Year 10 Prepare for their Senior Years

Weeks 8 and 9 of Term 4 have brought along the highly anticipated Senior Transition Program for our Year 10 Students. This program aims to best prepare students for their senior years at the College, with activities designed to encourage teamwork, nurture their wellbeing, live out our ‘ACT’ Ursuline Value, equip them with life skills and provide them with some insight into their recently chosen senior subjects. I was so impressed with how our girls stepped up during this program with maturity and enthusiasm. Many took on activities and challenges that for some, they had never done before, whilst others really took this as an opportunity to give back to our community.

Many thank-yous must go out to the various staff members involved throughout the program, those who volunteered their time, assisted in planning, rooming, running taster lessons, reflection day, first aid and other workshops throughout the fortnight.  Our girls are beyond blessed to have such supportive teachers.

Many of our students have recounted their favourite parts of the program below, providing an insight into their experiences over the past two weeks. I have no doubt our year 10 girls are ready to take on the challenges that come their way over the next two years, be it senior schooling or in a world beyond our school gates. In the meantime, the school holidays await.

Miss Celeste Martinez
Year 10 Coordinator 

Ineke Chessari:

Within the transition program, Year 10 students were provided with two opportunities to receive a brief outlook on how their senior classes will operate the following year through the taster lessons. As students, we were required to move around each period to a different class, representing the classes we have enrolled in for the next two years. This included any form of science, English, Religion, Mathematics, Technology, PDHPE or HSIE. Here we were greeted with each course’s teachers, allowing them to go through a series of activities to help us develop our understanding of the subject and what we can expect in these approaching years. This experience was truly eye-opening, and strongly assisted in resolving any confusion of what a course may look like, alongside relieving a significant amount of nerves associated with moving into senior school. This especially allowed us students to get considerably excited for the years ahead. Both days were incredibly informative, enjoyable and overall a terrific way to reinforce the great deal of work and thinking that both students and teachers have placed this year around subject choices for years 11 and 12.

Zara Sly:

As part of our transition program, we engaged in various workshops on Thursday that helped us discover and develop our skill set, preparing us for senior classes and life after school. These workshops included “My Strengths,” where we took a quiz to identify our top five traits and learn how to work with them effectively. We also participated in a Qi Gong meditation session, a job interview and resume workshop, and a Galmatic workshop where we learned how to change a car tire through a hands-on demonstration. These workshops provided us with guidance and helped us recognize and develop our skill set.

Emily Moubarak:

During our transition program we embarked upon an orienteering day in the city to get more familiar with travelling and navigating independently. We were all given different routes and expected to find our way to different locations throughout the day with tools such as Tripview and Google Maps. My group got to visit UTS, Hyde Park, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Sydney Museum. We also stopped at Westfield and had Sushi for lunch! Overall the experience was very informative and fun; we were given the responsibility of figuring out our own routes and the opportunity to have fun with our friends throughout the activities. We are very grateful to all of the teachers who helped out at the checkpoints and had to wear orange high vis in the middle of the city. 

Valerie Tan:

As a part of the Year 10 Transition Week, we had the opportunity to participate in different workshops, including Skincare & Relaxation! The workshop was led by nurse Mandy, owner of Skinroom by Mandi. We learnt about different skin types and skin conditions, and were advised on how to properly take care of our skin. We were also recommended products to implement into our skincare routines, as well as products to avoid. On top of that, we were each given a personal skin analysis, using a device that allowed us to see what was hidden beneath our skin. Finishing off, we made and applied our own clay masks. Overall, it was an experience we all got a lot out of, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Christina Elia:

For the final two weeks of term 4, year 10 have taken part in the senior transition program, which included participating in teacher-led workshops. The Mock Trial group led by Mr Baker was an exceptional workshop to provide insight for those with an interest in the legal environment, as he explained what a Mock Trial is, how the competition works and the different components that go into it. Mr Baker described the different roles including barristers, solicitors, witnesses, court officers and magistrates, as well as what students in a role should aim to achieve in order to be successful against other schools, which was further demonstrated through videos, scripts and other fruitful materials from past Mock Trials. It was comparable to a real trial, which was extremely beneficial for those who wish to pursue a path within law. Overall, this workshop was an amazing way to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities provided to senior students at the college and introduce year 10 students to law beyond year 9 and 10 commerce. The whole experience sparked the interest of many students in the room who wish to be a part of the 2024 team.

Talia Petaccia:

On Friday, during the first week of our transition program, we had the privilege of listening to Melissa McGuinness, founder of You Choose Driver Safety. Despite having already heard her story at our BStreetsmart excursion in August, it was no less heartbreaking.

Melissa’s son was involved in a horror crash in 2012, where he was speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. He took the lives of 4 innocent teenagers, as well as his own. Since then, Melissa has been an advocate for driver safety, being Queensland’s Australian of the Year runner-up two years in a row, and founding You Choose with her husband, Peter, in 2017. Through You Choose, they aim to deliver student-led workshops and programs, along with facilitating authentic personal accountability for negligent driving.

After Melissa spoke to our grade, we returned to our classrooms, where we completed a number of activities regarding driver safety. This included, but was not limited to, reflection on Melissa’s speech and the emotions it caused us to feel, learning about the different causes of car crashes, and information about those more likely to be involved in a crash. This workshop was eye-opening for so many people, especially hearing Melissa’s story from a first hand perspective. Melissa left us with a very important message to reflect on, that not only applies to taking care when driving, but also everyday situations, ‘Intentions are irrelevant when actions harm ourselves or others.’

It’s safe to say that Year 10 actively enjoyed the You Choose Driver Safety workshop, despite it being confronting at times, it was a lesson well learned to educate us about the dangers of reckless driving, as well as hopefully preventing irresponsible driving behaviours