Students volunteer their skills to help the community and local economy

Geraldton Senior College students and staff gather with members of the Geraldton Clay Target Club and Construction Onsite Training to celebrate the completion of the building project.

Year 11 students studying at Geraldton Senior College rolled up their sleeves last term to assist the Geraldton Clay Target Club. These students are studying certificates in Building and Construction and Engineering pathways with Construction Onsite Training whilst completing their schooling at Geraldton Senior College. Under supervision of their teachers and tradesmen, they built a brick trap house with a custom metal roof. This, in turn, enabled smooth running of the recent Crayfish Carnival held at the Geraldton Clay Target Club which hosts over 150 visitors from within WA and interstate over the three day event.

“We can’t find the words for what these students have done,” said Club President Laurie Oliveri. “They have done such a good job and we are so grateful.

“When we first spoke about the project, we had a definite deadline with the annual carnival. The young people really got into it and finished the job two weeks early. I have received many comments on the high quality of the workmanship and its accurate positioning. We all thought it was so good that we decided to repaint the other trap houses so we could renumber them and call the one built by the students’number one.

“The whole process saved the club a lot of money and gave these young people a chance to show themselves and the community what they can do. They took a lot of pride in their work. Their supervisor had a lot of patience for them, worked with their abilities and everyone learned a lot.

“The Carnival went very well and the extra trap house made our club look more professional. We have visitors from as far away as Darwin and Melbourne. The person who took out ‘High Gun’ for the day was from Mulgoa NSW.”

To show their appreciation the Geraldton Clay Target Club held a thank you event to bring together the families of the students, various staff within the school and club members. Attendees were able to try out the sport as well as enjoy lunch and a presentation.

For mum Denise Beard, this program has been a welcome change, “Programs like this are priceless in developing skills for my son’s future. Doing real-life activities in various types of trades helps our youth make decisions about being part of specific industries such as building and construction. Its’ hands-on experience that will help him secure a job in the future.

“They also participated in a community service task of cleaning up an elderly gentleman’s garden. They didn’t have to do it but chose to. They were all proud and happy to help out.

“My son hasn’t missed a day of this program. He wants to be there, doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty or cleaning up. Each week his pop has been enjoying seeing his progress and that of the project.”

Geraldton Senior College representative and Career and Vocational Education Manager, Cameron Todd said, “It is so beneficial to have a real-life project for students to work on rather than just creating a practice wall where you build it then take it down at the end. This has been a real game changer for the students involved.”

Principal of Geraldton Senior College, Greg Kelly said, “This is a brilliant example of the partnerships that we develop between the school and community. It gives the opportunity for our students to develop confidence in doing high level tasks while having the support of a teacher or tradesman nearby.”