Development Programs at DAS

As Term 1 of our Development Programs comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the achievements of our participants. Over the past few months, we have seen tremendous growth and learning by everyone who has taken part in our programs (Mentors included). So, we decided to ask our Mentors to share their highlights and memorable moments from this term.

Think Tank Program

Our Think Tank program is designed to develop decision making, a better understanding of self, and communication skills. At the final class, there was a debate where the group was challenged to take sides on an argument. Darcy, a Mentor for the program, was impressed with everyone’s courage in the debate, because “public speaking in a more formal type setting is hard”.  All the participants demonstrated growth, but Henry stood out to Darcy because he had “shown growth in confidence- being a lot more ready to speak on any topic” and this term he had even “hosted one of the quizzes as ‘Quiz Master’ in our trivia” where he gave “reasonable clues and spoke confidently and clearly”.  This was an accomplishment for Henry who less than a year ago was usually very quiet in our groups.

Darcy added that “Jamie and Bryson have fully embraced Think Tank as a regular weekly activity”. They combine the program with their own “social meet up”, Darcy said, “they eat out at a restaurant before heading into the session which is nice to see!”. New friendships are always a nice bi-product of the programs as people share values, views and experiences.

Thomas, another Mentor from the Think Tank Program, shared how much he personally values the group as a positive highlight to his week. He has particularly enjoyed watching Bryson participate, saying that “it has been an absolute dream and education to hear the views and really well constructed arguments provided by Bryson”. Thomas commended him, as he  “continues to evolve and grow his communication skills into what I would consider to be scholarly level!”.  We like to call our support workers in these programs Mentors, because mentoring is a two-way street, and they get as much out of the classes as they put in.

Jamz - Music Program

James is our Development Program Coordinator. He is the one we have to thank for all our fabulous programs. His passion towards learning and education is unrivalled and he is most passionate about his latest creation is ‘DAS Jamz’, our music program. Following the first term, he was thrilled to see the “great efforts towards recording an original piece of music” the group made. The group practiced their instruments, coordinated on composing a song, and learned how a record studio operates. James reports that everyone had a great time and “stay tunned for a live performance down the track”.  We will hold you to that James.

C.H.E.F.F. Program

C.H.E.F.F. stands for ‘Cheap, healthy, easy, fast and fun’. This is the focus of our cooking program as they trial recipies from around the world. It’s everyone’s favourite class, because who doesn’t love delicious yummy food and good friends? Sevryn, a Mentor from the CHEFF program, was also impressed by Henry this term (an all-round star and regular at our programs). She noted that “Henry had such an eagerness to learn about what we were making and the origins and facts on each dish”.  Part of the fun of the curriculum is exploring ‘toasties of the world’ and other more exotic dishes, providing diversity and expansion of everyone’s pallets.

Create!

Create! is our longest standing program, that never gets boring because there is always something new to create and imagination is the only limiter. Our Mentor Teisha, has been leading this class for a little while now. She praised Sam’s participation this term and said “It’s been nice watching Sam blossom in a creative and social setting”. She enjoys seeing Sam “bounce art ideas off other participants and help peers with colour choice”.  We agree with Teisha that creative social settings are some of the best.

Overall, we love seeing what everyone creates and gets out of our Programs.  James has been hard at work preparing for Term 2 to keep the content fresh and ever changing. We have many participants who enjoy them so much they come again and again.  This means we have limited availability but we are still open for new attendees. 

If you’d like to book a spot or find out more please email groups@dasnsw.com.au