As we get to the end of Week 6, Level 3 was welcomed by all! The withdrawals from takeaways and hot coffees were no longer, with people being able to fulfill their desires of store bought meals! Although I did feel slightly robbed of my usual Dunedin takeaway options (there was no frozen coke for me girls 😥😉).

But in all seriousness it was a great feeling to be moving down a level on Wednesday. The sun was shining and everyones moods seem to lift! Well done for staying home and doing your part, if we can keep this up we will be back at Tolcarne in no time!

Last week the hostel staff participated in 'Formal Friday'. This is feel good Friday activity started by Hilary Barry, encouraging people to get dressed up while in lockdown. We all made do with what was available in our bubbles, from wedding dresses to dress ups, suits and even photo shopped hair... Take a look below at our 'Formal Friday', Tolcarne style!!

This week we have been lucky enough to have some familiar faces join in on our lockdown activities. To begin the week we had the Tasty Twins (Emily and Sophie) on board. These girls are based in Wellington (having studied in Dunedin) and are into all things, food, wellbeing, fitness and hacks to make study a bit easier! They have also written a book and run a successful social media account. Emily and Sophie created a challenge for the girls, wanting to see the best recreation of one of their recipes. Up for grabs is their amazing book, which we will select a winner for in the upcoming days!

As the days have passed, we have found that it has been harder to get outside and move our bodies. This movement is great for mental and physical health, so this is where some other faces joined us!

Amy du Plessis from the Black Ferns shared a daily challenge for the girls. She put together two tasks, that anyone within your bubble could attempt! One she had mastered and one was a work on 😜

On Thursday we had yoga classes provided for the Tolcarne community from Anna Perkins. If you are interested, there is a link to the group on our Facebook page that you are welcome to join! Yoga is such a great way to move your body, stretch out any muscles and be mindful. We hope everyone enjoyed a chance to wind down with some of Anna's amazing tutorial videos.

Today we were lucky enough to hear from Rose Keddell - who plays for the the New Zealand Black Sticks! Rose is just home from the Tokyo Olympics and encouraged the girls to head outside to do some star jumps, burpies and high knees. This is a great idea for a short break in-between study, to refresh your mind!

We loved hearing from various people throughout the week, it has certainly inspired and made me feel more motivated! So a big thank you to Amy du Plessis, Anna Perkins and Rose Keddell for giving up their time to create some active challenges for us. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve, so keep an eye out on our social media platforms!

We are looking forward to seeing all of your creations for the Tasty Twins competition (finishing at 5pm today)! Make sure to get any last minute entries through to Isla, you don't want to miss out on a chance to win their new book!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Make sure to enjoy some relaxing time during your two days off and even treat yourself to a takeaway or hot cafe drink - it is the little things that can bring us such joy! We are looking forward to welcoming you back very soon, wahoo 😎

Year 9 PE 'He waka eke noa'