YARRA WEEK 4 TERM 2 2023

Hello everyone!

We’ve already smashed it through yet another week, and with a camp no less. Well here is a run down of what we have accomplished this past week.

On Wednesday the 24th we collected the crew for an early morning Hip Hop session. Utilising our local services, we headed down to the Yarra Youth Centre, and met with Matt, Henry and Ror. Matt runs the music studio at the Yarra Youth Space, while both Henry and Ror are past students who have used the service and now work alongside Yarra Youth to provide some programs. We were taken through the many aspects of Hip Hop and what it means to write lyrics to a beat. Adjusting the music to our groups likes and dislikes we began our time of free expression. Having a piece each the students were then allowed to record their pieces, and once put together created a song. It was amazing to see what each student had come up with in their time, and were very brave to share that with the group. After this session we thanked everyone involved before heading off to our second boxing session with Sal. We began straight away, warming up with some paired up boxing on the bags before having turns in the ring with Sal himself. While not in the ring everyone else was encouraged to keep up their partner work alongside the ring. Overall it was a very eventful day and with eager minds for the camp ahead we sent off the students for the day.

On Thursday the 25th we collected our crew bright and early before heading off for our surf camp. Having a long ride there we listened to some tunes and spoke about the camp we were heading to. The first thing we did when we arrived was collect our wetsuits, we got extra warm ones due to the cooler weather. After this we headed to our headquarters for the camp, Bancoora Surf Life Saving Club. This club has worked with us for our countless trips over the years and allows us access to the full kitchen, bathrooms and cabins. This is an absolute treat and we're thankful for their continual support over the years. After settling in and getting the gist of the day, we had a quick lunch before getting in our wetsuits and heading out to the surf. With the helpful eye of Kev, our instructor from Torquay Surf Academy, we learned a bit about the surfing in and outs before heading into the water. Part of what we work on as a group during surf camp is the 4 p's, positivity, patience, participation and perserverance. These aspects all interlock while remaining their own, and help us identify struggles and acomplishments while keeping the 4 p's at the front of what we set out to do. It was a day filled with laughter and shaka’s as we went head first into the waves. By the end of our 2 hour session we headed back to the clubhouse, saying a ‘goodbye and see yah tomorrow’ to Kev. After this we all had a warm shower before dressing and having a well deserved snack. Our bellies full we headed off to Bird Rock, a look out point along the coast. This walk, although short, was flowing with conversation as we explored the walking trails. After this we headed back to the surf club, telling jokes and listening to music as we headed back. Once back we collectively joined to make and enjoy dinner together. After this we debriefed about the day, before having a couple of games of Werewolf and heading to bed.

On Friday the 26th we awoke at 7am, getting ready for some pancakes and assorted toppings for breakfast. After this morning treat we cleaned the best we could before getting ready for our final surf session. Kev took us straight back to the surf, facing the waves and giving us some tips on how to turn and stand for longer periods of time. Kev was a ripper, helping everyone when they went wrong or cheering them on when they went right. Overall it was a great two days of surfing. After this session we all cleaned up after giving Kev a huge thankyou for all his hard work. Once cleaned up we had some lunch and self reflection time before heading back to Torquay and dropping off our wetsuits. The crew then had time to grab some ice cream before we all headed off back home for the week.

All in all this was an extremely successful week and everyone gave a good go on our activities, and should be proud of what they have achieved thus far.

!NOW FOR STUDENT OF THE WEEK; FEATURING DARCY!

We took part in a Hip Hop writing session, what was enjoyable and what was challenging?

“I think being able to write music was enjoyable and the challenge was probably recording it.”

When boxing, what was a motivation for you to keep going?

“Just being able to talk to others in the group while working and looking forward to the end of the day.”

On Thursday we began our camp, were there any changes you would make if we planned this camp again?

“I would have changed surfing on the second day to a beach walk.”

We began with surfing once we arrived, what was one of the 4 p’s you used during the first session and why?

“Patience, I was really patient in learning how to surf and not getting angry at myself.”

What was an enjoyable moment of the camp?

“Just being able to bond with the others, the games of ‘werewolf’ that were really fun and of course surfing.”

Did you struggle with the 4 p’s at all?

“Not that I can think of.”

What’s something you’ll take away from this camp for the rest of the program?

“To have patience with myself.”