Dingoes: The students worked very well together this shift and there was very little push back on staff or disagreements amongst one another. Because of this this, five of the students were given tokens (solid ground, peace walker, strong chord, maker, and giver). Two current Dingo leaders will soon be leaving, and another will be given the leadership role.
Gnowees: The Gnowees had a great week together surviving the cold with great fire making skills and fun activities such as sledding. The desert was very peaceful and full of beautiful sunsets this week. The students are doing a great job expanding on emotional check-ins and learning to address their emotional needs. We had so much fun celebrating New Year’s by letting go of things from the year past and welcoming in newly desired changes for the coming year. The students are doing an amazing job shifting perspectives and facing things they may not love like hiking and wood collecting with teamwork and positive attitudes making our time together very enjoyable.
Ulurus: The Ulurus had a cold week, but they persevered and got a lot out of the experience. We hiked to a new site on Sunday and the kids kept a blazing pace. They were cheering each other on and seemed very motivated to arrive at the new site quickly. All of the guys were excited to celebrate the new year and new beginnings. We had a gathering centered on mistakes this previous year and their resolutions for 2019. They then stayed up singing, cracking jokes until 2019 hit at midnight. We also awarded each of them, a token for traits they showed in the previous weeks. All of the guys were very happy to receive the recognition. Finally, the group sent two of our members to peak expedition this week and we welcomed a new face as well. Overall, this week was stellar and as staff, we had so much fun bringing in 2019 with these amazing young men.
Goannas: The Goannas had a cold, but productive week. We left the Christmas site and hiked to a new one for New Years. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with a ceremony where we wrote about things we wanted to let go of in 2019 and burned the list in the fire. Two students earned their trail names (Courageous Daddy Longlegs and Noble Flame) and one student was honored with the Giver token. Leadership was passed from one student to another, who accepted the role graciously. A number of students found out they where they would be heading next this week and we were proud of how they accepted this news.
