Congratulations to all our Senior Sub School students on completing a successful Term 1.  We are proud of the dedication and hard work they have been putting into their studies, and the excellent start to the school year.

On Friday 25th March 2022, Year 11 students attended the Lady Northcote Recreation Camp, where they participated in a variety of outdoor team building activities called the “The Amazing Race”. The activities supported students to build their confidence, problem solve, work as a team, enhance their leadership skills and build connections with their peers and teachers. Our students participated in all the activities with enthusiasm and a competitive spirit. The winning team led by Ms Woods, received a trophy to recognise their achievements.

 

 

 

 

 

This Friday afternoon, the Year 11 and 12 students will compete in another event, our annual Soccer Challenge. The Soccer Challenge brings all the Senior Sub School student together in friendly competition and is the perfect way to bring the term to a close. A mixed team of Year 11 students will play off against the Year 12 students in a 40 minute match. May the best team win!

Next Term, on Friday 13^th of May 2022, all Year 11 students will be attending the Victorian Careers Show at the Melbourne Showgrounds. The Careers Show offers seminars on VCE subjects as well as information regarding careers, tertiary courses apprenticeships, traineeships and employment. It is essential that students attend in preparation for their future careers pathway. Parents/Guardians will need to access Compass to give consent and make payment. A reminder that parents/guardians with a Health Care Card may be eligible for a government subsidy through CSEF (Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund). Please click on the following link https://www.vic.gov.au/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund or contact our College office for more information.

The Senior Sub School Coordinators have been working closely with the Teaching and Learning Coordinator to run study skills workshops with the Year 12 students during their study periods. The focus of the workshops is to equip students with the study techniques needed to get the most out of their study time. Some of the areas covered include:

• • • Creating out of school study timetables
    • Enhancing your study space
    • Homework versus study
    • Note Making – Dual coding theory
    • Three procrastination avoidance techniques
    • Kolb’s learning cycle

Advanced study techniques workshops will be held in Term 2 for students who are interested in learning more sophisticated research-based study techniques to further improve their study habits and results.  

The Senior Sub School has received Year 11 and 12 progress reports and have interviewed students and in some cases have held parent meetings. The reports show students’ progress through formative tasks and SACs. These reports are continuously being used to monitor students at risk, and identify students who are ready for further extension in their studies. Parents/Guardians can access all reports through the Parent Portal in Compass. Individual Learning Tasks and the Students Weekly Planners are also accessible through the Parent Portal.

For an up-to-date report on their child’s progress, parents/guardians will have had the opportunity to attend the Parent/Teacher interviews held on Wednesday 6 April.

Year Level Coordinators are continuing to conduct class visits to encourage punctuality to classes. It is essential for students to organise their time and be punctual to classes so that everyone can make the most of their class time and disruptions are minimised. Many thanks to the parents/guardians who contact us when their child is absent for any reason. This is of great assistance to the Year Level Coordinators and the Senior Sub School Assistant, as we will call home regularly if there are any unexplained absences.

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all our senior students and their families a happy and safe term break.

If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 9366 25555.

 

Marlene Cassar – Senior Sub School Leader

 

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VCAL Report

COMMUNITY HEALTH ADVANCEMENT AND STUDENT EDUCATION (CHASE)

CHASE is a community initiative working to improve health through education.

Their goal is to see young people empowered to take control of their own health, to then engage with their local communities to improve health awareness and outcomes. Year 11 VCAL students will be given the first of six health education sessions and met their tertiary student mentors on Monday 2 May. They will continue to have these education sessions during Term 2 and then continue with mentors and partnerships with local community organisations and health professionals to improve community health.

The program is being run by a group of students from the Universities across Melbourne, who will be assigned to the VCAL class for the duration of the year. These volunteers will act as mentors to the students, providing a positive role models and facilitating the following two phases:

Education Phase – Term 2 & 3

The Education Phase consists of six workshops that form a diverse health curriculum centered on the social determinants of health.

The sessions will be based around the following topics:

• • Nutrition
  • Physical Activity
  • Sexual Health
  • Drugs & Alcohol
  • Mental Health

Action Phase – Term ¾

The Action Phase consists of six workshops that aim to teach students the skills required to implement a community-based project that addresses their chosen topic of interest from the Education Phase. The sessions will be based around the following topics:

• • Action Phase Introduction
  • Project Planning & Risk Assessment
  • Teamwork, Communication and Conflict Resolution
  • Time Management
  • Leadership & Teamwork
  • Follow-up & Project Showcase

 

National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

The Year 12 VCAL classes ran lunchtime activities for the ‘‘National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence’ on Friday 18 March. The VET bands played, outside providers attended, a pledge against bullying board, positivity chain and crane origami  They also gave out orange ‘Anti Bullying’ bands to all the senior school students as a symbol of how we do not tolerate any type of bullying at St Albans SC and to give junior students someone to approach if they were feeling unsafe in the yard.

Leadership and Team work Seminar

Sacha Kaluri is a youth motivational speaker that has been working around Australia and overseas for many years. Having many successful businesses, in 2011 Sacha became co-founder and co-director of the Australian Teenage Expo, Australia’s largest educational youth event, which has attracted more than 50,000 teens and has toured every State and Territory of Australia working together with The Federal – Department of Education and Training. www.teenageexpo.com.au  is also the very first online directory for young people, parents and educators. She spoke with or Year 12 Students on Monday 28 about Leadership and Teamwork. Students were motivated and engaged taking part in hands on teamwork activities.

Brimbank Careers Exploration Day

Our Yr12 VCAL students will be attending the Brimbank Careers Exploration on Wednesday 11 May. There will be representatives from different TAFEs, traineeship and apprenticeship exhibitors for students to visit and ask questions about career opportunities and pathways. Prior to the event students research their interests and skills and are shown occupation clusters in their interest area from a survey supported by Deakin University. They then will be able to list specific organisation’s to visit on the day.

Young Workers Centre

Yr 11 Students were spoken to by a representative from Young Workers Centre, who provide support to young workers when issues may arise in regards to their rights and responsibilities in the work place.

The sessions occurring Monday 4 April and Wednesday 4 May will cover

• Your Rights at Work – a basic rundown of workplace information including contracts, payslips and how to find your minimum wage
• Occupational Health and Safety – gain a practical understanding of OH+S procedures and laws, the role of HSRs and how to keep safe at work
• Bullying and Discrimination at Work – covers what constitutes workplace bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination, as well as the tools for responding to these issues
• Apprentice and Trainee Readiness – a combination of the above modules specifically designed for apprentices and trainees

 

Laura Gough – Senior Sub School VCAL Coordinator