Outlearning
What is Outlearning?
Outlearning in Big Picture is any learning you do outside the classroom that connects you to the real world, such as internships, community experiences, workshops, volunteering, job shadowing, projects with experts, and anything that builds your skills through authentic experiences.
This year, I have had the pleasure of doing quite a few out learning activities.
Day 1
We arrived, and the tiny home we were working on was just a frame with a roof. This tiny home was 3 metres by three metres for young people who can't live at home anymore. We started adding in the windows and a little a bit of the installation
Dandelion Safe Homes (Senior Project)
08/10/26 and 10/10/26 (October)
This was an incredible opportunity to learn new skills while volunteering for a really good cause. Dandelion Safe Homes is a charity that helps women get out of domestic violence, as well as young people and teenagers in challenging situations. They train women to build tiny homes, and once the homes are finished, they go to people who really need a safe place to call home so they can get back on their feet. I first came across them at the Tiny Home Expo, and I’m so glad I reached out. Thank you so much to Karen, the founder, for helping make this happen
Day 2
We continued putting in all the windows and doors, as well as wrapping the building in insulation as a Christmas present.
Gold Coast Tiny Homes (Senior Project)
03/10/26 (October)
As part of my senior project, I decided to do some market research by visiting businesses and people making tiny homes here on the Gold Coast. I wanted to see how they were doing it, what was different between them, and what’s actually out there. Gold Coast Tiny Homes is run by Steve, who’s originally from New Zealand and was an incredibly nice guy. They aren’t the style of tiny home we’d look into ourselves, but I’m sure they’d be great for others.
Twin Falls Walk
14/09/26 (September)
This was one of our last adventure learning excursions of the year, and we finished strong with the Twin Falls walk in Springbrook National Park, about 45 minutes to an hour from Robina. It was an amazing walk and I’d highly recommend it. You can swim at the bottom of the two waterfalls, and along the trail you get to walk under heaps of other waterfalls too.
Bush Dance
11/09/26 (September)
We had to save up for our Year 12 formal, and the Bush Dance was our biggest fundraiser of the year. Lots of people baked or helped out, and I made lots of choc chip cookies and Mars Bar slice. We ended up raising way over our target, so we could add some extra things to our formal. It was also a great night for bringing the community together, with the little kids dancing to fun songs.
Lendlease Tradie Bootcamp at Brisbane Airport!
(Senior Project)
31/08/26 to 4/09/26 (September)
This was an absolutely amazing experience that I happened to fall into. Because I’d been reaching out to people in trades and construction, I’d started building up some contacts. An opportunity with Carpentry Australia fell through, but that led me to this one, and looking back I’m so grateful it worked out that way. I spent a week learning about the different construction projects happening all over the airport. We had a look at the domestic airport, but most of our time was at the international airport, where most of the projects were going on. As part of the course I got my Working at Heights and Elevated Work Platform certificates, plus lots of PPE to get me started in the construction industry, all completely free.
Tiny Home Expo Brisbane (Senior Project)
28/08/26 (August)
This was an incredible experience, especially since my project is on tiny homes. I got to walk through heaps and heaps of tiny homes of all shapes and sizes from all over Australia, which gave me a real feel for how big or small different designs can feel. I also learned about different renewable options out there. Listening to the speakers, I realised how much tiny homes help people who really need it, like women and children experiencing domestic violence and people experiencing poverty. People also use tiny homes as a way to become financially independent, which is a bit of a passion of mine. Some people who had lived in tiny homes for over five years told me they paid a maximum of $150 a week in rent! The expo is also where I found Dandelion Safe Homes.
Speakers we listened to:
Kylie Bickle about sustainable materials
Brony Jenkinson, the founder of Park My Tiny Home
Paintball Adventure learning
17/08/26 (August)
As part of adventure learning, we got to play a game of paintball at the local paintball place in Mudgeeraba. It was a lot of fun and got me out of my comfort zone, although I did end up with some pretty nasty bruises.
Pacific Air Show Excursion
14/08/26 (August)
As part of a school excursion, I got to go to the Pacific Air Show. It was a really fun and interesting outing, and we spent the whole day with our eyes on the sky watching all the different planes. The coolest aircraft I saw was the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, which can take off like a helicopter and then fly like a plane.
