Year 9 CLC Program
CLC Day 3 - Indoor Climbing & Albury Monument Hill
CLC travelled Interstate on Wednesday 27th July for the traditional Day 3 Double-Header in Albury. After a quick CLC Family Breakfast of Crumpets dished up and served by Ms Ronald, the 40 kids were soon stepping into harnesses at the Albury Indoor Climbing Centre and going through the usual safety briefing.
In teams of 3 (one climbing, one belaying, one back-up roper), they spent 90 minutes on the walls. Working together to keep each other safe, the key CLC concept of Trust was on display as descending climbers were lowered down slowly by their mates. Jaymie Law, Jayla Keys, Hamish Tanner, and Kade Hadley were some of the first on the wall, and Ryley York and Sam Magri battled each other for time as soon as they hooked in.
The joint echoed with calls of encouragement from the ground, but none more important than at the infamous Double-Cliff Hanger wall, still the most challenging climb. Callem Box-Corsini gave it a good go but almost gave up when dangling from the 2nd overhang. But then, calls from the ground urged him to give one last go, with specific moves specified. Callem then gave his leg a final swing, finding a peg and then eventually hauling himself up the final vertical. His name will be added to the CLC Honour Board underneath Skelly Manning and Harry Hyland who conquered it in February.
Matilda Taylor showed outstanding CLC Values when going out of her way to thank the instructors on our way out, the first of many to do so, earning her a nomination in the weekly CLC Kindness Box.
CLC Family Lunch took place in the Albury Botanical Gardens, with salad wraps served by staff and the kids enjoying extra servings after demolishing the inventory at Lake William Hovell the week prior. It was great to see the likes of Alec Armstrong and Kade Hadley again leading from the front in loading and unloading the bus with eskies and tables.
For the 2nd last act of the trip, it was a hike up Monument Hill to the War Memorial. The 900m walk rises 70 metres, challenging the leg endurance of most, and proving, in that there is no option to give up, CLC’s ultimate 20 minute test of Resilience, another key CLC concept. Kyle Boldt set himself to run the entire climb, and did it easily, with the athletic Levi Smith also breezing to the top with apparent ease.
Once everyone’s legs de-jellied, a discussion about the many fallen Aussie soldiers memorialised on the plaques, got them thinking deeper about Gratitude and Empathy. Tasked with memorising one of the soldiers’ names, they perused the memorial before boarding the bus home.
Back at school, a darkened-room viewing of a lyrics video of Redgum’s 1983 classic “I Was Only 19” complete with military photographs, had the room stone cold silent. After the startling uncovering that just a handful of the 40 had heard the song before, they then wrote a personal message to their chosen soldier, which will collectively make up our own memorial on the CLC walls. An extremely successful and powerful day.
CLC Day 4 – Bounce Trampolining
Week 4 kicked off with a whole cohort Getting To Know Each Other Kahoot quiz, consisting of personal facts submitted by the kids (and teachers). The kids learned of one boy having lost over 30kg since Year 7, a girl having fallen off a balcony and waking up dangling from a tree, another having broken her arm four times, and other hilarious things which got the room buzzing and connected. Jaymie Law overcame a slow start to storm home on a Hot Streak to become the champion, proving her social intelligence. The duo of Teagan Stewart and Zoe Taurega-Green came in 2nd, while early leader Parker Lappin secured 3rd and Emily McMurray 4th.
CLC Family Breakfast of Toasties prepped and served by Ms Ronald & Mrs Wilson gave them an energy boost and soon they were slipping on the coloured grip-socks at the Bounce Trampoline Centre in Wodonga. For two hours the 44 kids swarmed around the venue, with all corners proving popular.
The multi-talented athlete Levi Smith was the King of the Basketball Ring area, instantly proving himself able to time his dunks to perfection, gradually lifting his difficulty and all sorts of 360 spin dunks including one over the 6-foot-plus Dylan Hooper. Sam Magri & Ryley York were his closest rival, both proving their athletic talent as well, and Zoe Taurega-Green would have got the points for style, naturally mimicking the famous Air Jordan logo without even realising.
On the Olympic trampolines, Kade Hadley & Lachy Pensak stood out for the boys, while Stevie Driscoll and Jaymie Law the girls, all of them doing backflips with their eyes closed. Stevie & Jaymie along with Matilda Taylor also dominated the long routine tramp, putting together long sequences using skills from their days doing Dance.
In the climbing area, we saw kids that were too shy to climb last week, suddenly harnessed and waving down from 5m above our heads. The other popular corner was the Foam Pit, with the likes of Dylan Hooper, Levi Smith, Lachy Pensak, as well as Mr Manning and Ms Ronald all attempting the craziest flips and tricks they could.
Alec Armstrong was the greatest picture of Persistence, spending time perfecting his Back Roll technique to better his Back Flips, going out of his way to ask the expert instructors for instruction, then getting video footage to analyse.
As we’ve seen in previous trips, many of our kids were witnessed being kind and helpful to the many toddlers and parents around them. Our largest larrikin Sonny McCormack was seen opening a gate for one toddler. Khara Reeve at one stage found herself helping another youngster, and Chloe Baxter and Levi Smith were at one stage spotted charming and laughing with a grandma there with her two grandchildren.
The standout acts though were during the CLC Family Lunch which was a smorgasbord of pizza, hashbrowns, chicken nuggets and juice from the Bounce kitchen. Absolute champion Aurelio McIllroy took it upon himself to clean up the tables prior to us leaving, without being asked. Then, after Lia McKeown announced she had missed out on her juice, Faith Mayer-Young offered her own, sacrificing herself much like Lachlan Suffield did this time last year. Faith’s act of kindness was a fitting full stop on one of the best Bounce sessions we’ve seen from any CLC cohort.
Jud Mullins
