Welcome to our Tarneit Campus

Our deaf and hard of hearing students enrol into St Mary’s College and attend our campus based in Thomas Carr College Tarneit, where they immerse and thrive in all aspects of school life. Our Tarneit Campus offers an integrated secondary education for deaf and hard of hearing students from Years 7 to 12. Tarneit campus students are members of the Thomas Carr College community, wearing the Thomas Carr College uniform and included in all classes and extracurricular activities.

- Jasmin Mathews (Head of Campus)

Tarneit Campus overview

Environment

Our Tarneit campus is a welcoming local school community where students experience a sense of belonging and develop their own confidence and communication success for any to school, work or social environment.

The Tarneit Campus is a co-educational and multicultural community boasting over 10 hectares of spacious grounds incorporating modern, state of the art facilities such as Wyndham Trade Training Centre, a purpose built centre for the delivery of Building and Construction courses and the Good Samaritan Campus where Year 7 camp takes place and Year 9 students participate in a Country Experience as part of the iD9 program. Extensive technology to maximise access for deaf and hard of hearing students is utilised throughout the College with digital Soundfield speakers, transmitters and wall pilots in most spaces and live captioning available for students to access on request. A wide variety of public and private transport options exist and families living more than 4.8km from the Tarneit campus are able to access conveyance allowance.

Learning overview

Grounded in the Science of Learning and MACS Vision for Instruction, each student's Thomas Carr subject teacher and St Mary's Teacher of the Deaf, deliver a knowledge-rich, evidence-based curriculum that supports all students in achieving across subjects and in particular, literacy and numeracy proficiency. Co-curricular stimulating and diverse offerings, help students to discover their strengths and passions, build self determination, higher order thinking skills and confidence. Parents are valued partners in their child's learning journey and contribute to learning decisions which allow for an individual approach from full participation and immersion in Thomas Carr classes to a more personalised program that divides the day between Thomas Carr classes and targeted teaching from a Teacher of the Deaf.

Our highly successful literacy program, monitors, strengthens and extends reading and writing skill throughout each student's secondary education, allowing every student to both learn and communicate their knowledge and thoughts effectively.

Additional to the Victorian Curriculum, students can choose to include in their weekly program of subjects, Extended Literacy, Extended Numeracy or Capabilities, which covers essential skills and knowledge such as communication, Deaf identity, Careers Education and social skills. These additional curriculum areas are designed using research on how deaf and hard of hearing students learn best and develop confidence.

Thomas Carr College College has a House system that strengthens community and belonging. Additionally, St Mary's frequently runs lunchtime activities including Auslan classes and student campus leader led activities with guest speakers including past students and Deaf mentors sharing their experiences and providing advice on various topics.

Wellbeing programs and services within the combined community provide spaces and activities where students can feel safe, accepted and belong.

Courses and activities

As part of the broader St Mary’s College of the deaf and hard of hearing community, our students participate in:

• Secondary School’s Deaf Sports Day
• St Mary’s College assemblies
• St Dominic’s Day celebrations

Specific Middle Years programs and activities available at our Tarneit campus include:

• Year 7 orientation camp
• Year 8 Shine program
• Year 9 ID9 - engage students and equip them with new skills that will help shape their adult selves.

Transition programs for new students into year 7 commence the year prior to starting and continue into Term one of their first year. Program Support Group (PSG/SSG) meetings are held with parents/guardians and others including primary school teachers, Teachers of the Deaf or other specialists such as Speech Pathologists to gain a holistic understanding of the learning and social needs of every student. Our Head of Campus arranges a visit to each student’s primary school to see how they learn and engage with teachers and other children in order to create a smooth transition.

It’s a great place to be! But don’t just take our word for it – listen to what other St Mary’s College students have to say and book a tour now!