KEFL Kimberley Echo Article!

From the Captain!

Things have been fairly quiet on the KEFL blogging front – the start of term has been hectic with the Year 11 students commencing their second day of work per week. We have finally found traineeship placements for students Bianca Cox and Thomas Chulung. Bianca has started work at Ord Irrigation as a water distribution officer and Thomas is at Kununurra Engineering.

We have a busy term ahead of us with our Coolamon Creek Canoeing/ Kayaking Camp on the 28^th and 29^th of May. Students have had their skills assessment in the last couple of weeks with the majority doing extremely well. We completed a mini-expedition from Celebrity Tree Park Boat Ramp around to Swim Beach. This tested the student’s team work and paddling skills. The Coolamon Creek camp is an expedition from the Argyle Dam wall to Go Wild Adventure Tours camp site approximately 25km downstream. Students will be completing an expedition log book and working to achieve set group and personal goals. After completion of the camp – the KEFL crew with be commencing Mountain Bike Riding.  

Our next Agriculture block is Week 7 and 8 (9^th to the 20^th June) – this is a two week block. The KEFL crew received some bad news from Ag Trainer Michael Jeffery with the sudden passing of his father in law – we sent our condolences and well wishes to Michael, Nicola and Amelia Rose.   

Students are busy completing their second blog entry – which will contain photos and videos from their first Agriculture camp. Stay tuned… there are some ripper stories and photos.

KEFL received a special mention in the Kimberley Echo newspaper last week – with some follow up stories to come. The KEFL crew alongside KGT was names runner up in the National Group Training Australia Partnership Awards. This is an amazing achievement for all involved in the program. 

As always I would like to thank all our community partners and host employers - the program functions so well because of our relationships with the Kununurra corporate and business community.

Levarn from Gibb River Community with me celebrating the Killer!

 

Kimberley school-based traineeship program ‘Highly Commended!’

Well done to Kununurra District High School, the KEFL crew and KGT for Runners-up in the National Group Training Australia - Partnerships Award.

Runner-up in the Partnership Award, and ‘Highly Commended’ by the judges was Kimberley Group Training (KGT) and its partnership with Kununurra District High School's Kimberley Education For Life (KEFL) program.

Developed by Kris Thomas a teacher from Kununurra District High, this school-based-traineeship program offers students the opportunity to combine Outdoor Education with a Certificate II in Agriculture, in addition to their chosen traineeship pathway.

These help to develop the students’ confidence, team work, leadership, and communication skills.

More than 100 students have commenced a school-based traineeship with KGT over the past decade. Almost 25% have successfully completed their school-based traineeships, and of the six students who graduated in 2013, all have gone onto commence fulltime traineeships or apprenticeships.

The KEFL program has created a critical link between the school and business community. Many of the local businesses who have become involved in the program have gone on to employ students on a full-time basis in a traineeship or apprenticeship either through KGT or directly. This demonstrates that the program is achieving its core objective of assisting students make the transition from school to work.

KEFL students have become role models within the community and as one 2013 Year 12 KEFL graduate says; “Some of the things I do to encourage others to enter into an apprenticeship are by turning up to work and having a good relationship with my workmates and by doing the right thing at all times. As a school based trainee I provide a good role model for Year 8-10 secondary students at KDHS”.

Thomas Chulung

Term one in KEFL was really fun and exciting and here are some of the things we got up too!

In term one, every Wednesday we went canoeing at swim beach or other locations around Lake Kununurra, we practiced paddling strokes, our t-rescue, which is when 2 people flip over with their canoe and then another 2 people rescue them by using their canoe. Every Wednesday when we go canoeing we also practice doing  different types of canoeing strokes such as the J stroke, the sweep stroke, the stern rudder, the draw stroke and the low brace. We also have been practicing tying different types of knots, so we know how to tie the canoes up properly onto the trailer. We are doing all of this canoeing practice for a reason, because on Wednesday the 28^th and Thursday the 29^th of May the whole KEFL class are going on a 2 day canoeing camp from the Lake Argyle dam wall, 25km down Coolamon Creek to the Go Wild Adventure Tours campsite. I am really looking forward to this camp and have set a few personal goals for myself: working well with my canoeing partner, good communication and completing the distance without coming last. I am also looking forward to the water activities and the flying fox.

