WHAT defines a successful student? Well, as the Greater Shepparton Secondary College (GSSC) Careers Team knows, success can look different for each individual student, which is why the Subject Selection and Course Counselling program is such an important feature on the annual school calendar. Kicking off at the start of Term 3, our Year 10 students spend two days learning remotely, to allow for course counselling to take place. This provides students and their families an opportunity meet with a qualified GSSC Careers Practitioner for an individual and tailored appointment before making their final selection of subjects for next year.
“Bringing parents and guardians in on the course counselling is an important feature of this process as it ensures students and their families are all on the same page when it comes to their senior secondary years, and also allows parents to better understand and support their child through VCE/VCE-VM,” GSSC Careers Manager Tarsh Boyko said.
“This is complimented by our Year 12 immersion days and family information nights held at the start of the year.
“We know that our parents and guardians are their children’s biggest influences and advocates when it comes to career and pathway choices, so we want to build those strong school/family partnerships and provide the best possible support for our young people.”
In addition to setting students up for success in their senior years, GSSC has expanded its subject selection program to cater for junior years’ students, where earlier this term the Careers Team presented subject selection booklets to Years 7 and 8s during neighbourhood assemblies.
“Capturing students during these earlier years helps to generate a buzz around student’s future aspirations and assists them to know what to expect regarding subject selection in future years and the value in this process and their participation in it,” Ms Boyko said.
GSSC Executive Principal Barbara O’Brien said there is a huge amount of work that goes into this program to assist students to navigate their own pathways and career aspirations.
“I am so proud of our careers and pathways offerings, which are unique to our college and provide our students the best possible opportunities for achieving their goals and future dreams,” she said.
“While we encourage our students to set high expectations of themselves, achieving their personal best is just that – personal.
“This is why this program and our overall careers and pathways offerings are so valuable being tailored and targeted and broad in the opportunities and partnerships made available to our students through industry, business, further education institutions and the broader community.”
Throughout the school year, students are provided a range of Careers and Pathway opportunities both within the curriculum and as extra program and activities.
