The Spring Holiday Program welcomes back what should be
longer and warmer weather. But this Sept/Oct Program gave us lots of days with
different weather, from flying ants and warm sun to winter jumper days, overcast and
blistering winds, but still much enjoyed – even on the chilly days. Children and staff had
lots of fun outside exploring and enjoying some new activities. It was another successful
program, thanks to the children’s enthusiasm, engagement of the casual staff and the
outstanding support shown from our local community and community members.
Highlights from April’s Program
The first week kicked off with team building games and Yr3 -Yr6 learning about Karate
with Chirs and Charlotte.
Tuesday saw us at Kingston for a full day’s activities created around Norfolk history and
culture with visits to Museums and Music Valley exploring with Jane. On Wednesday it was Prep – Yr2’s turn at learning the
skills and focus of Karate with Chris and Charlotte and Yr3-Yr6 were bused out to the Maze where they had fun exploring
and playing Laser tag. The week finished off with another full day at Kingston. This time with beach activities, sandcastle comps, Kayaking for
the older children, a yummy cook up sausage sizzle from our local police, a talk about beach safety from little Nippers
Lead Tim Thompson and an afternoon of swimming. Fantastic way to complete our first week.
Week two started with pikelet cooking for prep to yr 2 and craft creation for yr 3-yr 6. Tuesday looked
like the weather was going to rain us out of Kingston, but this was not the case and the day was
beautiful for another full day at Kingston, with the much-loved waterslide on the hill at government
house, water eco water bombs and some first aid talk and demos from St John leaders Lyn and
James. Parents were confused when arriving to collect their child with bandages and sling on every
second child – great joke played on them by their child. Wednesday was prep – yr 2’s turn to create
some craft and Yr3-Yr6 headed off to the Guide Hall to do some damper cooking. What great fun this
was and thanks to Mark Scott for creating the hot coals to cook our damper on – Yummy. Thursday was our last day
and thanks to Pinetree tours once again, the children were transported to the Botanical gardens where they explored nature and were
given a guided talk by the park rangers and to “In the wild”, where they enjoyed a walk, exploring the art gallery, playing mini golf and
finished the week off with a well-deserved ice cream!!!
Thanks to the children, families, casual staff, community support, and the NI-Connect team who made this another successful and great fun program.
A big thank you to the incredibly generous individuals, families and businesses who helped make the Holiday Wellbeing Program a success.
Norfolk Island Regional Council
“In the Wild” team
Auraville Maze – Grant and Natasha
Music Valley – Jane
Norfolk Island Museums
Norfolk Island Police
Tim Thompson
Pinetree Tours
Government House
St Johns – Lyn and James
Norfolk Island Girl Guide Ass.
KAVHA
Norfolk Island National Parks
Norfolk Karate – Chris and Charlotte
Mark Scott
To our casuals and young leaders – we are so grateful for how much effort you put into making sure all the kids have fun.
Kes Harper
Matilda Smith
Pheona Helsop
Daniel Anderson
Cassie McCoy
Alyssa Anderson
Tracey Graham
Sebastian Grant
Debbie Anderson
Mali Garden
Trish Christian-Bailey
Kelly Schmitz
Fletcher Buffett
Lukas Andrew
Charlotte Goodall
Antonella Bone
Tyla Schmitz
Natasha Arnold
Sophie OcConnor
Rebel Greenwood
Ryan Buffett – Cooper
Dash Goodall
Brycen Menzies
Kingston Menzies
Ollie OcConnor
Rawson Buffett
Katie Trickey
Elliana Henderson
Feedback from children and families using the program, local casual staff and young people working at the program and our permanent NI-Connect staff all helps so we can keep trying to make this a better program for the kids, a better support for families and a great place to work.
NI-Connect Holiday Wellbeing Program team is always looking for interesting and new ideas. If you have any special knowledge or skills that you might like to teach, pass on or share with the next generation through a workshop or activities then we would love to hear from you!!
Acknowledgement: NI-Connect’s child and family wellbeing services are funded by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts
