From the Futures Team

From the Futures Team

Work Experience Stories – Sydney Opera Huse

In the first week of this term, I had the opportunity to attend the work experience program hosted by the Sydney Opera House. Along with 5 other Year 10 students from all across NSW, we spent five days understanding the behind-the-scenes and inner workings of Australia’s most iconic performing arts venue. We visited every department in the Opera House and talked to incredible people who shared with us the specifications of their jobs. We learnt about everything from how the House programs and manages their productions, earns its place among the most sustainable buildings in the world, adapts to be accessible for all, and much, much more. We also met Benny, who is the resident Opera House seal.

This was an unforgettable experience – I have been inspired by the dedication and passion showcased at the Sydney Opera House (not only just on stage!)and remain immensely grateful to all the organisers, supervisors, and workers for taking time out of their day to talk with us.

Written by Olivia Xu (Year 10)

Call for Parent Volunteers

Year 10 will be participating in a series of events to provide an opportunity to explore Future Careers and pathways beyond Pymble. 

The activity “Career Insight Speed Dating” will be set up where a small group of students will listen to you share insights into what it looks like to work in your area (7-8 minutes each) and how you got to where you are now. The students will have a chance ask a few questions before you move to another small group. 

There’s no need to prepare a presentation. Sample questions will be provided in advance for volunteers.

If you are able to help, we would love for you to come to share your stories and perspectives of working within  your specific industry.

EVENT DETAILS 

Year 10 Future You Festival

Tuesday 28th November from 8:15 am to 10:20 am

On Campus

We are looking for volunteers for the following industries: 

  • Physiotherapy
  • Medicine
  • Psychology
  • Media and Communications 
  • Design – interior, Fashion 
  • Events management 
  • Entrepreneurship 
  • Engineering 
  • Cyber Security
  • Veterinary

If you are interested, please email upperschool@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au with your name and information on the industry you will speak about.

Pymble Gives Back – Bankstown Senior College

Giving back through sharing our skills and resources with those who are in need is important to the Futures Department. Our team are always looking for opportunities to share our skills, strengths and talents is important at all stages of our working lives. Pymble’s focus  on giving back has enabled both of us share our time and expertise with those less fortunate. 

Our Futures Advisors Mrs O’Kelly and Ms D’Souza joined other educators who volunteered their time at Bankstown Senior College on 16th October for a Work Readiness Program. This involved assisting new arrival students to practise their interviewing skills. The students were recent migrant orrefugees from a range of countries including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Many of the students had little to no previous formal education in their country of origin and spent childhoods in refugee camps. Our staff were struck by the unassuming resilience and humility of the young people they met and their positive attitude towards Australia and the opportunities they found here. They were all eager to make a valuable contribution to Australia in return for granting them asylum.

Through this experience, we are able to increase our awareness of the different needs students have in receiving careers support and guidance, especially through interview practice. We hope will be able to continue our relationship with Bankstown Senior College into the future. 

Mrs O’Kelly and Ms D’Souza (centre) with other volunteers at the Work Readiness Program day.

Work Experience Stories – Defence Force

On 20 September 2023, we (Jacinta Martin and Hannah Ford – Year 12 2024) attended a one-day Defence Work Experience Program (DWEP) hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at RAAF Base Williamtown. RAAF Base Williamtown is famous for being the home to the F-35 Lightning II, an American fast jet.

This DWEP was an extremely beneficial experience for us, as we are both interested in joining the RAAF after completing school. All the activities we participated in and the facilities we visited only made us more motivated to join the RAAF!

Some activities we did include:

1. INTRO: We were briefed about the different jobs within the RAAF (the ones spoken of were Pilot, ABM, ASO, WSO, ATC, and AMO). It was interesting to hear about the diversity of the available roles, especially since most people know little about pilot and air traffic control (ATC) roles. This briefing allowed us to go into the DWEP with an open mind and become more eager to learn about the various roles offered by the RAAF.

2. PT TRAINING: We completed a Physical Training session, including push-ups, sit-ups, and the shuttle run. The purpose of the PT session was to compare our fitness level to the entry test used to admit officers into the ADF. We pushed each other hard and particularly excelled in the shuttle run and sit-ups.

3. F-35 Lightning II: We learned about the 76 Squadron and their role (they are the first squadron the F-35 pilots join). The F-35 fast jet pilots use this simulator to practice their basic flying skills before flying the real jets. We were both lucky enough to be chosen to try out the F-35 Lightning II simulator. We both found the simulator highly immersive and realistic, with a detailed landscape of Newcastle, weather settings, and a realistic interior of the jet itself. This simulator was a great motivation for us to join the RAAF as pilots.

4. WEDGETAIL: Next, we headed to a hangar with a Boeing 737 AEW&C, commonly called the Wedgetail. We had a tour of the exterior and watched repairs being done. We also had a tour of the interior and enjoyed hearing about the role of the Air Battle Managers (ABMs), who manage battlefield operations while in the air (with the fast jets) by providing intel on enemy movements. Wedgetails do this through radar input – if you search for a picture of a Wedgetail, you will see the huge radar planted on top of the aircraft! Wedgetails have the necessary role of protecting RAAF aircraft and supporting the pilots as they fly at extreme speeds and, therefore, have minimal control of the plane. Additionally, fast jet pilots can experience up to 8 – 9 Gs (8 – 9 times your body weight – imagine trying to lift your head or hands!).

5. ATC: We then had a look inside their new Air Traffic Control tower. We were extremely fortunate to have watched ten F-35s taxi and take off in a row! We were able to listen in on the pilots communicating with the (old) ATC through a walkie-talkie in the room.

Throughout the day, we met many officers working in their specialisations around the RAAF Base and everyone we talked to was passionate about their job, they were all very interesting to learn from. The Defence Work Experience Program at RAAF Base Williamtown revealed to us the immersive and purposeful role of military defence for Australia – which we would love to be part of.

We were prohibited from taking any photos or videos on base, although we reached out to the DWEP staff and they were kind enough to send through (approved) photos taken by the photographer at the RAAF Base.

If you have any questions about how to apply for a Defence Work Experience Program (DWEP) or any further questions about our experience, please feel free to contact either of us:

JaMartin@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au (Jacinta Martin, Year 12 2024)HFord@pymblelc.nsw.edu.au (Hannah Ford, Year 12 2024)

Multiplex Jumpstart – NEXTDC S3 Workshop

Last Wednesday, 23 students from year 9 to 12 visited the NEXTDC S3 Data Centre in Artarmon, for a Jumpstart workshop. The event was hosted by Multiplex, the global construction firm, who are building the project. The Jumpstart program has been designed by Multiplex to encourage young women into the construction industry. The workshop involved learning about the site, touring the ‘racks’ and learning about how data in the ‘cloud’ is stored, and an engineering challenge. There will be plenty of other Jumpstart workshops in 2024, so keep an eye out for future information! Here are some student reflections:

During the Multiplex work experience program I learned a wide range of new things. Some of the most important things I took away from this experience was that in today’s world, more and more women are being given opportunities in construction and engineering. Not only did I learn about what they do at Multiplex, but I saw and experienced the inclusivity of all the people working there. While attending we were given a site tour and given safety gear to wear. After that, we all headed down and got into teams of 5 and built a bridge only using the materials we were given. After the time was up each group was assessed on the aesthetics of the bridge and if it could hold a bottle of water on it without collapsing. My group was one of the few to stay standing by the end. This whole experience was really enjoyable and if any pop up in the future I will be attending. I would recommend attending one of these programs because even if you don’t think construction and engineering is your future, you can still learn and enjoy a lot. (Sofia Altorf, Year 9)

The Multiplex jumpstart program was a very insightful experience, where I learnt and saw many things that intrigued me. When we went into the data centre, I was fascinated by the several rooms of stored data rented out to large companies, something I never even knew that existed. In the site tour, I learnt about just how much energy the data centre consumes, and the construction aspects of the building. In the end we also participated in a very fun bridge building competitions in small teams, with some delicious food while we worked hard. (Talia Luo, Year 10)

I thought that it was a really enriching experience and it really opened my eyes to all the different jobs and elements which fall under the company. It was really valuable talking to industry professionals while we were there and I felt that they really thoroughly answered all of our questions no matter how big or small they were. The whole experience was very engaging and the bridge activity at the end was very fun and challenging!

Written by Natalia Antalfy (Year 12)