EDUCATION: WESTLAKE GIRLS
Gardeners plant seeds in the community The Westlake Girls Gardening Club was formed at the start of Term 1. It is a small group of six students and two teachers. We are currently growing broccoli, lettuce, silverbeet and carrots that we plan to give back to the community and our Food Technology Department. We also have some bright flowers – the cherry on top of our garden! The garden is located behind the science classrooms in three wooden boxes. We are grateful for the rain at the moment and are excited for our seedlings to start growing, but right now it feels as if were are just waiting for the grass to grow. It’s a good lesson in patience! By Cara Clark-Howard
Outdoor adventures build leadership skills and friendships Before travel guidelines were recommended, our students enjoyed the last of summer at some outdoor camps. Here’s a run down on some of them. Recently, 122 of our Year 11 Physical Education students were away for PE Camp in Whatipu. The camp aims to help students explore and understand the safety behaviours in the outdoors, focussing on their 1.7 NCEA Achievement Standard. Students were split into two groups and students participated in activities such as Tyrolean, Caving, Tree climbing and First Aid, conducted by Big Foot Instructors. There was a Summit Walk led by the teachers and an Amazing Race led by the Year 13 Outdoor Education class. The Amazing Race involved activities such as building the tallest tower, building sand castles and filling a bucket. After completing the practical aspect of their assessment students could not wait to get home to their own beds! In Week 6, Year 12 Outdoor Education took 54 students to Great Barrier Island. They caught a ferry to Karaka Bay where they were greeted by the lovely instructors from Hillary Outdoors. Students worked throughout the week on their Leadership and Social Responsibility skills. They were able to lead their groups in different situations and activities which included stream walking, abseiling, high ropes, kayaking, coasteering, surf kayaking and an overnight tramp to finish the week off. Students were buzzing after a fantastic week away with many memories made.
76
Issue 108 - April 2020 www.channelmag.co.nz
Year 13 Leaders
Year 13 Outdoor Education students went on the Year 11 PE camp as Leaders. They have learnt about contemporary leadership principles in class, and it was decided to take them into the outdoors to trial those skills. The Year 13 Leaders ran Amazing Race activities including Tallest Tower, Fill a Bucket, Make a Dam, Make a 3D Sandcastle and a jigsaw puzzle. The students also took on other leadership opportunities by helping to organise and run the annual skit night, helping prepare lunches and dinners, along with putting up 25 tents and taking them all down at the end of camp. Overall, this experience for the students was extremely worthwhile and gave them the opportunity to lead, reflect and lead again in a changing environment with many different impacts.
