Excitement was clearly in the air as the kids of Years 2/3 from Kalkaringi School bounced around in the line, chatting and laughing, waiting to get on the bus for a mighty excursion into Katherine. The primary purpose was for swimming lessons, a requirement set by the NT Government for all NT children to undertake, but this trip would be way more than just water safety…it was to be fun, it was to be an adventure and it was to be a great learning experience. To this end, Wanta was excited to be involved and to offer our assistance to the school.
Time away from family and country would be from Monday through to Friday, and while that might be a test for some, this awesome little mob, for which there were 13 of them, took it in their stride.
There was very little down time across the week, with 2 hours of lessons each afternoon culminating in a fun swimming carnival, including Bulman and Barunga Schools, on the Friday. The swimming lessons, themselves, focused on each of our talented kids swimming, or learning to swim, freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke, whilst also learning and practicing water rescue techniques. The development across the week was both positive and hugely noticeable for all of these fantastic students, and for which they should be extremely proud.
Beyond the swimming lessons, there were many other activities that we all engaged in, with the most popular being……you guessed it….swimming! When your accommodation has a pool, and you arrive with a bundle of pool noodles in very hot conditions, what else would you want to do? Swim!!
Out of bed, have breakfast, go swimming. Do an organised activity, back for lunch, but only after swimming. Out to lessons (held at Tindal Air Base due to renovations at Katherine Pool), then back to our accommodation for swimming. Have dinner, and you guessed it, more swimming before bedtime. Do you get the sense that these kids love the water? All the more reason to ensure we remain safe whether that be in a pool, in Wattie Creek, or anywhere else where water exists.
While we made the most of our watery paradise, our ‘other activities’ included a bushwalk at Nitmiluk where we spotted a crocodile in the river from high up on the lookout, a couple of trips to the giant playground to go crazy on the amazing equipment, a visit to the Fire Station where we got to see and learn about those big fire engines, and a quick look and feel of the items in the ‘Copper Box’ when we stepped into the beautiful Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre.
Finally, another highlight worth mentioning were the friends we made from Emmaus College in Melbourne. They were a great group of Year 9 students on their own excursion. Over a couple of days they happily showed us games to play, both in and out of the pool, and told us stories while we told them all about where we were from, where Kalkaringi and Daguragu are, the creek we swim in and the amazing school we attend. We all learned lots from each other which is a reflection of why excursions to elsewhere can be such fun and such a great learning for all.
Well done kids, amazing work Kalkaringi School, and thanks from Wanta for letting us be of help.
Written by Neil Mackenzie, Brighter Futures Program Manager, Kalkaringi.
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