Students Gain Experience in the Workplace
Workplace Learning is a wonderful experience for students following the ACCESS pathway. The girls complete several work placements during Years 11 and 12 in different industries. Â
Students experience what it’s like to be in the workforce, gain an understanding of professional standards and learn valuable skills. It’s a great opportunity to explore different career options. Sometimes it confirms the career pathway the girls wish to follow. In other cases, they realise it’s not the career for them. Students in the Reach program also participate in work placements during Year 10.
Our Years 11 & 12 students have just completed two weeks of work placement while ATAR students were sitting exams. We asked some of the girls to share a little about their experiences.
Emma Hall: Santa Maria Science Technician
I spent my placement at Santa Maria College in the science lab, where I helped set up student class pracs and looked after the Science Department critters.
Some skills I attained during this experience have been to work as a team and know when to ask for help when you need it. It is important to utilise the people around you when you’re unsure of what to do. Working in a lab environment has been quite enlightening and a good precursor to the environment I would be exposed to in my potential future career. Being interested in forensic science means the lab environment would be something I would be regularly emerged in, so this experience was a good stepping-stone.
Danielle Rodio (Year 11): Opal Health Care in Myaree
During my placement at Opal Health Care, my role involved helping the residents where needed, as well as being in the lifestyle centre helping residents with puzzles and activities.Â
I learned some really valuable skills, both personal and industry-specific. A personal skill I have gained is good communication skills. This was through being able to talk to residents and supervisors each day. Another personal skill I have learned is collaboration, being able to share my ideas with other team members and not feeling afraid to speak up. For example, my facility had to go into a lockdown, and I came up with the idea of having the residents eat in their rooms to reduce the spread of COVID cases. An industry-specific skill I have gained from my last work placement is time management. This skill will help me in the future as I will have to stay on top of my tasks and make sure I don’t see patients for too long, which could then take a lot longer to complete the task as well as put my schedule behind.
Nadia Mortimer (Year 11) : Scola Early Learning
At Scola, I was able to communicate and interact with the little kids and get an understanding of the job.
Some of the skills I used were time management, making sure I arrived on time and communication skills to make sure the manager was up to date with what was happening with the kids. This placement really helped me to get a clear idea of what a career in the early childhood care industry would look like.
Meg de Laeter (Year 12): Scotch College
At Scotch College, I was in the Year 1 classroom. During my placement, I really got to know the students and form a connection with them. Seeing how they learn and how different learning abilities have different teaching methods. I also loved working with small groups and working one-on-one with the students.Â
Meg is currently studying a Certificate IV in Education Support and hopes to attend University to study primary teaching.
Santa Maria Teams Shine in Term 1 Sports
Santa Maria had a huge number of girls in the IGSSA AFL and Volleyball competition with strong results for a number of teams.
Lee-Elle’s Insights from the ‘Make it 16’ Forum
Lee-Elle Cooper is a passionate Year 12 student who advocates for youth engagement and political participation. She has recently returned from the Make It 16 Forum in Canberra.
With Laurissa Knowles From Valley Depths to Mountain Peaks (1993)
Laurissa Knowles (1993) has had an incredible career journey so far, from Santa Maria College Teacher to Celebrant and Councillor.
- Featured, Learning4Life
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
