Lantern

The Lantern Program aims to:

• Go one pace beyond in supporting students to achieve their learning potential.
• Facilitate a whole-school culture that values diversity, strives for excellence and celebrates success in all areas.
• Lead the establishment of processes and systems to meet the diverse learning needs of students.
• Support class teachers to make adjustments to the learning environment and curriculum to meet the needs of all students.

Additional and complex needs

St Mary’s College strives to understand and support all students with learning differences.

Junior students

In the Junior School, support is also delivered through ‘in-class’ assistance, as well as through dedicated programs accessed on a withdrawal basis primarily in the Lantern classroom.

Senior students

Students in the Senior School are provided with ‘in-class’ support and, when required, individual and small group tutoring.

In both the Senior and Junior Schools, the Lantern classroom is a dedicated space providing students with an optimal learning environment that caters for their individual differences and provides additional and explicit support to reinforce classroom and subject-specific learning. The dedicated and highly skilled staff provide a welcoming environment which promotes positivity and self-advocacy.

Learning plans

Students with complex needs who require additional resources to enable them to access the curriculum are also provided with a learning plan. Learning plans are created in collaboration with the parent and key staff and contain vital information about the student’s learning style, required adjustments and key recommendations. The learning plans are referred to regularly and are used as a tool when students are transitioning between year levels.

Differentiation in the classroom

Teachers and support staff are actively encouraged to develop their knowledge of different learning styles and provide adjustments to curriculum and assessment as needed. Teachers and parents are also able to refer students to the Learning Support Coordinator for concerns about their academic progress and/or their ability to engage in the curriculum.

Gifted/highly able

The St Mary’s College Extension Program, in-line with the CET Gifted Guidelines, is designed to cater for the learning needs of gifted and highly able students. While gifted learners are unique individuals with their own abilities and needs, these students require explicit extension to the level of challenge, depth and complexity of learning tasks, as well as opportunities to develop their strengths and passions. Extension Program teachers have processes in place to identify and cater for gifted and highly able students.

Strategies include:

• Differentiated curriculum
• Extension activities
• Targeted extension classes with an Extension Program teacher
• Acceleration
• Online Learning
• Extra-curricular activities

English as an Additional Language/Dialect

St Mary’s College welcomes students from all cultural backgrounds. The EAL/D program is designed to cater for those students who speak another language/dialect other than English and who may require support and explicit teaching in subject-specific vocabulary, written expression, comprehension, pronunciation and spelling. In addition, an intensive English program is provided for those students who arrive at St Mary’s College with minimal English skills.

A learning plan is created for newly arrived students in collaboration with parents and teachers. The document tracks the students’ progress in reading, writing and oral listening/responding.

Staff closely monitor student wellbeing, and their pastoral needs are carefully considered when planning school events, facilitating full and inclusive participation in College life.

Make an enquiry

Junior School

• Talk to your child’s teacher(s) to help gather information.
• Your child’s teacher may recommend further conversation or information from the Learning Support Coordinator,  Julia McCullough and/or the Extension Program Coordinator.

Senior School

• Discuss concerns or queries about learning with your daughter’s Pastoral Care Teacher and/or House Coordinator.
• Further communication may be recommended with the Learning Support Coordinator (Senior School), Dee Spaulding and/or the Extension teacher.