The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ Try Time! team visited Palm Island last week to deliver their “Only dead fish go with the flow” message to students.
A partnership between South32’s Cannington Mine, Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and the Cowboys, the “Try Time!” program will ran workshops with Year 11 and 12 students at Bwgcolman Community School designed to get them to better understand the peer and social pressures they face and motivate them to make positive choices for themselves, rather than simply following the group.
“We had quite a team make the trip to Palm Island, including our staff, Cowboys 1st Grade Player Scott Bolton and under-20s player Braden Uele and five of the dedicated youth staff and volunteers from YWAM,” Cowboys General Manager - Community Fiona Pelling said.
“A fantastic series of workshops were delivered following on from the topics covered during the 2014 visit of Substance Abuse (Drugs and Alcohol) and Social Media (The Internet and Communications)," she said.
“Topics covered included Active Lifestyles, Engaging in Life, Self Esteem and Body Image, Health Eating (Food and Obesity) and Creating Goals.”
Bwgcolman Community School Principal, Jeff Jones believes in the program so much he sponsored the flights over to Palm Island.
“We had the TryTime! program here last year and the response from the students was incredibly positive, as it was again this year” Mr Jones said.
"The messages are vital for our young people and we are really pleased to be part of the program once again," he said.
The Try Time! team have already delivered over 147 sessions to some 2500 students across the Townsville region and McKinlay Shire with great feedback from teachers and students alike.
The fast-paced, interactive workshops have proved to be a hit with students. The Try Time! messages about the importance of school also seem to be hitting the mark with students.
When asked “What things do you think would help young people stay away from drugs” ,responses from those attending the Substance Abuse workshop were:
• Staying in school, making a life for themselves.
• Being open and getting support from family and friends when you need it.
• Being active, staying healthy and having good friends.
• Learning more about the effects of different drugs earlier in life.
“The impact and the popularity of the program among schools has been incredible, with the Try Time! team having forward bookings for 206 workshops in 2015 to date which will touch over 10,000 students,” Ms Pelling said.
“The Try Time! team will be travelling to Cloncurry to deliver the program at Cloncurry State School and St Joseph’s Catholic School this week.
