The Ararat Regional Art Gallery is one of 17 organisations that the Victorian Department of Education is supporting across the state in delivering similar activities for Education Week.

The event will be held from May 21-27. 

“Ararat Regional Art Gallery has a long and happy history of presenting creative programs for Education Week,” Ararat Regional Art Gallery’s public programs support officer Wendy Stevens said. 

“It‘s a mainstay in our annual calendar and we always look forward to working with the amazing students and teachers from our region’s schools.” 

The workshops, which will be related to the theme of Healthy Mind, Healthy Body, will be run by artist Emma Davies.

Children participating in the half day workshop will have the opportunity to collect natural materials in a bush walk from which they will be able to construct their own tent or ‘tipi’ as a personal sanctuary. 

Participants can then produce objects that they consider important to their well being from available craft materials, which they can place inside their tent or ‘tipi’. 

The intent is to develop resilience by allowing children to create a safe place of calm that they can access mentally or physically.  

The activity is aligned with the Victorian initiative Happy, Healthy and Resilient Kids, which aims at fostering the link between healthy development of students and Victoria’s future prosperity.

Some of the goals of the initiative include intending to achieve a 20 percent increase in students reporting resilience and a 20 percent increase in students undertaking an hour of activity daily, five days a week.

The initiative is also focused on increasing high achievement in students, retaining more students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, within the education system and boosting levels of pride and confidence within the Victorian school system.

These goals coincide with the $5 billion government drive to make Victoria the education state.

Some of the other workshops around the state will include activities from sport, dance, mentoring, yoga, mediation, reading and art, camps, excursions. 

Healthy food will also be encouraged through breakfast clubs and healthy canteen menus.

“The focus of the workshops will be on helping kids develop a healthy mind and healthy body by being active and hands-on in their exploration of the natural world, connecting with nature and in re-using, re-thinking and re-creating through art,” artist Ms Davies said.

“It is fantastic to see so many activities being hosted for Victorian school students right across the state, with the support of the Department’s Education Week grants,” Education Minister James Merlino said about the programs this week.