In the last week of term one the KEFL class went out to Gibb River Station to start their Certificate II in Agriculture. They completed a lot of fencing and other station work but unfortunately I couldn’t go because of 3 very important doctor’s appointments, which I had to go to on the same week as the camp, I was pretty disappointed that a couldn’t go.

Once we have completed the canoeing/kayaking camp we start Mountain Bike Riding for Outdoor Education. We will ride various off road tracks around Kununurra. The biking riding component will end with a 3 day camp, riding along Parry Creek Road from Kununurra to Wyndham approximately 100km. This will be a fairly tough ride, but I am looking forward to improving my fitness and having fun on the camp. We are also going back to Gibb river station in week 7 and 8 for another camp but for 2 weeks this time. So it’s going to be a much longer camp, which means more work and I am definitely going out to this Gibb river station camp this time. I will need to catch up on fencing skills, and demonstrate that I can work well under instruction from trainer Michael Jeffery. I am looking forward to exploring the area around Gibb Station on the weekend, and meeting the Aboriginal people.

I am really excited to go on all of these camps this term because they should all be really fun. Plus we get to miss out on some school work for a couple of days and just get out of town. I am looking forward to enjoying having fun with my KEFL classmates and my teacher Ms Audas.

Bianca Cox (Bcoxy) :)

Ready for Horse Riding at YEEHAA!

Hi again, for those of you who don’t know me my name is Bianca Cox. Last term in KEFL we did several Outdoor Education activities which involved going out canoeing at ski beach, and other lake Kununurra areas like Lilly Lagoon. We completed a mini canoeing expedition at the back of lakeside, which was a pretty interesting trip considering that we had to swerve and weave our way through tiny gaps and duck under trees. We then found out that the water was actually only knee deep leading us to jump out and explore the area. It was an awesome little adventure, the view surrounding us was pretty beautiful and it was cool seeing another part of Kununurra that you probably would not unless you were canoeing.

The KEFL crew also went out to the Gibb River Station; were they completed a lot of fencing, played a lot of basketball & football and also made really good friends with some of the community members and children. I didn’t get to go to Gibb River Station due to my grandfather’s funeral that I had to attend in Broome, which was sad on the week we were leaving, hearing the KEFL crew talk about how fun they had and how much they enjoyed it made me think of what I actually missed out on. So I will definitely be going on the next trip, I will have a lot of catching up to do in terms of showing trainer Michael Jeffery my fencing skills, but I am up for the challenge and ready to show just how hard I can work.

This term is pretty full on, as we have a lot of trips coming up that we are preparing for. We are currently organising our canoeing/kayaking trip which is on the 28/29^th of May, this is basically a two day, one night trip where we will be canoeing from the Lake Argyle Dam wall down Coolamon creek and camping at Go Wild Adventure Tours campsite approx. 25km from the dam wall. I have set some goals for myself for the canoe trip these include completing the 25km distance and not falling out of the canoe, jumping off jump rock and completing the flying fox activity.

The KEFL crew then go back out to the Gibb River Station which will be for 2 weeks and I am definitely going this time. We also start Mountain Bike Riding for Outdoor Education, which will end with a camp riding along Parry Creek Road (Old Wyndham Road) from Kununurra to Wyndham. It will be a hard journey, but it will also be a very ‘interesting’ adventure. In my last blog entry I talked about how we will have 2 days of work per week in our school based traineeship. I am still yet to be placed, so instead of working I come to school every Monday and Tuesday and finish off un-finished Assessments & school work. Hopefully, KGT find me a placement soon, I will be glad to not be the only student coming to school, and would really like to start earning some money.



Riding Mia!




Mia not listening!