Banyule/Nillumbik Week 4 2017

We have now reached the halfway point of the program. At this stage we are working to consolidate and reinforce the concepts we have been introducing over the term, particularly around building resilience. Surf camp this week was a great way to focus on this.

Wednesday is our local day on the program and we started off at Eltham Leisure Centre with another session in the gym. First up we had a boxing session with Stefan, who really put us through our paces. After this we headed into the gym for a core, cardio and strength workout using a wide range of equipment. From the gym we headed to Edendale farm for our afternoon activity. Edendale farm is fantastic resource for people living around Eltham. As a part of our community project, we spent the afternoon volunteering around the farm doing tasks such as cleaning up the chook sheds and weeding before the students were rewarded with feeding and playing with the baby goats.

The rest of our week was spent down in Torquay surfing. We had fantastic weather over the two days, with the sun out the whole time. Our first lesson was taken by Kev, who showed us all the basics for how to stand up on the board before we hit the surf. This session is nearly always the most challenging, with students getting used to the cold water, wetsuits, big boards and sore bodies from the gym the previous day. Everyone gave it a great go and we saw some great success. Although some students found the first day particularly challenging, everyone persevered and we saw a lot of improvement in skill and achievement in the session on Friday.