Students sign for a dole

YEAR 10 students at Lyndhurst Secondary College have made a pledge to stay off the dole for at least the next year.
More than 200 students signed the Beacon No Dole Pledge for a Smart Future at the school last Wednesday week. The pledge commits the students to be in further education or training by March 2008.
Assistant principal Helen Brown said the pledge was a very powerful goal setting occasion for students, and was witnessed by family and their peers, as well as more than 50 local business and community members.
The event also included an “on the couch” session where students asked probing questions about the guests’ careers and the decisions they had made in their lives.
Guests on the couch included modelling agency Suzanne Johnson representative Gabrielle Traynor, IMS, part of the EastLink project, manager Kevin Bentley, Commonwealth Bank Cranbourne branch manager Phil Keen, Senior Sergeant Alan McCarthy from Pakenham Police, Lyndhurst Industry Advisory Panel project manager Gary Saunders, and Annette Torok from the Beacon Foundation.
Year 9 student Stefanie Musa also enthralled the audience by singing Hero. “This formal occasion really highlights to the students how important it is to have goals,” Ms Brown said.