What's On @ MFG

Placement VCAL Work – more than volunteering

Studying VCAL means everyone is required to do a work placement of their choice to gain experience in the work place. For my work placement, another girl from my class, Issy, and I volunteered at The Salvation Army store in Geelong to gain experience and to help out such a great cause.

The Salvos isn’t just a store that sells inexpensive used items. In a typical week across Australia The Salvation Army provides 100,000 meals for the hungry, 2,000 beds for the homeless, 5,000 to 8,000 food vouchers, helps 1,000 people with assistance in finding employment, refuge to 500 victims of abuse, assistance to 500 people addicted to drugs, alcohol or gambling, 3,000 elderly people with aged care and much more.

Some of the daily tasks Issy and I completed included helping customers, shelving items, re-pricing items and tidying up items around the store.  From my experience volunteering at The Salvos I can tell you that The Salvos is not only a store for the less fortunate to shop. The Salvos get a huge variety of customers, for example people who can’t afford items at regular stores, people who are just looking for a bargain, people who want to buy things and re-sell at the markets, people who are into vintage clothing and everyone in-between. All the staff I worked with were really nice to Issy and I and made sure we were comfortable and knew where everything was.

My experience at The Salvos really opened up my eyes to all these issues happening in Australia that are not really talked about. Unfortunately The Salvos I volunteered at in Ryrie Street closed down but it has relocated and is now o pen and running in Malop Street opposite La Porchetta.

Chloe Beckley

Senior VCAL

The 2017 VCAL Pop Up Market is coming!

Are you ready to spend money for a good cause? Then pop in to the Pop Up Market.

The Year 11 and 12 VCAL classes are holding a Pop Up Market to help us understand what it takes to make and organise a product to sell and to take responsibility to organise and run a market. 

All the money that we raise at the Pop Up Market will go to a charity of our choice. We chose an amazing organisation called GAR (Geelong Animal Rescue). GAR is a non-profit organisation that saves sick and abandoned dogs and cats. Their mission is to give a voice for the abandoned, neglected and unloved cats and dogs. They take in every cat and dog that they find and get them de-sexed and nursed back to health if needed, as most animals that come into care with GAR are either injured or sick. Every person who works for GAR is a volunteer which means they are not paid and are doing it out of the goodness of their own heart. GAR is not Government funded, which means every vet appointment is taking out money that GAR has raised.

Both of the VCAL classes will be selling a wide range of different products at the Market such as candles, marble cups, element jars, heat packs, dream catchers and much, much more.   So come down to the Hall on the 8th of September between 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm. There will be lots of bargains, live music and high quality products, so make sure you come and support an amazing and caring charitable organisation.

Issabella di Mauro

Senior VCAL

Congratulations to Brynnie Rafe for being awarded a scholarship for Indonesian Independence Day.  She will receive:

• A return airfare to Canberra

• An invitation to attend the Independence Day Ceremonies at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra

• Accommodation at the Indonesian Embassy Staff House

• A one-day cultural workshop and a tour of the Indonesian Cultural Centre.

Brynnie had to write a 300 word imaginative essay in Indonesian on the topic of ‘Australia dan Indonesia adalah tetangga yang baik ........’ or ‘Australia and Indonesia are good neighbours………’.  After the essay section of the competition, she had to go to the Indonesian consulate in Melbourne to do an interview in Indonesian.

Her adventure kicks off on August 17.  Well done Brynnie on your amazing effort; we are very proud of you.

R U OK? DAY

As part of the many great things that our school offers, they offer a huge range of school based apprenticeships and traineeships. An example of one of these is my course: Certificate III in Community Services where I train for 4 hours on a Wednesday afternoon and then I do my work placement at Headspace Geelong every Friday. As part of my placement at Headspace Geelong they have asked me to plan an event for “R U OK DAY” in my local community. I have chosen to do two events here at school and one at Headspace Geelong. The one at Headspace is to get a guest speaker in from “Heads Up” who deals with educating work places about mental health.

One of my main aims with this event is to set a slogan “R U OK DAY? Everyday”. With this slogan I want to educate everyone that we don’t just have to ask if someone is okay once a year but that it should be done everyday and I believe that my three ideas all target that.

My first plan is to have a hot chocolate bar with chairs, tables and board games set up for the senior year levels (Years 10-12). I think that this idea suits the year levels best where they just need to sit down with a hot chocolate, grab a friend and just debrief about whatever they need to. It will be set up in the hall where the “Pop Up Market” will be on the 8th of September.

My second plan is to educate the lower year levels (Year 7-9) about mental health, healthy well being and “R U OK DAY? Everyday”. I believe that the lower years are at the stage where it is best to educate them as best as we can. My plan is to get a guest speaker from Headspace to talk about mental health, healthy well being, “R U OK day” and Headspace. I also think that it would be great if it was hosted in the year 8 IC room to start getting the Year 7s used to Helen Frasier campus for next year.

Montana Walker

Senior VCAL