to clear out a snorkel. These skills were all used on the day and very helpful. For future years to continue doing this course we had to be sustainable and leave no trace and in doing this we also made the environment cleaner. We did this by picking up all the rubbish even if it wasn’t ours to leave a cleaner environment to what we came to.

My Learnt Capabilities:

I was never good with leadership but through the snorkelling course I quickly learnt it was something I needed. I developed and improved my leadership through this course through SAFE SNORKEL and remembering the signs so I could communicate with my friends in the water. I also dived under a lot looking for things to show my friends which is another act of leadership. Another capability I learnt was organisation. I had to be very organised otherwise I maybe couldn’t swim or would slow the whole group down, or would be unprepared for the remainder of the day. The last thing I learnt from this course was how to be collaborative. I also learnt that you need to be collaborative to be safe while snorkelling and to enjoy it more. If you were collaborative with people you overall saw more fun things and could easily help people if they were struggling.