COG Newsletter

VCAL News

The term that was…

 

Another action packed term in VCAL as we culminated in a week long program of mock interviews across all three year levels.

Since the interviews have happened, a number of students have had interviews in real life and used some of the techniques and skills picked up in the VCAL program.

One student wrote this to our leader on Friday….

 

Hey Dave,

 

Just wanted to let you know that after doing the mock interviews it gave me the confidence to apply for some jobs around Frankston, after dropping in my resumes I got called in for an interview, remembering what happened in the interview process it was easy for me to walk in with confidence and not be nervous. 

I got the call today that I got the job, I’m so glad that we had mock interviews to help me prepare for the interview.

 

Thanks,

Kassi

How amazing!

A number of students took part in a fantastic interview opportunity from ABCN during the lockdown.

 

ABCN Interview 2 Impress – remote!

15 of our high flying students took part in a remote interview program run by ABCN (one of our College partners) with consulting firm, Korn Ferry.

Here are some of the responses from the students and mentors involved:

What is the most useful thing you learnt in the workshop ?

 

  • To come up with questions to ask, when at the end of an interview. Use the tell me about yourself section of an interview to my advantage.
  • To give it a go and to pick yourself up
  • To take the time to answer the questions and to breath
  • Hearing all the tips from the mentors
  • how to act when you are in an interview
  • to be confident when going for a job interview

 

Mentor Comments –

  • the confidence in the students changed exponentially during the session. i look forward to meeting our future carpenters.
  • the biggest change I observed in the students was growing confidence
  • Just do it, you have so much to give these students. Find the time in your diary and give back to the kids of the future. They are worth it.
  • Do it. It's a fantastic investment of your time
  • It gives me an opportunity to connect with students and builds my mentoring skills.
  • It’ been a worthwhile experience because it lets be pass my knowledge and experience to the next generation
  • Helping others is always a great experience
  • It’s been a worthwhile experience because It gives me perspective

We continue to enjoy our partnership with ABCN for the opportunities they provide for our students.

 

 

VCAL Careers Expo

This year we were just fortunate enough to sneak in our biggest ever Carers Expo in the PAC before another Victoria-wide lockdown. Our amazing Senior students organised, ran and managed the entire day with over 450 guests visiting their stalls. The students were asked fantastic questions by the guests and were able to give out tokens that could be exchanged for sugary goodness!

We were lucky enough to have external guests talk to the groups, such as Peta Murphy (Federal MP), David Reid (NGIV), Stephanie MacPherson (Stephanie and co), Angela Byatt (FMPLLEN) and our own Eric Budd and Shaun Doherty. This was a huge output of energy and the students felt a surge of satisfaction for putting it on successfully.

Well done, you have set the bar high for next year!

See the photos for more highlights on the day.

 

Community Projects

During our Year 10 VCAL Community Project Day on Friday 18th June:

I removed dead leaves from the garden outside the VCAL MAX and near the shade sail. Rian.

We cleaned the bbq and the whole bbq enclosure and cooked sausages for all the Year 10 VCAL students for lunch and served all students and cleaned the bbq afterwards. Isobel, Aliaha, Melanie.

I cleaned up the SES cadets change rooms. I swept up and removed some objects. Ash.

I did gardening and raking in the morning and helped make toasties in the common room in the afternoon. Ben.

We did gardening in the morning as well as helping with the Freddie Mercury statue. Justin, Luke, Shannon.

I worked on the Freddie Mercury statue. Jonelle.

We raked leaves today. Jordan, Dylan, Chris.

We worked on designing posters for the ‘Three Point Basketball Competition’ and put the posters up around the school. Ben, Petch, Bakhiet, Tyson, Alex.

We helped clean the café area, ordered weather strips for under the doors and handed out the tickets for people to get sausages. Kyle, Jack.

I did a bit of cleaning in the SES area, I made toasties for people and I cleaned up my area. Connor.

I cleaned the VCAF and taped up the area in preparation for painting. Ky, Jackson, Caleb.

We worked on the Year 8 stairwell. We unscrewed all the blank white boards and took them down and put them in the skip. We cleaned some gum off the stairwell, swept up and picked up rubbish. Noah, Kallyn.

We moved the historic honour boards from the café storage room to the storage cage near food tech. Isaac, Cohen, Ky, Nic.

Well done to the Year 10 group for successfully completing their first school-related project in 2021.

 

 

City Excursions

Half of our year 11 cohort managed to get to the city before our restrictions hit and visit the Big Issue facility. We learnt about the cycle of homelessness and how this social enterprise has helped the least fortunate in our society to bring purpose to their lives. We heard from one of the workers that had been hit hard with circumstance and had a tough life on the streets. Her story left a mark on the students. The rest of the day was spent completing a scavenger hunt of social enterprise organisations in the city before the rain hit and we headed home!

 

Rotation Stations

Year 11 and 12 students have just completed a rotation of workshops run by VCAL staff in our Learning Centre.

The workshops were mapped to student outcomes and allowed them time to “catch up” on missed time with teachers over lockdown.

The workshops included:

Social Justice – Race, Refugees and Indigenous Australians

Practical Day – completion of Term 1 projects, Careers Expo work, community projects and Health & Safety projects.

OH+S Practical Assessments – Students worked through practical assessments on signage, Safety Data Sheets, PPE, hazards in the workplace and risk assessments.

Thank you for your participation in these workshops and we look forward to continually updating our safety skills when completing projects.

 

Term 2 Awards

Congratulations to all students that received awards at our end of semester assembly on Thursday!

Important Dates in Term 3

Monday 12th July: Consent Education (Year 10)

Tuesday 13th July: Consent Education (Year 11 and 12)

Thursday 15th July: Industry Immersion Day at Trade Training Centre (All Year 11)

Friday 16th July: Taster Day (All Year 10)

Monday 19th July: MAS Try-A-Trade trailer incursion (All year 11)

Tuesday 20th July: Teenage Road Accident Group (TRAG) excursion (All year 12)

Friday 23rd Jul: current Year 10 VCAL Course Counselling

Monday 26th July: current Year 11 VCAL Course Counselling

Thursday 19th July: PDS Environmental Farm visit (TONY) Year 12 (Year 12 students visiting each Thursday for 6 weeks)

Thursday 19th July: College Musical

Friday 30th July: College Musical

Tuesday 3rd August: Year 11 City Excursion (Melbourne Economy walk + Scavenger Hunt)

Friday 13th August: Whole School PD (no classes)