Building better futures for our students is the key principle that drives our work at John Pirie Secondary School. For us to be successful in this aim, we need to support our young people to build their capacity to successfully transition into the post-school pathway of their choice.

A key element of this is the opportunity for students to engage in a meaningful Work Experience program. Through the new Exploring Pathways curriculum that our staff have developed this year, 76 of our Year 10 students have recently arranged, completed and reflected on a Work Experience placement.

The benefits of Work Experience are significant and varied. These include:

• an understanding of the work environment and what employers expect of their workers
• an opportunity to explore possible career options
• increased self-understanding, maturity, independence and self-confidence
• increased motivation to continue study and/or undertake further training
• a better understanding of how the school curriculum can help prepare young people for work
• enhanced opportunities for part-time and casual employment
• the opportunity to include the employer's work experience evaluation in future job and course applications
• opportunities to develop work-related competencies and acquire skills

We are extremely fortunate that we have such a supportive business community in Port Pirie and surrounding areas to facilitate 76 placements. We understand that taking on a Work Experience student is a significant commitment, and we thank each of the businesses for doing so. A full list of the businesses was recently published on our school Facebook page.

In addition to Work Experience, many of our Year 10, 11 and 12 students attended the Careers Expo Roadshow at the Northern Festival Centre last week. This was an excellent event that allowed students to connect with local employers, training organisations and employment providers to find out more information about a wide range of career opportunities.

Through these opportunities, students have commented that they now have a stronger sense of purpose in their learning through identifying a clear career path. We know that student engagement and learning outcomes are improved when the purpose of the learning is known and understood. I commend students, staff and the Port Pirie business community for the overwhelming success that the Work Experience program was this year.

Michael Gaunt

Principal

Year 12 Outdoor Education students enjoyed their three-day kayaking camp at the beginning of term 2. Students kayaked north from the Port Vincent Aquatic Centre to their campsite at the Port Vincent Golf Course. Over the three days, students developed their kayaking skills and learnt how to cook on a Trangia stove. Students had opportunities  to try new experiences including, kayaking alongside seals, harvesting and eating razor fish/clams, going without a shower or toilet, and enjoying a sunrise dip in the ocean. Students collaborated effectively as a team, demonstrating excellent teamwork and camaraderie. Despite facing physical and mental challenges out on the water, the students supported each other and completed the camp with a positive outlook and gratitude for the shared experience.

Week 2 Clontarf held their year 7/8 wellbeing camp! The boys learnt how to set up a swag in the academy room and spent the night bowling and watching a movie. After bowling we all headed back to the academy room to have a pizza cook off. The fellas had to choose their ingredients and make their very own pizza. After we all enjoyed a great dinner, we cleaned up in the kitchen and had a chat around the importance of getting to school, our behaviour and why our education is vital.

Friday morning we got up nice and early for morning training! We spent the morning playing capture the flag and finished off with some basketball. After morning training, we got a big breakfast in before heading up to Chinamans Creek where we enjoyed the afternoon playing games on the beach and exploring the area.

On Tuesday 21^st May we had 8 young men from John Pirie Clontarf Academy Jump on the bus and head out to their very first regional Camp to Port Augusta. We had a total of 12 Academies and up to 110 Clontarf Students from all over South Australia attend. The fellas set up their swags out at the beautiful Pichi Richi campsite. The morning views of the sunrise couldn’t get any better! The roaring camp fire kept everyone warm and telling yarns at night time.

The boys teamed up with Ocean View academy for a football carnival on Wednesday. Everybody played well and managed to get a couple of wins on the board. Young Tyran Dodd even managed to take out the goal kicking competition! The Carnivals are all about having fun and doing your best with a positive attitude. Thursday morning we all jumped in the bus again and headed out to Wilpena Pound for some cultural activities and more bonding time with other academies.

At the end of each Clontarf camp we award one student with the Clontarf Spirit Award. The spirit award goes to the student that helps out during the carnival without any prompting and always showing a great attitude and sportsmanship. This award went to Year 9 student Dylan Evans, well done Dylan!

Week 3, students from Mr. Gray's year 9 Outdoor Education classes enjoyed a warm bowl of noodles prepared on a Trangia! For many, this was their first-time cooking on a Trangia stove. Students are eager to explore the possibilities for what more they can cook on these portable lightweight cooking stoves.

