Student Support

Mental, physical and emotional wellbeing is essential for successful learning.

As our school continues to grow, we’re taking care to provide the individual support our students need to remain safe, engaged and successful with their learning.

 

Our approach to wellbeing begins with our fully integrated Wellbeing Team, who provide a wrap-around model of support.

  • Deputy Principal Student Development
  • Learning Mentors
  • Learning Community Leaders
  • Psychologist
  • Social Workers
  • Speech Pathologist
  • Learning Diversity Leader
  • Learning Diversity Level Leaders
  • Learning Diversity Tutors
  • Career Education, Development and Pathways
  • Senior Studies and VASS Co-ordinator
  • EAL Support
  • Defence School Mentor
  • Wellbeing Leader

Learning Mentors

Know the student, know the learner

 

Through our Learning Mentor program, we’re able to improve the learning capacity of every student as they gain an understanding of how they learn best.

 

Learning Mentors are central to your child feeling connected, motivated and engaged. They meet your family to discuss progress, and are your first point of contact for concerns or celebrating achievements.

 

Learning Mentors monitor academic and pastoral progress through learning conversations. When students know they are supported, they are empowered to be more engaged, which in turn leads to better outcomes for both learners and mentors.

 

Every student is allocated a Learning Mentor and is linked with a Learning Community.

Social and Emotional Learning

At Catholic College Wodonga, we believe that understanding ourselves and understanding others is essential for building a successful life.

At Catholic College Wodonga, we believe that understanding ourselves and understanding others is essential for building a successful life.

 

As part of our Learning Mentor curriculum, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) supports students to become creative and confident individuals with a sense of self-worth, self-awareness and personal identity. This enables them to manage their emotional, mental, spiritual and physical wellbeing, with a sense of hope and optimism about their lives and the future.

 

On a social level, it helps students to form and maintain healthy relationships and prepares them for their potential life roles as family, community and workforce members.

SEL is compulsory in schools. This is our approach.

 

In line with the Victorian Personal and Social Capability curriculum, Social and Emotional Learning at Catholic College Wodonga aims to develop knowledge, understandings and skills to enable students to:

 

  • recognise, understand and evaluate the expression of emotions
  • demonstrate an awareness of their personal qualities and the factors that contribute to resilience
  • develop empathy for and understanding of others and recognise the importance of supporting diversity for a cohesive community
  • understand how relationships are developed and use interpersonal skills to establish and maintain respectful relationships
  • work effectively in teams and develop strategies to manage challenging situations constructively.

 

These skills are developed through several activities guided by a student’s Learning Mentor across each term.

Diverse Learning

We are committed to helping every student learn.

 

Students come to Catholic College Wodonga with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We pride ourselves on our proactive approach to the learning needs of every student, with the full support of one of the best-resourced schools in the region.

 

Our Diverse Learning team works closely with teachers and Learning Mentors to best understand students’ strengths and growth potential. We also employ specialists including speech therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists.

Our self Regulation Spaces

We have two sensory rooms where any student can go if feeling overwhelmed, or anticipate they feel they would benefit from some time out away from the classroom. They use these rooms to regenerate and reset. There is a clear – respectful – line of sight into the rooms.

 

These rooms are in Duffy (Year 8) and Nganala (Year 9). There are also several break-out rooms in the Aquinas (Science) and Mercy (Year 12) Centres. The Wellbeing office is always welcoming, with appointments preferable.

How we work with families

We know we cannot educate our students alone. We work closely with families by engaging in real conversations, tapping into areas of interest and encouraging the voice of each student.

 

Upon enrolment, your child’s specific learning needs will be discussed. When they are at school, our teaching and support staff work closely to identify areas of needs and, if necessary, to design a personalised learning program (PLP).

 

Regular meetings with families ensure that the communication lines are always open, and we all work towards your child achieving their full goals.

Career Development

Advice, support and connections for students looking beyond Year 12.

 

Career development is one of the essential parts of student support. Students receive advice and transition support from our Career Education and Development Leader, Sandie McKoy.

 

Sandie is a professionally qualified practitioner with a background in career development, youth work, and youth case management. Sandie is here to offer assistance to students and families, backed by a department with strong connections to industry, vocational and higher education institutions, and apprenticeship centres.