Beyond Sacred Heart is a program designed to, in some ways, further prepare students for the future. This year is the ninth time this program has been conducted and will cover a range of activities, culminating in mock interviews on Friday. A range of different guests and activities have been arranged and students will also be allocated time to complete their resumes and cover letters for the mock interviews.

Monday

On Monday, Chris Wells, a former student, discussed his journey since leaving Sacred Heart. Chris has worked in the mining industry in supervisory roles. He has just changed employment and is starting with Snowy 2.0. We then start the Interview Skills workshops and develop cover letters and resumes for their interviews on Friday. Later in the day Mrs Cath Alderman and Mrs Leanne McGrath, the Stage Six Career Coordinators from Cootamundra High and Hennessy Catholic College respectively, presented information regarding their roles and this will involve subject selection, University admissions and scholarship advice.

Tuesday

On Tuesday morning, the students enjoyed a shared breakfast at E-Claire’s coffee shop from 8:00 am. The girls then walked to Jak+Jill’s and the boys visited Kevin Deep’s Clothing, to gain information on appropriate attire to wear to a job interview. Thank you to Paul Deep, Jamie Hall and Tracey Ewings for their insight. Chris Ryan from Flemings Real Estate then presented information on renting accommodation, paying bonds and the legalities involved. After lunch, Matt Holt, from the Westpac Bank presented a talk on financial matters including traps with credit cards, how to apply for loans, issues around defaulting and how to manage bank accounts. 

Wednesday

Students were treated to a Zoom meeting with Miss Judy Donnelly, who told of her story and career pathway since leaving Sacred Heart. Judy is currently the Head of Government Relations & Corporate Social Responsibility for the AFL. She has been the Press Secretary for Tony Abbott and a Contiki Tour Guide amongst other roles. She had a very powerful message of networking and building that network, taking calculated risks, pushing yourself to get out of your comfort zone, travel and take new opportunities.

The next session was on interview skills including body language and response techniques. Students were given the opportunity to research their chosen careers and prepare some responses for general interview questions. 

Mrs Deb Tiernan then advised the students on grooming for an interview. The girls were taken through make-up tips and modelled their interview attire. Thank you, Deb, for your expertise.

Thursday

On Thursday, a food challenge was held, in which students prepared and cooked their lunch on a budget. The students were in groups of three or four and were limited to $5.00 per person. The meals produced were very nutritious and smelt amazing.

John Murray and Andrew Alderman presented a session on basic routine mechanical tasks associated with driving. It involved checking fluid levels, tyre conditions, how to change a tyre, attaching a trailer, checking lights and fuses. Each student completed a checklist of tasks.

After lunch, areas around the school were prepared and set-up for the interviews.

Friday

The week concluded with all students attending mock interviews. This year we had to conduct the mock interviews via Zoom. Thank you to Mrs Janet Cartwright for her guidance and efforts to assist with setting this up. We all know a great deal more about the inner workings of Zoom.

The panel career areas and personnel are sourced after the students select the areas they are interested in. We then put together the panels based on the best fit for the students. This year the focus areas covered by the panels included Agriculture, Business, Education, Health, Law, Military, Policing and Trades, and our list of possible community members willing and able to assist has reached over 170. Thank you to Mrs McGylnn and Mrs Deep for being the interview receptionists and grading the students on their presentation and manners.

After the pressure of the morning, we wound down with a BBQ and the traditional Staff V Yr10 volleyball match. The staff retain the title!

We would like to thank all the community members and staff that were involved in making the program so successful and the students for treating the experience as a lifelong and valuable learning opportunity.

Good luck to Year 10 for your future endeavours and life Beyond Sacred Heart.