VCAL students from Copperfield College, including Habeeb, will brighten up a local child care centre with a new cubby house. 73276 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
BY NATALIE GALLENTI
STUDENTS from Copperfield College will put their construction skills to the test this week as they complete a cubby house for Sydenham tiny tots.
A group of Year 11 VCAL students were asked to find a community organisation requiring a little help in improving their facilities and the boys decided on Sydenham Community Day Care Centre.
With the help of Bunnings Warehouse, which donated all the materials, the teenagers will give the pre-schoolers a whole new playground.
Jason Austin, the school’s Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) co-ordinator, said the project offered students a chance to help the community but also gave them a valuable lesson in organising and managing important projects.
“It’s about them thinking what can we do for the community, but also working on a project at the same time,” Mr Austin said.
He said VCAL was completely geared to set up students interested in completing a trade or apprenticeship.
The co-ordinator said after months of supervising the young men with their preparations, he was keen to observe them on the worksite and “see what they’re made of”.
However this won’t be the first time the boys put on their tool belts as each week the students get their hands dirty on the job site.
Young Mohammed Chandab said the project was challenging and involved hours of hard work, but he was proud of the outcome.
The 17-year-old, who one day hopes to become a self-employed builder, said the cubby house was one of the most rewarding projects he had worked on and it was especially nice knowing what a difference it would make to the children at the centre.
“I really enjoy building,” he said.
“VCAL is important because now I know what I want to do in the future.”
