16 Aug 2016
On Tuesday the 9th of August, the Year 7 cohort participated in a Wellbeing Day centralised around understanding emotions, dealing with difficult situations and how to look at the bright side of life. On Monday night, they had a chance to relax and watched the Disney movie ‘Inside Out' during their prep time. Tuesday morning, the students used some of the information from the movie (Inside Out) to complete a tailor made activity book with the help of a mentor teacher assigned to small groups. The students were able to give examples of times in their lives where they could see the positive side of a situation, learned how to deal with change, gained an understanding of the purpose of each emotion and named some people they could talk to if they were feeling stressed or sad to. This was a valuable section of the day and the year 7 students seemed to allow themselves to immerse themselves in the activities offered and created a positive atmosphere for each other to share personal stories. These kind of activities will be continued in certain sessions of prep throughout the remainder of the year to ensure students get the most out of learning about their emotions and how to lead happy lives into the future.
Students then broke for a BBQ lunch at school before getting on a bus to travel to Altina Wildlife Park. They were naturally very excited for this part of the day, with many of the students having never been to a wildlife park or zoo before. On arrival to Altina, the students were given the opportunity to browse the museum and learn about wild animals in a safe, yet up close and personal way. They also visited the gift shop where many of the students bought gifts for their family members.
As 1pm rolled around, students began the guided tour of Altina by foot to see some primates that behaved quite a lot like some of the year 7 students' younger brothers and sisters apparently. They also saw some Red Pandas, Crocodiles, Meerkats and different species of birds. The students then climbed onto carts pulled by Clydesdale horses, for a guided, open-air tour of the park. The students had close up encounters with a multitude of different animals and species held at this impressive park and learned about endangered species and how Altina is helping to reverse the process. Some of the animals the students were able to see were Deer, Hyenas, Lions, Zebra, Giraffe, Asian Water Buffalo, Scimitar Oryx and many, many, many more. After the tour, the students thanked their guides and were back on the bus back to school for a spot of karaoke and to talk about all of the cool things they had just seen.
On a personal note, I would like to thank the teachers that assisted with this day (Mr Jason Sachs, Mrs Sally Cassilles, Mr Luke Collins and Mr Mitchell Cross), the year 7 parents and carers who were supportive of their child and myself by making the excursion possible and to all of the lovely year 7 students of 2016 who all displayed their true Yanco patronage by being polite, open minded and enthusiastic throughout the entirety of the experience. I am very grateful that I was able to achieve what I had hoped to do and host a Wellbeing Day, and without any of you it would not have been such a success.
Thank you,
Shaylee Millard
PDHPE Teacher / Year 7 Adviser
