Term 1 Week 7 2022
Hi everyone!
On Wednesday we had another great session at the Eltham Leisure Centre. As a group warm up, we went for a jog around the centre. Instructors Brad and John then facilitated a circuit training session to get the heart rates up even more! There were 8 stations that worked on all parts of the body. It was high intensity but for a shorter amount of time. Circuit training is an excellent way to improve cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength endurance. The young people did a great job at putting in all their efforts and participating. The students then went on to do their individual workouts for the following hour in the gym. For the afternoon, we visited the Greensborough headspace where we met Rosemary. Rosemary is the Community Engagement Officer at headspace and she presented to the group about what is headspace, what they can offer and information on how to manage your mental health. The session was very informative and at the end of the day, every student mentioned one thing they had learnt that afternoon. headspace is a National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing mental health services to 12-25 year olds and they have more than 100 centres throughout Australia. We believe it is paramount to discuss such a topic and break down the stigma surrounding mental illness. We want to provide the best support possible to our young people and give them the tools to seek support if ever needed.
On Thursday we went to the Eltham Men's Shed for our collaborative community project. We were introduced to the lovely crew - Don, Barry, Neil, Russell, John T & John H who assisted the young people throughout the entire day, building nest boxes which will be donated to Edendale Farm. The students were paired up together and worked with the men's shed members to complete rosella, kookaburra and possum boxes. The young people were engaged, eager to complete the nesting boxes, respectful and overall, they had a great time in the workshop learning new skills and having nice conversations with the gentlemen. They worked a lot quicker than anticipated, so they were able to complete all boxes and get the first coat of paint on. We will collect them in a fortnight to then donate them to Edendale Farm. The students' were very proud of their efforts as are we. We were very fortunate to collaborate this project with such a great organisation and we are immensely grateful for their time and efforts in supporting our program as well.
On Friday, we went back to CAS to do a camp pack and then spend some time in the classroom. We prepared our gear for our bike camp and reiterated their expectations. In the classroom we learnt about respectful relationships. We discussed ways to show respect to ourselves and others and why certain values are important to uphold in an effective relationship/friendship. We believe that respectful relationships contribute to growth, maturity and self-confidence. It also promote s healthy self-expression, self-awareness and awareness of others. The students have proven to us so far that one of their top character strengths is respect which has helped everyone to feel safe, valued and accepted. We then spoke about consent and why it is important. It can lead to better relationships with family, friends, peers and, eventually romantic partners. Consent includes knowing and respecting a person's own boundaries as well as the boundaries of others. The students were very mature and participated well in the discussions. For the afternoon, we went to Hardrock in the city where we went rock climbing. Most of the students had not been rock climbing before so they enjoyed learning a new skill and doing something different. We are familiarising that we can push through challenging moments by using a growth mindset and being persistent. We also found that we used muscles that we thought we didn't even have!
