HOW I SPENT MY WINTER HOLIDAYS

How I spent my winter holidays

Melanie Henderson cruised around town asking whoever
she found to tell of their holiday experiences.
(She also took the photos)

Jacob: I'm going to Darwin tomorrow and we are staying there for a week. We are staying at our friends house, Longy, Traz's mum and dad. We are gong to be there for a week and I'm going to go fishing with dad, do shopping to get some clothes and maybe some boots.
What else have you been doing on your holidays?
Um, I don't know. Dad said he might take us to that crocodile jumping thing if I be good and my sister. Um, that's all really.
Michael: I went to the show, I've been to the cyber cafe quite a few times well most of my holidays. That's all, nothing much.
I was meant to go away but my mum and that were getting sick.
Dwayne: On the first week of the holidays I went up to Darwin for a week. I've been to the show, I've spent about a week at the cyber cafe and I've been watching videos all weekend.
I went up to Darwin for the N.T baseball tryouts. I did pretty well. I made the team last year.
Are you planning to do anything for the rest of your holidays?
Dwayne: Not much, just staying at home watching videos and playing the playstation.
Are you looking forward to going back to school?
Yeah sort of because the holidays can get boring, because the holidays are too long.
If you were to change the holiday times what would you want them to change it to?
Two weeks per holiday, like two weeks, another two weeks and another two weeks and then a really big holiday for Christmas.
Larissa Hodges (teacher): I went up to Darwin for a week and that was a nice rest, not thinking about work. Now I just come into work because I get bored.
I don't think I would change the holiday times. I've achieved a lot in these holidays, had a relaxed time and now I'm catching up on work. Getting ahead of things.
Are you looking forward to going back to school?
Yes and no. No because of the stresses, yes because I'm bored.
Would you prefer the holidays to be two weeks, two weeks, two weeks and then a big holiday at Christmas?
No. I like the one week, four weeks, one week, big holiday. The only things kids can do really is the pinball parlours, the cyber cafe, the Dam; but it's too cold. It would take them a day to ride out there so that might keep them busy. There is not much for kids to do here, the town seems to die during the holidays; everyone leaves town.
Ben: I've been doing a bit of mechanics and diesel fitting over the school holidays at Fluid Power. Earning some money and a trade and I'm learning a bit of a education for the future. I've been going out to the mines and hanging around the joint, working on big machinery.
So you are really enjoying yourself then?
Yep, It's good fun.
Did you go away for your holidays at all?
Nup, stayed and worked here the whole time earning money.
Do you like the four week holiday in the middle of the year?
Yeah. I'd work for the middle holidays and for the six week holidays I'd just go on a holiday and just work here when I come back. Tarmo and I are going out to the mines later on because he has to change a couple of hoses and stuff on some big machinery, I can learn a bit more.
Leah: I haven't done much at all on these holidays. We went to Alice last week and came back on Thursday, and I went to the show, and today I'm supposed to be going to Borroloola fishing and then next weekend we are going to Alice again. I haven't been doing anything in between.
Sarah: I've been out, I've been to my friends house, I go to work, I don't just sleep in all day. I'm still in my P.J's because I had a late night or early morning. I was talkiºng.
Sarah, didn't you go on the Army camp?
Yeah, that was pretty good. I didn't learn a lot but it was good. We did all the raids and everything got covered in yoghurt.
Do you like having a four week break in the middle of the year?
Sarah: No I think it sux. It's too long - it should be two weeks or three weeks. It just drags on. I'd change it two having two weeks, two weeks, two weeks and then a big holiday at the end.
Leah: Me to.
Are you looking forward to going back to school?
Sarah: Yep, for something to do.
Leah: Um... I don't know.
Cheyenne and Channae: We went to the Borroloola fishing club and we went fishing and caught some Jew fish. We saw this big crocodile across the river in one of the channels we had to go through to get out into the ocean. It was scary. In the ocean we saw a dolphin. We got to sit in the boat while they were backing it into the water.
Did you do anything else on the trip?
Cheyenne: We took our bikes and rode them around back at the camp. We weren't allowed to go near the water because of crocodiles. That was really fun though. Oh yeah, we also went for a look on a houseboat with Whitney, Michelle and Uncle Bill.
