ALT STUDENTS ON A CODING IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

Our Accelerated Learning Track (ALT) students have had, so far, a year of courage and wonder. They have attended several incursions and excursions to build their skills across various domains including literacy, and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths (STEAM). From a public speaking and debating activity held at the State Library of Victoria, to the Gifted and Talented Junior Conference held at Scotch College, students were able to extend and challenge themselves individually and as members of groups. Most recently, on Friday 25 August, 20 of the ALT students spent the day with Mantel Group, a prominent IT company located on Flinders Street in the heart of Melbourne. Mantel Group is an Australian based IT Consulting company comprised of nine brands with a focus on Cloud. Digital, Design and Data. They have been recognised in the AFR’s 2020 fastest growing new companies, LinkedIn’s Top Australian Startups and recently won back to back for #1 best place to work in 2021 and 2022 in the Great Place to Work Survey.

The students arrived at 10:00am after departing Marian College an hour earlier. We were met by Kerry Callenbach, Mantel Group’s People & Culture Specialist. Students were then seated in the foyer and introduced to the day, which included a range of activities to help then authentically engage with coding and the broader IT field.

The first session involved students working in groups of five with four assigned Mentors: Maya, Shay, Olly, and Mikey. These Mentors were enthusiastic and gifted Mantel Group employees who have a wealth of experience in coding. Groups then worked on two challenges that involved collaboratively building robots as part of the Lego Mindstorms program. They then showcased their efforts to the whole group. It was wonderful to see the students engaged and actively problem-solve before using their computer codes to execute movements in their robots. Mantel Group kindly presented each member of the winning team, which was facilitated by Mentor Mikey, with $25 JB Hi-Fi vouchers. Alexis Tremoulis of Year 7 was awarded the overall ALT winner, as she demonstrated an exceptional degree of all the core skills needed to create the robot and work with the team towards generating its movements. Alexis was astounded when she was awarded with a Google Home, kindly donated by Mantel Group.

Lunch then followed, which was a healthy assortment of salads and sandwiches, catered by the Mantel Group team. Students were able to eat outside and soak up some of the late winter sunshine.

Following lunch, students were treated to a panel of four women who work at Mantel Group as successful coders and experts in their field. They shared a variety of narratives to the ALT students, including a sharing of their journeys into the IT field and previous occupations, including a successful pastry chef. The four panel members had the students deeply engaged and helped demystify some of the misconceptions the students held about IT and the types of work that coders do. Once the panellists finished, students were able to ask questions. This session ran for nearly 20 minutes, with the ALT students keen to hear more from the guests. Questions included queries about championing women in the coding and IT industry, and what were the biggest successes and challenges the panellists faced in their current work. With only minutes left before the bus was to arrive, and students still keen to have their questions answered, Mantel Group was thanked and students were on their way.

Marian College would like to extend its warmest thanks to Kerry Callenbach and Mollie Donald of Mantel Group for providing the students with the chance to meaningfully engage with coding throughout the day. Their efforts are the byproduct of months of hard work and preparation since Vito Milana made contact earlier in the year. Their generosity with their time and resources is much appreciated. We hope that Marian College can continue a partnership with Mantel Group and 2024 and beyond.

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