Well, what can I say about this group of students…they were fun, honest, caring and truly do shine from within. With every single course that we run, I feel so blessed to have such gorgeous students there, even if they’re not too sure about the whole thing when they rock up!
Here’s a little sneak peak at the week…
The course went for a week, as we usually do with our teen wellbeing programs, running from about 10am – 5pm each day. Each course is slightly different, depending on what the students attending actually need and want, and how the week unfolds. This round we had some really beautiful chats about social media and our personal brand, friendships, self-worth and natural beauty (as well as all of the other subjects that we cover!).
These courses would not be possible without the support of A LOT of wonderful people. So I’d love to thank our guest teachers, youth mentors, supporters and friends.
This round, we had the pleasure of hearing from the following guest teachers:
- Melinda Muston, who guided them through a meditation class
- Ashley Jubinville (aka the Kitchen Coach) who shared her knowledge about food and nutrition and got the girls involved making pesto (which was a HUGE hit) and cranberry bounty bars (delicious!)
- Kat Harding, who guided them through some yoga in the park
- Kelly Carthy, who took them through some body awareness exercises and fitness for strong bodies, finishing down on the beach
- The team from Everescents, who shared their knowledge and tips for beautiful natural and organic hair care
- Sharyn Holmes who guided them through a creative activity at the end of the week to create their own beautiful mantras
- Zoe Champion, who helped them to put their outfits together in a way that allowed them to express how they wanted to feel
As well as our two photographers:
- Moriah Overell (who captured their beauty during photoshoot day)
- Renee Bell (who captured all of the above behind-the-scenes photos as well as their beauty on photoshoot day)
Plus our recently trained Youth Mentors who supported them (and me!) throughout the week:
- Amy Cook
- Renee Bell
- Melinda Muston
- Kirsten Morrison
- Sharyn Holmes
Plus our amazing Brylie Hillegers, who helps to bring the courses to life behind-the-scenes and supported us for the whole week.
And the amazing venue, which allows us to spread out, move around, get loud if we want to and truly shine – thank you Peregian Beach Community House!
And last, but definitely not least, our incredible supporters, who kindly donated or provided discounts for our goodie bags. We take care to ensure that the goodie bags are filled with natural, Australian-made products that are useful and practical. These businesses are ethical, natural and are run by beautiful people – they are definitely worth checking out and supporting!
- Wellineux (thank you for the chapters of your Journey of Me workbooks)
- Bake Mixes (thank you for the packets of muffin mix!)
- Kylie’s Professional (thank you for the eye shadow samples and make up for our class)
- Coconut Magic (thank you for the delicious raw energy bars)
- Coconut Groove (thank you for the carton of coconut water to fuel our smoothies all week!)
- Loving Earth (thank you for the delicious raw, vegan heart-shaped choccies)
- Gutsy Mantra Cards (thank you for the inspiring decks of cards)
- TOM Organic (thank you for the samples of your organic tampons and pads)
- Design by Bryile (thank you for the gorgeous ‘grateful’ print)
- Easy pH (thank you for the samples of pH paper so the girls can test their alkaline/acid balance from home)
- Noosa Basics (thank you for the discounted handmade, organic lip balms and deodorants)
- My Eco Sponges (thank you for the beautiful eco sponges)
- Everescents Organic Hair Care (thank you for giving each girl a personalised set of shampoo and conditioner to suit their hair type)
I always learn so much from the students and this time they taught me just how powerful it is to turn up as your true, authentic self. They weren’t afraid to share their awesomeness (and silliness!) with us and it resulted in beautiful friendships and great discussions with different opinions shared respectfully. As adults we can be so guarded at times so it was refreshing to see these teens showing up as themselves. I feel very privileged to have had a chance to get to know them and hold the space for them as they went a little deeper into their own personal development.
Thank you gorgeous ones and keep on shining!
You can connect in with a lovely bunch of teens from around the world right now with our Online Academy!
And if you’re keen to support our programs or become a Youth Mentor yourself, make sure to check out our Youth Mentor Training here.
Amanda xx