Nulsen Youth Program 2021

All throughout 2021, as I was in Year 1, I was a Nulsen Youth Patron. This program is a really special one, in which only selected students in Year 10 are gifted the honour to work alongside Nulsen residents as long as being able to be in a numerous amount of workshops, such as the Emotional Intelligence Workshop. This program really shaped who I am today and taught me many life long lessons. Below is a breakdown of the separate parts of the program and my experiences.

Nulsen to me has been an unforgettable experience that has taught me so much and I have no doubt it will continue to teach me more. Having the opportunity to learn extremely valuable leadership and self-building skills along with working with the residents is a real honour and I am very grateful to have received the wonderful gift I have been given in this role. Being a youth patron is an opportunity that in my opinion all young people my age should take part in. I believe this, due to the fact we are grown to blossom into human beings that are ready to tackle whatever lies in our future paths.

Firstly, I would like to touch on the value I have gotten out of the leadership tools in the program. Learning the ins and outs to public speaking, emotional intelligence workshops, to what is takes to be a leader. These opportunities provide life lessons that are key in anything we do. Personally, my favourite was the panel leadership series, which gathered all the schools involved with the program and a selection of leaders who generously shared their experiences and wisdom with us. The takeaway for me was that the best leaders demonstrate empathy. This challenged my previous thinking, as a basketball player that likes to be the team captain shouting and pointing at others to get in position. I learnt that it’s not about being loud, strong, or assertive it is offering a hand to your team, imaging how you would feel in their position and connecting with that feeling. Actions often speak louder than words.

That leads me onto my next point to connecting with the Nulsen residents. Now this is my favourite part. The thing that amazes me is that I have felt the same way after every opportunity I have had to meet the residents. It is not the easiest to describe, but a real buzz of excitement illuminates from me. You can ask my dad who picks me up afterwards, it takes a lot to get that smile off my face. I think a lot of that comes done to how the Nulsen is run. I can’t speak enough about how supported I have felt at every house visit, standing alongside my teachers, representatives from Nulsen, the support workers and the residents themselves. I love all aspects of our house visits whether it is sitting down and connecting with the residents or heading outside to shoot some hoops. It can be difficult sometimes to connect with the residents due to clear communication barriers, but by using my standout lesson earlier of empathy, I have learnt that every single one of us has a story to share. And often the residents’ stories our absolute gems that bring out the best in us. The ability to listen and learn through the residents is a real tool to becoming a person that connects more with others.

Also, as a patron I have been involved with the annual All Saints Quiz Night. The night was a great example of what we can achieve if we work together. It was a massive project that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of so many different people. The generosity from everyone to pitch in was amazing and I am so glad we raised such a great figure on the night. I know it will go a long way to helping such a great cause at Nulsen.

The great work that Nulsen does really inspires me and gives me hope towards what our world can achieve in the future. Reflecting on times not too long ago which had people living with disabilities being rejected from society and discriminated, to the world that I am involved in today. This change in such a small space of time really speaks volume to the beneficial effect Nulsen has had not just on the people they support, but society as a whole.

Year 9 Sustainability and Maths Concepts Project

This project was on the concept of “Save the Human.” This focuses on sustainability and its relation to mathematics concepts. My group of Dele, James and I chose the topic of C02 emissions vs different modes of transport.

This is an example of our research on the impacts of C02

Firstly, we looked at what is Carbon Dioxide and the impacts it has. This included that our current rates of C02 production are not sustainable for the future and require a change to not harm or potentially destroy our planet.

The rest of the project included looking at our solution to this issue of too many C02 emissions due to transport. We had to consider the sustainability concepts and pillars to really understand the impacts of our solution and whether or not it is realistic.

This graph is our main data behind the best choices of transport in terms of Carbon Dioxide emissions

This project has taught me about the struggles behind trying to come up with a solution behind our sustainability problems. There is rarely one answer and it takes a lot of consideration about how realistic ideas are in the process.

I also learned how to interpret data, looking at multiple different graphs, tables and other stats. I was surprised about the high amount of inflation I saw while researching as certain sources are looking to provide a biased opinion on a set of data. It taught me to sift through the research and decide which sources are reliable and unbiased.

Overall, I have enjoyed learning about our transport emissions and how we can make a change to further improve the life of our planet and humankind through the concept of sustainability.

