The key to communication success is in developing positive and independent young people. At St Mary’s College we apply a variety of techniques and resources to support and build on communication while maintaining early intervention so that our students have the language required as they move through different stages of their primary and secondary years.
Teachers of the Deaf
Our Teachers of the Deaf are experts in their field with degree or master’s qualifications in Deaf Education. Intensive support is made possible through our 1:4 ratio of teachers to students. Many of our teachers hold further specialist areas of knowledge including Auditory-Verbal Therapy, early intervention, language development and positive psychology.
Our Teachers of the Deaf plan and deliver the curriculum, provide pastoral and wellbeing support and work collaboratively with mainstream classroom teachers to plan accessible learning experiences while differentiating our student’s needs.
Notetakers/Captioners
Notetakers and captioners support secondary students in classrooms by capturing and typing notes of key information teachers and other students speak so our deaf and hard of hearing students can easily refer back to when revising their learnings. Our captioners also add captioning to pre-recorded lessons and video resources such as Edrolo.
Audiologists
Hearing Australia audiologists visit the St Mary’s College campuses regularly maintaining ear health, listening devices and provide advice and guidance to teachers and students in managing their diverse listening needs in different environments.
Speech Pathologists
Our campuses provide speech therapy based on identified student needs and can be organised at pre-arranged times throughout the school day. Our speech pathologists also work closely with our Teachers of the Deaf and plan language and literacy extension and social skills programs.
Auditory Verbal Therapist (AVT)
Our AVT specialist focuses on building listening and spoken language in our primary students, building their capacity to effectively use their hearing as provided by their hearing aids or cochlear implants and improve speech clarity.
Educational Support Staff
Our amazing team of educational support staff provide individual assistance to students with specific needs. This may include physical needs, emotional support, organisational support, guidance with learning tasks, note taking and Auslan communication support services.
Resources
Our learning spaces and the majority of our partner school classrooms are fitted with Roger Soundfield speakers, transmitters and wall pilots making accessing FM seamless. New learning spaces in our partner school buildings are acoustically treated and students are supported to learn and integrate technology such as auto captioning and conference mics into their class activities.
