It has been a busy week in Clunes. The students have completed their formal Orientation Program and we are all enjoying getting to know each other and introducing the students to the local area. Spring is certainly in the air in Clunes; today is beautifully sunny and warm. We’ve had a great deal of rain over the past few months, the grounds and local countryside are green and lush, with the local canola crops providing a splash of colour to the landscape.

Last week’s Orientation Program included a tour of the Clunes township, a visit to Sovereign Hill, an introduction to Houses and living with others, behavioural expectations and responsibilities, the Cluster Sports Opening Ceremony and much more. It was an intense program, but it prepares students for the weeks ahead. It’s been a week of trying new things such as house cleaning, cooking, creating rosters, the Running and Recreation programs and making decisions about the Clunes Project. Students completed their first major food shop on Saturday, with excitement all over the campus as the shoppers returned laden with food.

On Saturday all students walked to the summit of Mount Beckworth. Mount Beckworth has special significance for past and present students; every group makes their pilgrimage to the mountain at the start of the program and again all together at the end of the program. In addition, many students of Group 40 have chosen to participate in the Mount Beckworth Running Program. They will train intensively over the next 7 weeks with the aim to work as a team and run from the Clunes Campus to the top of Mount Beckworth in Week 8.

Today students are working in groups and having one-on-one sessions with their mentors to discuss their ideas for their Clunes project. Tomorrow will be sessions on Environmental Sustainability, Wednesday is set aside for House logistics meetings, Thursday is a Place and Time focus day, where students learn more about the history of Clunes and its surrounds, and on Friday students will be participating in community service, music and circus. It’s a busy week, but there will be time for some relaxation! Each evening we either hold cluster sports, quiet time or study sessions. We’re also looking forward to Saturday Night Fever and Movie Night on Sunday evening.

I am looking forward to showing you all some footage of the previous week of the Clunes program. We’ll be holding the Group 40 Film night this Thursday at 7.30pm in Cato Hall, at the Glen Waverley campus. If you are unable to attend, there will be a copy of the DVD available at each campus reception on Friday morning.

On Wednesday and Thursday this week every student on campus went on a tour of the town. There were two parts of the tour. The main reason of the tour was to learn about the past and the history of Clunes. The first part was a journey to the Clunes cemetery. The reason for this was to step back in time and answer a few questions to do with the cemetery. The second part was a visit to the Bottle Museum in the centre of Clunes. During the visit a local volunteer gave us a brief history of the shop we were located in and a short history about the town. We also learnt how Wesley played a strong part in the community. We then took a questionnaire about the exhibits around the Bottle Museum.

We have been living for the past four days in a shared house with around 7 other students. During this time we are beginning to learn to think and be more independent for ourselves. We are learning how to cook, by having cooking classes most nights and also we are learning to be able to make decisions as a group. Students have been pushed out of their comfort zone, as they have had to live with and create new friendships and bonds with the students from other Wesley campuses. During the first week, we are already beginning to become more independent. We have a morning meeting that is held every morning at 7:45, and we are to be there on time. We are being taught punctuality and are being taught that there is a consequence with lateness. Within these few days we have already created our next week shopping list, and organized who will be doing the shopping for the house each week. Some houses have chosen to create a weekly cleaning and cooking roster for their house so that there is a set timetable, and so that the chores are spread evenly. Every night two students are elected to cook for their entire house. However before the students have to cook, the two students cooking have a demonstration to show what has to be done. Just in the first week, we have formed many more friendships than we had before we came. Each house has a mix of Glen Waverley and St. Kilda Road students, this pushed students out of their comfort zone, as we had to share our space and all our time with new people. However, we have quickly adjusted to this and created strong bonds with both campuses, and people that we didn’t know so well, or people we didn’t know at all. This first week has had a mix of emotions and challenges. However it is just the beginning of Clunes, and there will be a lot more challenges to come. We are learning independence more and more each day, and we are creating strong friendships among one another, as we are living in a shared house together.

On the first Wednesday of the Clunes experience, all of the houses were asked to make a banner that would later decorate and represent their house in the Jubilee hall. Every house was given paint and a piece of canvas. All of the houses had to add their own personal touch to the banner. The banners were about one meter by one meter and they had to contain the house’s number somewhere painted on the canvas. Once we were told what we had to do all of the houses went back with the equipment that was needed and completed their banner. Some of the houses created quite astonishing pieces of art. Not one person’s creativeness was limited at all. They were able to paint anything they wanted. All of the pieces were quite different and contained a variety of colours.

Every night each house gets together and cooks a variety of meals. This involves everyone in their house coming together to work as a team. One person cooks while everyone else helps clean up and set the table. It’s a fun experience and we always enjoy ourselves. It’s very challenging as well, but in the end we always overcome the challenge. I, personally, find cooking very relaxing and stress relieving. It’s a way to escape all your troubles and it really brings our house together. It’s a very rewarding experience. Cooking is very hard at first, but once you become used to it, it becomes easier and easier. Sometimes the food isn’t the best but that’s the joy of cooking. You keep working at it and it gets better and better and better! Everyone gets a turn at cooking at least once a week. So that means that everyone cooks a lot at Clunes. I recommend everyone trying a different meal because you will learn more about cooking and your cooking and food knowledge will grow.

At Wesley Collage Clunes campus, all students participate in an after school activity called Cluster Sports. The campus is divided into to four different colours and they consist of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow. Clunes cluster sports is based purely on good sportsmanship and having respect for your teammates and opponents. On the 15/10/2009 we had our preseason cup where we played a number of games. The games involved teamwork, communication skills and relationship building, which allowed us to learn more about other people in our cluster. The sports that we participated in last night consisted of a mix of sports in a round robin. We played dodge ball and around the world basketball. These games where between all cluster groups. Every game that your cluster won gained points, the points where tallied up at the end and that determined the winner. The winner was Green cluster and the prize was three chocolate cheesecakes. When we all heard that was the prize the games where on! The games were played with good spirits, and sportsmanship was always shown between the other houses.

On day 5 we went to Sovereign Hill and learnt about the history of gold and how valuable it is. We also went on a tour down a mineshaft and learnt how the rocks can give you a hint on where the gold is so some of the experienced miners had an upper hand on the more inexperienced miners. Then after that we got to have some free time and we went around Sovereign Hill. We had a great time going to the bakery and we ate all the great food there. Another great experience was when we went on a horse and carriage ride. It was a really great experience. As we went along we came across the gold panning. It was a fair bit of fun and we had a good time and it was really good.

When we arrived at Clunes we went to the Jubilee Hall were we met some of the staff and the other students that we would be living with for the next eight weeks. After a brief introduction we headed around the campus for a short tour. At the end of the tour we were at the Town Hall where we met some of the community members. We then learnt their names and after we met them we had afternoon tea with them. To finish off the arrival at Clunes some of the staff cooked us some hamburgers for dinner on the BBQ. When we arrived at Clunes everyone knew that they would get a lot out of this experience.

The recreational basketball program commenced on Friday night. It was a great way to get off campus to have fun and unwind at the end of the week. Half way through our mini-basketball tournament, four Clunes locals arrived to take part in our activities. We included then and they had a lot of fun - we also had an opportunity to meet them. All up, it was a great night out!