Canterbury Boys Sailing
Canterbury Boys wrestle the waves during their weekly sailing expeditions with Shoreline and partners, Making Waves Foundation!
‘Winds of Change’ is an 8 week program run by Making Waves Foundation, where students participate in sailing on the water every Thursday. It aims to provide an opportunity for growth by engaging young people in an unfamiliar, adventure-based, challenging environment.
The purpose of the program is to use sailing as tool to engage students in an emotional and practical learning process. Through the structure and activities incorporated, it provides the skills for handling adversity in the future.
The qualities built upon include communication, emotional intelligence, cooperation, conflict resolution, problem solving, self-confidence and resilience. The development of these is hoped to prepare within the students the emotional capability to:
Self-regulate emotions
Confidence/resilience when attempting challenging new tasks
Strengthening motivation and empathy
Cooperation, with peers and authority
Interpersonal negotiations
Identifying learning and growth opportunities from adverse experiences
Identifying, analysing, and finding solutions
Respectfully give and receive honest feedback
Offering and receiving apologies when appropriate
Group sailing leaders, provided by Making Waves, are the guides of activities. They work collaboratively with Shoreline and teachers to individualise proceedings to meet the needs of the students. Session activities are strategically selected and facilitated to challenge participants, imbue students with a sense of achievement and promote growth in these attributes. When students feel safe and supported, their immersion in this adventurous environment elevates their willingness to accept feedback and embrace new perspectives and approaches.
The program incorporates four different layers of training and personal reflection for growth:
Developing technical skills, such as steering a yacht, hoisting the sails, safety procedures, tying specific knots and working the winches
Evolving tasks and activities from prior experience and prior weeks to optimise the benefits for participants, with a focus on transferring skills and attitudes into school contexts
Providing opportunities for feedback and reflection in a challenging yet safe environment
Developing personal attributes associated with effectively sailing the boat as a team
The program is linked to their schooling - many of the personal attributes that can be strengthened by the Winds of Change program are directly linked to the following areas of learning across the NESA syllabuses:
Critical and creative thinking
Personal and social capability
Civics and citizenship
Difference and diversity
Work and enterprise (particularly associated with PDHPE)
There is also an emphasis on collaborative discussion with teachers. On one hand, this ensures there are opportunities to link teachings back into school programs to leverage opportunities for learning. Additionally, the program is adapted to each student based on assessment of participation rates, personal feedback, and teacher observations. Teachers are asked to provide a profile survey at three discrete points during the program - prior to participation, at conclusion, and 5 weeks post completion. This is to formally measure the impact of the program, and success with the students in developing the desired emotional and personal attributes.
Shoreline’s role in the program is to facilitate communication between the schools and the Making Waves Foundation - organising students, providing transportation, clothing, and lunches. Shoreline also identifies keen participants who may be eligible to go on and complete their NSW boating licence.
Despite complications early this year with Covid-19 and persistent bad weather, the program has been an overall success with positive feedback from the teachers and students at Canterbury Boys High School.