Nepean High School year 10 student Cherie Arnold makes her mark at the Beacon Charter ceremony. Picture: Gary Warrick
NEPEAN High School year 10 students declared their dedication to continued learning or job-seeking at the school’s annual Beacon Charter signing ceremony.
The Beacon Foundation is committed to keeping students in learning or connecting them to possible career paths.
It organises charter-signings at schools which commit year 10 students to either staying at school, seeking study elsewhere or finding a job.
Nepean High principal Tony Baldacchino said successive years of the school’s students had benefited from this.
‘‘This is Nepean High’s 10th year of the Beacon Charter,’’ Mr Baldacchino said.
‘‘It’s become a part of our school’s culture.
‘‘Students have a better idea of what’s required in the workforce.’’
The ceremony’s guest speaker was theatre director Ian Zammit.
‘‘As a local performing arts practitioner, it’s good to look back to where you are, about to take your plunge into the outside world,’’ Zammit told the students.
He said he first thought about the theatre when he was 17 but his parents wanted him to think about studying for a more secure job.
‘‘I know what it’s like to be in your shoes,’’ Zammit said.
‘‘It’s the moment I thought about what to do with my future.’’
He said he decided on pursuing what he loved and got whatever work in theatres he could find.
‘‘I got knocked back many, many times,’’ Zammit said.
‘‘But be true to yourself.
‘‘Master something you’re good at and make a living out of it.’’
He said everyone encountered failures in their life, but if people learned from them they could discover what they liked and what they were good at doing.
‘‘Then stick to it,’’ Zammit said.