Eltham Term Week 3 2018

This is an exciting week on the program as we have our first camp this week! Wednesday started back off with Jordan at Eltham Leisure Centre. With Jordan we participated in some boxing drills and hit the gym to target specific muscle groups/do some cardio. It was great to see how enthusiastic the young people were to work out get their heart rate pumping. After this session we headed to Jets Studio to met with Lisa and the Jets staff to participate in our street art workshop. With Lisa and Jets crew we had a tour of the space, learnt about what they do and got stuck into sketching some ideas for our piece. We have a lot of talented young people this term and it was great to see them express their art in their own unique way. After sketching we headed out to spray them onto some bigger boards. The way the young people held themselves was admirable and the pieces speak for themselves! We finished the day with a quick cover of what we need for camp

Thursday was the first day of our first camp to the beautiful You Yangs national park. We are very lucky to not only hike and bike ride here but to stay overnight. The You Yangs is rich with flora and fauna and has a proud indigenous background associated with it. After picking the young people up we headed straight to Collingwood alternative school to pack. After a quick pack we we started our journey with our customized Opertaion Newstart playlist pumping! We arrived at You Yangs national park shortly after and got prepared for our 8km hike. The weather was testing at times as it was very humid and slightly windy. We all worked well together and helped each other out where we needed too. We took breaks, shared water and offered encouragement when it was needed. During the hike we participated in a moment of mindfulness on a bolder that overlooks the surrounding areas. It was a great way to relax our bodies and mind and give us the energy needed to finish the hike. Once we arrived at our camp site we all rightfully took a breather, set up our tents and started cooking dinner. We all worked together to cook, clean and reflect on the day. We all went to bed ready for the next day ahead.

The next morning we got up bright and early to pack up, eat breakfast and start the bike ride. Together as a group we all road down to the office where we would then set off on our longer trail ride. Due to the heat and some asthma issues some of us sat out while the others road one. It was admirable to see everyone give the ride a go and push themselves as much as they could. For those of us who didn't ride we did some journal work, mindfulness and reflected on the camp. After we all grouped up we packed up the bikes and headed home to Collingwood alternative school. Once here we unpacked all our gear, had some lunch and spent some time in the classroom reflecting on the camp. This last reflection was focused on the character strengths we used on the camp and how we can transfer them into school. It was lovely to see the insight that students had and how perceptive they are at noticing and targeting these strengths. From here we all headed home for a much needed shower. It was a challenging but rewarding camp overall.