Hands on Learning today focussed on Resilience and Respect, not least in light of the significance of tomorrow, 26th April. ANZAC day reminds us to remember those who sacrificed their lives in our defence and to redouble our efforts today for those who will follow us tomorrow.

Around the fire we talked about the difficulties our diggers faced as they landed at ANZAC Cove, crossed the beach and struggled to climb the mountain in front of them, all under heavy fire. When they reached the top, utterly exhausted, they then began to dig trenches for cover. Starved of food and water, with bombs and bullets raining down on them and sometimes only using their hands to dig the ANZAC spirit was forged. We spoke of the word’s endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour and mateship.

The Hands-on Learning team were quiet and sombre as they reflected on our discussion.

Attention was then directed to today’s task, a struggle that would test the Hands-on Learning crew resolve. We were to get our hands dirty digging our own trench. Albeit not for our protection but to plumb the Hub.

The ground was dry and hard with 25 metres to be gained. The crew set to work with a clear goal in mind. It was hard going, daunting in fact and only chatter about the difficulties the diggers felt all those years ago kept them going. Throughout they pondered in amazement the ANZACs digging trenches 6 foot deep compared to our half a foot. I could see they felt a deep respect.

Todays rations were not “Bully Beef or Tack” but baked potatoes with bacon and cheese. The energy consumed help sustain the crew all the way to the end of their battle. I could hear the satisfaction as they looked back to the start of the trench. I call that resilient.

One crew member wrote;

To commemorate Anzac Day, we thought it would be a good idea to build something to do with it, such as build a trench. So, we did. We had to make sure it was deep enough and long enough to fit a 30 metre and 20 cm deep tube in it for the kitchen that we built in the storage container.

Brett came up with the idea of putting water in it, while we did that we got lunch ready. I chose what we were having, baked potatoes with cheese and bacon. There was a swarm of boys (grade 5/6 boys came down at lunch time) trying to get a bite.

Overall, I really enjoyed this week and am really sad there is only one week left.

Another wrote;

To commemorate the Anzacs in Hands on Learning we dug a 30-metre trench, 20 cm deep. This was for our sink in our shipping container. We did this so we could put in a water pipe and connect it to our sink. We are putting the pipe in next week.

For lunch we had baked potatoes and bacon, it was pretty good.

A local plumber reminisced to me about a call he had from a distressed client. The caller pleaded “Quick Rod, I’ve got a leak outside!”. Rod, full of compassion and wisdom replies “Permission granted”.

We had a lot of fun with plumbing today and dare I say it, learnt some valuable lessons along the way. We ran through the tasks for the day and had a closer look at the components to be installed. Things were moving fluidly as I make a point of it for students to learn through making mistakes in a safe and supportive environment. The crew felt they knew what to do so off they went. Undoing the cap to install a joiner resulted in water gushing all over the place. After the panicked shrieks subsided the crew experienced an important lesson they won’t soon forget.

With the water now shut off our conversation turned to sustainability. I posed the question; how much water does your household use every two months? The answers ranged from 2000 to 5000 litres. We also talked about some of the costs, like delivery, treatment and the different water processing cycles such as a septic system. I was surprised at how interested they were and what little is known about this essential service. I for one will be bringing the last water bill to the kitchen table over the weekend.

With a ham and cheese jaffle lunch approaching the race was on to finish, so much so that when I turned that water back on, I heard repeated cries of “TURN IT OFF, TURN ITTTTTT OFF!” Another lesson was presented, check your work.

It was a fun day at Hands on Learning, this is a plum job.

In Anika’s words

On Wednesday was out last day of Hands-on Learning, we just had cross country and some forgot we had it. When we all got down there we did a little bit of talking and how we were doing plumbing that day. We got started but when we unhooked the pipe water was splashing everywhere, so we had to turn it off. We got it connected which was good. I was the chef today, we had toasties, they were really yum. When we turned the water back on again, we forgot to put a stopper on the hot water outlet, so we did that and that was out last Hands-on learning experience.

Ashlee warm heartedly wrote,

Hey guys, its Ashlee. Its really sad but this happens to be my last time writing here and I’m so excited for all the future Hands-on Learners because this is truly an amazing opportunity for you guys.

A big thank you to Brett, he is a star of Hands-on Learning, he organises things and he is just an amazing person overall, so thank you Brett. Also thank you to the people who participated this term.

This week was amazing, we learned to plumb which is so fun, we actually put a pipe into the kitchen we built two weeks ago for our hub. We actually got running water which will be so helpful later on. There was a little incident with the water, we forgot the put a stop on and when the water came back on it went everywhere. We fixed it and ended the day with tasty toasties, yum!

Another thank you to everyone as this was a great time spent with you guys. We all learned things that will help us so much later on in life. I guess that’s it, well good luck to everyone in the future and make sure you take this time and use it wisely because hands on learning can really help you work things out, like having confidence. Oh, and before you say this is boring remember Brett works so hard on these things and be grateful that he uses his own time to organise this.

Bye!

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