Parks Week @ Maffra Skate Park.

A Parks Week event was held at Maffra Skate Park on Tuesday 7th March from 11:30am – 2:30pm. 200 students from Years 7 and 8 walked from Maffra SC to the Skate Park to participate in in range of activities, food and entertainment. Maffra SC Music students setup a stage under a Maffra SC marquee and provided background music for the 3 hour session. 25 students from Year 11 and 12 VM (VCE Vocational Major, formerly VCAL) provided a free BBQ and cakes and slices, which were prepared and purchased with the generous contribution of $500 from Wellington Council. The Wellington Council also provided plants, mulch and required materials to allow students to participate in tree planting and mulching around the skate park area. Our environment captains, along with students from Maffra PS, completed the planting. Approx. 50 students participated in the Skate Jam Session facilitated by coaches from GippSport. Students brought their own gear (bikes, skateboards and scooters) to use the skate park and pump track. Coaches from GippSport were very happy to be able to teach Maffra SC students some new tricks. About 10 students utilised the half basketball court to play some 3 v 3 games. 

There was a variety of activities that were planned and organised by 40 students from Years 7, 8 and 9. These students met weekly to plan and organise activities for the event, which included, Zorb Ball soccer, Tug of War, Dress-up Relay races, Face painting, Fake Tattoos, Sponge throwing, Giant Jenga, Footy kick-to-kick, Guess the lollies in the lolly jar competition and selling cans of soft drink. Some activities (Face painting, tattoos, guess the number of lollies, and soft drink sales) required a $1 gold coin donation to cover the cost of purchasing consumables. All activities were popular but, in particular, the Zorb ball soccer had 100 participants over the 3-hour event. We were fortunate to also have members of the Gippsland East Youth Project set up a chill-out zone with wifi, free bottled water and fruit. We also had Wellington Youth Council set up a stall to promote opportunities and events. 

Overall, students enjoyed themselves. The atmosphere was relaxed and it was a great way for students of Maffra SC to continue to build connections and partnerships with members of the Maffra community and the wider communities and organisations within Wellington Shire.