Term 1 Week 3 2022

Hello everyone!

What a great start to the term! This week has been focused on getting to know each other and naturally developing our group dynamics. To begin the program on Wednesday, we started at Eltham Leisure Centre. The first day is always one of the hardest because people do not know each other yet and sometimes we feel shy and a little apprehensive to begin with. We spent the morning doing some ice breaker activities so that everyone was made familiar with each other and got to know each other's names. We talked about our individual values and set our group's code of conduct, highlighting our group values and goals that we will carry with us through the entire term. The group showed high morale even on the first day which is great to see. Later in the afternoon we met Brad, our gym instructor who gave us a tour of the leisure centre and talked about what we will be doing at the gym for the next 7 weeks. Each of us had a goal in mind and Brad will create a plan with exercises that will be tailored to meet that goal for the weeks to come. We then did some pre tests to measure our strength, power, flexibility and agility. We will do the same tests at the end of the program to see if we have progressed.

On Thursday we picked everyone up at Collingwood station and drove straight to Sherbrook falls picnic ground to start our hike. Although it isn't as challenging as our 1000 steps hike, the crew did well to get through the walk swiftly without any complaints or issues. When we made it to the falls, everyone settled in their own spot next to the river and we had a mindfulness session. We asked students to use all their 5 senses and come back after 5 minutes to share what they had observed. We will continue doing mindfulness sessions on our camps. After lunch on the bus we drove straight to Trees Adventure to do our high ropes course. With full credit to the young people, each and every one of them gave this challenge their all. Everyone worked well to support each other and to face their fears. Some of us did this by jumping off a ledge while others worked their way up to a higher course they had completed before and some did the longest zip line available in the park. Overall everyone achieved something today and they should be as proud of their efforts as we are :)

On Friday we spent the morning at Collingwood Alternative School (CAS), learning about character strengths, working on our journals and creating school goals for the term. The students did really well and managed to stay focused with short breaks in between. For the afternoon, we went canoeing along the Yarra river. The students helped pack and tie the canoes and kayaks to the trailer before leaving Collingwood. There was a safety briefing before heading on the water and then once in their canoes, we did some drills to learn the functional ways to forward and back paddle and how to turn left and right. The students paired up and we made our way along the river. This day we focused on effective communication and how it is paramount to work together as a team to move forward and the students were observed to do at great job at communicating effectively. This day was great and we were very impressed by the students efforts and participation. Well done you all!