It doesn’t take a lot to make a positive impact on someone else’s life and James Smith (10/PR) in Year 10 is a great example of this. Over the past couple of months, James has chosen to be a swim instructor on Saturday afternoons for a couple of hours with the Rainbow Club at Newington Pool as part of his Service Learning. Part of his job includes assisting kids with different disabilities in the pool. James says, “I work with the other instructors to teach a variety of different kids who have different disabilities how to swim.  The one-on-one swimming sessions go for 30 minutes and the kids usually stay in the pool after their lesson.”

He says, as someone who enjoys being in the water, he really likes helping kids develop the same love for water. “One of the kids I work with is only a year younger than me and it is really good to be able to work with him”, he says, “because I can see how even with his disability he can appreciate the water as much as I can.”

James plans on continuing his service for his Duke of Edinburgh Award and further on in the future.

The Newington College Rainbow Club Swimming Program is one of 15 clubs operating in NSW that provides swimming lessons for children with a disability. The Club is focused on providing individual help to those with a disability to acquire skills to allow them to be safe in an aquatic environment.