We love them because the weekend is looming large, but for Clunes students, the added attraction of Friday afternoons is in the moment: their timetabled elective program. It consists of a suite of activities that vary from term to term, dependant on students’ interest, staff skills and what is happening in the Clunes community.
Term 1 was full of new offerings. ‘Click and Connect,’ for example, challenged students to create streetscapes and stories using Lego.
For the first time, a select group of students engaged in a book club-type elective called ‘The Eleventh Hour’. They spent every Friday sharing their love of books and writing, which culminated in volunteer work for the community at the Booktown Festival. While it’s exciting to be amongst the buzz of a town full of book enthusiasts, it also provided an opportunity for students to experience the importance of contributing to the community beyond our campus. This links beautifully with our Community Engagement component of the program and the philosophy that underpins our Connect curriculum.
Our ‘What Happens on Tour’ musicians performed to a crowd of hundreds of book worms at the festival, entertaining with a range of tunes – old, new and even a classic song sung in Chinese! This elective focuses on students trying their hand at different musical instruments and performing to different audiences over the term, helping them develop confidence to go from a simple interest to performance-worthy standards of presentation – a testament to the courage and growth mindset our students develop at Clunes.
