Challenge + excursion | Stage 2 PDHPE | Field of Mars EEC

Cost, risk assessment and details

Cost	DoE $27 per student – GST free Non-gov $37 per student – GST free, min charge $750 per class Term 1 – Non-gov weeks 3 to 5 cost = DoE cost – GST free, min charge $750 Program costs may change. Bookings are charged at the cost confirmed when you book.
Classes	Recommended maximum 6 classes with up to 30 students per class.
Risk assessment	Field of Mars Reserve risk assessment - main location
Bring	Sports uniform, backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, reusable name tag.
View	Preparing for your excursion Social story
Welfare	Rugged bushwalking, limited wheelchair accessibility. May not suit recently unwell participants. For medical or special needs notify staff prior to program.
Extreme or wet weather	Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.
Booking policy	Confirm student numbers and classes 7 days in advance.
Cancellation and rescheduling	Cancellation or rescheduling with less than 30 school days’ notice before the booking date – $650 Cancellation with less than 14 school days’ notice before the booking date – full program cost Cancellation due to unsafe weather or fire danger – $0

Activities

Activities may vary depending on student needs, timing and weather.

Teamwork briefing and challenge mindset

Students set goals for effective group work and identify the behaviours that help teams succeed in outdoor challenges. Throughout the day, students practise positive communication, encouragement and role sharing to support inclusion.

Orienteering photo rally

In small groups, students use a map to navigate to a series of checkpoints and solve location-based challenges. Students record evidence using an iPad camera before returning to check answers as a team.

Trust walk

Students complete a blindfolded bushwalk challenge that relies on listening, calm communication and teamwork. Using touch and sound cues, students support one another to move safely along the route and reflect on trust-building behaviours.

Possums vs owls

Groups will be split into two teams. The possum team will use large sticks to build a fort wall (possum drey) designed to protect them from a water squirter attack (the owls). The owl team will fill buckets and return to launch their attack. Groups then swap roles.

Explore related fact sheets

Use these student-friendly fact sheets before or after your Challenge + excursion to introduce bushland habitats, animal roles and vocabulary used in outdoor team challenges.

• ⁠Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Explore the bushland environment where students complete teamwork, trust and outdoor challenge activities.
• ⁠Common ringtail possum fact sheet – Discover a tree-climbing possum that builds dreys and moves through shrubs and branches.
• ⁠Common brushtail possum fact sheet – Learn about a nocturnal possum that shelters in hollows and feeds in bushland and gardens.
• ⁠Tree habitats fact sheet – Learn how trees provide branches, hollows, flowers, leaves and shelter for wildlife.
• ⁠Habitat fact sheet – Learn how food, water, shelter and space help living things survive.
• ⁠Eucalypt forest ecosystem fact sheet – Explore the forest ecosystem students move through during outdoor challenges.

Suggested timetable

Time	Activities
9.45 - 10.15	Introduction, recess and toilets
10.15 - 11.20	Challenge 1
11.15 - 12.25	Challenge 2
12.25 - 12:55	Lunch and toilets
12.55 - 2.00	Challenge 3
2.00 - 2.15	Pack up, toilets and depart

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

perseverance, resilience, initiative, collaborate, strategy, decision-making, communicate, predator, prey, drey, evasion, teamwork, fair play, obstacle, cooperation

Syllabus outcomes and content

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Self-management and interpersonal skills

Outcome

• Explains and applies self-management and interpersonal skills in a range of contexts PH2-SMI-01

Content

Interpersonal skills promote positive interactions and collaboration

• Apply problem-solving and decision-making actions to enhance learning
• Apply interpersonal skills to enhance positive and respectful interactions
• Demonstrate respectfully winning, losing and accepting decisions
• Apply communication and cooperation skills in group activities to promote inclusion

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024