Monthly Archives: July 2018

Every year St Patrick’s Technical College celebrates National Skills Week and 2018 is set to be a fantastic event.

Hosted at the Playford City Council’s Civic Centre on Playford Boulevard, the event will be a celebration of trades, apprenticeships, traineeships and business in the north.

This year the very special guest speakers are: Honourable David Pisoni, MP, Minister for Industry and Skills and Barossa Fine Food’s Business Development Manager Alex Knoll.

The College will also be celebrating the naming of 5 staff, students and programs as finalists in the 2018 SA Training Awards, to be presented at a gala dinner on September 7.

For more information and to find out how you can purchase tickets to the event go to this page.

As campus-based St Patrick’s Technical College students return to classes this week, one Year 11 Building and Construction student is doing something a little more impressive. Lainie Thomson’s love of horses and gymnastics has taken her all the way to Europe instead.

Currently in Germany as part of an Equestrian Australia young exchange program, Lainie, 16, is the SA 2017 Junior Vaulter of the Year.

Equestrian Vaulting combines gymnastics and horsemanship skills. It requires great rhythm, coordination, balance and trust between rider and athlete. Riding to music, athletes must complete compulsory moves and freestyle routines and Lainie has been part of the Quicksilver Competition for two years, training out of Cockatoo Valley.

“I really like horses and I did gymnastics for five years,’’ Lainie said before her trip.

“One of my friends did vaulting so I thought I would give it a go. It was pretty nerve wracking at first and it is hard, very hard to get your balance.’’

But once Lainie found her balance, she progressed quickly in the sport. Her favourite move is called a flic-flac, which is a backflip off a moving horse.

As one of about a dozen young people from Australia who have travelled to Germany as part of the Equestrian Australia’s exchange program, Lainie said she was looking forward to watching a major competition in Frankfurt.

Lainie, and her mum Toni who has accompanied her, will be billeted with different German families during the stay. Later this year, Germany will send a group of its talented young equestrians to Australia.

Lainie and her mum will take the opportunity to visit friends in the Netherlands and Greece following the exchange.

For the future, Lainie hopes to quality for the 2019 World Junior Equestrian Games.

As we head into the July school holidays today, St Patrick’s Technical College is celebrating the hard work of five Year 12 students who have completed all their subjects and work for the year.

The students are school-based apprentices and trainees have knuckled down this year to complete all their subjects required for their SACE certificate. Their work will now be submitted to the SACE Board for moderation.

Congratulations:

• Julian Fragnito who works at Zeeas Café and is studying a Certificate III in Hospitality with RTO CEG.
• Sarah Mills, who works at Brazilian Beauty North Adelaide and is studying a Certificate III in Beauty.
• Chelsea Doman-Hicks who works at the Kingsford Hotel and is studying a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery with RTO TAFE SA.
• Courtney Bailie who works at the Midway Tavern and is studying a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery with RTO TAFE SA.
• Leith Cappelluti, who works Shannon Welding and from next term will be studying a Certificate III In Engineering.

StPatsTech College Principal Danny Deptula said that Julian, Sarah, Chelsea, Courtney and Leith had impressed staff with their dedication to complete their SACE subjects. He said armed with their Year 12 certificates, apprentices and trainees can expect better rates of pay than those who do not complete senior secondary education.

He said those students no longer had to attend the College and he looked forward to celebrating their graduation with them in November.

“These students can now spend more time with their employer, which will help them grow their skills, and I congratulate them on their effort to complete Year 12 mid-way through the year,’’ Mr Deptula said.

He said StPatsTech’s innovative approach to education meant students were able to have flexible, work-friendly time schedules that enabled them to get the most out of work and education. The College is a School-based Apprenticeship/Traineeship specialist with nearly 870 students signed to work since 2007.

More than 50 StPatsTech students have commenced an apprenticeship or traineeship since the start of the 2018 school year.

St Patrick’s Technical College this week welcomed back our students who are out on school-based apprenticeships and traineeships (SbATs).

As part of our innovative, work-focussed program, SbATs spend just six weeks during Year 12 at the College completing their compulsory SACE subjects and the rest of their time is spent with their employer or attending trade school.

During the SbAT weeks, the College’s full-time campus-based students head out to local businesses on work experience.

This week was the third block for the year and saw the Year 12 Health subject students improve their culinary skills. The students cooked a range of meals, using healthy recipes, for Fred’s Van Elizabeth, which is run from Vinnies Elizabeth.

Teacher Nicola Swiderski said it was important for the young men and women to be able to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals for themselves. She said the students also learnt more about the work at Fred’s Van and the high demand in the Elizabeth community for the service.

REPORTS

Student reports for Term 2 have been released today for parents and caregivers, with access via the College’s Parent Access Module (PAM).

To log into PAM follow this link http://pam.stpatstech.sa.edu.au. All families were issued PAM access at the start of the year with Username a four digit number.

Please contact the College: info@stpatstech.sa.edu.au if you need to check your log in information. Families requiring a printed version of the report are asked to contact the College on 8209 3700.

Parent-Caregiver/Student/Teacher Interviews

Bookings are now OPEN for Parent-Caregiver/Student/Teacher interviews held on July 31. Bookings for interview times are also made through PAM by opening this link to Parent Teacher Interviews and click on the relevant subject to make a time with the teacher.

Note: one appointment time per teacher even though the student may have the teacher for multiple subjects. Please contact the College if assistance is required.

