黑料不打烊 and Alesco Senior College are proud to announce that Student Learning and Support Officer Belinda Wells has been nominated for Teacher鈥檚 Aide of the Year.

Belinda, who now works at our new Abermain Campus, started with Alesco Cessnock in 2016 as a Student Welfare Officer. Before this, she worked with Father O鈥橰iley鈥檚 Youth off the Streets as a youth worker for 2 years.

Belinda鈥檚 passion in life is to take each challenge head-on and offer support to others. She is a passionate and dedicated worker who thoroughly enjoys coming to work every day. She finds working with young people very rewarding especially when you see them make any improvements over time. Belinda enjoys the smaller class sizes at Alesco as she gets to work closely with the students and observe them working hard and building on their skills and knowledge. She loves watching them thrive with the ultimate goal of completing their schooling. Belinda works intensively with identified student鈥檚 one on one or in a small group setting to enhance their educational needs.

Belinda teaches the reading program which has been highly successful for students who have taken part. In 2018, Belinda created resources and developed a reading program for a number of students. This program had successful results for all students who participated. One student who took part started with a reading age of 8 years old. When they completed the program their result improved to a reading age of 12.5 years. This student has now graduated from school and recently visited the campus and told Belinda that they continue to read every day. Belinda also teaches small groups of Year 9, Year 10 and Senior students in the Intensive Learning Support Program which focuses on numeracy and literacy.

Belinda chose to work with Alesco because she can advocate for, and support, at risk youth. When she was completing high school herself, she was facing her own struggles and adversities. She received an abundance of support from one teacher in particular, as well as receiving not one, but two educational scholarships through the Hunter Mentor Collaborative. With this support, she was able to finish her Year 12 studies. It was then she knew she wanted to help and support young people as a career.

In 2020 at the 黑料不打烊 Staff Reward and Recognition ceremony she received two awards, Recognition for Integrity and Recognition for Innovation. In 2018 she made it as a finalist for the Advocate for Children and Young People Youth Advisory Council, and in 2016 was Youth Sector Youth Worker of the Year and also nominated for Young Person of the Year.

Belinda is highly satisfied with her teaching experience at Alesco, when she is not teaching her programs she is in the classroom supporting our students to ensure their learning needs are met. 黑料不打烊 and Alesco Senior College would like to congratulate Belinda on her nomination and wish her all the best.

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Akiva has remained focused on her goals and in 2020 played the lead role in the award winning Australian film 鈥楾he girl on the moon鈥�. Here she tells us more.

“Guudjiyiigu (Welcome/hello).聽 I鈥檓 Akiva, a proud Worimi woman from Forster- Tuncurry.

When the school first opened up I was one of their first enrolled students. When I started in 2016 I was this crazy and loud teenager but the teachers never gave up on me. I persevered with my studies and was proud to complete Year 12 in 2019.

When I graduated from Alesco, I was filled with a roller coaster of emotions. I was very nervous and a tad scared鈥� but I was also hopeful and excited to begin my future as an independent, young adult.

Since leaving I have had the opportunity to model for a successful Indigenous business called Gillawarra Arts. I have been inspired and supported by my Aunty and my biggest role model, Krystal Hurst, who runs this company. I鈥檓 currently working on an Indigenous clothing line too. I am proud of how this clothing will showcase my amazing culture and be inclusive of every shape, size and gender.

I also had a fantastic opportunity to be in a short film called 鈥淭he girl on the moon鈥� where I played the lead role of 鈥淟una鈥�. This film was produced and directed by Georgina Jenkins (Birds of Prey Entertainment) and we were thrilled when it won an award in the Miami Science Fiction Festival.

I am intrigued by the world of acting. As a little girl I would say to my Mum 鈥淚鈥檓 gonna be on Home and Away鈥� and it has been such a wonderful experience to star in this film.

It has been a massive leap to take, moving to Canberra especially coming from a small town like Forster. It was a very nerve-racking move but I鈥檓 glad I did it. I鈥檝e been able to be a part of two Indigenous fashion shows and a film. I am excited to be continuing my modelling, to showcase my Peoples beautiful culture as well as pursue a career as an actress and a fashion designer.

I am forever grateful for every teacher at Alesco who pushed me to strive for the best in every aspect of life.”

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The inaugural 鈥楢lesco Olympics鈥� brought together more than 80 high school students from campuses of Alesco Senior College. Students participated in a range of mentally and physically testing activities at the central Tomaree campus.

Numerous activity rotations allowed students to be challenged in activities such as obstacle courses, flatpack building, cake decorating, egg toss, Pictionary and three-legged races.

The activities also encouraged respect and group collaboration, enabling many students to meet likeminded individuals from other campuses around the region for the first time.

In the lead up to the event, teams from each campus were involved in creating chants, banners and costumes which represented their team. This encouraged students to respect the ideas of their peers and develop relationships founded on a shared goal.

Alesco Head Teacher, Wendy Ratcliffe said she couldn鈥檛 have hoped for a better outcome than seeing kids who once felt isolated in the mainstream school setting experience a sense of belonging.

鈥淭his event has been five years in the making and seeing the smiles on the everyone鈥檚 faces today reassured all the teachers that it was a rewarding experience for our students.

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For 黑料不打烊, Adult Learners鈥� Week also provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of adult and lifelong learning in our community and this year we also initiated a programme of education activities so people could sample of the breadth of learning experiences available through 黑料不打烊.

Between 3-6 September, our Alesco Senior College, Academy of Creative Arts and our Registered Training Organisation ran Open Days where we offered a range of fun and free lifestyle courses.
The celebrations culminated in the Adult Learners鈥� Week Awards Night, at which five people who demonstrated an outstanding commitment to learning and education were recognised for their commitment to lifelong learning.

Penelope Pearce was named winner of the Alan Melling Memorial Award for her dedication and passion for teaching. Penny is a teacher in aged care support and was nominated by her peers and students because of her presence and work ethic which ensures it鈥檚 an effective and well-organised learning environment.

Business and IT, and Links to Learning trainer, Stephen Buchanan, was named the winner of the Ray Sandy Memorial Award. The award is made in honour of the late Ray Sandy who was an IT tutor with 黑料不打烊 and recognises a trainer who is dedicated to supporting students explore the field of IT. Stephen was instrumental in the development of resources that attracted funding to enable local small businesses to undertake skills training.

The Paul Mather Memorial Award recognises a student of 黑料不打烊’s Alesco Senior College for their dedication to study and was presented to Anais Pogson. 黑料不打烊 recognises that Anais demonstrated maturity and dedication to her studies and represented everything that the school stands for in terms of inclusiveness, learning and respect.

The Outstanding Tutor of the Year award was awarded to Amanda Johnston for her caring and nurturing approach to educating and training students with disabilities. This work included a project with Response Group and MaiWel. Her caring and nurturing personality has meant that these providers have requested that Amanda personally continues teaching with them.

Diploma of Musical Theatre student, Kimberley Dingle was named the Outstanding Student of the Year. The award is given to a student who has shown a commitment to education while overcoming obstacles. She was asked to mentor students as part of Newcastle High School鈥檚 gifted and talented performing arts program. Since graduating, Kimberley was invited to visit New York to attend theatre workshops presented by Music Theatre International.

Congratulations to the winners!

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