In 2014, Thomas Carr College took possession of the Good Samaritan Convent of St Brendan’s Parish, Cororooke, and turned it into a Country Campus for the College’s year 9 cohort. The convent is a historic building, which opened in Coragulac in 1923.
Initially, it was operated by the Good Samaritan Sisters as a boarding school for girls in the Colac/Otway area. After closure of the boarding school in the 1970s, the convent continued to be a residence for members of the congregation. The convent is now referred to as the Good Samaritan Campus.
In recent years, Thomas Carr College has refurbished the convent, turning it into a campus able to accommodate 28 students. Each year 9 class has the opportunity to embark on a country experience at the campus.
The Country Experience Program requires students to live away from home for three weeks, returning home each weekend. It provides students with an opportunity for personal growth, developing a sense of independence, resilience, social awareness and skills for life and the workforce.
College Principal Dr Andrew Watson says: “The students’ growing sense of independence will be key to the Country Experience. This independence is tempered with a better understanding of what it is to be a responsible adult living in the community and taking steps to find their own place in the world.”
The Good Samaritan Campus experience aims to provide all students with an exciting and challenging program in an environment that is safe, caring, structured and engaging.
“The emphasis will be on learning through doing. Activities and project work will be based around the local Coragulac and Otways environments of lake, coast and forest,” Dr Watson says.
“Year 9 students participate in activities such as orienteering, mountain bike riding, canoeing/kayaking and hiking.
“Students are also required to complete a community service project and a sustainable futures portfolio.”
The campus is also part of the Transition Program. Year 7 students attend a camp at the campus which allows students to build on current friendships, as well as building stronger bonds with students in their homeroom.
On Sunday August 6, the college will hold a Mass at the Good Samaritan Campus, followed by an open day from 11am. All members of the community are invited to attend. The Campus is 11 kilometres north of Colac and about 140 kilometres from Thomas Carr College.
Thomas Carr College, 35 Thomas Carr Drive, Tarneit. Inquiries: 8734 2444 or www.thomascarr.vic.edu.au
