Shine Magazine, Issue 3, April 2010 - Department of Education and ...

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Northern Metropolitan
Glenroy Specialist School senior VCAL student Michael Samoun
has been awarded Moreland Junior Citizen of the Year. The
award was presented by mayor Stella Kariofyllidis in recognition
of Michael’s strong commitment to, and leadership within,
Moreland City Council’s oxYgen Committee and Project, the 2009
Youth Summit, and the Anti Racism Action Band performances.
Glenroy principal Raelene Kenny says Michael is an exemplary
role model and a great ambassador for the school and broader
community. “He has demonstrated to his peers that with
determination, hard work and commitment they can achieve
at high levels within and beyond the school. Michael is a great
ambassador for our school and for people with a disability. We
are all very proud of him,” she says.
Western Metropolitan
Students at Gilmore Girls College are getting a taste of life
in the corporate fast lane. Through the Australian Business
Community Network (ABCN), the school has partnered
with industry advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Principal Bette Prange, pictured here with PwC Australia
partner Vish Padmanabhan, says the partnership is teaching
students how business corporations work, how to access
different parts of an organisation and preparing them for
the workforce by strengthening vital skills, including oral
presentation and community awareness.
“The girls are meeting people involved with industry and we
are learning just how we (school and business) can support
one another,” she says. The ABCN and PwC have staged a
career day, work readiness workshops and facilitated work
placements for the Year 7 students, who are also involved
with the RISE mentoring reading program.
Gippsland
Loch PS is thriving thanks to the record addition of 16 new
Preps to the school. Principal Greg Bull credits close links
with the local kindergarten for the increased intake, which has
bumped the school’s total number of students to 71. “We have
a great transition program from kinder to Prep at this school,
and the senior school has a really strong link with the kinder
as well,” he said. “The students go down and read with the
children from early in the year, so we really make a connection
with them. When it is time for them to come to primary
school, they already know a lot of the senior students, their
teachers and myself,” he says.
Like most schools in the region, Loch is undergoing an
upgrade as part of the Building Education Revolution (BER)
and will soon have new toilet blocks, two new classrooms and
a library learning space.
76 Shine APRIL 2010