Around the School (1 of 2) 

VCAL JOB CAMP

By Andrew Ware (VCAL & VET Coordinator) 

One of the great things about VCAL is opening up training experiences for our students. 

One of these opportunities this year has been Job Camp, where over three days our students were able to gain nationally recognised qualifications in Safe Food Handling, Responsible Service of Alcohol, and a Barista (coffee-making) course. 

These job-ready skills are much in demand in the service industry, and give students qualifications they can take with them into employment opportunities both now and in the future.

It was great to see the students engage with the training and get the most out of the days. The feedback from the trainers was that our students were positive and really engaged with their work.

You never know, maybe the next person to hand you a well-made cup of coffee at your favourite cafe will be one of our VCAL students!

Well done to both Year 11 and Year 12 VCAL classes!

VCE Legal Camp

By Vicky Fraanje (Deputy Principal)

Our dedicated Legal Studies students (along with Stuart our Bus Driver and Mr Neil) were up particularly early on Wednesday morning as we departed BHCS at 6am.  A nasty car accident meant we sat on the Ring Road for quite some time. However, this did not dampen moods as we travelled up the Hume Hwy with only a couple of very short stops on the way.  Our stops did include introducing many students to the Dog on the Tuckerbox...5 miles from Gundagai...We arrived at the Australian War Memorial and unbeknown to me, they asked if we would lay a wreath and our school was mentioned as being in attendance.  It was a solemn but lovely service as one of the servicemen who died in battle was honoured. Our students acquitted themselves very well with very little notice. Well done, Jordi and Georgie!

Canberra was very unkind to us, it basically rained steadily the first two days.  The view from Mt Ainslie was non-existent, but a return on the last night showed clearly the layout of a very planned city. Our days were jam packed - High Court, National Archives, Royal Aust. Mint, Museum of Australian Democracy, Australian Electoral Commision, Parliament House and we even squeezed in a visit to Questacon and a round of 'glow in the dark mini golf' on Thursday night.

I'm biased, but BHCS students are the best, they are respectful, attentive and inquisitive.  They represented the school and their families extremely well.

Being able to experience 'in real life' the things we talk about in class is just so special, it literally brings our conversations and learning to life.

I'm always excited and willing to share with students my passion for our political and legal system, that's why this trip is so important to me.  Not many countries can claim to have such a stable system of government, nor do people around the world have the same freedoms and opportunities as we have to have our voices heard. I am thankful to have a voice in how my country runs and blessed to have a legal system that for the most part offers fairness, access and equality. 

Year 8 YRTS Excursion

By Allen Dickson

This past Monday and Tuesday, Year 8RH had the opportunity to attend a STEM excursion at Yarra Ranges Tech School. Within a Human-Centred Design Framework, the students had to find a way to help some fictional characters in the YRTS Hospital:

·      Emma – a Paralympian who needed to maintain fitness while bedridden.

·      Lachie – a physiotherapist who was struggling with patient engagement.

·   Teddy – a young person who has been in and out of hospitals so often that he is beginning to dread each visit.

To create solutions, our students worked on creating electronic circuits that could set off alarms and lights when it was time for Emma to exercise, or pressure switches to create disco beats to get Lachie’s patients up and dancing. These were made from Little Bits – a magnetic circuitry system that uses inputs, outputs and wires (that manipulate the signal).

Other students used robotic dogs as companion pets for Teddy’s frequent hospital stays. They programmed the puppy to sit, beg, face plant and even… er… raise just one rear leg. Teddy had nothing to fear from this programmed pooch as its mega-bark was definitely worse than its mega-byte!