Looking back at our first term as Year 10s…

New Campus

At the beginning of this year, the Year 10 cohort made the big move from Coolock Campus to St Mary’s Campus. It has been an exciting transition starting at St Mary’s. Thanks to the supportive atmosphere created by both the staff and students, we have adapted to the new environment with ease. This change made us all nervous, but at the same time we were thrilled to be taking these new steps closer to our future selves. Although vastly different to Coolock, moving up to St Mary’s has been an amazing experience.

VCE/VET Classes

Heading up to St Mary’s, many Year 10s have taken up a VCE or VET class. For many of us, walking into a class full of Year 11s for the first time was a daunting experience, however as the term went on, these classes became an opportunity to connect with older students, and form new friendships. Everyone has noticed there is a big jump in the workload between the two campuses – even more so when accelerating a class. Although this has been challenging, it is a great opportunity for us to refine our study skills and develop good habits for the years ahead.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Days

In Term 1, our Year 10 cohort took part in two SEL days. The first was Love Bites, which was good for us to learn about safe and respectful relationships, consent, what to do if you’re stuck in certain situations and identifying abusive relationships. Our other SEL day was a Careers Day, where we learnt about pathways and the world of work. Then we all played some ‘Minute-to-win-it’ games! Everyone had so much fun, and it was a great opportunity to bond out of the classroom.

Exciting Opportunities

Several students from Year 10 have been getting involved in this year’s production of ‘The Addams Family’ and are working towards showcasing their skills on the stage or backstage at the Ulumbarra Theatre on 5 and 6 June.

There have been a lot of tryouts for different sports, giving everyone the chance to get involved and try something new. Some of the Year 10s have also been training with the Premier League team, which has been an awesome experience. It’s been a great chance to see how the Year 11 and 12 students work together as a team. Watching how they communicate and cooperate has helped us understand what makes a successful team and how we can improve our own skills and teamwork.

We look forward to all that Term 2 has in store for us at St Mary’s, as some of us head into our first Structured Workplace Learning and we work towards our first senior exams in Week 9 of this term.

The Year 10 Student Leadership Team