Term 1 Week 9 2022
Gidday everyone!
So, this was the last week of program! How fast did that go right!?
We had a great couple days leading up to the Graduation. On Wednesday we went to the gym for our final session. The young people completed their post fitness test which was a success as everyone showed improvements in areas such as strength, power, flexibility and agility. We spent every Wednesday for the past 7 weeks at the gym, working on our health and fitness so this was a great reflection on the efforts that they put in. We are so thankful for Brad and John at the Eltham Leisure Centre for all their efforts towards making a fun, educational, engaging and diverse program for the students. Eltham Leisure helped immensely by providing the space for us including our graduation venue and they generously gifted 3 month memberships for all students so they can continue to come and use the space!
For the afternoon we went back to the Men's Shed to collect the nesting boxes we built in the previous weeks. Barry, Don and the crew kindly finalised the boxes so they were completely ready for the donation. We presented the nesting boxes to Joel at Edendale Farm. Joel explained to us why kookaburra and rosellas require different sized boxes and the benefits of providing nesting boxes for our wildlife. We had a tour and Joel educated us on the different species of birds within the farm and the variety of homes necessary. The young people felt proud to be a part of contributing to environmental needs, knowing that these nesting boxes will provide a safe space for birds.
On Thursday we spent the morning in the classroom at CAS working on our speeches and preparing for the graduation. We went through the blogs over the past weeks and everyone was so surprised how much we do in such little time! They were reminded of all the great activities they have done and the character strengths they developed on. This helped create a framework for their speeches. The students did a great job at putting in their efforts and time in the classroom so it was well deserving of the grad celebration activity in the afternoon. We played a couple games of laser tag which was a lot of fun! The young people had a great time!
Friday was graduation! What a turn out! Thank you to everyone that attended. Phil, our EO from Operation Newstart Victoria introduced the students into the room and presented our introduction. Each student performed their speeches, detailing to the audience what activity they enjoyed the most on the program and what character strength they developed on. They spoke about their learnings and how they believe it will be helpful for them back at school. They all did such a fantastic job! I am certain that everyone in the room was so proud of all of them. We presented the movie which highlighted all the great things we have done over the 7 weeks. The young people then received their ONN graduation certificates and certificate folder. We are immensely proud of what the students were able to achieve with us. All their efforts and success is a credit to themselves and this is an experience that they will never forget. They have all gained new friendships and of course the memories that will last them a life time. Well done for stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a chance on yourself. Thank you to absolutely everyone who was involved on this term's program!
Congratulations crew! You did it!
