Last week – officially their last week of ‘Year 9’, our 2018 Year 9 students participated in an Alternative Program at Nhill College (Monday & Tuesday) followed by a much anticipated Surf Camp based out of Ocean Grove (Wednesday to Friday).
A number of sessions and guest speakers were conducted over the first two days of the week and the students were split into groups of males and females. Monday morning began with both groups having ‘Teenagers and the Law’ session with Leading Senior Constable Anna Lake from Hopetoun Police which included discussion of topics including Farm Safety, Cyber Safety, Firearms use and storage, Alcohol and Drugs, Bullying and Mental Health. Their Alternative program ended with on Tuesday afternoon with both groups participating in a mixed martial arts session run by Matt Mellington from Wimmera Healthcare Group and Horsham Allied Martial Arts. Students were able to learn and practice basic martial arts and self-defence, mainly stating that this was their favourite session for the day. Each group also completed a study skills session where the importance of study in their upcoming years and ways to study was covered.
The females completed a ‘Girls Program’ with Mrs Coughlan which focused on areas such as self-concept & self-esteem and community involvement & participation. Sessions included Identifying and working towards our strengths, calming & relaxation, a trip down to Snappy Seconds and Oliver’s – all of which were greatly enjoyed and will be long remembered by the girls. An entertaining ‘Minute to win it’ session with Miss Foulds also gave the girls some light hearted competition.
The boys had a few hands-on sessions down at the local CFA & SES stations where they saw first hand the workings of these groups and learnt about ways they too could be involved in their local community. Past students Jade Clark from Agritech Rural and Dave Winkler, Dave’s Auto Electrics spoke to the boys of where life has taken them since finishing school. Ritchie Dodds and Stuart Bone shared their personal experiences in the workforce and spoke on general employability skills and looking towards the future. Mrs Trenery oversaw a peer-led cooking session, with the primary students before an Amazing Race around Nhill saw the boys finish up down the street for a Morning Tea reward.
Wednesday saw the students pile onto the school bus and van with Mr Hedt, Miss Schneider, Miss Foulds and Mrs Toet and head to Torquay for their first Surf Session, with a quick stop at Waurn Ponds for Lunch. Tea was Fish n Chips down by the beach. Grocery shopping for meals necessities was completed in cabin groups before we then drove to Ocean Grove Holiday Park and checked in for the first of our two night stay. Thursday was a day of adventure as we swam, slid and ran all around Geelong’s Adventure Water Park before taking in our next surf session in Ocean Grove. Cabin groups cooked their own evening meals and were then treated to some cupcakes and caramel mudcake in celebration of Miss Schneider’s birthday. Some tired, sore and rosy-looking bodies slept very well on Thursday night.
Friday morning saw most students up surprisingly early, keen to check out and hit the road towards Westfield Geelong and then on home to Nhill. Many students took up the chance to start some Christmas shopping, others sat and people watched before grabbing some lunch before the long trek back to Nhill. The students were fine representatives of the College and certainly enjoyed the final wind down of their days as Year 9s.
