It has been a wonderful start for Group 41. As I said in my previous email: there is a really positive feel on campus and staff are enjoying getting to know the students.

We have had some hot weather over the last couple of days, but Wednesday night heavy rain brought welcome relief. The rain continued yesterday and there are more heavy falls forecast for today. We have just had another rainwater tank installed, which was plumbed and ready to go Wednesday; the rain has come at the perfect time!

Students have been busy with the Orientation Program and have had tours of the campus and town. Over Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday students spent quality time with their House Leaders getting to know each other and making decisions on how to best run their household.

By today all students will have visited Sovereign Hill and spent time in the local area learning about the history of Clunes. Students have also visited the local Clunes Museum and Clunes Bottle Museum. This is a good introduction to the town and gives students plenty of ideas for their Clunes Project.

Email is now up and working and hopefully you will have received at least one email from your child. Students have access to their email in the mornings and then again in the afternoons and House Leaders will be encouraging them to write home. Letters and small parcels in the post are also highly prized items.

This morning is our first Community Service session. Students volunteer for one community service each Friday morning. This is a great way for students to connect with members of the local community and give back to the community that does so much for our campus. Throughout the term members of the community will work with your children teaching them to cook, helping them with their Clunes Projects and also being part of many of our course days as guest speakers.

On Saturday afternoon all students will walk up Mount Beckworth. Mount Beckworth has special significance for past and present students. It is a place we visit regularly, particularly all together at the start of the program and again all together at the end of the program. Students also have the option to be part of the Mount Beckworth Running Program, which involves training 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.

At this stage it looks like all students will enjoy a sleep in on Sunday Morning. I am hoping that no Village Paybacks (VPs) are required and the whole campus can enjoy a well-deserved rest. Usually we have a number of VPs in Week 1 as students adjust to the rhythms, routines and expectations of the campus, so I am happy to report that Group 41 are doing a wonderful job.

On the 4th of January half of group 41 journeyed to the Clunes cemetery. A lot of us thought it was going to be just another cemetery but it was much, much more. The graves ranged from the early 1800’s to 2009; a lot of them were miners from the gold rush. It was very moving to see kids that had died at 14, 16 and even babies because they had their whole lives ahead of them, they could have become something great but we will never know. There are a lot of unmarked graves there which is sad because we will never know who they were. It felt like it was a very significant place for the local people of Clunes.

On that same day as the cemetery tour we went to the Clunes bottle museum. The Clunes bottle museum started because of a man named Lee Medlyn collected bottles he found in the land he had bought. There are over 600 on display and a lot more in storage. The manager of the museum took us for a tour. The most expensive bottle in the whole of the museum is a 10,000 dollar beer bottle that came from South Australia but where they found it was in the Northern Territory. I was all bottled out by the time we had finished.

Making our House Banner was an incredibly good experience and warming to the soul. We were given a curtain liner and a box full of paint, then told to invent a flag that represented our house spirit! Being in House 11 one of our house members said we must call out house “Ghetto 11” which we all agreed to, and so it started! I started the base layer in pencil that then we painted over it, about half way through our painting exploits we realised that we had painted it upside down! Disaster had struck. It was all over. We called the duty phone who rushed over. It was a teacher who came and being such a wise woman she said that it was a problem easily fixed, we just had to sew another edge therefore enabling it to hang the right way!

Second night at Clunes was the first one where we had to cook for our house. Spaghetti Bolognaise was the task set by the Wesley @ Clunes community and all the pressure was on to produce a meal that not only would be filling but tasty as well. Our cook, not being an experienced cook had to ask the assistance of Jamie Oliver’s twin brother on one or two occasions, but he was willing to help. The mince was starting to brown, time to add the diced tomatoes. Only one problem, the can opener wouldn’t do its job. Time to whip out the knife and finish the job; not the safest but it was done. The diced tomatoes in and then just a bit of stirring and the bolognaise was ready, now all we need is the special Italian spaghetti. Five minutes Later. Dinner is ready to be served and the boys to the ceremonial tasting session, and the verdict is very good!

The boat race was one of the activities for our first week at Clunes. All the houses had fifteen minutes to make a boat simply out of boxes, tape and decorations including straws and streamers. In the fifteen minutes we had to join it all together while being able to fit everyone from our house in the boat. When done, everyone then gathered to the oval to line up and waited until the horn was blown. Extra points were given to the most decorated boat and for the first team to get past the finish line without the boat falling apart. There were some really good boats, and some that were falling apart before the race even started. Pretty much every boat failed to cross the finish line with their boat in full tact, except for the winning team, House 12 because not only did they have great decorations but they managed to walk slowly to the end. All up everyone had heaps of fun, and to this day it’s the most enjoyable activity yet!

