YEAR 9 CLC PROGRAM
On the Menu, Kindness and Empathy.
Kindness and Empathy was on the menu again in our Year 9 C.L.C (Community Leadership Challenge) program yesterday.
Kaity Ford and Emilie Sanderson executed our “Random Act Of Kindness”, presenting flowers and a hand-written letter to a mother and son (Millie happened to be a former student) at Wangaratta Supa Bowl.
Thank you to our two long-time C.L.C supporters who visited as Guest Speakers, offering options for Term 2 Volunteering.
Di Duursma from Wang Night Shelter spoke powerfully about her work assisting our Homeless community. In 2023 we had a group raise over $6000 which helped buy and install brand new lockers at Apex Park.
Ange Jude invited the kids to assist at Northeast Health’s Illoura Aged Care. Last year, Rosie Bulmer produced an artwork which now sits in the foyer of Illoura and recently won 1st Prize Youth award at the Rutherglen Taste Of The Arts show. It also adorned the front cover of our CLC Yearbook last year.
Our kids also studied the story of the inspirational Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs, and created their own C.L.C War Memorial, with hand-written thank you letters to fallen soldiers they studied at the Albury Monument a few weeks ago.
A Ten Pin Bowling session finished the day, pushing many outside their comfort zone. Cam Vincent was the Champion on 118, with Chas Spencer (108) and Hugh Spring (102) others to break 100. Kaity Ford was the Top Girl (95).
Next week they will be inspired by more Guest Speakers from orgs such as WDSS and Wangaratta West Primary School, and be asked to overcome more challenges at the Waldara Golf Course Driving Range.
CLC Excursion Season Continues
The Year 9s in our C.L.C (Community Leadership Challenge) program have had another significant fortnight.
There were lots of highlights, but none as powerful as the Act Of Thoughtfulness where students wrote a card for long-time C.L.C Coordinator Michelle Wilson, who sadly lost her mum recently. The students each wrote unbelievably heartfelt personal messages on a large card, and Newmo slipped it under Michelle's door on the afternoon of the funeral. It was a very special moment when Michelle returned this week and thanked the group for what they had written, and talked about how the card would be kept and treasured forever. If there was a single person that exemplifies what C.L.C is all about, it would be Michelle, and this was a lesson for the kids about what it means to have Empathy for others, to show Kindness, and to help others in any way possible.
Excursion Season rolled on this week at the Apex Park Parkour Park for a special session with Parkour experts from Risky Kids Albury, who instructed them on various manoeuvres around the park. Plenty of big moments involved the kids showing persistence and resilience to master tricks and overcome fears.
Riley McKay, Taylor Rowley and Maton Tatchell were outstanding on the high-wire Stepping Stones. Kaity Ford an Inanay GIlson impressed on the Climbing Walls - the 1st girls to scale the heightThe athletic and spring-heeled Hugh Spring and Matthew Leerson after a few attempts completed the new Gum Tree Challenge, which many tried but failed at.
Ruby O'Kane as always exemplified the C.L.C ethos, spotted helping out one of her classmates who was struggling with a fear of heights on the Monkey Bars. O'Kane was drawn out of the Kindness Box a record 3 times due to her actions on the day. What a kid she is. Other recipients included Ruby DeFazio, Clarence Lampa, Zach Wills, Lachlan Downing, Ruby Burns, Kaity Ford and Inanay Gilson.
The traditional CBD Scavenger Hunt againproved a key plank in building Trust, with groups independently and semi-supervised roaming the streets to find clues, with Kaity Ford, Inanay Gilson and Ruby O'Kane the winners for time and accuracy.
Our Random Act Of Kindness was this week handled by Emily Matthews, Annelise Nash, Ruby DeFazio and Issy Moffat. They selected a lovely lady named Christine, wheelchair-bound and at the park with her carer, and presented her flowers and a handwritten card. The look on her face in the photo says it all. The rest of the cohort watched on and applauded, and were reminded of how our body releases Oxytocin when we are kind to others.
The trip concluded with a River Walk along the Ovens back to school, with great conversations and an appreciation of nature topping off a super trip.
The week prior, it was the Wangaratta Golf Club who hosted us at their Driving Range in the prestigious suburb of Waldara. With many kids standing over a Golf Ball the 1st time in their life, it was a tale of pushing outside Comfort Zones and trying one of the most difficult Sporting skills there is.
The cool-as-a-cucumber and all-round Sporting talent Isaac Robinson, had the most fluid and "Textbook-like" Golf Swing of the 45 hitters, striking the ball excquisitely and smoothly. Hugh Spring, Lachlan Downing and Thomas Fieldew were also to nobody's surprise striking it well. However it was Patrick Alker-Jones who was the 1st to hit the 50m Sign out ahead, with Inanay Gilson also claiming a prize for striking the sig'ns pole.
Former Head Basketball Coach of the Wangaratta Superdeckers, Trevor Trimble, again volunteered an hour of hist time to teach the kids. He also bought prizewinners Patrick and Inanay a drink each from the Clubhouse Shop with his own cash. What a great man. Inanay then responded in handing over a thank you card and voucher to Trevor on behalf of the whole C.L.C group.
Campus-based Teamwork challenges involved the hilarious Drawing -On-Back Challenge, won by Oskar McGahan, Chas Spencer, Jono Bowler and Charlie Bell. The Paper Tower Challenge was dominated by Leila Hyland and Bella White's group, who constructed a 1.2m free-standing tower with just 7 pieces of A4 paper - the only group to go 100cm +.
Students have also formed groups and selected their preferences for which organisation they want to Volunteer with for a string of 6 Wednesdays in Term 2. Options include: Appin Park Primary School, Wangaratta West Primary School, Glenrowan Primary School, Beechworth Montessori School, WDSS (Specialist School) Anglicare Loaves & Fishes, Illoura Aged Care Home, Wang Night Shelter, Make A Wish Foundation and Sport North East.
Next we are off to two rural Primary Schools (Everton PS and Whorouly PS) to engage in a Working Bee in their schoolyards and to work with their youngsters.
