Careers Corner

We are back into Term 2 and hopefully have seen the last of disruption to school life for a while, although we are managing very well all things considered.

The Year 12 VET students will be going on Work Placement over the next couple of weeks.  The Year 12 Construction class have had this organised and will be going out either from Monday, 26 April to Friday, 30 April or Monday, 3May to Friday, 7 May.  Thanks to Mid Coast Connect and the many employers for allowing this to happen.  This is an excellent opportunity for the students to learn more of the world of work and often results in job opportunities.

The Year 12 Hospitality class are flying to the Gold Coast and will be working at Sea World from Monday, 3 May until Thursday, 6 May inclusive.  Once again, this is an excellent opportunity for the students to learn about, and experience firsthand, the many different aspects of the Hospitality Industry.

Year 12 students who are interested in a university pathway post school are reminded to check each university’s website for early application and scholarship information.  UAC has opened and it is great to see some names already in the SRS (School Recommendation Scheme) portal which can assist with early entry.

Each of the students will have received their UAC guide this week.  If anyone was away and did not receive their copy, please come and see me.

Job Jump also has a great deal of information with regard to this so don’t forget to check out the chapters in our OneNote or in the Careers section of the school website.

Students in Year 12 who might be considering careers in medicine or dentistry post school need to register for the “UCAT” (University Clinical Aptitude Test ANZ).

Important UCAT ANZ 2021 Dates

Candidates taking the UCAT ANZ in 2021 for entry to universities in Australia and New Zealand in 2022 should note these key dates (deadline times are in AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time):

Please logon to the UCAT website for specific information.  There are free practice tests on this website to assist with preparation.

Free study material and practice exams can be accessed via the following website:

Year 10 are coming up to “subject selection” time for 2022.  The mentoring process for these students will begin in the last couple of weeks of this term all going well.  Small groups of students are usually mentored by the coordinators.  Information will be given about the various available subjects, closer to the end of this term.

There is a great deal of information from many of the universities for Year 10 students and their parents and as this comes to hand, I will place it in the Careers section of the school website under “Parent Information”, and in the Year 10 Team Careers OneNote which has just been created.

Newcastle University have the following available:

Welcome to Term 2!  

We are excited to share with you two upcoming online events for parents!

Please see below for further details on each event and to register.

University of Newcastle:  Year 10 Subject Selection – Parent Info Session Webinar

Tuesday, 25 May 2021
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
To register, CLICK HERE  

Let us support you through the subject selection process with our 3 simple steps!

We encourage both parents and students to register for this digital event.

Presented by a panel of current Student Ambassadors who will share their stories and experiences, we cover the subject selection process (including our 3 simple steps on how to select your HSC subjects), as well as case studies and examples, and some general University information. 

University of Newcastle:  Parent Webinar

Tuesday, 8 June 2021
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
To register, CLICK HERE  

Sam Doherty, the Senior Manager of Admissions, will be running a live University of Newcastle Parent Webinar, covering key topics such as how to apply to university and the various entry schemes that are available for your child.

A great session for parents with students in Year 11 and 12.  

As information comes to hand, I will email the relevant students and I will be putting all information in the Careers section of the School Website and in each Year Group Careers One Note.  This will relate to apprenticeships, traineeships, job vacancies, university information and open days, TAFE information and scholarships.  There is a tab in the Careers section titled Job Jump which has a great deal of up-to-date information in all things careers.  All the students in Years 10, 11 and 12 have, or will have, access to this.

I would also like to keep encouraging the students to have a draft ‘Cover Letter’ and resume which can be tailored for job applications both part-time and fulltime.  This can be saved in the OneNote and accessed/changed at any time.

Year 11 Provide First Aid Course

Last week the Year 11 PDHPE and Year 11 Sports Coaching students completed their Provide First Aid Course with Warren Keegan from Coastal First Aid.  This is a very valuable qualification to have, and the students were wonderful as usual.  They will now be able to feel confident when assisting in many different First Aid situations.

Work Experience

One of our Year 12 students, Katelyn Page, was able to complete her Work Experience at Taronga Zoo finally (we are allowed one student per school per year).

Here’s what she had to say:

Taronga Work Experience

From the 29^th of March to 1^st of April I had the long-awaited opportunity to do work experience in Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.  Originally, I was to go March 2020 and then early March 2021, but COVID and floods stopped me both times.  Third times a charm and I was able to go late March.

On the first day a group of students, including me, were shown around the zoo and dropped off to our allocated areas.  I was allocated to the Australian Mammals.  I was in the Retreat, a “magical garden” which is surrounded by a 4.5-star hotel.  This day was a lot of hard work and maintenance to make sure the area looked good for the visitors staying in the hotel, it also had wallabies, potoroos, echidnas and geese.

Day two I was with Tasmanian Devils which was a crazy experience to be able to get that close to an endangered species.

Day three I was with the koalas, whilst cleaning their enclosure and putting in new food I could get as close as I wanted as they sit casually in their tree.

Day four, the last day, was possibly my favourite day.  I was with the nocturnal animals, bilbies, potoroos, gliders, bettongs and a couple of other cuties.  After cleaning and feeding each group of animals I was allowed to sit with the potoroos, who very easily became one of my new favourite animals, they would come up to me with cheeky personalities asking for back scratches and a peanut or two.

Overall, this experience was not only crazy, but also educational and a big thanks to Mrs McCann who made sure I got to have this experience.

Katelyn Page, Year 12

If any student is interested in Work Experience, please come and collect the necessary paperwork from me.  The Catholic School Office has set guidelines for Work Experience.  Year 9 and Year 10 students have to complete this during school hours, however Year 11 and Year 12 students can do Work Experience during holiday time or on the weekend.

Karen McCann
Careers/VET Adviser