The NCNS Youth School Holiday Program is a great way for young people to meet new people in a safe, respectful environment. The young people are so accepting of new people. Participants get to indulge in new experiences, at times, push their barriers, fears and comfort zones in a supportive environment (workers included!) It is a priceless moment when a young person recognises what they have achieved!
Januarys NCNS Youth School Holiday Program kicked off with a day at Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre, which most of the young people attending had never been to before. In fact, most of this program’s outings were new for this group of youth. It was a wonderful way to start the program, swimming, going down the slide and having a fantastic time in the wave pool. All attendees were respectful of the area, each other and NCNS Youth Workers, Sami and Joe. The day had a chilled vibe with everyone being inclusive of each other and this vibe continued throughout the entire School Holiday Program.
On Day 2, everyone went off to Don Bosco, where they played pool, jumped on trampolines (a highlight of the day for many)and a few of us also played round the world on the basketball courts.
After two active days, the group enjoyed a chill day at the NCNS Youth Hub where they relaxed playing PlayStation and an intense game of Monopoly. It was a great day to catch up, hang out and have a yarn.
The highlight for the first week of the School Holiday Program was day 4 at the Penrith Ice Palace. Some of the young people there had never tried ice skating before. Throughout the day there was a huge amount of encouragement from each other to achieve. One of the youth commented, “If you fall, you just get back up!” Joe exclaimed, “I was so proud of that comment and the support that the young people gave each other during the day.” We had an additional friend that day, ‘Pingu the Penguin’ to help us out.
To begin to second week of the program, the group went on a trip to Fagan Park, in Galston. Fagan Park has a series of themed gardens around it that are exciting to explore. They spent the day walking around the park, exploring the gardens, playing cricket, playing on the equipment and just chilling out in the sunshine before having a delicious barbeque lunch and then heading home.
The following day was an action packed day at Jamberoo. The crew set off early, with some young people playing music during the journey to keep everyone entertained during the long drive. As soon as we arrived, everyone raced off so they could try and fit in as many rides as they could before lunch, only coming back to eat, a quick chat and then off again. During the day, many had the chance to face their fears by going on scary rides, going down the bob sled track and jumping off the massive rock. This included Youth Worker, Joe who went on the chair lift with support of the young people.
Everyone had a blast but by the end of the day the group was absolutely exhausted and most fell asleep of the way home.
Day 7, the youth group attended our Summer Lunch, a community day based at Kooly with a huge day of activities. There was a Slip ‘N Slide, cookie decorating, terrarium building as well as PlayStation, card and board games. The youth spent most of the day mucking around, chatting and playing Magic the Gathering.
The youth team finished off the School Holiday Program with their traditional movie night. You cannot beat it! They watched How to Train Your Dragon 3 while enjoying pizza for dinner. Joe laughed, “You would be surprised but every movie night, for some reason, Frozen is mentioned, however we never actually watch it!”
NCNS Youth Worker, Sami, expressed, “My highlight this program was when the young people were teaching me how to play Magic the Gathering. It’s been something I have been wanting to learn for a while and I was privileged to have such patient teachers!”
When I asked NCNS Youth Work Joe, he answered, “My highlight was simply watching all the young people engage with each other and be so inclusive to all”
Our Youth Team are looking forward to the next School Holiday Program in April 2021. We are hoping to get back to full capacity of 16 young people depending on COVID restrictions. We also encourage young people to come along and check out the NCNS Youth Hub Drop In on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 3pm – 5pm at Cranebrook Youth Hub.
To get in contact with our youth team call 02 4706 0288 or contact Joe on 0417 498 918 or Sami on 0408 586 797.