Hume Program Week Eight

This is just a short post to finish off the program- there'll be a separate post about Graduation but we had a few other really great experiences in the final week that are worth writing about!

Wednesday was our last day altogether as a group before Graduation, as the students were at Reach on Thursday. We spent this time reflecting on their time on the program, as well as preparing for the Graduation. We did some reflective tasks as well as writing speeches on each student's favourite day on the program. We also managed to fit in a few games of pool before having a pizza lunch to celebrate getting to the end of another great Newstart program.

In the afternoon we headed back to Broadmeadows for the bike donation- a big highlight of the program. A few weeks ago all the students went into Good Cycles in the city and repaired some bikes to be donated to younger kids in their local community. Today we had the chance to do that. Seven excited primary school students from the English Language School headed over with their teachers and families to meet our students and receive their bike. Our group imparted all of their bike knowledge on the younger students, with some teaching the kids the basics of how to ride a bike, while others had to think about how they could challenge those who already knew how to ride. It was a really great afternoon, and the students and their families were really grateful for the opportunity to be involved and receive a bike.

As mentioned earlier, the students spent their last program day at the Reach Grounded workshop. Although we don't attend these sessions, we always hear great reviews from the students. These workshops are aimed at providing young people a space to build confidence and awareness of their potential, as well as gaining empathy. The students focus on building goals and learning and practicing positive strategies for coping with life's challenges. There's a camp coming up soon for those who attended the Grounded workshops, and hopefully some of our students will be attending.

Ps Friday on the program was the Graduation Ceremony- check out the separate blog post to read all about it!