On Thursday Night it was Red Vs Yellow in Cluster Sports at the Clunes Community Center. After the silent walk down both teams had to incorporate the theme of an orangutan into their chants. The first event to kick off the evening was a game of rebound ball. The idea is to hit the backboard in basketball and then land the ball inside the 3-point area. Red won the first match and finished on top in a close game of the second event, Frisbee Goal. The last game of the night was Ring of Death, both teams battled it out but Yellow managed to get on top for their first win of the evening. After the silent walk back up to the Wesley Clunes Campus it was Red who defeated Yellow in a very close finish.

Every Saturday morning we have Saturday Cleanup. During Saturday Cleanup it is our goal to get our houses as clean as we can so they look like they did when we got here. The bathroom, dining, lounge, pit and bedroom areas all have to be cleaned, as do the windows outside, which we clean with old newspaper. Just like any other morning we empty our compost, recycling and rubbish bins. By the end of Saturday Cleanup our houses are nice and tidy and we’re ready for another week at Clunes.

On Wednesday we had a community member come and help us cook. She was teaching us on how to cook apricot chicken and apple crumble. We started with some people peeling the apples and others cooking some chicken. After a while, when the apples were all peeled we stewed them then placed them in a tray and put the crumble over it. Then we put some apricot juice over the chicken and cooked it. When the dinner was cooked it was very successful and tasted great. I felt that the apple crumble was the better of the two.

On Thursday we went down to the sports ground and had cricket training with the senior team. We started off the session by going into the nets and rotating the batting and bowling. Some of the kids went into the middle of the ground where the seniors were training. They had a net up behind the wickets and they were playing a game and practicing fielding and bowling. After that they did some more fielding practice and then we had to leave to go to cluster sport.

This Tuesday was our second class of Place and Time: modern era. As part of our Modern Era class we had to choose a building in Fraser Street and see how the building and also the street had changed and developed over the past 100 years. We research about our building and its past. Everyone in the class also enjoys the morning tea break when we stroll down from the weavery to the bakery to get something to eat. We also had to do draw a building of our choice in the street. After we draw the building we must then add 21st century modern dimensions to the quite old buildings. Overall Modern Era is one of the most enjoyable classes available to choose at Clunes.

This week was the first week of Gatherers seeing everyone changed Sunday electives. Seeing that many people were on visiting weekend Gatherers decided to group with Green Fingers and go to the Ballarat for Spring Fest. Once we got to Spring Fest everybody walked around and saw various displays and stalls such as the one man juggling show, temporary tattoos and plenty of good food. Overall the afternoon was very relaxing and was very enjoyable for everyone.

In Indigenous Culture students investigate the local indigenous tribe of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. Students visit significant local sites, speak with local indigenous elders and learn the art of dot painting. With our group that day we went to go see the Big Tree. The Big Tree wasn’t special because it was “big”, it was special because it had a large tumour coming out and it was even more special because, and why it is famous, because the branches intertwine and connect. We went to a special place where a European cook was killed (severed head) for poisoning Aborigines. Dougall Mclachlan (the leader of the area) hunted and killed the Aborigines.

In Logistics we did a taste test; we compared 2 pieces of food one from a brand and the other from Black and Gold. The first one was to compare 2 pieces of bread and we had to compare lollies, jam, tomato paste, cheese, biscuits, Salada’s, sour cream and my one was Tim Tams. Logistics was fairly easy today because we are not cooking a lot this week because of visiting weekend. On Thursday the staff are cooking us a barbeque and on Friday and Saturday we have the Boys to Men campout.

The Running Program is an optional activity done to improve fitness and work as a team. The running program is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The first 2 weeks of term we ran 3km with a Friday challenge of hill sprints for 10 minutes. We began with the 5km run on Monday the 2nd of November. We run as a pack for the first 500-600m then we run at our own pace for about the next 5km. The place where we begin to run at our own pace is called the turn around point. When we get back to this point instead of waiting for the rest of the group, we run back to the last person. We run as a pack until we get back to campus. This way we all encourage everyone and finish the run together. The two questions we must ask ourselves after the run are did I run the whole way? And did I encourage people? The running program is a great way to get fit and have a great time.

Signing out is where we can leave campus to go down to Fraser Street or the Top Shop. Before we sign out we have to go to the staff house where they write on a white board what time we signed out and what time we must be back. We can sign out everyday at lunchtime between 12 and 12.40. We can also sign out on most days in the afternoon between 4.15 and 5.30. We can’t sign out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the afternoon because of either running or fitness and we also can’t sign out when we are cooking for that night. We can sign out on Saturday morning after cleanup and on Sunday from 9am until 1pm, although we can only sign out for 1 hour at a time. When we sign out we can buy our lunch, buy bread and milk with the budget book or just go for a walk and look around.

In Self class we learnt about stereotypes. We looked at all the different types that are at Wesley. We also went on our computers and looked up some different Pearls Of Wisdom. We looked at things in our life that are in our control and things in our life that are out of our control. Then we looked at the different role models that people in our group have. Then we learnt some ways of coping in tough times. Then we talked about what emotions are acceptable for boys and girls and how boys re-direct their emotions. Finally we finished with a collage about ourselves.

In this week’s Gold class we were doing our projects. Some people did their projects as Videos. The group’s different topics were Captain Moonlite, the Chinese Riot and police on the gold fields. Other groups did a newsletter about Amherst, which is now deserted but once had 40,000 people living there. Another group made a board games about the Australasian mining disaster. The last group made a picture of famous Burlesque dancer Lola Montez.

It started off on Saturday night where it was really hot, and couldn’t sleep at all. The next day, I felt weak and started to feel sick. Later I checked with the nurse and found out that it’s not bad, but recommended to stay in bed and get better. The past week I have been lying in bed, resting until I get better. I have been sleeping nearly everyday, but every time I wake up it gives me a headache. Walking around gives me headache. I also had a sore throat and runny nose, but the runny nose lasted until Thursday. Now today, Friday, I am better than the past couple of days, and still getting better each minute.

On Saturday, most of the students went to swimming for the activity with the House Leaders and also due to the heat that was around 25°C. It was a good day for swimming. When we got there we went straight to the pool and stayed in there. Some people swam around in the pool, while others played with others, and playing ball games. It wasn’t as fun, some people said, but it was better than staying at home in the heat.

A V.P or village payback is a form of punishment that the teachers impose. The students are put through strenuous activities that test their physical self as well as their mental. The brave students are to arrive 2 hours and a half before the other students to begin their paybacks to the community. The activities include shoveling fertilizer, washing and many other activities. The tough conditions are strict and sometimes harsh but are fair, as these students have accumulated 5 strikes or instant paybacks.

On Monday Green and Blue cluster contested in a match that will be remembered until the end of time. Blue were fantastic in the silent walk down to the sports center, while Green were a bit off and lacked any flare they had shown in the previous weeks. In the first contest Green may have won, but no one really knows. Blue however won the next two contests yet somehow Green won the whole match. With very stereotypical good sportsmanship shown from Blue they walked back to campus and went straight to sleep.