Each week a group of High School students come back rosy cheeked and little wilded from Wellness Wednesday with Roman. This day is part of our wellbeing program that centres on connection to place, others, and self. Roman takes out small mixed groups for an afternoon of adventure in our stunning local environment and teaches some bush skills like navigation, firemaking and first aid.
The simple act of firemaking teaches so much! First, we need to know the fire ban status and what that is all about, then we have to read the local environment- where is a safe place? Where will you find wood? How will you manage this respectfully? How will you clean it up so no trace is left? It takes a lot of responsibility and awareness to make a fire. Then there is the actual lighting of a fire- can you use a flint? It takes skill and patience!
Watching the joy of teenagers cooking damper around a fire, relaxed, chatting and laughing, being unguarded and playful with each other, is a sweet moment. Everyone is together around a fire! I could sense how they were more at ease in themselves, with each other, surrounded by the beauty of our mountain home, it felt good. It felt well.
Sarah has a B. Arts (UN) and a Master of Teaching (UNE). She works both as a teacher and as student support throughout the school.
“One of the most exciting things when working to support students, is when they find something that they are passionate about, that they really connect to. Finding ways to support their engagement and the depth of their learning is incredibly rewarding. As a teacher, it is a pleasure to be working in an environment where creativity, critical thinking and a real sense of love for the world is valued and imbues all you do”.
