VCAL/Pathways 

BREKKY CLUB  

The Year 12 VCAL students and teachers have set up a Breakfast Club in the cafeteria area, to make sure everyone has a good start to the day. The location is accessible to all and many students and staff come over and grab some breakfast for themselves at no cost. 

The planning involved to set up the Breakfast Club took over several weeks. It included many tasks such as preparing a list of foods to be provided for breakfast that were nutritious. We researched the dietary requirements and which foods would be best to provide these. VCAL students also organised a roster so that responsibilities are shared and promotional posters were created and displayed on the TV screens around the school. 

The Breakfast Club offers various foods such as fruit cups, milk, cereal, soups, rice, and our most popular, toasties with various condiments available to go alongside. 

The response to the Breakfast Club has been positive, with many students and staff coming by to grab some breakfast to start their day. 

Open Tuesday and Thursday mornings! 

By Enes Arifi and Hadi Baz Ali

Learning about safety 

The Work Related Skills unit about Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), has helped us to think about the potential hazards that we need to be aware of for our own and others’ safety. 

Year 12 VCAL students organised some fun activities and games for students to participate in on the day of the School Swimming Sports. Many students from Years 7-12 participated in the activities, competed and had fun. Although planning an activity seemed easy, it was only when students were actively participating in some games, that we realised how important it is to consider the safety aspect when planning, not just the fun.   

Many students from all year levels participated in the competitions and games that were organised. We learnt the importance of working in teams and supporting each other to achieve our goal. 

By Fatima Gul Sedaqat and Marjan Sarwari 

The TAFE Experience 

Attending TAFE to complete a VET course is part of the VCAL program. 

What is TAFE? 

TAFE is a great way to get practical learning on the career path you choose.  

Nash and Paduma are both Year 12 VCAL students who are studying at Chisholm TAFE.  

I am currently studying Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology at Chisholm. We use a variety of programs such as Unreal engine, Google sketchup, Quixel and other programs that will develop the understanding and skills required for my vocation. I want to pursue animating and texturing for video games. The course is actually really fun and that makes me actually want to do the work. I recommend the course I'm doing, for people that want to learn how to use programs to make games - Nash

What are the benefits of TAFE?  

Entry into TAFE to complete a VET course does not have any entry requirements, it is cheaper and depending on the course, it can be completed over a year or two. If you like hands-on work and a more applied approach to learning instead of theory, then TAFE is perfect for you. 

Here is another personal experience from Paduma.  

At this moment, I’m completing my Certificate III in Digital Media and Technology at Chisholm. I chose to do this specific course to learn more about design and structure, so I can create something I’d feel pleased about. I’ve created stuff online before, and even began this course last year (which was my first year at TAFE). This year, I have been able to improve and develop my understanding and skills further. Instead of simple textural designs, we were told to start animating on Unreal Engine, which is a program the majority people use. I’m not too fond of work, but this kept me motivated to continue. Right now, we’re doing more texturing, and working on a new outcome that is audio!       

Here are just some courses that are offered at Chisholm TAFE 

Allied Health & Nursing                       Business & Finance 

Engineering                                             Art design & photography 

Hospitality & Events                              Community & social services  

Hair beauty & makeup                          IT & cybersecurity 

Automotive                                               Early childhood & education support 

Building Trades                                       Horticulture & landscaping 

Sport, fitness & massage  

Here is the link for further information:

https://www.chisholm.edu.au/Courses 

By Joshua Benedetto, Paduma Weerasekara and Nash Lloyd 

A work place experience 

In the VCAL program we are required to complete hours of work in a work placement that is linked to our area of interest and vocation. There are work placements in Hospitality, Building and Construction, Health and Community Service, Hairdressing, Manufacturing, Painting, Veterinary, etc. I have a passion for animals and when starting my work placement at a pet store, I was very nervous and unsure how to begin. 

On the first day, I was told to look around and become familiar with the store. I also had to clean the animals’ cages, mainly birds, guinea pigs and rabbits. I also restocked shelves and filled up bird seeds in bags. 

While doing these tasks I was learning about the products themselves. One important thing that I didn’t know before was the barcodes of products and how the products are identified by the last three numbers on the shelf and products. This also makes it easier to restock.   

Completing the required workplace hours, provides us with valuable experiences and credits towards our VCAL Certificate.  

By Hayley Halge 

RETRO DAY RECAP 

Retro Day for the Year 12s at Lyndale Secondary College on the 7th of April was a great experience. Students dressed up and were eager to celebrate the day. There was food, celebration and a donation made to the charity of choice by the school. Everyone was dressed up in retro, as you can see from the photo of Alex and others in the group. We had a massive speaker that we played music on, people were dancing and having fun. It was a great way to enjoy the day together.  

By Zeeshan Abbasi, Odiel Odiel and Alex Zacharopoulos 

Follow instructions!

Phoenix’s interest in music was the motivation behind the creation of an instructional text. The purpose was to instruct peers about how to play musical notes on a guitar. Here is a photo of Admir, listening to and following Phoenix’s instructions.

Georgia Staikos

Director of Teaching and Learning (VCAL/Pathways)