Senior VCAL
This year Senior VCAL students have worked extremely well to plan, organise and complete projects around the Unit of Homelessness. Students participated in activities to gain knowledge regarding the issue and complications involved within. They had the opportunity to go to the city and see it first-hand, with the guidance and experience of Urban Seed and The Big Issue. From this, students opened their eyes and their hearts to completing projects aimed to either raise awareness or help support people in need.
Community Transformation Day
Having students with experience as Salon Assistant, one VCAL group decided to use these strengths within their project. Through liaison with Carolyn Galea, the VET Salon Assistant teacher, students planned a Community Transformation Day held in the Trade Training Centre. For the day, Hope Street residents were invited over to participate in a day of pampering, to help towards building confidence and skills to help them in seeking employment.
Using skills and knowledge of students within the VET Salon Assistant course, Hope Street residents had a choice of getting a wash and blow dry, hair coloured and/or getting makeup applied. Uniting Employment Agency also attended, offering assistance in completing a resume and guidance in where and how best to apply for work. To top it off lunch was catered for all Hope Street residents and students involved in the day. All funds required for the day were accumulated from previous fundraising activities held within the school.
The first ever Community Transformation Day was a huge success with plans to build on this day and the relationship between Hope Street and Melton Secondary College for the future.
Article in Star Weekly, 30 July 2019
Red Day
Another first for a VCAL project was Red Day. A day planned to raise awareness and donations for The Red Cross. Students organised Red Day to be held at Melton Secondary College, Melton West Primary School and Maidstone Little VIPS’s. For the day, all students were invited to wear an item of red and to bring in a gold coin donation to go towards Red Cross and their initiatives around Homelessness in Australia. Students demonstrated excellent communication skills, coordinating with various leaders from the community and speaking confidently at school assemblies to get the message across. Students successfully raised $566.00 which has been donated to Red Cross.
60 red hats were generously donated by Team Apparel and given out to VCAL students to support the success of the day.
The Gap
With aims to link with and support organisations within our community, VCAL students reached out to The Gap on Graham Street to investigate any ways they could help them in any of their programs or resources. The Gap is a not-for-profit organisation that has been established for the youth of Melton. Their primary aims are to provide a safe venue that encourages young people to engage in positive recreation, reduce crime, harm prevention, foster community relationships and build social cohesion.
Having VET Landscaping students in the VCAL group, it was decided to renovate The Gaps vegetable garden, to install an irrigation system, which would help The Gap make better use of their garden. VCAL students had to investigate irrigation systems, products and costing to plan the complex project. Once the planning stage was complete, the students recruited fellow class members to assist in the installation process. With their assistance, the day was a great success with the project being completed with ease as all students actively participated and “got their hands dirty”. The Gap plans to use the produce in their regular woman’s group during a cooking class.
The materials for the project were generously donated by Bunnings Melton.
Year 12 Formal
The final group decided to plan and organise the Year 12 Formal, to not only create a memorable event for all year 12 students but to raise donations to create care packages for Hope Street. The level of communication required to plan the event with the venue, balloon hire, food and students attending was exceptional. Not only did they organise a smooth, well run night where Year 12 students had a great time, but raised $540.00 which was put towards Coles vouchers and care packages given to Hope Street.
Through these various activities, students have built on and developed various skills, necessary for success in later life such as communication, leadership, problem solving, conflict resolution, resilience, work ethic, planning and organisation etc. They have also formed the foundation for valuable strong relationships with various community groups within our community. VCAL students of 2019 have excelled within these projects and paved the way, modelling success in VCAL for future students