St Patrick’s Technical College is today celebrating the announcement that two students, a staff member, an Old Scholar and one of the College’s industry programs have been named finalists in the Training and Skills Commission’s South Australian Training Awards.

Two StPatsTech students were listed among just four young people in the School-based Apprentice of the Year category. College Leader Santiago Bribiesca Diaz was named finalist for his work with the Mayfair Hotel, where he is studying a Certificate III in Hospitality. He is joined by Year 11 student Cain Gerrits who is undertaking a Certificate III in Solid Brick Plastering with his family’s business Gerrits Plastering.

Teacher Linda Burton, who is also an electrical contractor running a family business with her husband Lee alongside teaching at the College, was named a finalist in the VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year category.

The College’s unique Northern Adelaide P-TECH Australia program in the Industry Collaboration Award. The StPatsTech P-TECH Australia program is run in collaboration with TAFE SA, the Defence Teaming Centre, Saab Australia, Century Engineering and PMB Defence to bring industry directly into the classroom to address skills needs within the Defence workspace.

Finally, 2014 Old Scholar Jarrod Morton was named finalist in the Apprentice of the Year category. Jarrod works for Ben Thomson Electrical as an apprentice electrician. He secured his apprenticeship through PEER during Year 12 at StPatsTech, completing senior secondary education as a School-based Apprentice. Upon graduating from StPatsTech at the end of 2014, Jarrod’s apprenticeship was converted to a full-time position.

Playford City Mayor Glenn Docherty congratulated the College on its success.

“Having four finalists shows the staff and students of St Patrick’s Technical College are dedicated and committed to trade training, which means the skills and the future for northern Adelaide is enhanced,’’ Mr Docherty said.

He said employers being able to source quality apprentices was not only a benefit to the young person in terms of gaining skills for life, but of huge value to businesses and the economy in northern Adelaide.

StPatsTech Principal Danny Deptula congratulated the four finalists. “We are extremely proud of all our finalists and wish them all the best for the awards in September,’’ Mr Deptula said.

“With two StPatsTech students among the four named as finalists is the School-based Apprentice of the Year category, the College takes that as a sign we are getting it right in terms of producing aspirational young men and women with the talent for a trade or technical career.

“Santiago and Cain could not be any more different in their chosen trade, showing again that one size does not fit all when it comes to education and training. But by meeting the needs of the individual and being able to tailor programs to suit the particular talents and interests of students, StPatTech is hitting a winning formula.’’

Mr Deptula said the College has long held the view that trade training is “not less than university” and could even outweigh universities in terms of personal, professional and financial success for young people.

Mr Deptula said the College was able to maintain its strong link to industry by employing tradesmen and women as trainers/teachers, such as Ms Burton. Mr Deptula said as an electrician herself, Ms Burton was able to provide her students with real-world knowledge. He said her passion for teaching the next generation of electrotechnology workers and ensuring they are taught to industry standards, along with her care for her students, were a great asset to the College.

The College’s finalist berth in the Industry Collaboration Award further demonstrated its close working relationships with industry, Mr Deptula said.

In 2017, the College became one of 14 schools throughout Australia to sign on to the Australian Government’s $5.1 million P-TECH Australia initiative. Together with TAFE SA, the Defence Teaming Centre, Century Engineering, PMB Defence and Century Engineering, StPatsTech has brought industry and students directly together to build the skills of the young people of Adelaide.

The initiative includes three distinct programs in the Engineering, Electrotechnology and Information Technology industries and helps students build practical skills for businesses operating in the Defence industry sector.

The SA Training Awards Presentation Dinner will be held of Friday, September 7 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

To vote for one of the StPatsTech finalists in the People’s Choice category go to the SA Training Awards website.

Hacking, data security, cyber security. As we are hearing more and more about the importance of keeping data safe, a group of St Patrick’s Technical College students were able to get a special behind-the-scenes look at an Adelaide company fighting the good fight.

OpSys, located in Thebarton, hosted StPatsTech’s IT students this week to teach them more about the cybersecurity and how easy it is to access unsecure data.

OpSys Managing Director Matt Fabri gave the students an excellent presentation about the industry and OpSys’ solutions before the students were taken on a tour of the company’s facility. As part of the tour, the students saw a data storage room and The Green Room, a room which changed colour depending on the level of incoming threat.

Following on from this, students completed an Analysis Task that looked at the key features of the presentation. Students gained a great depth of knowledge about hacking, viruses and how to keep safe from potential threats. Mr Fabri demonstrated how electronically vulnerable people, industry and business are, focusing on what students should look out for in “cyberspace”.

StPatsTech’s STEM teacher Bradley Sheridan first learnt of OpSys through an Advanced Technology Project (ATP) event where Mr Fabri was a presenter. Darlene Voss and Mark Haughton from the ATP joined the excursion along with Northern Adelaide P-TECH Industry Liaison Officer Toni Hartley joined the students for the excursion.

Mr Sheridan said the students enjoyed the visit, in particular how viruses and hacking can affect day-to-day life.

“OpSys showed me how easy it is for people to access personal details through my technology,” said student Alex Wilton.

Ms Hartley said the presentation from Opsys enhanced the College’s IT course, which is part of the Australian Government’s $5.1 million P-TECH Australia program. The IT course is being delivered in partnership with Saab Australia, which has specialised in the development of advanced defence, security and civil aviation systems in Australia for more than thirty years.

For more information about StPatsTech’s IT course see the programs page here.