Beyond All Expectations

Emerald Secondary College continues to enjoy working with the Emerald Centre for Hope and Outreach (ECHO) on collaborative projects. ECHO provides the College with an enormous number of opportunities for our students - one of which being the 'Beyond All Expectations' Program run by Karen Crawford.

This is an exciting program designed to give students new learning experiences in an activity and project-based work program, with the assistance of a mentor from the local community. It is vocational in its nature and students involved in 2007 have been exposed to numerous rich experiences including industry visits, tertiary visits and taster programs and on-site training at several workplaces.

9 students began undertaking the program in Term 1, 2007 and have been involved in a number of projects, and 4 students have participated all throughout the year and will have graduated in November. In addition to the two day per week program which takes the students out of school and working either at ECHO or other sites and on excursion, they have been developing projects with their community mentors.

Steven Asling, Tye Johnston, Casey Davison, and Jamie Bush have featured often in 'Signpost' magazine, have undertaken vocational courses and Certificates, attended a camp, run a mobile phone workshop for members of the community and written articles and updates of their work and projects. Their individual projects range from building projects, cooking and food handling, to cabinet-making and other very ambitious works.

The College is sure that these students will have benefited a great deal from their involvement in Beyond All Expectations and that their participation has enabled them to consider a vocational focus and pave the way for a very successful future!