Friday, 4 October

A huge thank you for all the support at the October High Schoolers Haven, Friday 4 October.

There were 30+ attendees at the event, which spanned across GSAC and the Goonellabah Skatepark.

Considering it was Friday of the long weekend, school holidays and the Koori Knockout, it was wonderful to see some familiar faces return and new attendees.

Thanks to the great ideas from young people, we used the skatepark with a beginners skate lesson from local coach Isaac through Truckstop Sk8. Social Futures provided a Graffitti Art Workshop to give young people an opportunity to leave their mark on their community facilities and to keep everyone cool we had snow cones on offer.

Inside GSAC, thanks to the amazing climate focused SpeakUp! Debate Workshop held in September facilitated by Blue Hills College student, Fareeha, Council's Strategic Planning team continued with a Youth Climate Action Planting activity, where you could take home your very own seedling. Resilient Kids also provided a fun and engaging obstacle course, with a focus on recovery activities.

On popular demand, we saw the return of the Pop-Up OpShop with free items (thanks to Vinnies Goonellabah), Library Chill Zone and art workshops from Rekindling The Spirit. Shout out to all the staff from ACYP, Resilient Kids, REDInc, Family Support Network, Magpie Centre and GSAC/Lismore City Council for being there to play sports, listen and engage.

As always, pizza for dinner and array of afternoon snacks thanks to funding from Social Futures was a huge hit! We've really appreciated the fresh produce from Smashed Avo, hot pizzas from Dominoes Goonellabah and snacks from Coles/Woolworths Goonellabah.

The lower numbers this month meant staff had more time and the opportunity to really connect with attendees. Especially now that we have gotten to know each other over a few months. We have loved your suggestions, feedback and look forward to putting some ideas into place for the final November event. (Yes we heard you loud and clear - we will definitely have ice blocks!)

See you all at Goonellabah Skatepark for High Schoolers Haven on Friday, 1 November.