English E-Portfolio Capabilities Reflection

This year of English has included a variety of different assessments, ranging from an in-class written assessment to oral speech presentations. The most recent assessment task was a group dramatic scene where the class were asked to convey a message through performance. The play I performed was about the underappreciation of single parents for their efforts. I played the role of a single parent, while my partner Cooper Hawley performed as a child living under the same roof as my character. The learning outcomes of the task included delivering a dramatic performance in an engaging way, to develop collaborative skills and to understand how language is used to represent other things.

This task has taught me a variety of lessons about life but mainly my growth in collaboration. To begin, I created a notes table to summarise the dramatic techniques used in other plays. I decided it would be beneficial if we created a shared document to make the notes. This increased our productivity massively and was beneficial to cross-checking our work. Instead of delegating one person to the script and one to the PowerPoint, I decided it would be best if we worked together on both tasks. Cooper and I took turns writing the 7 scenes in the play, this was very productive and allowed us to add our own touch. Skipping forward to the performance date, the use of dramatic techniques to display tension between the single father and son required a high level of communication and in turn collaboration. I decided to create a signal between us that would give each other a heads up that their certain line was coming to an end. This task allowed me to display a high level of collaboration from the first word to the last line of the performance. This relates to anything in life, having a goal in mind and using collaboration to achieve that goal by the deadline and with excellence.

2021 Outdoor ED Growth

Overview

In the Outdoor Education subject of Muir, we spend time looking at a variety of different outdoor education studies. These include snorkelling, orienteering and archery. Each student is shown the skills that are used to demonstrate the activity successfully and then we are assessed on how well you can show these techniques. The focus of my reflection will be how well I understood the various techniques and my experiences doing so with snorkelling. Then I will finish off with the personal development I have gained from the course.

Equipment

First, I will touch on equipment used in snorkelling. This includes a snorkel (allows breathing under water) and a mask. It is important when you re-surface to be able to have a breath. The mask is used to see the wonderful things underwater. Another piece of equipment is the snorkel fins, they are crucial to kick and propel the swimmer underwater. Another thing that came in very handy for me is a wetsuit. It was great to keep me warm in the cool Rottnest waters.

S.A.F.E S.N.OR.K.E.L

S.A.F.E S.N.O.R.K.E. L is an acronym used for our safety brief at our various snorkelling locations. The list that is stands for is something that we revised and have a great understanding before hitting the water. Briefing and revising our knowledge adds safety to our experience. We feel together and safe in our knowledge after we brief. I am not going to touch on all the components of our safety briefs, but an important aspect is the buddy system. This system is crucial for the overall safety of the group. Having someone to swim with is not just good for our safety and care but it is great to share the experience with. That feeling when you both spot something sick underwater is incredible.

Coogee Reflections

My reflections from our sessions at Coogee had some things in similar. Overall, I had a great time each session and we learnt more each time. We ventured out further and further each time and this was great to build our confidence and skills. My skills improved over the sessions at Coogee, I got way better at my duck dives and clearing the mask. I was a bit unorganised the first session, but I figured it out for the next sessions. Being prepared was important to have more fun at the sessions.

Rottnest

Rottnest was a great experience. I stayed in the buddy system all day and I felt safe with James by my side. I am happy with my preparation and I had adequate food and water. I had the best time as I was protected from the elements and part of that was wearing sunscreen and a hat. Along with the wetsuit to keep my legs and arms from getting burnt. I feel super confident about snorkelling in an open environment. It was great to practice my techniques that were taught to me earlier in the course.

Capabilities

A key capability that was demonstrated over the Muir course is organisation. It was key to get the absolute most out of the Outdoor Ed experience. In our practice sessions, we needed to be organised in gathering appropriate equipment for snorkelling. This included a snorkel, mask, and fins. At the first Coogee session, I was less organised and I forgot some equipment. I didn’t pack myself enough water and it was not a great time on the bus hanging out for a drink. For the other Coogee sessions, I was organised to make my life easier. This included bring ample food and water for the bus trips and simple things such as a garbage bag to put my wet clothes in. I did this by packing my bag beforehand and doublechecking I had everything before I left for school that day. The biggest challenge was Rottnest as it was a big day to prepare for. I made an equipment list, bought what I needed on the weekend prior and packed my bag the night before. This day was a great test to my organisation skills, and I learnt a lot about being prepared and how it can make or break your experience.

Another capability addressed in this unit was collaboration. Working with people whether they are your friends or not is an important skill for all aspects of life. You may not get along with everyone but being able to be supportive and work in a group to achieve a goal is important. In this unit we were able to pick our own groups sometimes, and others we were given our groups. Though I hated it to begin with, learning to work with people you do not know well is a very underrated skill. It is also a great chance to learn about other people and their outlook on life. Overall, this Muir unit has taught me to collaborate with all to the benefit of the group.

