Clove Hitches R Us!
Meeting Of Minds
On the 18th of March the Alexandra & Wanaka S.T.A.R. programme had a the meeting of the minds. Meeting of the minds took place at the Wanaka Police station.
Sergeant Aaron Nicholson is the head of Wanaka Search and Rescue and he showed us all around the SaR shed. Ray O’Brien was in charge of the team challenge and is a teacher at Mount Aspiring College.
Our subject was survival but we where focused on learning about ourselves more than our topic.
The wonders of GPS
S.A.R Shed
The Wanaka police station is also the local search and rescue head quarters which Sgt. Aaron Nicholson of the Wanaka police force kindly showed us around.
In the shed we got to see all the gear that the rescue operatives use in action; e.g. rigging plates, pulleys and camelots. We got to use jumars and belay machines (which are both used in rescue operations) to climb ropes attached to the ceiling.
During our visit to the S.A.R. shed Aaron let us test out the radios and see the repeater in action.
We think that the meeting of the minds was a real success.
By Sean and Dara
Weetbix Survivor Special
Meeting of Minds
Behind the S.A.R store is the place where the STAR programme had there challenge, where one of us had a broken leg and the others had to carry them around difficult terrain using only tarps, rope, a bag with and 8 stones.
Ray O’Brien showed us the Clove Hitch knot which became a useful skill during this activity. Once I’d finished working out the knot I looked around at the people still trying to work it out and what their strategy was, some people copied other people who had already mastered the knot, some asked for aid, but many just persisted until they got it.
We then discussed where the group put the majority of their energy in Team, Task or Individual. Each person was given 5 votes to distribute amongst them in a way that reflected their opinion. We then counted up the votes and analyzed the result and its impact on how the group worked. “ What an awesome day!”
Written by Max Hall and Hamish Greening.
Written by Max Hall and Hamish Greening.
Where are you putting your energy? Task, team or individual?
M.O.M
We learnt a lot about ourselves and how we work in a team when we went to the Police station to learn about survival. We gained a lot of factual knowledge about the advanced equipment used by the Search and Rescue squad and their processes.
Most importantly, though, we learnt about ourselves and how we work in a team situation. Some of the things we learnt were
- For success we need to put energy into team, task and individual.
- The more you listen, the more you get out of your experience.
- If we want to learn about ourselves we need to reflect at the end of the task.
- We learn more about ourselves when the task is challenging or difficult.
- Our team worked best when there was a leader. We were more likely to stay on task.
Rescue systems and pulleys
Hang on fair maiden -we've done the puzzle, ate the Weetbix, thrown the loo roll - we are so near the lollies
He who throws it must not touch the ground when picking it up
Also with thanks to Barbara Garr for her balanced judging of the Weetbix -show- us- your -empty- mouth part of the challenge
