COMMUNITY LIASON & TRANSITIONS COORDINATOR REPORT

If you have a student in year 9, next year will be the year of challenges and changes as they transition from Junior to Senior schooling. Those of you who have already engaged in our family P. A. T. H meetings will hopefully be feeling a little more certain about some of the ways we can work together to prepare your family for life after school. The first 3-6 months of your student’s plan will no doubt contain a lot of wording around the changes coming up with a new classroom, new classmates, new teachers, new break routines, new support staff, basically – everything will be new! So as exciting as that can be, it can also lead to some anxious thoughts and behaviours. By starting the conversation about what Senior school might look like and keeping your class teachers up to date with any concerns or changes in behaviour, we can work together to minimise negative outcomes.

For those families with students moving up to years 11 and 12, this is also an exciting time of changes, challenges and opportunities. In 2020 our focus will be on supporting families to plan and access the ways and means of getting your child to and from work experience, training or volunteering programs so that by the time Graduation rolls around you all have a clear path to moving from the structure of school to community life. Supporting someone to transition from school is not the same thing as doing it for them, we will be focusing on ways your student can find some independence and what that may look like for individuals.

We have recently had some news of support for our kitchen garden program, which I look forward to telling you about next time.

All the best to you and yours this holiday season

Jodie Sargeant

Community Liaison & Transitions Coordinator

Email: jfdur0@eq.edu.au