Day One:

On 7^th May to the 9^th May, 14 students and 5 staff from S81 travelled by bus to Port Vincent for their Aquatics Camp. On the way, we stopped for a quick toilet break at Kadina, so we could stretch our legs. We then continued driving to Port Vincent and arrived at the campsite where we unpacked our bags. We got changed into our bathers and walked to the Aquatics Centre where we met the instructors. They gave us the safety instructions and rules before putting on our wetsuits, water-jackets, and PFDs.

We split into two groups and picked what activity we wanted to do first. The activities offered were stand-up paddle boarding and knee boarding. Group one chose to do knee boarding and group two chose to do stand-up paddle boarding. The activities went for just over an hour. Once activity one was finished, we got to have a lunch break. During the break we got to play on the playground. After 40 minutes we got back into our groups and switched our activities. The stand-up paddle boarders changed to knee boarding and the knee boarders switched to stand up paddle boarding. Just after 4pm we finished our activities for the day and helped pack up the equipment we used. We then walked back to the bunk house and had our showers before making our homemade pizzas. Thank you to Emma, Aleecia, Alysha, Miss Anderson, and Casey who made the pizzas. After tea most of the class played murder in the dark around the Bunk house yards. At 9:30 it was time for bed and then lights out.

Day Two: 

At 7:30am some tired children were woken up by Casey. We were offered a buffet breakfast of cereal, toast and fruit. After breakfast we all got changed into our bathers and walked to the Aquatics Centre. We were welcomed by the instructors who gave us the safety instructions and rules. We then put on our wetsuits, water-jackets, and PFDs. Then we split into two groups and picked what activity we wanted to do first. The activities offered were stand-up paddle boarding, double kayaks, sailing and knee boarding. The activities chosen for activity one was: double kayaks and sailing. We were split into pairs for the double kayaks. Emma and Cooper were absolute pros at the double kayaks and Mr Hicks enjoyed it as he could relax while a student did all the paddling. We kayaked up around the rock wall where we saw some pelicans and could see some people fishing. After an hour we had a short recess break before swapping activities. The knee boarding was an absolute hit as we used a stand-up paddle board so each student got a shot as there was more balance for them and they wouldn’t fall into the water. Group two needed to be towed out to the seals as the water was too still for them to be able to sail. We continued these activities for just over an hour. During lunch we got to go have the rolls that we made for lunch the night before or go to the Café to get warm drinks, hot chips, and burgers. In this time, we were able to almost bury one of our classmates in the sand. After lunch we split into two groups: one group did knee boarding, and the other group did stand up paddle boarding. Xavier, David, Harry, Harley, Caitlin, Courtney, Aleecia, and Alysha all gained confidence and could easily stand up on their paddle boards. At 4:30 we washed our PFDs, water jackets and wetsuits and helped the instructors pack away the equipment used. We then walked back to the bunkhouse to have warm showers. Elizabeth, Mason, and Casey prepared Cheesy pasta bake, corn on the cob, broccoli, and roast pumpkin. After tea we prepared our lunch for the next day and then got to have some free time where we played some games. At 9:30 it was bedtime and lights out.

Day Three:

At 7:30am some very exhausted and tired children were woken up by Casey once again. We had to pack up our bags and get ready for the day. It looked like we were going to head back earlier than expected. Charlie came to check on us and asked which activities we would like to do. Knee boarding, sailing and stand-up paddle boarding were chosen. We then packed the bus up and then walked to the Aquatics Centre, where we got into our wetsuits, water jackets and PFDs. We split into two groups. Group one did knee boarding and group two did sailing where they saw seals. Mr Hicks and Miss Anderson missed out on the last day of activities due to the boy’s dorm and the kitchen not being clean. After lunch we had some cinnamon donuts and hot chocolate and then it was time to head back. On the way home we stopped at Kadina for a quick break before we came back to the school and unpacked the bus.

Last term Year 10 Health students undertook a cooking practical. The purpose was to cook a Fake Take-Away "Fake- Away" meal. We decided to recreate our own Big Mac Burger. Students looked at how this is a healthier choice and we knew all ingredients added, but also noted that the idea of purchasing something precooked was good for saving time.