Students At Gilbert Plains Collegiate are graduating high school with a lot more knowledge for when they enter into the real world.
This is the first year the school implemented their course called VISION- which stands for Very Important Stuff I Obviously Need- where students learned about First Aid, WHMIS, car maintenance, and so much more.
Principal, Jackie Knight says that this all stemmed from student and staff input last spring.
"We were doing some strategic planning sessions and round table discussions with our students on what we could do to make our school better or your education better, what kind of things to do you think are important? So we had that input but we weren't sure how to implement it, and then the project itself grew from there."
The course was mandatory for students to take unless you were in grade 12 and was worth one credit.
Acey Brinkman, grade 11 student at GPCI says he was sceptical about it but ended up liking what he got out of it.
"I didn't really know if it was going to be good, or if it was going to be bad, but as soon as we got started I realized what they are teaching us in this course are valuable life skills that we can use in the real world."
Bryanne Bates, who's also a student from GPCI says that she gained more confidence in herself.
"I am actually very confident going into the work place, going to school, going out on my own, I have essential skills and actual certifications that will help me in life."
Knight says that students gave suggestions for the course and what should be included in it for next school year, and they suggested that financial management would be good to bring in.