Did you go to the show?
Yeah and we got a showbag each. Channae got a Pooh Bear bag and I got one that had a CD holder in it. We went on lots of rides which were really fun.
Are you looking forward to going back to school?
Yeah, sometimes the holidays get boring. At school there is always something to do. Channae is in year one now, I'm in year four.
Channae: Yep!
What recreational activities did the sport and rec centre have going over the holidays?
Lea: There were heaps of things going on such as volleyball, indoor soccer, fishing at the Mary Ann dam, under 18's disco's, table tennis, pool competitions, Badminton, BBQ's, arts and crafts, bush trips, damper making and we have started windsurfing and canoeing at the dam plus all the NAIDOC activities during NAIDOC week. There was heaps.
We took a group of kids up to Elliott for three days out at Lake Woods. There they participated in a wide range of activities such as canoeing, fishing, drives around the bush and and they danced around the fire. It was just a fun outing for the kids so they didn't get bored over the holidays staying around town.
Do these sports just run over the school holidays?
No, some of them also run when the school term starts after school.
What activities were there during NAIDOC week?
NAIDOC week went from the 4th till the 11th of July with a range of sports such as football, softball, basketball and gym circuits for kids over 13.
Kevin S: I went home to Murray Downs for a couple of weeks. Out there I played football and went hunting. Now that I'm back in town I haven't done much but play football.
Lester: I went back home to Epenarra where I played football out bush. They just got a new basketball hoop and court out there to. I haven't done muck since I've been back in town either.
Kevin L: I came from Alice and went to Epenarra then came to Tennant Creek. I go to school in Alice. I've been playing footy with Kevin and Lester as well. At NAIDOC week I played a bit of basketball as well as footy.
Did you enjoy NAIDOC week?
Kevin L: Yeah, it was fun.
Do you like the holidays the way they are or would you change them so you have a bigger holiday at the end of the year?
Kevin S: I would rather two week breaks between the school terms and a long break over Christmas. It gets boring otherwise.
Lester: Yeah, that would be better.
Kevin L: I don't know.
Are you looking forward to going back to school?
Unanimous: Yes!

How I spent my winter holidays Melanie Henderson cruised around town asking whoever she found to tell of their holiday experiences. (She also took the photos) Jacob: I'm going to Darwin tomorrow and we are staying there for a week. We are staying at our friends house, Longy, Traz's mum and dad. We are gong to be there for a week and I'm going to go fishing with dad, do shopping to get some clothes and maybe some boots. What else have you been doing on your holidays? Um, I don't know. Dad said he might take us to that crocodile jumping thing if I be good and my sister. Um, that's all really. Michael: I went to the show, I've been to the cyber cafe quite a few times well most of my holidays. That's all, nothing much. I was meant to go away but my mum and that were getting sick. Dwayne: On the first week of the holidays I went up to Darwin for a week. I've been to the show, I've spent about a week at the cyber cafe and I've been watching videos all weekend. I went up to Darwin for the N.T baseball tryouts. I did pretty well. I made the team last year. Are you planning to do anything for the rest of your holidays? Dwayne: Not much, just staying at home watching videos and playing the playstation. Are you looking forward to going back to school? Yeah sort of because the holidays can get boring, because the holidays are too long. If you were to change the holiday times what would you want them to change it to? Two weeks per holiday, like two weeks, another two weeks and another two weeks and then a really big holiday for Christmas. Larissa Hodges (teacher): I went up to Darwin for a week and that was a nice rest, not thinking about work. Now I just come into work because I get bored. I don't think I would change the holiday times. I've achieved a lot in these holidays, had a relaxed time and now I'm catching up on work. Getting ahead of things. Are you looking forward to going back to school? Yes and no. No because of the stresses, yes because I'm bored. Would you prefer the holidays to be two weeks, two weeks, two weeks and then a big holiday at Christmas? No. I like the one week, four weeks, one week, big holiday. The only things kids can do really is the pinball parlours, the cyber cafe, the Dam; but it's too cold. It would take them a day to ride out there so that might keep them busy. There is not much for kids to do here, the town seems to die during the holidays; everyone