Friday 26 July 2019

Capsizing and Rolling with 9M

Today was my first kayaking lesson with 9M.  Every first kayaking lesson brings some anxiety because SAFETY is the most important part of our lesson.  We had 13 kayakers and 9 students without gear.  From the beginning of the lesson every student was respectful and mindful of the importance of safety.  There are already students who have been identified as EXCEPTIONAL kayakers and these people were quick to raise their hands to support others today in our lesson.
Some were scared, some loved the thrill of capsizing and having the autonomy to practise and perfect their 5 second wet exit.  I helped to roll Andrew, who bravely stayed in his kayak, upside down under water, while I rolled him over to the surface again.  I love how students in 9M watch and learn and are able to take on the important steps required to complete tasks safely and correctly. 
Thank you 9M for a wonderful lesson.  You really are an amazing kayaking class!

Andrew Simmonds - Flipping like a pro!

3 comments:

  1. Excellent life skills being taught to young people. Well done Whaea Patsy.

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  3. We've just finished our kayaking unit and at the end of it 9 M were one of the highest achieving Y9 classes I've taught in over 20 years at BC. When they get to Y10, we're going to put the students through a learning program with spray skirts where they can learn the techniques to upright an upside down kayak using only their paddles. Pawlata roll, eskimo roll then "Hands Only" (no paddles) for the superstars. They are a great group to work with!

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