Year 9 CLC Program

Intro Day

Another lucky cohort of Year 9s have begun their journey at CLC, the special semester-long Year 9 program commonly referred to by past students as their favourite part of their 6 years of High School.

Intro Day, one of the rare CLC days based on campus, saw the cohort introduced to how CLC looks & feels different, and how it will give them half a year’s worth of hands-on experiences focused on Kindness, Empathy, Resilience, Gratitude, Mindfulness, Community, Connection, Teamwork and Trust.

The traditional Paper-Scissors-Rock Tournament Ice Breaker saw Billy Hiskins and new student Seth Williams facing off in the grand final backed by their Cheer Squads. Seth was too strong, earning his spot on the CLC Honour Board on his 3rd day at the school since crossing to us from the Shepparton Super School.

CLC Staff introduced themselves, delivering brief spiels about their varying backgrounds which drew expressions of surprise across the faces of numerous kids, and then the kids were up on their feet again getting to know each other through a variation of Human Bingo.

The CLC Trestle Tables were then brought out for the weekly CLC Family Lunch, where students were a provided a hot lunch of Pasta and Toasties prepared by Mrs Wilson, Mrs Newman & Ms Ronald, and served by staff. Socialising and bonding over food in this way, like at a Family Dining Table, with conversations and eye contact across the wood, and no phones to be seen, is a critical component of CLC.

The concept of Gratitude led the session after lunch, with slides from The Resilience Project, familiar to the Wang West PS alumni in the room, highlighting how keeping a daily journal of things you’re grateful for, can rewire your brain to significantly improve happiness, energy, enthusiasm, sleep, and mental and physical illnesses.

Images and stories of my time in Africa drove the Gratitude theme further. Stories of the tens of thousands of homeless street kids in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa scrounging to survive, and even the mildest PG stories of the carnage of the child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Liberia, silenced the room. When juxtaposed with shots of kids in those places with nothing, but still smiling and happy, it seemed to have our kids reflecting on their own lives. Kidswere then tasked with blowing up a balloon, writing on it parts of their life they are grateful for, and tying to our CLC Gratitude Tree, with a common thread being Family.

Mr Manning took them outside for a Helium Sticks team challenge, where groups had to lift and raise a stick as a group, with every team member’s fingers remaining in contact with the stick at all times. Much harder than it sounds and looks, the girls crew of Zoe Jeffries, Jamie Law, Emily McMurray, Zoe Taurenga-Green, Teagan Stewart were the first to conquer it.

CLC Afternoon Tea saw the kids again at their Trestle Tables, this time armed with Icing Pens, tasked with decorating a biscuit (or two) with a positive word of their choice. Without any prompting, words such as Happy, Joy, Courage, Trust, Kind, Care, Beautiful and Love ended up on their food.

The traditional CLC Music Challenge closed the day, and it was when the dancing and singing challenges came out that the activity took off. With extra points on offer for any team to get 2 team members up and dancing in front of everyone, the lads Kade Hadley, Billy Hiskins, Gus Jayet, Luke Macklan & Sonny McCormack didn’t hesitate, nor stop at just two people, with all of them jumping up to push their team into the lead, and setting the tone. Other groups quickly followed, with all teams eventually earning points and the room turning into a disco.

The final challenge though brought the highlight of the day. With double extra points on offer for anyone willing to grab the mic and sing, Marcus Mbini emerged the star. Choosing a song called “Kick Back” by Japanese artist Kenshi Yonezu, which nobody knew, he sang it complete in Japanese, and continued even when the music cut out, finishing it acapella. For a student new to the school late last year, arriving from The Philippines not knowing anybody, to perform like this, was unreal. The chorused chants of “Marcus, Marcus” across the room, led by the aforementioned “lads”, were well deserved and symbolised the vibe in the group across a triumphant opening day. It was one of the great CLC moments of all time.

Excursion Season Kick-Off – Lake William Hovell

The first trip of CLC Excursion Season took us to Lake William Hovell on Wednesday 19th July. Heavy fog lifted as we went through Oxley, and at the lake the sun gave us as good a mid-July day as you could script.

A Bush Walk to Slater’s Creek kicked off the day, giving everyone a rare chance to walk and talk, while being immersed in nature. Deep and meaningful conversations, between students and staff, the like of which don’t have time space to happen back at school, as always created new bonds, and with the kids exploring the creek for far longer than previous CLC groups and creating memories, nobody seemed in a rush to get back for lunch.

Back at the BBQ area, entrants in the Longest Leaf comp, brought their leaves gathered on the walk to be measured. Maddy Drage was the champion this year, with an epic 67cm leaf pipping her mate Jamie Law by 5mm, with Xavi Bennett and Jayla Keys not far behind. Dylan Hooper earned himself a prize for persistence, having returned from the walk with an armful of leaves.

A timely CLC Family Lunch consisted of Salad Wraps prepared by Mrs Wilson & Mrs Newman, with the kids again socialising over food, with no phones, sitting at tables or even in the back of Mr Manning’s trailer, but this time backed with the epic scenery of a lake glistening in the sun.

Mr Manning rigged up a Slack Line between two trees, and the kids rotated through it attempting to master the skill much tougher than it looked. Dylan Hooper was the first to go tree to tree, earning himself his 2nd prize for the trip.

Kids then hunted for long sticks and used them to cook old school Damper over the 4 open fires lit by Mr Manning, and chowed it down with honey. The sight of the kids backing up to the raging open fires, laughing, combined with the smoke, the smell and the crackling sound of the flames, and the heat of the fire, and sun, on cold skin, made a glorious full stop to a ripping 1st excursion.

Things were topped off back at school, as the cohort gave a rousing clap and thank you to Brad our Bus Driver, and then inside a bevy of thanks and prizes were dished out to students that won challenges, or were pulled out of the Kindness Box after being nominated by someone as doing something kind or helpful for somebody else. Kade Hadley for example, won the first for outstanding politeness in thanking staff for lunch and helping unload equipment from the bus. Alec Armstrong was another who stood out for continually assisting staff without being prompted. Great stuff from a terrific group of Year 9s.