Education Support Education Support
The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you. ( B. B. King)
T
his year the Education Support Department has seen further changes with Mrs Marie Zwart leaving to Ms Lissa Coleman take a position at Newman Director of Education Support College. I was appointed Director of Education Support and took up the challenge of this rewarding role with great enthusiasm but some trepidation. It is a demanding, intensive but exhilarating job that fills every moment of every day. The staff of the Education Support Department were welcoming and helpful, as every day brought new questions and new problems to solve. I was conscious of the need to uphold the Edmund Rice tradition but also to bring my own particular stamp to the Mary Rice Centre. My teaching background is in primary teaching with extensive experience in literacy so I was confident of my ability to assist students with those needs. However, I also wished to make the Mary Rice Centre a place where students could seek help, whether academic or personal, and set about inviting individuals and groups to utilise this rich resource. The Centre always seems to be full of boys working quietly, asking for assistance with assignments or just seeking a sympathetic ear for a few minutes. It can be a safe haven for some students. At Trinity College, the Education Support team provides many services to the whole school. We support students from Years 4 to 12 in striving for equity in opportunity and excellence in educational outcomes. We identify actual and potential barriers to individual learning and assist students to access the curriculum with modified programs or differentiated curriculum. The range of strategies we use encompasses identification of individual learning needs; providing options for extension and enrichment; collaborative planning and support for teachers; individual education plans; curriculum adjustment plans and individual case management. Outside the Education Support team other key personnel who help provide this support are the College Psychologist, the Aboriginal Liaison Officer, the Aboriginal Liaison Assistant and the College Chaplain. I would like to take this opportunity to thank these people for their unflagging assistance, friendship and support over the last nine months. They have offered priceless advice and their generosity of spirit has been humbling.
154
After nine months in the role I have identified some areas where we could better serve our students and
teachers and I am already planning for next year. I believe early identification of issues and difficulties will enable more efficient case management and programs tailored to meet individual needs. I also believe that clear communication and up-to-date information for staff will ensure the most apposite program for individual students. The transition from Year 7 to Year 8 has been another focus for the Education Support Centre and data collection and case management have resulted in students feeling better prepared to enter Trinity College.
Junior, Middle and Senior School At Trinity we have a wonderfully dedicated staff in all areas, whose genuine interest and concern for their students ensures that the very best educational opportunities are offered to all. These wonderful people make my role of developing an approach of identification, intervention and monitoring students that much easier. Case management meetings and IEP development is always successful when support and assistance is offered so graciously. On a more personal note I would like to thank all the people who have supported me in this new role and also the Leadership Team for allowing me to have this wonderful opportunity. The Heads of Year, Heads of Learning Areas and Heads of Junior, Middle and Senior Schools have all worked closely with me and have kindly welcomed me into their world. Mrs Gerri Vanpraag and Mrs Karen Tyler (Education Assistants) have made an extraordinary effort to support and assist me and I thank them very much; this has ensured the smooth operation of the Department. I would also like to thank Ms Anneliese Smith for her invaluable advice and for lending me her extensive expertise whenever I ask for it. I look forward to next year with all the new ideas I have for the Department. It has been a wonderful, amazing journey in 2007. A thought that has sustained me for this year has been: Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out (Robert Collier). Ms Lissa Coleman Director of Education Support