My final capability I will be discussing is leadership. Leadership is not an easy skill to grasp and being a good leader can be difficult. Though I have already had experiences with leadership, this course has given me a great chance to take on a leadership role. This mainly occurred in our snorkelling briefs when we are asked to discuss as a group the safety brief. On the Rottnest excursion, I took leadership in remembering my lines and delivering my words with confidence and clarity. I also spent more time out of class to make sure that my section of the brief was a best as it could be. I was also involved in running the games we played in our periods away from snorkelling. My partner was away for the double and in front of the group I had to give directions about my game and supervise how the game went. This included adding extra rounds with different rule changes for example. In summary, I have clearly expressed my leadership skills in the subject of Muir to benefit my personal development.

Leave No Trace

My final point in this reflection is sustainability and Leave No Trace. My focus of this will be my experiences at Coogee with snorkelling. The first session we shared the water with a school group who were a similar age to us. They didn’t look after the environment and they were stepping all over the reef. This effected not only our experience of the beautiful reef but what about future generations who want to see the reef? Does it get trampled on enough that people can’t see it in 10 years?

From my experiences, I tried to look after the environment and leave as little a trace as possible. This included packing a bag for all my rubbish and being careful around the reef. At Rottnest there were beautiful fish and marine life that we looked after by viewing from a distance and looking where our fins were in the coral.

Year 9 Camp Kalbarri Teamwork Reflection

This portfolio entry will be based on my recent Year 9 camp experience in Kalbarri, Perth. The main focus of this entry will be my use of teamwork in certain situations during the camp. Teamwork is an important life skill that is used in many different aspects in life. The example of teamwork I will be talking about today is my experiences abseiling into the gorge on my second last day in Kalbarri. My first act of teamwork on the day was during the abseiling. Some of our group members were abseiling for the first time, with myself included. It was daunting for many, but myself and the others who had already reached the bottom started to give our group cheers of encouragement. This helped them to not be as scared abseiling from a height. Before we knew it, everyone had reached the bottom of the gorge. After a short hike we found a spot that we would cook lunch on. We had previously worked together to organise the food needed for lunch on that day, which was lunch wraps. I was assigned to lead for that day, so I started to split the group up into different roles, A few girls volunteered to cut and prepare the food and the boys decided that they would help clean up afterwards. We all worked to together to make sure we had enough food everyone and that is was enjoyable. By each working on different tasks, we were able to be more productive and in turn spent more time swimming in the gorge. After refreshing ourselves in the water, it was time to rock climb out of the gorge. Two boys in our group: Noah and Connor were up to the task of be-laying. This involved being one of the first to climb and then they were asked to help maintain tension on the ropes for the rest of the group to make sure they did not fall. This was important as we had to put trust in one another as if they did not manage the ropes, someone could have potentially been hurt badly. As a group, we then hiked back to the Z-Bend campsite. During the hike, one of the girls in our group, Aleesha, hurt her knee. The leaders of our group made sure that we all stayed together, symbolising that we would not leave anyone behind. These examples during the day show great teamwork. We worked together to help others down into the gorge, to cook lunch, to rock climb out of the gorge and we finally used teamwork on the hike home. These examples are important as if we have not had worked so cohesively, the trip would have been much worse and less enjoyable.

RAAFA Service Project

In term 2, Lachlan Walden, Liam O’Keefe and I were given the task of creating a food transport system for the residents of RAAFA. In the first few weeks, we were given a tour around the campus, which gave us a good idea of the scale of project that was ahead of us. In the following weeks, we then made small groups and did a research task. In the research, we looked at multiple types of transportation systems and how we would keep the food warm or cold. After the research, we sketched our final design of the buggy and started to prepare for the pitch. The pitch was a great chance to share our ideas and work on some public speaking skills.

During the project, we used teamwork to achieve our goal as we were able to split the load of the task. We had to be creative to come up with our design and to be able to think outside the box to reach our final product. Others powers include leadership, which was crucial to keep the group on task and productive. The final product we used was good communication skills, which was ideal to sort out our roles and what had to be done. All of the above powers helped make the process and our final product the best it could possibly be.

I really enjoyed this task as it was a great way to improve my public speaking skills, my research efficiency, and how I manage my time with a big task like this one. I also liked how this was a real problem that needed a real solution, this added to the importance and our the impact that we had on others.

Here is a link to RAAFA’s home page, if you wish to find out more:

https://www.raafawa.org.au/