There was so much to do these school holidays with Train Park being at the centre of it all. Every morning from Monday to Friday, 10am to 12.30pm Newman children and young people learnt new things and made new friends, finishing up each morning with a delicious lunch generously provided by ESS, Kalgan’s Rest Village. Thankyou Kalgan’s!
KJ launched the program on Monday morning with language and cultural activities. EPIC jumped on board next, facilitating Nature Crafts including nature mobiles and outback inspired artwork. There were some amazing artworks created on both days that would have given any Martumili artist a run for their money.
ESS, Kalgan’s Rest Village and Whaleback Village brought ‘Fun with Food’ to the park on Thursday. As part of this program, the kids got to decorate homemade cookies and create fruit kebabs. Yum! Whilst some couldn’t wait to consume their works of art, others opted to preserve them. Headspace also joined in the fun. On Friday, the kids explored the East Newman Play trail, encouraging them to use their creativity for imagination play.
St John’s Ambulance supported the kids throughout this first week, with volunteers coming along to all the activities, even turning their ambulance into play equipment where we learnt about the importance of health providers in rural communities through play.
The second week began with a morning of Pasta Art followed by – not pasta, but a lunch of fried rice. From necklaces to bracelets, more mobiles to pictures, you wouldn’t believe how many creative things coloured pasta can be used for.
Tuesday and Wednesday saw EducationFutures bring next-level tech with Spheros and VR headsets for the kids to program and play. Everyone including the adults had a heap of fun learning about robotics while trying out this fascinating new tech.
The second week ended with more artworks that started on canvas and made their way on to hats. Kids used fabric paints to design their names and art onto donated hats thanks to Ashburton Aboriginal Corporation. Slip, Slop, Slapping on the sunny streets of Newman has never looked so good.
The September/October East Newman School Holiday program was a huge success with more than three hundred children and young people and 200 adults engaging, many new friends made, artists created and delicious food consumed.