leaves town. Ben: I've been doing a bit of mechanics and diesel fitting over the school holidays at Fluid Power. Earning some money and a trade and I'm learning a bit of a education for the future. I've been going out to the mines and hanging around the joint, working on big machinery. So you are really enjoying yourself then? Yep, It's good fun. Did you go away for your holidays at all? Nup, stayed and worked here the whole time earning money. Do you like the four week holiday in the middle of the year? Yeah. I'd work for the middle holidays and for the six week holidays I'd just go on a holiday and just work here when I come back. Tarmo and I are going out to the mines later on because he has to change a couple of hoses and stuff on some big machinery, I can learn a bit more. Leah: I haven't done much at all on these holidays. We went to Alice last week and came back on Thursday, and I went to the show, and today I'm supposed to be going to Borroloola fishing and then next weekend we are going to Alice again. I haven't been doing anything in between. Sarah: I've been out, I've been to my friends house, I go to work, I don't just sleep in all day. I'm still in my P.J's because I had a late night or early morning. I was talkiºng. Sarah, didn't you go on the Army camp? Yeah, that was pretty good. I didn't learn a lot but it was good. We did all the raids and everything got covered in yoghurt. Do you like having a four week break in the middle of the year? Sarah: No I think it sux. It's too long - it should be two weeks or three weeks. It just drags on. I'd change it two having two weeks, two weeks, two weeks and then a big holiday at the end. Leah: Me to. Are you looking forward to going back to school? Sarah: Yep, for something to do. Leah: Um... I don't know. Cheyenne and Channae: We went to the Borroloola fishing club and we went fishing and caught some Jew fish. We saw this big crocodile across the river in one of the channels we had to go through to get out into the ocean. It was scary. In the ocean we saw a dolphin. We got to sit in the boat while they were backing it into the water. Did you do anything else on the trip? Cheyenne: We took our bikes and rode them around back at the camp. We weren't allowed to go near the water because of crocodiles. That was really fun though. Oh yeah, we also went for a look on a houseboat with Whitney, Michelle and Uncle Bill. Did you go to the show? Yeah and we got a showbag each. Channae got a Pooh Bear bag and I got one that had a CD holder in it. We went on lots of rides which were really fun. Are you looking forward to going back to school? Yeah, sometimes the holidays get boring. At school there is always something to do. Channae is in year one now, I'm in year four. Channae: Yep! What recreational activities did the sport and rec centre have going over the holidays? Lea: There were heaps of things going on such as volleyball, indoor soccer, fishing at the Mary Ann dam, under 18's disco's, table tennis, pool competitions, Badminton, BBQ's, arts and crafts, bush trips, damper making and we have started windsurfing and canoeing at the dam plus all the NAIDOC activities during NAIDOC week. There was heaps. We took a group of kids up to Elliott for three days out at Lake Woods. There they participated in a wide range of activities such as canoeing, fishing, drives around the bush and and they danced around the fire. It was just a fun outing for the kids so they didn't get bored over the holidays staying around town. Do these sports just run over the school holidays? No, some of them also run when the school term starts after school. What activities were there during NAIDOC week? NAIDOC week went from the 4th till the 11th of July with a range of sports such as football, softball, basketball and gym circuits for kids over 13. Kevin S: I went home to Murray Downs for a couple of weeks. Out there I played football and went hunting. Now that I'm back in town I haven't done much but play football. Lester: I went back home to Epenarra where I played football out bush. They just got a new basketball hoop and court out there to. I haven't done muck since I've been back in town either. Kevin L: I came from Alice and went to Epenarra then came to Tennant Creek. I go to school in Alice. I've been playing footy with Kevin and Lester as well. At NAIDOC week I played a bit of basketball as well as footy. Did you enjoy NAIDOC week? Kevin L: Yeah, it was fun. Do you like the holidays the way they are or would you change them so you have a bigger holiday at the end of the year? Kevin S: I would rather two week breaks between the school terms and a long break over Christmas. It gets boring otherwise. Lester: Yeah, that would be better. Kevin L: I don't know. Are you looking forward to going back to school? Unanimous: Yes!