To provide for the physical, social and emotional needs of all students, MDCS seeks to develop the following characteristics:
Welfare
Tolerance
We encourage all students to respect the person, property and opinions of others and to be sensitive to physical and/or cultural differences.
Friendliness
We encourage friendliness and harmony within the school community.
Courtesy
We encourage students to be courteous to others and to develop mutual respect throughout the school community.
Confidence
We encourage students to have confidence in themselves along with a well-adjusted self-respect.
Responsibility
We encourage a sense of reliability, self-discipline and the ability to accept responsibility for one’s own actions.
Forgiveness
We encourage students to seek reconciliation where relationship is strained of broken. We recognise the need to forgive, just as God has forgiven us.
Supporting Students’ Learning
At MDCS we recognize that children progress in their learning at different rates and exhibit varied strengths and weaknesses. This means that their educational needs will vary. The school endeavours to meet these various needs within the confines of available resources. Some of the ways that MDCS caters for students who need additional support, whether learning or socially, include the following:
Differentiated Instruction
Learning is differentiated to ensure the learning tasks, goals and activities meet the needs of the students in the class.
Literacy Support
Where students require support with acquiring literacy skills, one-on-one sessions can be provided with a trained specialist.
Friendship Place
A lunchtime playroom, supervised by parent volunteers, is provided most lunchtimes as a safe and comfortable place for children to participate in activities and make friends.
Classroom Support
MDCS employs Learning Assistants who can provide targeted support to particular students within the classroom environment. Government funding is provided only for eligible students.
Equipping Teachers
Teachers attend in-services and professional development seminars regarding support for children with additional needs so that they are equipped with awareness and strategies they can employ in the classroom.
Chaplaincy
With funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Education under the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program, MDCS employs a Chaplain for 2 days per week. Through this role, the Chaplain provides pastoral care to students, and support and information to staff. Pastoral care takes various forms including classroom involvement, programs targeting issues such as resilience, small group work and one-on-one support. There is also a library of resources available for parents to borrow.
If parents believe their child may benefit from meeting with the Chaplain, they are invited to discuss this first with their child’s teacher, who can then follow up with arranging support.