FIRE Spark (Social Action Project)
(Financial Independence - Retire Early)
08/08/26 (August)
I’ve been interested in the FIRE movement (or FI) for a very long time but hadn’t found a community of people to talk to about it. When I saw a FIRE retreat was happening on the Gold Coast, I reached out to the organiser very last minute and asked if I could join. She kindly let me come for a day, and I got to listen to incredible speakers on really interesting topics. That’s how I got my foot in the door of this diverse community.
Women in Trades (NAWIC) Morning Tea (Senior Project)
06/08/26 (August)
My career advisor let me know about this morning tea at Ashmore TAFE. It was a chance to meet incredible women working in the trades, including welders, electricians, plumbers and site managers. The morning tea was to get other girls and women excited about a possible future career in the trades.
Homeless Connect (Social Action Project)
05/08/26 (August)
At Homeless Connect, we were a small part of the team serving some of the more vulnerable people in our community. It’s an event run by the community, for the community, and it had everything you could need help with: toiletries, food, haircuts, new clothes, medical care and even vet care for pets. I was in the toiletries section, unpacking and stocking toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo and conditioner.
Alphaline Tiny Homes (Senior Project)
27/07/26 (July)
I learned a lot again here. Alphaline had a lot more display homes, at all different sizes and stages of completion, which was fascinating to see. Some of the houses were so big I don’t think they’d even be classified as tiny homes. They felt bigger than my apartment!
Nook Tiny Homes (Senior Project)
14/07/26 (July)
Went inside of the 3 different houses really liked the ones with the black interior with some wood on the walls with assent lighting which I was surprised by because it didn't have all that many windows. The sale representative told us whatever we do. Do not buy a fold out house because they are all made in China and have major problems such as leaking and poor craftsmanship. He also talked about how land plays a major role in the ability to build and get council approval. Such as having a lot of trees on your property and being koala habitat and bush fire risk. As well as cyclone risk. They all so stated that we should not want to skimp out on the build of our home because it's something you are going to spend a long time in and it's what you are going to shelter in in a big storm. They also talked about their insulation and how it was far superior to traditional insulation because it was spray foam insulation that sat right up agents the outer layer of the wall with no air gap.
Youth Leadership Academy workshop
10/06/26 (June)
We recently had the Youth Leadership Academy come to our school to run a leadership workshop, and it was a really worthwhile experience. It pushed us to step out of our comfort zones, work together, and think about what leadership actually means — not just in school but in everyday life.
Welding Day at TAFE (Senior Project)
04/06/26 (June)
I got in early and got a spot in the 1 Day Basic Welding Jewellery Tree class at TAFE. I said why not give it a crack and I definitely had a lot of fun. I learned that welding is actually quite difficult. It was also hard on the body, which I didn’t expect. my forearm and back muscles where defenetly working overtime.
Tree Top Challenge - Tamborine Mountain
01/06/26 (June)
As one of our adventure learning outings, we went to the Tamborine Mountain TreeTop Challenge. It was quite a workout with some evil obstacles. I had so much fun, and the landscape was magnificent because we were in the middle of the forest. After finishing the course, I had a quick lunch before jumping on the bus home. While I was eating lunch, I saw four kookaburras stealing some peoples lunch.
Uluru Red Center Year 12 Camp
11/05/26 to 15/05/26 (May)
I feel so fortunate that my year 12 camp was to Uluru. I know it’s a trip most people could only dream of. It was such a cool experience, and it left me feeling so connected. I got to witness all of our connections and friendships grow throughout the week.
South Passage Voyage
27/04/26 to 1/05/26 (April)
In late April, I embarked on the 5-day South Passage Voyage to complete my Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. It was a challenging couple of days, but it made for a bloody good story, and I would definitely do it again. It was an amazing experience and adventure.
Check out my journal entries from the Voyage below
Youth Leadership Conference 2026
25/03/26 (March)
I am a part of the Wellbeing committee at school, so I attended the Youth Leadership Conference 2026 in Brisbane. I had a great time listening to all the presenters and learning to become a leader of tomorrow.
Crockd studio excursion
4/03/26 (March)
As part of my pottery experience in term 1, I got to go to the Crockd studio in Currumbin
Fred’s tiny house weekend workshop
(Senior Project)
15th to the 16th of Nov 2025 (November 2025)
In November, right after we arrived back in Australia after 10 and a half months traveling, we were really excited because we had booked Fred’s tiny house weekend workshop. It was an amazing experience, I learned so many things I hadn’t even thought of with some incredible people.
