Great day for youth

By Nicole Williams
INDOOR beach volleyball brought local VCAL students together.
South East Local Learning and Employment Network (SELLEN), a Dandenong education and employment organisation, ran the inaugural Inter-VCAL Sports Day for disengaged students on Monday 7 March with great success.
Eight teams took part in the event at Casey Indoor Sports Centre from community VCAL centres in the City of Casey and Cardinia Shire Council.
It was also attended by Victoria Police youth officers.
“It was a great event,” SELLEN partnership broker Clorinda Siemienowicz said.
“A lot of the kids prior to event thought it was going to be boring, but after the event they were stoked.”
Ms Siemienowicz said the sporting day was a way to show the students that there are other people who learn differently in the region.
It also taught the students about teamwork, leadership, friendship and offering support and encouragement.
The Narre Community Learning Centre team was the overall winner on the day and youth manager Sarah Cairncross said the students had a great day.
“It was a really positive experience,” she said.
“The feedback is that it has bought them closer as a team, they can’t stop talking about it.”
It was the first event put on by SELLEN, but there will be three more events this year.