This week has seen the Wesley at Clunes staff and students really shine and show what they are capable of when they work together.

The campus has been a hive of activity this week with students working hard as part of our Collective Potential program. In Collective Potential, students choose one of three projects. The guideline for the three projects are that they in some way give to others, are a challenge to finish within the allotted time and most importantly can only be completed by working as a team rather than working as a group of individuals. There were three projects students were involved in over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Firstly, River Rescue, where students worked out at the Ullina Landcare Reserve just out of Clunes. We have developed a partnership with Ullina Landcare and have been working on this site for a couple of years helping with the revegetation of Birches Creek. The group did a fantastic job and planted hundreds of trees. Secondly, a group making bird boxes for the Ullina Landcare site who worked hard and did a great job working together. The third and final group were most of our music students who prepared a performance for a nursing home in Creswick and also conducted performances at local Primary Schools. I listened to their practice performance here in the Bluestone Church and I was very impressed. We certainly have some very talented students. All students can feel proud of their achievements this week. Special thanks to the staff: Tim, Luke, Atrel, Michael, Michelle and Dave for the extra effort they put in this week.

In Week 6, Group 42 will have focus days on Place and Time and Self. On the Self focus day students will complete a half-day Solo at the base of Mount Beckworth. Most students will have participated in Solo activities before during camps and other outdoor education trips. Solos are an excellent way to assist students to reflect on their experiences and make goals for the last couple of weeks of their Clunes journey. In Week 8, students will participate in a whole day Solo at the same site.

The students are now well and truly into their Clunes Projects. Essays are completed and students are working on their practical pieces. There are a diverse range of topics within three broad themes: Community, Rural Australia or Clunes. Students are also busy preparing for Presentation Day.

After such a big week, Group 42 is feeling a little weary. The weekend ahead will be a time to slow down a little and spent time together and hopefully for most will involve a sleep in on Sunday morning.

This week from Tuesday to Thursday we had the Collective Potential Program which is a course with a focus on what we can achieve as a group rather than as an individual. There were three different groups; River Rescue, Make and Create and What Happens On Tour. In River Rescue, students went to Birches Creek and helped renew the land there by planting trees. The Make and Create group made bird boxes, some for bats and some for parrots, and they will be put up in trees at the Birches Creek site. And the What Happens on Tour group went around the community and performed in small bands. It was a very enjoyable three days for everyone and I’m sure everyone learnt something from this great experience.

From Tuesday and Thursday this week some students had Make and Create for Collective Potential. In Make and Create we made bird boxes. The wood had already been cut for us so we just had to assemble the pieces, add a perch and some chicken wire inside for the birds to climb up, and then paint them. Although it seems simple, it was quite a long process due to the number of people working at the same time and a limited tool supply. We finished all the boxes by Thursday lunchtime so we were rewarded with a BBQ outside the Jubilee Hall!

This week was jam-packed with quality meals prepared by the members of House 10. Most would agree that the best dish was made by Josh. It was pasta bake with tuna. There was easily enough for everyone in the house. Another good dish was The Spaghetti made by Tim and Matt R. It was mushroom fettuccine and a variety of other ingredients. In addition to these meals was another spaghetti dish made by Luke. This was made using the same spaghetti with mince. Some spices were added to the meal as well. All meals from the week were good, but the dishes I mentioned earlier were truly exceptional. Everybody did a great job. On Monday we had beef wraps and sticky date pudding which was delicious.

Last weekend was a visiting weekend. A visiting weekend is when the parents of the Wesley students can come up to Clunes and visit their kids. After they sign out they can do a variety of things. Among these things are go to the many historical landmarks around Clunes and neighbouring towns. Some people can go to Ballarat and go see a movie, or they can just wander around the town and chat. After this they have the choice of whether to go back to campus, or stay at a hotel with their family. Most choose to go off campus to spend more time with their visiting relatives.

This week was the Collective Potential Program, and I was enrolled in River Rescue. Our aim was to try and rehabilitate an area of the creek in Clunes by planting trees. Our ultimate goal was to plant 800 trees in 3 days, it was a big challenge but we were all up for it. Now I know that it seems that planting trees sounds really easy, but let me assure you that it was very, very hard work. Using a matic, which was a heavy 2 sided axe we would dig a large hole out of the ground. The ground was really hard from all the years of drought, then we had to plant the tree, hammer stakes into the ground and surround it with mulch. Using great team work the group managed to plant over 600 trees, which was a fantastic effort!

Every Friday we have a choice of Music, Circus, Drama and Creative explorations as our afternoon class. I am in Creative Explorations which is a class where we visit different sights of significance and either draw or write poetry or a story inspired by the area. This week we visited a very old bridge with a mysterious history. It was a beautiful day, perfect for an afternoon of drawing and we all enjoyed lying in the grass taking in some well need sun! The sight was beautiful with rolling hills in the background, made even more perfect by the cloudless sky. It was a fantastic afternoon and we are all looking forward to next class!

As part of the Collective Potential Progam, seventeen students took part in River Rescue. The group spent three days out in the bush planting trees. The group planted a total of 600 native trees. In order to get back to the Clunes campus, students had the choice of taking the bus back or walking. The group came up with the idea of running back to campus as a challenge which had never been attempted by another Clunes group. So in the afternoon the group set off for the 9km run back to campus. It was a run through different paddocks full of big and small rocks, prickly bushes, farm animals and fences to jump over. This was great fun. The group managed to complete the run with lots of encouragement and team work. It was a full on 3 days but it was great to be a part of.

The Running Program for Week 5 has been fantastic. It has been getting harder and harder. The running distance has been increased from 3km to 5km. Some people from the running team have had to leave the program due to injuries, but everyone else has been doing such an amazing job. The encouragement from the pack is incredible, especially through the Friday challenges of running up and down a hill for 10 minutes. The whole team is determined to be the first group to have everyone in the group to run up Mount Beckworth and by the way that everyone is going now it is going to be easy to achieve.