A WALLOON teacher with a passion for adventure has been a catalyst for change in the community.
Jay Green is the Head of Senior Schooling at Walloon State School.
He said many experiences a young person had before the invention of the internet and mobile phones, were no longer happening.
“Children need to be exposed to experiences that push them and teaches them how to take calculated risks,” he said.
“There are parts of our course like fishing and kayaking that are many students’ first aquatic experience.
“Culture has changed and the evidence around that is really strong.
“Go back 30 years and almost all kids would have done it, at some point at least.”
To remedy this and pull students back into the natural world, Jay developed a program called the Courage Zone.
The program is so successful other schools are getting involved and using the school’s equipment and program methods.
“A few years ago, we had a philosophy change for the school; we wanted to move students from the comfort zone and into the courage zone,” he said.
“To do it, we put them into uncomfortable situations where they learned to manage risks and develop skills.
“We want our students to graduate as well-rounded young people and we want them to know their limits.
“We love the outdoors, so we developed our own outdoor education centre.”
There are other outdoor centres in this part of South East Queensland that offer similar activities.
Jay researched everything available, then devised a program that suited Walloon students.
“We put in a high ropes course that students use under the supervision of trained staff,” he explained.
“We developed a fishing program and a Year Five program called Courage Plus.
“We’ve bought kayaks and canoes and had great support from the State Government as well as small fishing grants from Seqwater.”
Over the past few years, the centre opened to students from other schools in the area.
Groups using the school’s program pay for the privilege and the money is used to continue developing it.
“The program includes excursions to nearby waterways,” he said.
“The school has its own canoes, kayaks and fishing equipment.”
In the schoolgrounds there are activities like a high ropes challenge, a leap of faith and the crate climb.
There is a 150 metre scooter track and bike jumps, and a place called the RAD Zone that is used for team building exercises.
“It’s all about taking children out of their comfort zones and into their courage zones and spreading the message of how they can challenge themselves to take the next step.”
