Anchorage House News
There is nothing like a long weekend to step out of this space and recharge.
It was great to see our boys come back in from the long weekend and talk about the things they got up to back home, if they are lucky enough to own a motorbike this received credos from the group. I have been working on Patrick Buckenara to give me a great surf spot (local knowledge) in Bremer Bay. He keeps telling me that the best spot isn't kind on the vehicle. It might scratch the 200 series; I’m still working on him to disclose something worthy of a 1hour 45 minute drive along the coast.
As we start the last four weeks of term, I am reminded of why I like our meetings in the morning where we get to chat about what's coming up for the week and what's happening around our space. It's a chance to for everyone get around someone for doing something worthy of congratulations. This might be something small or it may be epic, whatever the case it's always acknowledged by the group in a positive way.
The talk over the past few weeks has been on the Anchorage Shed. Reimagining this space is something that has brought our young men in Anchorage together and something I liken to helping Dad out in the shed type of activity. The notion of respect for our surroundings was something we spoke about before we could embark on this journey of bringing life back into the shed. We didn’t have a budget put aside to fix it, so we needed to get creative. The Facilities Department led by Mr Gary Cross and his team came to the rescue and fixed every laserlite panel around the shed to seal it from the weather.
The boys then started the long task of clearing out the old furniture and equipment. They then came up with some great design ideas led by our House Captain Fraser King. This got Thomas Robertson, Patrick Buckenara, Nicholas Hams, Leo Cunningham, Billy Hams, Matt Cant and Taj Carruthers fired up with being involved. Louis Ford and his trusty mate Tyler Germain pitched in to help paint. Before we knew it, this 'wrecked' shed was turning into a rec shed just in time for winter.
The weekend crowd also needs a mention for bringing the benches and lounges over from the shipping containers with five-man lifts to move the heavy items. If I said they didn’t complain about having to do this I would be lying, however Zane Cairns, Ronald Williams, Bert Williams, Corrinthian Calwyn and our other House Captain Craig Wiech put in the hard yards to support the cause.
The aim will be to have this completed before we go into the mid-term break, no pressure!! However long it takes, this is truly a measure of the saying 'it's the journey not the destination' that matters when we look at the value it places on completing something with your own hands and the satisfaction of working with your mates to achieve it.
These tasks can only be achieved by having passionate staff in a supportive and safe environment to allow them to grow and develop during their adolescent years.
Like many of the crops around our region at the moment. The staff at Anchorage have planted the seeds and we look forward to seeing them mature and grow over the year.
Mr Ashley Keatch | Head of Anchorage House