Community
27 November, 2024
Students make a difference
A VISIT to Cobdenhealth to meet with residents has sparked a new passion in a group of Cobden Technical School students.
Over a number of weeks this term students in the VCE VM Personal Development Skills class spent time interacting with residents at Cobdenhealth.
Leading teacher Anna Gore said Cobdenhealth’s Sue Loving reached out to the school to see if any students would be able to help residents with their technology problems.
“The unit three of the VCE VM Personal Development Skills unit that the students were doing was all about the community, so I thought this was a fantastic opportunity for the students to get out in the community and potentially make a difference in visiting with some of our senior residents,” she said.
“As I am from Warrnambool and didn’t have any contacts in the Cobden area, this was an offer I jumped at.
“As part of our course the students watched ‘Old Peoples Homes for Teenagers’ and started to think about the impact that they may be able to have on their own senior community members.”
During the series of visits students formed connections with the residents and swapped life stories with each other.
Ms Gore said as a teacher watching her students, she was “filled with pride”.
“The personal growth of students as they showed care and empathy towards the residents was something I will never forget,” she said.
“I would sit back and watch the students actively listening to stories, showing interest in crafts and even playing bingo.
“Coming back to school we would debrief, and students would speak abut the residents with a smile on their faces.
“As the visits went on, I could see the connections being made and friendships being formed.”
On the last visit for the year, students made bouquets of flowers and chocolates to hand out to as many residents as they could.
Ms Gore believes the visits could have a lasting impression on the students.
“The students have asked me to meet with Sue to help them create a community project for next year based on the nursing home visits,” she said.
“We will continue weekly visits, and the students will be more hands-on in organising activities.
“Three of the students have also signed on to complete a Community Services Certificate at South West TAFE next year as these visits have ignited a passion and a drive to help the community.”
Ms Gore said students took time to reflect on their visits and overall their perception of older residents and the value they have in a community had changed.
“They have talked with the residents about their younger lives, their families, work lives, and how they came to be residing at Cobdenhealth,” she said.
“The students now have an understanding that they can make a difference in the lives of older community members and can help them overcome isolation and lonelieness, two themes that can apply to teenagers also.
“The look of excitement on the residents’ faces when the students arrived was priceless.”
Mrs Loving thanked the students for their visits and said the residents had enjoyed interacting with the students.
“Residents here at Cobdenhealth look forward to visits from the Cobden Tech students where they gather together to talk about their school days and life in general,” she said.
Read More: Cobden