This week, Albany Senior High School opened its doors for our Semester One Impact Projects Showcase – a vibrant celebration of creativity, collaboration, innovation, and real-world learning. From engineering race karts and producing original films to community initiatives and passion-driven projects, the Showcase highlighted the incredible depth and diversity of learning happening every Wednesday through Impact Projects.

Year 13 ASHS student Nathan Taing shares his perspective on the day and reflects on the impact these experiences have on young people, both inside and beyond the classroom.

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This Wednesday, walking into Impact Showcase was something different. Albany Senior High School students proudly stood by their work, excited to explain what they’d made, grown, filmed, or built to anyone who would listen. It was like looking at a glimpse of who these students were becoming.

Having students from primary schools join us for part of the day brought extra excitement and attention to the Impact Showcase day. The Albany Senior High students explained their work with patience and pride. For the younger visitors, it was a chance to see what secondary school could look like: young people doing real things that matter, instead of just desks and notebooks. More than one kid left with questions about which hub they’d want to join one day. That’s the spark we’re looking for.

The students at Evelocity had brought in multiple race karts. Primary students flocked to ride and listen to the older students speak about their design decisions, the problems they encountered, and how they solved them. It was the type of learning that isn’t as easily found in a classroom.

The CineRevolution hub was predictably a popular stop. Students screened films they had made themselves, written, directed, and acted in entirely by students. Seeing other young people create their own stories and put them on the screen, and watching the reactions of the audience, were moments to remember.

Over at the Stitch hub, there was a very special visitor – the primary school kids were delighted to see a dog, and it showed that an Impact Project can start with something as simple as caring about an animal, a person, or a cause close to your heart.That’s why, every Wednesday, instead of sitting in a classroom learning a regular subject, Albany Senior High School students spend a full day working on something meaningful to them. The belief that students learn better when they work on something meaningful to them is what drives Impact Projects.

What makes it different from normal schoolwork is that the results reach beyond the classroom. Students donate what they make to charity, collaborate with local organisations, and build things that continue to matter long after the semester ends. Along the way, they’re quietly picking up skills that don’t always show up on a report card, such as problem-solving, teamwork, and resilience. The Impact Showcase is where you get to see all of that. Young people speaking confidently about their work and discovering what they’re passionate about, that’s something that stays with them for life.

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Nathan Taing
Albany Senior High School