On Thursday night everyone got introduced to Cluster sport. Everyone commenced in the hall all dressed up in the individual colour team they were selected for. All houses are split into either the green team, red team or the blue team! After learning about the point systems and rules, we all got in our teams and walked together to the community hall. Everyone was so hyped up and enthusiastic, with all the colours, outfits and the point system were already on the way. Firstly we played a couple of race games to learn more about each other, and to get the night started. After that, we started making up chants and names for our teams. We then performed in front of the other cluster grous and teachers for more points, then started the real Cluster sports by playing ‘Ring of Death’ and ‘King Dodge Ball’. By the end of it Red team beat us all!

On the first day everyone went to the Elsternwick campus and said goodbye to their friends and family. On the way to Clunes everyone sang on the bus and once we got there we had to carry our bags from the Jubilee Hall to our houses, which for most people was a struggle. When people were told who their room mates were we all unpacked and made our beds. Later we learnt the rules and regulations of Clunes and went to the Town Hall to be greeted by the Clunes Netball Club and some residents of Clunes. We were very lucky to have a barbeque dinner provided by the wonderful staff at Wesley @ Clunes. By about nine in the evening we were introduced to the ridiculously early bed time of 10 pm.

On Wednesday and Thursday we all went to Sovereign Hill where we learnt about a miner’s life, Aboriginal history, women and children on the goldfields and much more. Me and my friends went to the local bakery about six times and watched a play that was being performed in the middle of the street. Some people dressed up in 1850s clothes and we went down an actual mine and experienced life as an unfortunate miner did for about half an hour.

Every morning after the Clunes morning meeting the students sleepily stroll to their houses where their rosters decide their cleaning fate. At 8:45 a staff member inspects our houses with their strict cleaning standards. Everybody has to clean their bedrooms with beds made up, nothing on the floor and tidy wardrobes. Once we have finished our bedrooms we would start our rostered job. Jobs included such cleaning the dining, lounge and pit areas or cleaning upstairs or downstairs bathroom sinks and toilets or hallways, stairs and laundry. Some students will be taking the bins out and replacing them or could be cleaning the kitchen. If we happened to fail the inspection everybody in the house would be punished with a strike which could be fatal for people that have four strikes as they would be given a village payback.

In our free time we have the opportunity to leave the Clunes campus to explore the Clunes community. To sign out of Wesley Clunes we need a key tag, hat, watch, sunscreen and a friend, it is also recommended to bring money. Once we walk out of Wesley Clunes we can feel the powerful community of Clunes. Walking down the main street it is common for locals talk to us and it is great to have a conversation. It is highly recommended to talk to locals because it makes their day. We can visit the local IGA, Newsagent, Museum and café. Some recreational activities include going to the swimming pool or having a skate down at the skate park. We must be careful that we’re not late back to sign in because strikes are given even if we’re a minute late.

On the first morning of Clunes, I had to be ready and awake for a morning stroll to see the sun rise. The walk was short to the paddock where we viewed the rising sun. We reached the destination at twenty minutes to seven, whereupon I sat down and tried to stare at the sunrise, but as it was the sun, naturally, it was far too bright to stare at. We sat in silence, contemplating the words of wisdom that had been passed down to us. The group retreated back to Clunes for our first full day.

On the third of February, houses 10 and 11 went to see the Clunes museum. It was a warm day, and the museum was a welcome retreat from the heat. Inside we met two lovely ladies, who briefed us on the history of Clunes. We learnt about how Clunes had a long history, full of gold and prostitutes. Questionnaires were completed, and everyone had a much more knowledgeable base on the rich history of Clunes. The museum was packed full of historical items and interesting pieces. It was a great day in all, and very informative.

At 5pm on Sunday the 31st of January, after arriving at their quarters, Wesley at Clunes group 41 met the locals of the town of Clunes. These festivities were organised by the Clunes Netball club at the Town Hall. Various refreshments, appetizers and cakes were prepared by the local citizens. Pat Cook and various other Clunes residents delivered welcome speeches to all the students of Wesley College. This was a great opportunity for Group 41 and the Clunes locals to bond as a community.