LEARNING DIVERSITY

SPEECH THERAPY

We have been thankful for the work that Elizabeth Gale from Lime Therapy has completed with students over the last year, delivering speech therapy remotely for parts of the year in challenging circumstances. We wish Elizabeth all the best moving forward. 

I am pleased to announce that Linda Phillips from Mildura Kids Clinic will be commencing with our students. Linda is a very experienced Speech Therapist who has worked with local children for over 30 years in a variety of community and educational settings. Linda will work with students individually and in small groups on a Thursday. 

NCCD

The National Consistent Collection of Data of students with disabilities will occur in Term 3. Across this term, the Learning Diversity Team will be collecting evidence of adjustments being provided to enhance student learning opportunities. Students who require adjustments to their learning programs due to academic, medical, physical or social emotional reasons are listed in the NCCD. Please see the attached parent letter to provide more information about the survey. 

EXAM ADJUSTMENTS

Many of the students who receive support at school require adjustments to their exams to fully demonstrate their knowledge. As students progress through year levels, there are several opportunities to test and trial adjustments to determine what is going to allow students to experience exams at the same level as their peers. At Years 9, 10, 11 and 12, it is important that we have documented evidence of the adjustments. This builds evidence for Year 12 students to seek special provisions approval from the VCCA. I am always happy to have conversations with parents and students about special provisions for exams, NAPLAN and other testing situations. 

MC27 LEARNING DIVERSITY SPACE

I am excited to announce we are in the process of setting up a second Learning Diversity room at the Mercy Campus. This will enable our exceptional learners to have a comfortable, inclusive space to connect socially and academically and seek support. The room will be resourced similarly to Q16 with sensory balanced light, furniture and games to provide social-emotional learning in a safe and caring space. We look forward to opening the room for our Year 8 students. 

Ms Melanie Saleta

Head of Learning Diversity