Term 1 Week 5 2022

Hi everyone!

On Wednesday, we headed straight to the Eltham Leisure Centre where Brad greeted us. He spoke to us all about nutrition and why it is important to adopt a healthy eating pattern. We talked about what nutrients are needed by our bodies and when it is a good time to consume certain food groups, especially when your are doing exercise. The students responded well to the conversation and shared some of their own insights. We then had a group warm up session before we all split off to do our individual workout programs in the gym. The young people had an hour to work on their programs and then we had John lead an awesome spin class before we left. It certainly got all our heart rates up and we definitely broke a sweat. What a great session and the young people absolutely smashed it! For the afternoon we went to Jet Studios where we were introduced to Leza and Darcy. Leza gave us a tour of the studios and spoke to the group about what the organisation offers in terms of youth services programs that are provided in their area. Darcy ran our street art project for the rest of the afternoon which the young people loved! Darcy gave us a demonstration and safety briefing before the young artists could come out and be creative! It is a great outlet for people to express their creative sides and a means to do something new and exciting. The students got straight into it and made some awesome art on the walls.

On Thursday we went caving! Always such an incredible activity. We picked the young people up from Collingwood Station and travelled to Britannia Creek Caves. The location is beautiful and were lucky to have had great weather. We all geared up with our overalls, helmets and headtorches and explored the wild cave. After our safety briefing, we courageously squeezed through tight gaps and nooks, slid down boulders, crawled through holes, treaded through some water and even saw some glow worms! For some students, this was a big challenge for them but they all did an amazing job! Pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and gave it a good crack. Together, they communicated effectively, encouraged each other and displayed great leadership skills. We spoke about observing and acknowledging some of the reactions and symptoms we have when we feel anxious and nervous, including sweaty palms and increased heart rates. It is important to decipher certain coping mechanisms and use them effectively to calm us down. The students rated how anxious they were feeling before going into the caves (from 1-10 ) and were asked again half way through the cave. All students felt less anxious from when they first started which was a great sign although at times it was heightened at different stages throughout the cave which is completely natural. After exploring the caves, we had a short walk through the forest and along the creek before heading back to Melbourne. The students had a great day and Brendon and I are impressed with their efforts.

On Friday we first went back to CAS to grab a few surf boards and wetsuits before heading to Port Melbourne beach. We went into a training room at the Life Saving Victoria building and the young people had an introduction to how to effectively perform CPR, what to do in an emergency situation, and how to read and give signals on the water. We practiced on professional training mannequins and had a 2 minute CPR test where we applied our learnings. Each present student will receive a certificate of participation for their CPR introduction which could be great to put on their CVs. After lunch the young people geared up to go into the water where they practiced being on a rescue board, learnt different ways to paddle and industry standard rescue techniques. This was a great day and we are feeling more confident about our Surf Camp coming up! Well done crew! :)