Career Expo

The school attended an excursion to the Career Expo in the city and the displays were amazing. Some of the highlights were watching the different trades competing, watching the robotic army dog and trying on a 10-kilo army pack. There was some serious thinking about possible career opportunities.

Children and Families Career Expo

Orange Group

A small group attending the local Childcare and Family work expo which was really well set out. We attended the lecture on Nursing job opportunities and overall it was a good experience that challenged a few to seriously consider a career in the Caring fields.

Bounce

In a recent excursion, a dynamic group of students embarked on an exhilarating journey to Bounce, where laughter and joy echoed through the air. With a heart full of enthusiasm, they dove into a world of adventure, embracing the thrill of climbing, the euphoria of bouncing, and the camaraderie of shooting hoops.

At Bounce, their spirits soared as they conquered climbing challenges that tested their courage. The trampolines became their launch pads to boundless excitement, where gravity seemed to playfully dance with their every jump.

The radiant energy of these students filled the Bounce arena, turning moments into memories. Their visit wasn't just an outing; it was a rendezvous with exhilaration, a celebration of teamwork, and a chapter etched in the book of unforgettable experiences.

Stay tuned for more electrifying stories of adventure and camaraderie as we continue to explore the world around us!

Whittlesea Tech School – Student Ambassador Day.

Plenty River College Student participants – Matilda, Jay and Anna.

Student Ambassadors meet on a regular basis to participate in STEM-based activities and projects. Recently our students participated in their 3rd workshop for the year. They work alongside the Tech School staff, community and industry partners to build their student agency at the Tech School and develop technical and enterprise skills necessary for success as leaders in the future workforce. This year, students are working in groups and have selected an interactive projection/installation project. Through working in teams on these projects, Student Ambassadors have engaged with a variety of technologies on-site at the Tech School, developed communication and collaboration skills through participation in the STEM project and they continue to develop leadership capabilities through teamwork. We look forward to seeing the final product from our students.

Career Expo

The school attended an excursion to the Career Expo in the city and the displays were amazing. Some of the highlights were watching the different trades competing, watching the robotic army dog and trying on a 10-kilo army pack. There was some serious thinking about possible career opportunities.

Children and Families Career Expo

Orange Group

A small group attending the local Childcare and Family work expo which was really well set out. We attended the lecture on Nursing job opportunities and overall, it was a good experience that challenged a few to seriously consider a career in the Caring fields.

Yarra Valley Chocolatier

From the beginning of term 3, Rainbow Group, led by Jay Cousins, have been planning the term 3 excursion. Rainbow group decided upon the chocolate factory as it linked to our sustainability topic for PDS, the group planned the excursion including researching costing, transport and doing a mock risk assessment. On Wednesday 23rd August, all of their hard work cumulated in a visit to the Yarra Valley Chocolatier and Ice Creamery.

Students attended an Information Session on the topic of Community Engagement and Sustainability. We learnt about how YVC collect rainwater on their specially designed roof, processed recycled water under the building to use it to water their 40 acres of land. We also learnt about their efforts with recycling and buying from local sustainable businesses.

Students then attended a Taste and Create Workshop where they were able to taste a variety of chocolates made at the factory and then created their own Rocky Road by choosing from over 50 ingredients and what type of chocolate to add to their creation. Students also made a hot chocolate melt sticks with their own choice of chocolate and add-ins. We went on to explore the items for purchase at the shop, had lunch at the cafeteria and explored the grounds.

Jesuit Social Services Navigator Programme

Plenty River College is at the very start of a new partnership with the Jesuit Social Services. The latter’s Navigator program support learners who are disengaged, aged 12-17 years, to re-engage with education or training pathway. It therefore encapsulates the very essence of our existence as a specialist provider of senior secondary education for disadvantaged and disengaged young people between the ages of 15-17 years.

A very crucial similarity should be noted that their participants/clients and our cohort of learners are, for the most part, the chronically disengaged from education and often present with poor mental health or neurodiversity. The minor difference in the age cohort notwithstanding, both the NP and PRC share a distinct desire to actively work with young people and their support networks to identify and address underlying issues in disengagement and assist in expanding opportunities for re-engagement, with individually suitable learning pathways. The complementarity of our two entities is better understood as consisting of a series of targeted initiatives to support young people to overcome barriers to flourishing in education and learning pathway.

Our shared perspectives on many of the identified issues easily allowed us to reach out to each other for dialogue and collaboration. Beginning with meetings with, and subsequent referrals from, NP case managers, PRC enthusiastically accepted the request to host 10 team members of the program on Tuesday 8th August 2023.

The visit allowed the representatives of both entities to get to know each other in person as well as engage in bilateral dialogue and exchange of views and practices.

The PRC team, ably led by our Assistant Principal Kim Gray, included Katarina Digala and Paul Adigun. Our collective presentation covered the whole gamut of; PRC enrolment process, Eligibility issues, Curriculum choice and delivery, Flexible learning strategies; Attendance Plans and Timetable. Above all PRC, both in words and deeds impressed upon our visitors the centrality of an adequate well-being provision as sine qua non to a sustainable re-engagement in learning pathway.

I should conclude this brief by referencing the positive feedback from the visiting team members and the referrals received thus far. There are reasonable indicators pointing in the direction of a mutually beneficial relationship arising from the ongoing interactions between PRC and the managers of the JSS NP. I am confident that as a team, we are well placed to embrace the opportunities and the challenges ahead.

Paul Adigun

Important Notices