Year 10 Work Experience

We are immensely proud of our Year 10 Students who completed their work experience towards the end of Term Two. We were also impressed with the variety of placements students were successful in obtaining including placements with the University of Melbourne, The Melbourne Museum, construction, local politicians and many more.

The following reflections written by our students below demonstrate how enriching these opportunities were for our students. We extend our gratitude to all the wonderful businesses and individuals who hosted our students, especially those within our immediate school community who helped out and opened their doors. The impact of work experience is noticeable in the maturity of the Year 10 students who have returned this term with increased motivation displaying a keen readiness to embark on the VCE or VCE-VM and other pathways next year. I would also like to share some of the wonderful endorsements employees provided about our students which speak volumes about the calibre of legends we have amongst this cohort.

Mietta Robertson

Year 10 SST

Joey F, on placement at Wall Boulevard, Coburg

Jay V, on placement at Toyota, Coburg

Student Reflections

Merribek Primary School

Ada H:

During my work experience at Merribek Primary School, I learned so much about what it is like to teach in a Primary school. I saw how much work is involved in running classes and everything behind the scenes, but also how rewarding it is to work with kids. It’s very different from high school, and it was really interesting to see how the children develop and how much of their knowledge they are building for their future.

I worked with Aysu Kurucan, the art teacher, and helped with classes for all year levels. I ran a couple of activities like making paper people chains and helped students with their artworks that they were creating for the art show. I also put up displays of student’s work across the school. I learned that one of the most important thing about running classes is preparation and planning. Especially for younger children you have to keep lessons engaging and very hands on.

The highlights were working with the Foundation classes (prep) and building bonds with the students. It was very rewarding.

Overall the experience was really fun and made me even more interested in pursuing a career in teaching, which has helped me greatly with my subject selection.

Alice A:

Lucy Guerin Inc

I attended work experience at Lucy Guerin Inc, a well renowned Melbourne contemporary dance company that I hope to one day work for. I was accepted by the company to come into the studio for the week to watch and participate in the rehearsal and development of the company's new work 'One Single Action' which was later performed at this year's RISING festival. Over the course of the week I was able to get a close understanding of the way that the artistic director (Lucy Guerin) develops her work, It was such an inspiring and interesting experience to get to see how my favourite artist approached creating. I also got to dance with the company dancers throughout the week, I learnt bits of choreography from the piece and participated in the morning class each day. Throughout the time I was there the stage manager, lighting designer, costume designer and sound designers all came into the studio so I got to learn from them as well as the artistic director and dancers. I also got to have a range of incredibly valuable discussions with the dancers and artistic director that taught me so much about dance and life in general, and I made connections that will hopefully one day carry me into the industry. Overall I loved it so much, 100000/10 best week ever.

Nell H:

Princess Bento

I did my work experience at Princess Bento with my older sister. They have produced many shows there including Koloa Man and YOLO. I learned so much and how much work and effort it takes to produce an animation show. I helped edit things and was able to give my input. There were also two other girls there from the schools doing their work experience. I had so much fun and would definitely recommend it.

Lulu B:

Bell Primary School

I spent five days at Bell primary school for work experience as a sports teacher. During my work experience at Bell Primary School, I had the opportunity to gain valuable insights and practical skills in the field of education. My time there allowed me to observe and participate in various classroom activities, interact with students, and assist teachers in their daily tasks including setting up equipment and running warm-up games. This experience was instrumental in shaping my understanding of the teaching profession and opening up more opportunities for the future and the jobs I'm looking to do.

Eloise B:

Latrobe University Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary

For my work experience I travelled to Latrobe University to do work at the Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary. While I was there I worked with volunteers and workers with activities like land management, wildlife surveying (testing abiotic and biotic factors), working in the plant nursery preparing and planting plants for sale and writing social media posts. This experience was incredibly fulfilling as I got to work with people who were passionate about the same things as me and helped to manage the sanctuary. While handling my own schedule and performing tasks I don't usually do may have been challenging, the experience was something I would love to do again and gave me experience in a workplace that I am interested in working in in the future!

Elizabeth K:

AOA Architects

During my work experience at AOA Architects, I got to experience the daily life of an architect and other aspects of an office setting. My tasks included tracing and freehanding copies of previous design sketches, and I also organised and catalogued their expansive collection of interior design samples, according to the National Interior Design Standards, which involved a lot of research and guesswork to get this right. I also attended an on site meeting with construction workers, the client (Monash City Council) and the architects to discuss any issues or disruptions to the project. Additionally I had the challenge of learned to use software such as Sketchup and Enscape which I was previously unfamiliar with, to create a 3D model of my house.

It was overall a great experience, as the people there were all lovely and extremely talented. Also, working in the city, in an office setting was very insightful and gave me an idea of my potential worklife in the future.

Below are some photos of designs by AOA:

Endorsements from Employees:

Good morning Christina,

I just wanted to write you an email regarding Lulu’s work experience at Bell Primary this week.

Over the past 10 years I have loved having the opportunity to have students attend as part of their work experience and giving them a genuine insight into being an educator.

Lulu has been by far the most impressive work experience students that I have seen in my time. Her interpersonal skills have shown through making genuine connections with the students and staff in a very short time. She has also shown incredible initiative by taking the lead during warm up, working with small focus groups or jumping in to support students without any prompting. This has also been in a supportive aspect for the students helping with social issues and students anxieties. Observing the conversations and genuine support she showed was something I wanted to pass on and celebrate.

I have no doubt that she will be very successful in whatever she decides to do but if she does choose to becomes a teacher we will have gained a very special person in the profession. Please feel free to contact me if Lulu requires any references and I will be sure to pass on the positive feedback to her today on her last day.

Teacher at Bell Primary School