Supporting Learners

Staying Healthy during Exams

As Senior Students approach their trial HSC and end of Preliminary exams, it’s normal for stress levels to be higher for both students and their parents. COVID has undeniably brought about changes to school and learning, and disruption to many routines, adding additional challenges for students. However, exams remain a part of the education system and pathways to future study and work. Parents can support their child to manage stress in the lead-up to, and during exams. Ways parents can help their child include:

1. Help them to prioritise study; give them time off chores and non-urgent family activities
2. Encourage them to keep doing things they did before exams; cocurricular sport, part-time jobs and time with friends can help ensure balance
3. Help them to set up a study space that is quiet, effective and gives them a sense of control
4. Remember the big picture; talk about life after exams, reassure them of your support and the many ways to help them achieve their goals.
5. Prioritise sleep; encourage them to maintain a regular sleep routine
6. Promote good health; ensure they stay active and eat well. Help them to fuel their brains for optimal performance
7. Listen and encourage them to seek help when needed.

For more tips, check out Stay healthy HSC (nsw.gov.au) or contact the School Psychologists.

Bec Campey (rcampey@kws.nsw.edu.au)

Amy Newsom (anewsom@kws.nsw.edu.au)

Spotlight on Difference: Dyslexia

Dyslexia has been so misunderstood for such a long time. For years it was considered a deficit; a student with dyslexia had a problem that couldn’t be solved, or, quite simply, they were lazy.

In fact, dyslexia isn’t a “deficit” to be feared, but a different way of learning that should be celebrated and nurtured. Indeed, some of the greatest minds of our time and in history are/were dyslexic and struggled immensely to get through their schooling in one piece. Jamie Oliver’s teachers thought he was “thick”, Erin Brokovich was called stupid, and Thomas Edison’s teacher labelled him “too stupid to learn” at just six years old. How lucky we are to know as much as we do now about this neurodivergence, that we can advocate for students with dyslexia and support them in achieving their potential. 

Recent figures suggest that up to 20% of school aged children are dyslexic (Dyslexia Centre of Utah, 2017), making it the most common learning difficulty affecting young people and adults. The Australian Dyslexia Association (2007) defines dyslexia as “a specific brain-based learning difference often characterised by difficulties in reading, spelling and writing, despite traditional teaching methods and adequate intelligence.” So what we know is that being dyslexic doesn’t make you any less clever or any less valuable than your neurotypical peers. In fact, having dyslexia makes you more creative and more capable of thinking outside the box!

Think of reading as a rope. A rope is made up of smaller fibres twisted into one another to form one strong piece. What happens if you unravel that rope, if you pull away the strands one at a time? The structural integrity of that rope is called into question and it won’t perform its function to the standard we expect. Successful reading relies on so many factors interacting with one another including background knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness, decoding and sight recognition of letters and words to name a few. Take away just one of these elements, and the ability to be a well-rounded reader diminishes. 

According to the Australian Dyslexia Association (2018), the primary symptoms of dyslexia are:

• Problems learning the letter sounds
• Difficulty reading single words
• Poor accuracy and fluency in reading
• Reading slowly and with mistakes
• Poor spelling

If you have any questions about dyslexia in general or in relation to your child, please contact Tina Moshkanbaryans, Coordinator of Learning Support K-12 at tmosh@kws.nsw.edu.au.