Have you noticed how \u2018like new\u2019 the iconic shark sculpture looks in Sharky\u2019s Surf Shop window?<\/p>\n
Well, that\u2019s thanks to just one of Lorne P-12 College, multi award winning teacher, Cherie Osta and her team\u2019s many VCAL programs.<\/p>\n
Much has been written about Cherie\u2019s achievements recently (VCAL Teacher of the Year 21017) but she is far more interested in talking about those of her students. She is the totally dedicated, highly motivated coordinator of VCAL (Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) at the Lorne School \u2013 which, by the way, she attended herself for some years. She loves her job and the connection she has with her students and her supportive colleagues. Her energy is endless. Lorne\u2019s programs have been so successful that she has been asked to mentor and support other schools, including Horsham and Mildura. She has conducted master classes in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Cherie\u2019s family has always had a house in Lorne. She was brought up in an environment where giving back to the community was highly valued. \u201cMy mother, Jenifer Collins, has always been a strong advocate of \u2018hands on giving\u2019, from supporting those with addictions on the streets to volunteering in the Lorne Op Shop. She was a wonderful role model to all of us.\u201d This is the spirit that flavours Cherie\u2019s life, at home and at work. Social justice is the focus of the programs she creates to individually suit her students every year, such as working with The Sisters of Charity and feeding homeless men, being involved with the Arts Festival, renovating the \u2018Dolls House\u2019 and making a documentary of the construction of The Great Ocean Road. \u201cRefugee teenagers have been welcomed into Lorne through the students\u2019 initiative to experience our wonderful community and swim in the ocean for the first time\u201d. Soon her VCAL students will travel to Alice Springs to work with a group of Aboriginal teenagers who, in October, will make a return visit to Lorne.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy main highlight has been to witness the incredible link between community and the Lorne VCAL students. Not just financial support but through people\u2019s time and energy \u2013 sharing stories, experiences and skills\u201d. With this community support and providing them with knowledge, personal skills and confidence, she has been able to inspire students into starting their own businesses or work in a profession that they are passionate about.<\/p>\n
Cherie says she is blessed to have the opportunity to work with people who are not only intelligent, gifted teachers but who share her passion. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s all about my amazing students. I learn as much from them as they do from me\u201d.<\/p>\n
There would be few of us who couldn\u2019t help but wonder what a difference a teacher like Cherie, could have made to our own education and ultimate careers. Nothing wrong with dreaming!<\/p>\n