Year 9 CLC Program

Year 9 CLC - Volunteering Projects

Our high-flying Semester 1 CLC cohort have spread their wings this term, completing various volunteering projects out and about in the community.

Having gone through the Term 1 program building their knowledge vie excursions and workshops, they are now being trusted to independently apply their skills and “giving back,” focusing on Empathy, Resilience, Gratitude, Respect, Philanthropy, Community and Connection.

The 18-strong Wangaratta West Primary School volunteer-crew have made a big impact already. Eight of our girls have been “Classroom Helpers” in junior classrooms, helping the Little Tackers with everything from reading, writing and mathematics. The girls have been buzzing each day afterward, relaying stories of their day with beaming smiles. Wang West teachers and Leadership have been delighted, with Taylor Ryan being one whose teacher reported was “great with the way she spoke to the kids”). It’s interesting too, experiencing the power of CLC firsthand with my own daughter raving about the girls who were in her room (Pieper Gottschling and Georgia Meggs), remembering them by name and asking when they’ll be coming back. Like Andy McClean used to always say to the kids, they can have such an impact that they make it to the Dinner Table.

The Wang West PS ”Grounds Crew” have been very productive too, albeit in the yard. The 6 boys (Noah Sacco, Will Simpson, Cooper Hardman, Mikylle Grainger, Jayson Bounpraseuth and Ryley York) have been ticking off jobs including staking newly planted trees, training branches of rogue trees, cleaning gutters, weeding, and planting shrubs. The boys have been working hard as a team, using various tools responsibly, and Wang West Leadership have appreciated the assistance with jobs they wouldn’t otherwise have had the time or manpower to complete. 

The Wang West crew also includes a “P.E Assistant” crew of 4 boys (Emilio Miliankos-King, Jack Ford, Osten Hasson & Oscar Benson) who have been running Basketball Clinics for two senior classes. This Wednesday local teaching & football legend Ian “Hopper” McCormick was filling in as CRT, and was super impressed with the boys, saying they did a great job and were “great kids”. 

Elsewhere, positive feedback has flooded in from CLC staff, community contacts, and the CLC kids themselves, with groups active at the Mullinmur Billabong, two Aged Care Homes in St. John’s and Iloura, Wangaratta Primary School, as well as two crews fundraising for the Wangaratta Hospital and Make A Wish Foundation.

The kids are trusted to make their own way to and from their destination, then complete a weekly reflection, and finally plan ahead for the next Wednesday. CLC staff thank them for their successful start to the Term, and we look forward to more great things over the next 6 weeks. Special thanks as always to the generous people in town hosting our kids. 

Jud Mullins