CLC Update

Our Year 9 CLC (Community Leadership Challenge) cohort made an impact on many yesterday when out and about in the community.

The action-packed day kicked off with a Parkour lesson at the Apex Park Parkour complex taken by experts from Risky Kids Albury. The group learned and practiced various and technical Parkour skills such as vaulting and hanging, with a significant amount of Persistence on show, as many courageously pushed through uncertainty and fear to conquer challenges. Miley Adamo, Cam Dalton, Bradley McKenna, Sam Morey, Juke Maher and Brodie Stafford were some of many singled out as being particularly adept. The instructors were so impressed with our kids that they were keen to book us in for further excursions.

A young toddler at the park with her mum provided the highlight of the day however. She took an extreme liking to Ziva Anania, who was wonderful and kind to the youngster. When we left the park for another activity, the toddler followed our group looking for Ziva, and had to be called back by her mum. Our Random Act Of Kindness took this special connection to another level. Lusila Solomua volunteered to be the one to deliver a bunch of flowers to a stranger in the park, and the mother of this toddler, who also had two other young kids with her, was the obvious deserving choice.

With our whole cohort of 30 kids discreetly loitering in the shadows,  we watched Lusila, flanked by her mates London Sloan, Kyanna Payne, Mia O'Brien, Sky Hall, Emily McCullough and Ziva, approach the mother and present her the flowers and a card written by Lily Wadley. The shocked mum got up from her seat and hugged every one of the girls, as did the toddler who lit up when seeing Ziva again. On cue, our waiting CLC group tore into a rapturous ovation which I believe came close to bringing the mother to tears. She gave us a Thank You and said that even before the flowers, she was planning to write to the school to express how impressed she was with our kids.

It was another of many examples where we focus on Kindness in CLC. Students were reminded of The Resilience Project, who our Wangaratta West kids were lucky enough to have had work with them closely through their primary school years, and how when we do something kind for someone, our brain releases Oxytocin which makes us feel good. It was powerful to say the least.

After the usual ​CLC Family Lunch at the park, our kids also completed their traditional CBD Scavenger Hunt while uptown, where they are trusted in groups to scour the CBD to solve a list of clues. Afterward, they walked back to school along the Ovens River, taking in nature and having deep conversations with peers and staff.

Back at school, they chose their favourite options for Term 2's Volunteering Project, with a nice spread of names looking likely to head to Aged Care Homes, Primary Schools and various Volunteer Organisations around town every Wednesday.

A fun Kahoot testing the group on CLC concepts and experiences from this term was taken out by Juke Maher, with Abbey-Jane Watson 2nd, Normandy Suter 3rd and Mia O'Brien 4th.

Next week our kids conduct important Working Bees at some smaller regional primary schools, which will serve as their final preparation for their Volunteering.

Jud Mullins

CLC Coordinator