A GROUP of Morisset High School students is set to become part of the next generation of a vital Lake Macquarie volunteer organisation.
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The students recently graduated as State Emergency Service (SES) cadets.
The graduation was the culmination of a weeklong training program hosted by the emergency and rescue service.
Morisset High School careers advisor Natalie Hilder said the group of 13- to 17-year-olds was taught about rescue management, teamwork, leadership, communication and first-aid.
The program involved hands-on instruction involving a range of emergency and rescue equipment. Sessions were held at the school, the NSW Fire and Rescue station at Morisset, and the Lake Macquarie SES control centre at Speers Point.
“And on the Friday the students went to Shingle Splitters Point where they were divided into three groups with SES volunteers and took part in simulated rescues in three different scenarios,” Mrs Hilder said.
There was a simulated drowning where students were required to retrieve a mannequin from the water; a simulated cliff rescue where a patient was lifted to safety in a stretcher; and a rescue in which a heavy object was lifted off a victim.
Principal Cheri McDonald said it was the first time the school had participated in the cadet program which is run every two years.
She said it was important for young people to realise that they were the future of community volunteer organisations such as the SES.
“Volunteers are ageing. By raising the awareness of teenagers about the SES hopefully we’re getting them to think about become our next generation of volunteers,” she said.
Mrs Hilder said the young participants in the SES cadet program were community-minded, and several were already involved in their local rural fire service (RFS) brigades, and Army cadets.
She said they learned skills in the SES cadet program that would benefit them in all aspects of their lives.
“We saw a big improvement in some of the kids’ self-confidence, and with their interactions with each other,” she said.
She said some quiet students who were at first reluctant to speak up and take the initiative later stepped up and performed well in leadership roles during the program.
“And from a career perspective, their involvement in this program looks very good to future prospective employers,” she said.
The SES presented students with certificates at a graduation ceremony at the school.