Student Support Services

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

What an amazing and fruitful start to the 2021 year we are having! The Student Support Department has been so busy implementing new programs and welcoming new staff members to our growing team.

Learning Support

The Learning Support Program in literacy and numeracy is well underway for the year, with the learning support teachers providing targeted intervention to students individually or in a small group on a weekly basis. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Ms Nurdan Karakulak to the team as our new learning support teacher and wish her a joyous and fulfilling school year with the students! As LSTs, Ms Karakulak and myself work closely with all class teachers to design weekly lesson plans that will lead our students to successful learning outcomes.

If your child is currently, or was previously involved in the program, or you would like further information about the student support program, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Literacy Program

The all-new year 7-9 Literacy classes intend to provide lessons designed to engage and empower students to consolidate their literacy skills. The low teacher-to-student ratios allows for intensive literacy support and skill building. Students are supported and challenged to recognise and adopt the skills of independent readers and self-editing writers across text types, as explored in their English classes. Activities and tasks designed to develop particular areas of literacy are woven through topics relevant to students’ lives and the world they inhabit.

Counselling

With the many changes that have occurred over the last year, it is common for our students to feel a whole range of emotions. Improving and maintaining our mental health and well-being, with a focus on resilience during uncertainty, has become even more of a priority during recent times.

While friends and family can provide support when you feel like sharing your thoughts and feelings, it is also important to remember that there is professional help available when you need someone to talk to.

With this being said, I would like to welcome our new school counsellor, Mr Omer Yucel to IDC! Aside from providing individual and/or group therapy sessions, Mr Yucel has had an exciting start at our campus by delivering various programs together with our counsellor, Mrs Merve Erol.

Some valuable programs and workshops that have been implemented in term one include the Better Buddies program which is a buddy system that is designed to support our Foundation students in their first year of school through working with Year 6 students as role models. Furthermore, the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program, Mind Up, was up and running in all Year 7 classes on a weekly basis. This program intends to promote the development of skills to aid the transition of our Year 7s into their first year of secondary school. Lastly, the secondary students participated in a Bully Zero workshop during Anti-Bullying week which aimed to provide resilience-based activities to educate our students on how to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events.

I would like to wish Mrs Erol all the very best while she embarks on her maternity leave journey for the remainder of the year.

Speech Therapy

We continue to acquire the services of Dee Wardrop Speech Pathology. Ms Kimberly De Jesus has been providing targeted programs to our students for the last two years and will continue to deliver individual and group therapy to those students and families who require speech and language support.

Integration Aides

Our brilliant integration aides across primary and secondary classes support students in their learning and development both inside and outside the classroom on a weekly basis. This often includes clarifying tasks, reinforcing content or instructions, prompting students to clarify queries and ask questions, and always ensuring students are on the right track.

The Student Support Team is here to provide support to all students of Sirius College and we welcome all enquiries. If you would like information about the services we offer, please call us or make an appointment for a face-to-face chat.

As always, I offer my support to students and parents and encourage you to contact me with any questions, concerns or feedback.