Year 10 

Work Experience

Sheridan Dinsdale

Year 10 Level Coordinator

It was fabulous to see our Year 10 students step out on work experience earlier this term. Students were eager to spend some time away from school (!) and in the 'real' world, with many landing plum placements in their industries of interest.

Law

Amalia Ware

Victorian Bar - Work Experience Placement

For my work experience, I worked at the Victorian Bar office.  The Victorian Bar is the association for barristers in Victoria. A barrister is a specialised lawyer who has done additional education.  

I didn’t really have a daily routine; every day was different and there was a lot of variety! I got to sit in on Bar Council meetings, attend court,  and also run general errands including putting posters in notice boards in the lifts and delivering letters and packages to the barristers' clerks. I also got to see how the administration works at both the Victorian Bar office as well as their mediation centre.  This included observing how they respond to email inquiries and [being shown] how they were building their new website. I was also helping prepare for the Victorian Bar Association Dinner’s seating plan, which is their biggest social event of the year.   

The whole week was amazing, but the highlight was the people I worked with. They were all so kind, welcoming and funny. They organised so many learning opportunities for me that included a senior crown prosecutor, Elizabeth Ruddle KC, taking me on a tour of the Magistrate's Court and Supreme Court where we sat in on court hearings that covered a criminal matter and a family matter.   

 I was a bit unsure at first about what direction I wanted to go in after high school, but after working at the Victorian Bar I feel more inclined to pursue a career in the legal industry. Everyone was really passionate about their job in law.  

Media

Emmra Crouch

Clickview Media - Work Experience Placement

This company makes educational videos for use in schools and working at Clickview Media was different every day.  I would arrive at 9.00am and then perhaps do some script editing or set up cameras or lights if they were needed - whatever was going on that I could be involved in.

My main project was to use Premier Pro software to edit a piece for social media that described how to throw a cricket ball.  Because I have learned some Premier Pro skills at school, it was great to work with professionals that could show me some software shortcuts, as well as how to use the program in greater depth.  I also produced an animation and learned how to use a different software package to do this. I can now share what I have learned with my class!

The highlight of the week was sitting in on a voice-over recording session.  I got to watch the voice-over artist work, to see what the audio recording equipment looked like and to see how they ran and recorded the session.

Working at Clickview has shown me that I am more interested in a media career in journalism news or in sport, rather than in making movies. I think I would like the variety of the work. One of my colleagues at Clickview came form a sport media background and had worked on last year's Formula 1 coverage.  It was great to talk to him about that experience and how he had landed that job.

I really enjoyed my week at Clickview and am grateful to have had the experience.

Arts

Ella Jones

Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation - Work Experience Placement

I was lucky to have a placement atGrimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation which is part of the University of Melbourne.Each day I had to go through security to get a pass so that I could access the facilities where staff work to conserve, repair and restore significant items including artwork, books and other objects.

I got experience in several areas:  the Print laboratory, the Print Laboratory  and the Objects and Textiles area. 

My work comprised mainly of gathering supplies and assembling resources that the staff needed to complete their work as well as helping with tasks such as washing prints or completing minor repairs under supervision. I was shadowing staff as theyhandled and repaired documents, old books and artworks and it was cool to do little bits of the work.

The highlight of my week was working with very old jura prints - these are very valuable artworks and are undergoing restoration in preparation for an exhibition. I actually handled a print that was worth one million dollars!  It was really cool.  Another great thing I learned was how to re-cane an old chair! this was being done for a private client, and a lot of the works that they do are for private clients who have collections in their homes.

I also appreciate that my placement was within the University of Melbourne, as I really hope to get into a tertiary course there. I even got to meet the Head of the Arts department.

Working at Grimwade has definitely opened me up to an art-based career. I really enjoyed the hands-on, practical  aspect of the work,  and I think that I would like a career that includes this.

Performing Arts

Emily Lynch 

Work Experience placement - La Mama Theatre

I chose to do my work experience at La Mama because it is such an amazing theatre, hosting such a large range of performances across the year. The Roof is Caving In and Lung were perfect shows [to demonstrate this diversity], because they were both so different. 

I got to sit in rehearsals for Lung before their opening and it was incredible watching their professionalism and how they worked as a team to prepare for their first performance. The director Nancy Black was so kind and let me ask questions about the show and what she was looking to create, which was extremely fascinating to witness. 

As well as being involved in the artistic processes at La Mama, I got to assist with administration and see how a theatre like this is run. It was so interesting seeing how it all works behind the scenes, from organising programs to preparing for events. Each little detail has to be fulfilled by someone, even things that might go unnoticed by most people in the long run. After my experience at La Mama, I have definitely learned to appreciate the amount of hard work that goes into this industry in all aspects, whether performing, directing or working behind the scenes!

As part of my work experience placement, I wrote a review of the La Mama production, The Roof is Caving In. You can read it HERE.