Local Learning Achievements 

Celebrating PACTS Parents
 

Parents As Career Transition Support  is a series of workshops and resources developed to provide parents with up-to-date information about career transition that enables them to support their teenagers when making career transition decisions.
In the first in-person series for 2022, Brimbank City Council hosted local parents of Vietnamese heritage, where they learned how to communicate with their children who have disability, neurodiversity or mental health needs about their career journey. Speaking to them about how they could identify their skills and ambitions and which work would suit them on their pathways. Parents learned about ways to keep an open mind for work possibilities for their children and learned how to ask open questions.
 
Parents learned about learning pathways and career services within schools as well about traineeship and apprenticeships options. The session was run in partnership with Reece Gains, the Inclusive Industry Engagement Coordinator from the Department of Education and Training. Nghi, the program coordinator from Extended Families, a not-for-profit organisation providing disability support for children (and young people). Lastly, Brimbank Job Advocates from Jobs Victoria who support community members navigate employment and training services while connecting people to work.
 
The collaborative partnership supported parents attending the session, building a sense community in the enriching space through thoughtful conversation, while simultaneously building networks for ongoing support.

For more information about Parents As Career Transition Support Program, contact Reece Gains - Inclusive Industry Engagement Coordinator - Department of Education and Training at [email protected]

The impact and importance of volunteer support in schools

EdConnect volunteer, Luis Rojas has achieved a positive outcome by supporting a student at school in the Brimbank region. Luis explains one example of how he supported his mentee.  

"After a year of disruptions ….. I went to my mentee’s classroom. He is a great kid, very smart, teachers say he can be disruptive in the classroom but has a heart of gold. Given the opportunity and time, he opens up and speaks very well of his family and goals in life. On this particular day my mentee’s class had been changed to Physical activities at the gym, when I arrived to his classroom his teacher advised he was at the gym with the rest of his classroom. When I got to the gym, noticed kids were playing dodgeball. However my mentee was sitting down not participating. I sat next to him greeted him and asked how he was? He was not in a good mood and withdrawn. Gave him time to adjust to me being there, it had been a while since I last saw him. After 5 minutes I asked mate, why aren’t you playing? This is dodgeball, you would be very good at this, being a goal keeper and your team needs you. They’ve lost two games in a row.

He said “the teacher made me sit down, I don’t know why?” I gave him a few minutes to reflect, and then asked, wow that’s unfair, you sure you didn’t do something accidentally that caused you to be sitting down and not participating? He said “no I didn’t, I threw the ball and it accidentally hit the teacher and she asked me to sit down.” Gave him a few more minutes to reflect, I asked, did you apologise to the teacher? He said I did nothing wrong. I said that maybe the case mate, but she doesn’t know that, she might’ve thought you did it on purpose and wanted clarification. He sat there quietly for a few more minutes, his team had now lost 4 games straight. I said mate, your team needs you, they’ve lost 4 games straight, I know you want to participate, what about you go over and talk to the teacher and ask if you could be allowed to play, you have nothing to lose. Reluctantly, he got up and spoke to the teacher, she gave him the nod and he started playing, then looked in my direction with the biggest smile. After that, his team kicked ar$#. When my time came to leave, I said to him did you enjoy it? He said “yep!” I said well-done mate, He smiled, we did the fist pump."

 
EdConnect volunteers offer one-on-one mentoring to students in need or assistance in the classroom with subjects such as numeracy, reading, science or help around the school in kitchen garden projects, canteen, gardening, library and much more.

 
This year, EdConnect are recruiting and training even more volunteers to help support more local students and schools in 2022.
Become an EdConnect volunteer and help make a difference in a young person’s life. Visit www.edconnect.org.au/volunteer or contact [email protected] 1800668550

Sharing Insights – Australian Learning Cities: global to local – local to global

Presenter: Australian Learning Communities Network and Adult Learning Australia
When: Wednesday 4th May @ 4pm AEST; 8am CEST
Duration: 90 minutes
Cost: Free

A learning city promotes lifelong learning for all and helps lay the foundation for sustainable social, economic, and environmental development.

Explore the principles and features of learning cities, learning communities, and learning municipalities in Australia and globally in this free online session.

How are communities faced with turbulent times adapting and learning from each other to build healthy and resilient cities through learning to contribute to the UN Sustainability Goals?

Hear from the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (Hamburg – Germany), and councils from across Australia, including the award-winning learning cities – Wyndham City Council, Melton City council; Circular Head Council and aspiring learning cities, City of Canning and Wollongong City Council. They will share their experiences and insights on building healthy and resilient communities through learning and how they share knowledge and good practices on a local, national, and global scale.

Secure your spot by registering here.