VCAL News
Semester 1 Awards
Congratulations to all of the students that received Personal Learning and Academic Awards at our Semester 1 Assembly on Monday 20th June!
It was great to see such a varied array of talents displayed in the represented students.
YEAR 10
Money Smart Program
During term two, year 10 VCAL undertook the Money Smart Program and completed our term focus was on school pride as a year level we focussed on learning how to open a bank account, how to manage your money spending with a budget planner, handling taxes and much more important information. In the 6 weeks of the Money Smart Program I did learn a lot and it made me aware of my spending and that it's important to have a budget.
T. Kinsella
Year 10 VCAL
City Camp
‘Our Adventure to the city’
McClelland College Year 10 City Camp, we got up and had an absolute banger brekkie both mornings, personally I had cornflakes… both mornings but there was a wide variety of food to choose from at our Hotel Claremont in South Yarra.
Our adventures included visiting the Melbourne Museum, Eureka Skydeck, which was a rather scary situation for me personally but eventually I was happy I pulled through and faced my fear of heights ( eventually), Yarra River cruise which was enjoyable, the gentleman driving the boat was rather humorous and I really enjoyed his company, time and cheeky little jokes.
One of our final destinations was the visit to the Shrine of Remembrance. Whilst we were there, my pals went in and gazed at a lot of the art/donated war uniforms and reflected about brave soldiers who fought for our country and paid the ultimate sacrifice for our worlds present freedoms.
I would like to thank the DOXA Youth Foundation for providing this camp absolutely free of charge to Year 10 VCAL. We certainly made the most of it!
B. Hogan
Year 10 VCAL
Reflections on School Pride unit
Our term focus was on school pride as a year level we focused on participating in many activities that not only provided us with self pride but also pride for our peers, school and educators. It was a really pointed unit about understanding how we can always improve these areas in our lives and teach others about the importance too.
Mock Interviews
Mock Interviews were held on the 6th of June. We all had to prepare a cover letter, resume and come prepared to be interviewed for a job that we were seeking to either apply for during our schooling or one that we were interested in post secondary education. It was a valuable experience, as I had never really been interviewed before and it provided me with skills and feedback for my pending interviews in the future.
YEAR 11
Community Projects
I enjoyed working outside the classroom and actually completing a project to the end.
I was aware of the responsibility I was given in doing the project. Not just to the teachers but also people involved. I loved the independence!
Mock Interviews
Reflections on Leadership unit
I never understood the different leadership styles and how we used them for different real life scenarios. There is definitely more than one way to be a good leader. We have so many different leadership styles in our teachers. They are very different. Next time I coach junior basketball, I will focus more on my leadership style and whether or not it works!
College Captain applications are now being considered and will be handed out during Course Counselling. We encourage ALL of our students to consider this great leadership opportunity!
YEAR 12
Careers Expo
The Year 12 cohort ran and operated the 2022 VCAL Careers Expo as part of their Senior assessment in Personal Development Skills and Work Related Skills. This involved students displaying a pathway into their chosen career and providing an interactive element for their peers to enjoy!
Student reflection:
It was fun, because we were interacting with the younger year levels, and it was nice to show others my interests in community services
Mr. Rowley said that he's never seen a stall like mine, that at the end of the day made me more confident in my ability.
I loved the interaction we got from the store goers as well as lots of tokens being sold. As well as myself being passionate about my career choice and the community reacting.
I think the expo went well and that i was prepared for it
I think the Careers Expo was a great experience, I loved how many people showed up and took part in each stall or workshop. I also saw some great work-shops and thought they were very creative
I enjoyed creating a stall on something I am passionate about and sharing it with the community. At the careers expo I’ve learnt more about all industries including mine and how many different opportunities and pathways there is to take. We did the motor-works stall by the end of the room, all in all seeing how many people showed up and asked about our industry it really gave me hope for the future of automotive
St Kilda FC Careers session
Visited a successful and high profile business, AFL club St Kilda, where we toured the grounds and facilities, met key members of the organisation and were presented with a discussion on Careers and pathways.
Student reflection:
Getting to hear about how many different aspects there are of a singular group was really interesting just knowing how hard they work.
Out of school and it was exciting to see more of the football club. Really insightful and lots of information was given out I really enjoyed it. At the footy club we learnt about all the different jobs everyone has in the team and all the different skills you would need for them. I enjoyed engaging with people from outside our school community and hearing them speak about their journey of getting into their career.
ABCN + ELEVATE sessions
These workshops provided students the opportunity to participate in interactive interview skills to build confidence and interpersonal skills for their future. They were also guided in careers application to write resumes and cover letters.
Student reflection:
They were definitely helpful, personally it’s easier to follow instructions when they’re clear.
the interview was definitely enlightening and gave me great confidence for when i do an actual interview. It was great to be given some helpful tips for future job interviews.
These were helpful sessions to take part in to develop my knowledge in interviews along with the help of mentors. It was short but it was interesting it was good to have a practice for interviews and with resumes and cover letters. The person doing the session was really loud and clear and good information was given.
Mentor comments from ABCN
- Find the time and take part! Great initiative. Very rewarding. Engaged fun students. I will do it again.
- It is a great program for giving something back to our community
- It's worth the time
- It’s been a worthwhile experience for me because I can see the shift in confidence in the mentees
- I value helping others, and really hope the students benefit
- It has absolutely been a worthwhile experience for me
- My students seemed to feel more capable.
- The biggest change I saw in the students was their confidence in communicating
Mock Interviews
Students completed job applications with resumes and cover letters, specifically targeted at a job from the VCAL Job Board. Along with their completed portfolio from their second unit of study, they were interviewed by staff on the job they were applying for.
Student reflection:
It was nice hearing about my efforts finally coming into the product of someone that staff would hire immediately.
I was poorly organized, my resume and cover letter were out of date and I hadn’t a clue about the portfolio. I will strengthen this and do better.
Mock interviews was a good insight to see how a real interview would go, I learnt that it is good to ask the employer a question
I think it went well because i was prepared for the interview. I found it helpful to take part in the interview to learn more about how the process goes. This was a useful experience for me to get me ready for the coming years after graduating.
Dates for the Diary
Tuesday July 12th - MAS Careers Trailer (Y11)
Friday July 15th - Course Counselling Taster Day (Y10)
Monday July 18th - TRAG (Y12)
Tuesday July 19th - Industry Immersion Day at TTC (Y11)
Thursday July 21st - Course Counselling (Y10 and Y11)
Monday July 25th - Victorian Tunneling Centre excursion (Y11)
Monday August 1st - Practice GAT (Literacy) All Y12
Thursday August 4th - Tony’s Farm excursion (Y10)
Thursday August 11th - Tony’s Farm excursion (Y10)
Friday August 12th - Student Free Day
