By BESS ZEWDIE
GRADE 5 and 6 girls of Coldstream Primary School got to embrace their adventurous sides last week, while visiting the Britannia Creek Caves Geological Reserve near Warburton.
Ranging from 10-12 years old, the students engaged in caving activities which took them out of their comfort zones, forcing them to rely on determination and teamwork.
Coldstream Primary School’s Student Welfare Officer Amy Carter says for many of these students, this was a once in a lifetime experience.
“The girls loved it. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for some of them; caving is not something you get to do every day,” she said.
“A lot of them said the caving really pushed them to their limits, but it taught them how to believe in themselves and it taught them all about teamwork.
“You had to look after the person in front of you and the person behind you, and we were all one when we were in the cave.”
The excursion was part of a school initiative to encourage positive self-esteem, body image, respect, communication and resilience in their young students.
Carter says many of the activities during the program focused on teaching students about useful conflict resolution and anger management strategies.
“The girls all chose which style of anger they were, and then from there we talked about strategies on how to deal with that, and be more pro-active in their behaviour, rather than reactive,” she said.
“It was a lot of hands-on stuff, a lot of writing, a lot of group work in the day, and we did the caving to celebrate.
“They were all really brave, and we’re very, very proud of their efforts.”
