Four of 242’s senior cadets travelled to Canadian Forces Base Trenton to attend the Central Region Phase Five, Master Cadet, Proficiency Level 5 Workshops March 14 to 16 as a part of the two year Level 5 Training Program that is offered to cadets from all areas – air, sea and army.
Flight Sergeants Victoria Bennett, Stephen Graydon, Zachary Cooper and Daniel Levinter left from Milton on the 14th with a bus full of other Level 5 cadets from our region. They arrived later in the evening and were assigned to their barracks where they met their bunkmates and prepared for the weekend’s events. There were approximately 180 other cadets who attended the workshop from our region. Workshops ran from early Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.
Each cadet chose to participate in four of the twelve workshops offered. FSgt Bennett and Cooper attended classes in Supervision; Ethics: Making Tough Choices; Team Building and Learning Environments / Classroom Management. FSgt Levinter and Graydon attended workshops on Healthy Relationships, Supervision, Stress Management, and Unit Command.
Although very tired after the long hours of the weekend all four Flight Sergeants had a great weekend and agreed it was really worth their time.
FSgt Zachary Cooper said “My weekend over all was very fun, I caught up with a lot of friends I hadn’t seen since the summer time and I also learned a lot of things that could help me in the future like: how to teach people with different learning types and dealing with disruptive behaviour.”
FSgt Stephen Graydon stated that “These courses have advanced my skills in both my civilian and cadet life. They have taught me the value of managing my stress in daily life, the skills of a leader, and the amount of work that goes into leading a group. My respect for those who have the huge pressure has greatly increased, as I have learned how much work goes into dealing with the normal everyday life of those who lead the people whom support them.”
FSgt Victoria Bennett summarized her experiences by saying that she has learned “how to read a person/situation better and react accordingly; how to deal with all forms of conflict and their causes; how to conduct activities effectively, and how to make everyone, ourselves included, have fun. 🙂
FSgt Daniel Levinter continues to expand his cadet resume through attending this workshop. This past summer Daniel was successful at becoming a glider pilot through his summer training at CFB Trenton.
The experiences these cadets gain through opportunities like these will benefit them greatly in the future. The spring at the 242 Ross Ferguson Squadron brings with it many more activities and opportunities for all of the Erin Air Cadets. April begins with a group of 12 cadets from 242 going on a field trip to Air Canada to use a Flight Simulator.
The follow weekend is a busy one with their Annual Spring Tagging Fundraising Drive April 10 to 13 where cadets will be with their tags at stores and coffee shops in Erin, Hillsburgh and Caledon. In April the cadets will be back up at CFB Borden to take part in gliding once again. The squadron continues to enrol new cadets weekly at the Erin Legion 442 on Dundas Street on Tuesday evenings. It is never too late to join the adventure. Check them out at www.242erinaircadets.com.
