Student Services

Melissa Ferrera 11K - in the kitchen at Centra, Melbourne Airport

“The VET course I have chosen to do this year has increased my knowledge of the hospitality industry. Whilst being very challenging at times I can say I have enjoyed the work I have been doing. This will be the career path I am sure to follow." Sarah Upton 10P - on work experience at Lort Smith Animal Hospital

"At Lort Smith I watched surgery, sat in on consultations and fed and looked after the cats and dogs. It was really good." Stacey Burdak 10G - on work experience at the Department of Gastroenterology & Nutrition at the Royal Children's Hospital

"The work experience at Royal Children's Hospital gave me the chance to observe medical procedures. I went on rounds with medical staff and cared for the children in the Paediatric ward."

CAREERS & WORK EDUCATION

Vocational Education & Training

This year has seen one student, Melissa

Ferrera 1 IK undertake a VET in Schools

program. Melissa elected to undertake the Certificate II Hospitality (Operations) which was offered by Ave Maria College in partnership with Kangan Batman Institute ofTAPE. The program included study via the TAFE’s virtual campus Internet site and classes in the commercial kitchens of the TAFE. Melissa also undertook a twoweek work placement at Centra Melbourne Airport where she worked in catering and gained a great deal of experience. Work placement is different to work experience in that students are expected to put into practice the skills they have already learnt within the course. Melissa was given a particularly wide range of tasks and the Work Placement Coordinator commented that Melissa had obviously demonstrated a very competent skill level and a real aptitude for the job.

CAREERS EDUCATION

The Careers Education program ran very much along the same lines as last year. Year 10 students participated in Work Experience, a Careers Seminar and Careers Education classes before having to make VCE subject selections. Their choices for work experience again showed a very diverse range of interests but with graphic design, law, veterinary nursing and childcare amongst the most popular choices. Some other placements included: The Sound of Music; Marine & Freshwater Resources Institute, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Melbourne Private Hospital, Ansett Australia, Victoria Police, General Aviation Maintenance, HMAS Cerebus, the Family Court of Australia and IBM. There was plenty of positive feedback from employers and reports of terrific experiences from the girls on their return to school.

Our senior students have made good use of the Careers Office and our resources arc expanding at a rapid rate. There seems to be no shortage ofoccupational information both on line and in brochures and directories. Our most frequently used resources have been our Job Guides, OZJAC and the Career Easy program, as well as University and TAFE handbooks. The girls have had information sessions and attended counselling appointments to help them make the all-important decisions about their lives, post secondary school. There have also been many careers seminars conducted by industry and attended by our girls in their spare time, revealing interests in medical science, engineering and rhe sports industry.

Ms Janet Jensen

Careers Counsellor

Melissa Duscher 10P at Robert Walker florist, Bourke Street, Melbourne

Nadia Giampino 10R and Michelle Testolin 10P at Vic Roads, Lygon Street, Melbourne

Tahlia Tamer 10G at Market Access, Bourke Street, Melbourne Shae Whittaker 10F Lost Dogs Home STUDENT COUNSELLOR

This year, counselling at the College has provided services to many students with a range of needs. I believe that an important part ofa counselling service is to break down the negative stereotypes associated with counselling so that students and parents understand that attending counselling can be useful to people experiencing a range of difficulties, varying in degree of severity. We all experience difficulties with different problems. Those of us who seek help are usually more sensible than "weak".

I am pleased to say that over the past 12

months, many students have told me that they feel comfortable using the service and most say that their friends and family are very supportive. A number ofstudents have started using the service for simple problems such as organisation, troubles sleeping or time management. This has resulted in tremendous improvements at school. Others have come for more complicated difficulties with friends, family, school or mental illness.

In addition to individual counselling, programs on bullying, mental health, sexual health, eating well, sleeping strategies and healthy exercise have been implemented. These have provided opportunities for students to become familiar with the types ofservices available within counselling.

Ms Jodie Wassner

Student Counsellor

Year 7 Literature Program Amy Jones, Jessica Lord, Ms Terry Callery, Clarissa Cozzolino, Adriana Di Luzio

As the end of another year approaches, it is time to reflect on where the main foci have been in the College Library for the year 2000. Looking back, the increasing delivery ofinformation electronically and the increased emphasis on literacy are two areas which received additional attention over and above the normal routines of providing services and facilities for the College community.

The Literature Program, which has been in place for many years now, ensures that students at Years 7 and 8 read a prescribed number ofrecommended novels. In

addition to this, the English Faculty has placed a number ofclassics for study at these year levels and teachers are using the opportunity to introduce their students to a wide range ofclassics. No library would be complete without a selection of Victorian novels, along with timeless classics such as Black Beauty and Alice in Wonderland. It is wonderful to see these books being read by our junior students, most ofwhom have seen television or film adaptations of these novels but for many, this is their first experience of the full written classic.

The Library services include fully networked computers providing access to the Internet for all students. The beginning ofthe year saw each student issued with a network account and confidential password. Persuading students to take personal responsibility for remembering their own password certainly tried the patience of all! Like most things, however, practice and the passing of time resolved this issue. As the endless amount of information on the Internet has also been causing some headaches, rhe College has acquired an information management package to assist in overcoming the problem of identifying relevant, authoritative resources. Masterfile allows us to build our collection in the same way we have built our printed collection. Relevant and appropriate Internet sites are catalogued, allowing students to quickly access sites which have been identified as most useful for particular units ofwork. Ofcourse, it takes time to build any good collection, printed or electronic, but it will be time well spent as it is vital that we harness the opportunities technology provides while avoiding creating unmanageable systems.

Each year requires the acceptance of new challenges and the ability to adapt to change. I am most fortunate in working with a Library team which embraces change with professionalism and enthusiasm. I would like to acknowledge the wonderful contributions ofMr Peter Judge, Mrs Pam Gale and Miss Colleen Rabe.

Ms Terry Callery

Teacher-Librarian