Year 11

Aspire Day

On the first day back of Term 2, the Year 11 students participated in ‘Aspire Day’. 'Aspire Day' was dedicated to exploring and understanding the many different paths in which our futures after high school could lead us, whether that be courses at University or TAFE, or preparing us for the workforce. We were also introduced to many different skills and ways to open up and challenge our mindsets into becoming the best version of ourselves and get the absolute most out of our last couple years of high school. 

'Aspire Day' began a little differently for each group. For groups 1 and 2, Mrs Lunardi helped us to gain a better understanding of the different skills and interests we had each already obtained through a survey. We were introduced to a number of options and career paths that these skills and interests may be suited to, as well as how to go about achieving our goals. This encouraged many of us to start the conversation around our next steps when we completed high school. After the session, we found a lot of information less intimidating, clearer and easier to process. The group then made its way to the Kildare Centre, where there was a range of puzzles to be completed in smaller groups. Each activity required the help of each member of the group, encouraging us to engage and work together through good communication and team working skills to complete the task. This also allowed us to enjoy time with our friends while solving the puzzles which brought lots of laughter and fun.

The group proceeded to the Meeting Room to participate in new activities that worked to engage our minds and work in unison. Through working in a circle with patterns in the form of clapping, amongst other activities, we learnt to listen to each other and concentrate on the task at hand. This activity helped us loosen up and enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed environment.    

After these activities we were fortunate enough to hear from past pupil, Ash Gardner. Ash is the newsreader on Nova FM. From Ash we learnt that it wasn’t an easy journey to her success and took her many years and obstacles such as leaving her life and moving to the country for her first radio job. After some harsh feedback, and demanding work hours, Ash was able to persevere and achieve her end goal. She taught us the importance of persistence, flexibility and a good work ethic and was very inspiring. 

With a visit from Elevation and the many different workshops regarding study skills, having a growth mindset, research techniques and more, it was a day everyone could get something out of, aligning perfectly with upcoming exams and our final years in secondary school. 

'Aspire Day', whilst being an enjoyable and engaging day, encouraged us all to look to the future with optimism and the confidence in knowing we have the tools to reach our potential.

Raani Altamura

Year 11

The VCAL Aspire Day group session helped emphasise the importance of teamwork and how the collaboration of everyone’s ideas can benefit a situation's effectiveness. The difference in perspectives and the ways in which each person would approach the activity was the most interesting part of the evening. As Drew and Aleisha took us through the activities, we used our groups and combined our ideas to ultimately come up with the most effective strategy that completed the activities instantaneously. The four teams became quite competitive which resulted in many debates and arguments on the game rules! 

Overall, the session was very enjoyable and helped us to not only understand the importance of teamwork, but also show the multiple opinions everyone had and how that affected the outcome and overall result on how the games were played and ended.

Alex Strom

Year 11