VCAL students at Hillcrest Christian College have been given opportunities to explore their own interests while working on projects that demonstrate the skills needed to complete the certificate.
Senior Hillcrest VCAL students have had the opportunity to choose the focus for their final year, opting to either join the environmental class or the media class.
“As a VCAL Literacy teacher, I have had the privilege of facilitating the learning of those in the environmental class, and it has been extremely rewarding to connect our program with initiatives at our 25 acre environmental reserve,” said Polly Penn, Hillcrest VCAL teacher.
The environmental reserve has provided rich fodder for students in their latest VCAL project.
Since the beginning of the year the class has made regular trips to the reserve, drawing inspiration from the natural environment and its unique features to incorporate into their own original picture books.
Students have undergone a process in creating the books, including selecting an aspect of the reserve to focus on, planning and drafting their narrative, and illustrating and publishing their final product.
Several students were inspired by the migration of the Latham Snipe, an endangered bird that flies from Japan to Australia each year and has chosen the Crest Environmental Reserve for its holiday home.
Others focused on their own personal connection to nature and the sense of peace they experience at the reserve.
The project culminated in a visit to the Year 2 classes at Rivercrest Christian College, where the Year 12 students read their picture books and shared some of their experiences from the environmental reserve with the younger students.
The Year 2 students were very excited to spend some time with the older students and they particularly enjoyed hearing stories about a place they knew.
Some of the Year 2 students even recognised the students from their work earlier this week, when they began restoring their chicken coop and vegetable gardens as part of their personal development unit.
Later this term, the VCAL students will begin the process of redesigning several areas at their environmental reserve, with the intention of making the resource more accessible for the Hillcrest and Rivercrest community.
“We hope to involve the Rivercrest Christian College students in this project and look forward to maintaining the connections we have made between the campuses,” said Mrs Penn.
