Balloon Football success grows

Earlier this year, our Year 12 Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) Integrated Studies class made a welcome return to their partnership with Scope and other disability groups to assist with the Balloon Football League (BFL).

Terms 2 and 3 have seen the Senior VCAL students participating and working with Scope to run the 2022 season of Balloon Football. We are now nearing the end of this year’s program with the Grand Final on Friday 16 September.

The students have participated in a variety of roles: field umpires, goal and boundary umpiring, pushers and scorers. They have developed relationships with the Scope customers and customers from various other disability services around Bendigo.

The students and customers engaged in skills using inter-personal communication, team work, participation and engagement and these skills developed enormously over the past two terms. It is a most rewarding community partnership. BFL is an excellent applied learning program that develops the self-esteem and confidence of not only the students but the clients of BFL and promotes inclusion in our community.

Broadening the student involvement

During Term 3, other classes were invited to participate in Balloon Football.

The Year 11 VCAL classes with Ms Gardiner and Ms Fitton attended a day each. Most students participated with boundary and goal umpiring. One student was confident enough to participate in pushing a game during one game and two students assisted with scoring.

The VET Community Services class (both Year 1 and Year 2) came along for a session and they all were involved in both the boundary and goal umpires and also the pushing of team members during a game.

Mr Kerr’s EAL (English as an Additional Language) students also attended on numerous occasions and they too were involved in both the boundary and goal umpires and also the pushing of team members during the games.

Mrs Jan Miletic, Teacher