As a parent, time can pass us by so quickly especially when we are all busy juggling the different parts of life; working, preparing lunches, making sure kids get to school, have clean clothes, homework, provided a healthy dinner each night, all while trying to maintain your own sanity. We know the struggle is real! One moment you are caught up in the daily grind and the next minute you realise that its that time again, the school holidays! ‘Mum, I am bored!’ they say, ‘Dad but there is nothing to do at home!’ you hear. You need to find something to keep those teenagers at bay. We understand! We know that youth need a safe, familiar space to have fun and keep them entertained during the school holidays. This is why we run the School Holiday program each term for youth aged 12-17 in Cranebrook & Kingswood Park. Many of the youth that attend have already made a connection with our youth workers through after school activities and events, so parents can rest assured that their kids are with adults that they know and trust.
This FREE program gives young people the opportunity to experience things that they may not have had the chance to experience yet without having to worry about the cost. During October’s School Holiday Program, we had a mixture of activities over the two weeks, a balance of active and relaxed days to suit all types of youth including the following:
Penrith Pools
The day at the pools was a chill day, with youth hanging by the pool with their friends, swimming (thankfully in the heated pool) and munching on sandwiches.
Ice Skating
Youth enjoyed getting out on the ice and were determined to learn the art of ice skating, with some spills along the way. The young people pushed youth worker, Joe out of his comfort zone by encouraging him to skate out into the open and away from the edges. As you can imagine he did this gracefully and was extremely amusing for our young people! You are such a good sport, Joe!
FIFA Competition
This was such a great day hanging at our Kooly centre. As well as the competitive FIFA competition, youth enjoyed tacos and board games. We would like to commend the youth for their great sportsmanship shown on the day and congratulations to Nico, the winner of the FIFA comp, and to Jarrah who was the runner up.
Ninja Warrior Course
One of the favourite activities this School Holiday Program was the Ninja Warrior Course at Vision Gym Sports. It was a great challenge for all, a hands-on experience leaving our youth exhausted and sore by the end of the day. The staff at Vision commended our young people for being so respectful, so congratulations to our youth, you should be really proud of yourselves.
Blaxland Riverside Park
A much-needed rest day after the previous day at the Ninja Warrior Course. We relaxed at the park, playing board games and enjoying a BBQ.
Tree Tops
Due to rain, Tree tops was deemed unsafe so unfortunately, we were unable to do this activity and had to think on our feet. Instead, we took the youth to the movies, very appropriate for such a rainy day. Youth had the choice of two movies, Venom or The House with a Clock in Its Walls. We would like to thank the youth who attended for their adaptability and understanding of the situation and being able to make the most of the day regardless of the weather changing our plans.
Movie Night
We had 18 young people come along to our Kooly Centre in Cranebrook for a movie night. While watching Avengers Infinity wars, we enjoyed popcorn, pizza and the youth enjoyed educating Joe about the story line and the characters (He had no idea!)
The next School Holiday program will be running in January 2019.
Due to the popularity of this program, places book out quick so watch out for our next School Holiday Program on our website or Facebook page and speak to our Youth Team about enrolment.