By ALANA MITCHELSON
HUNDREDS of dads flooded the Hillcrest Christian College multipurpose centre for an evening of fun activities at the school’s first Dads Mentors Date Night.
Dads, stepdads, uncles, grandpas and other male mentors were invited to join Hillcrest students for a night of games, prizes, snags, laughs and a special message for astronauts in training.
There was a selection of table-top and large-scale games set up along with basketball courts, giving participants the chance to share some special one-on-one time with their children.
Casey City Church’s Kevin Manning said the Blue Block Charades proved a popular game because it is run like a game show.
It challenged players to work together to build specific objects out of life-size building blocks.
With a time-limit, the pressure was on and those watching in the audience sat together trying to work out what the item was, much like traditional charades.
A space presentation was delivered by NASA-trained space science teacher Mr Manning on the subject of ‘astronaut training’.
“It was a fun night enjoyed by all. It was fantastic seeing male role models getting involved with the children,” he said.
“Research shows that when a committed dad or male mentor participates in school activities and events, a child’s developmental outcomes improve in every area. Male mentors are important in children’s futures. That is a fact.”
The free event gave attendees the opportunity to make a silver-coin donation towards supporting the men’s shed. Participants brought their five, 10, 20 and 50 cent pieces that were found lying around their homes.
Due to its success, another Dads Mentors Date Night is planned in the coming weeks at Rivercrest Christian College.
The event was held as a joint effort between Casey City Church’s Kevin Manning, Andrew Austin of City of Casey’s Dad’s Matter and Hillcrest community development officer Melani Van der Westhuizen.
