Carlingford’s new Gateway Community High School for teenagers in Years 9 and 10 is informed by research about what is going on in the minds of young people at this stage of life. According to Parenting author, public speaker and education advisor Nathan Wallis, critical parts of the adolescent brain are still under construction at a time when they are needed most. He goes so far as to compare the brain of a 15-year-old with that of a five-year-old child. “It’s when all of the activity is happening in the emotional brain. When you’re 15, the frontal cortex is still under construction,” Wallis explains. Limited in their ability to regulate emotions, solve problems and interact in consistent and socially mature ways, adolescents are especially susceptible to anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. How do anxiety and depression affect an adolescent’s school experience and academic performance? It helps to visualise the emotional life of an adolescent as having both internal and external forces that can collide in catastrophic ways. Internally, there is dramatic hormonal and neurological change. At the same time, externally, there are transformational shifts in relationships with parents and peers, as well as possible romantic partners. Negative body perception, bullying, abuse, and/or a dysfunctional family life, can bring an adolescent to breaking point, even when strong support structures exist in their lives. The impact of trauma and adversity on a teenager’s school experience is instant and recognisable. It may include a lack of enthusiasm for activities once enjoyed and ‘school refusal.’ If poor behavioural choices are involved, the student may be seen as a troublemaker. Failing results in tests and assignments follow and a downward cycle is set in motion. A series of stressful events in Jack’s life led to debilitating levels of anxiety at the thought of going to school and, ultimately, school refusal. Long term trauma presented challenges in Alexis’s life, derailing her ability to focus on schoolwork and make friends, leading to bullying, and resulting in her being pigeonholed by teachers as unacademic and unmotivated. Is your adolescent a school refuser? School refusal is a common sign of trauma and adversity and may require expert intervention or even an alternative school like Gateway Community High. Psychology Today includes the following types of behaviours in their definition of school refusal: Stomach-ache prior to going to school, or repeated visits to the school sickbay when at school. The child is not faking this. It is an anxiety response and, when allowed to stay home, symptoms disappear. Separation anxiety—a fear of separation from parents, grandparents, or other attachment figures. Changes in mood, behaviour, and performance. In adolescents, this more often presents as anxiety, anger, difficulty maintaining grades at school, social isolation at school or other behaviours that are out of character. Negative experiences at school, which may include bullying, a bad teacher, or a generalised fear. (Finding out what’s happening at school is critical to understanding school refusal.) NEW: Gateway Community High in Sydney’s North-West Mainstream schools do not always have the time or resources to meet the complex needs of adolescents exhibiting school refusal or other symptoms of anxiety and depression. Making matters worse, COVID-19 has placed additional economic and social strain on vulnerable families, resulting in thousands of students not returning to school following lockdown, which means that ‘schooling-done-differently’ is more crucial than ever. Gateway Community High offers an alternative to the mainstream. A safe haven, a healing and supportive space, Gateway students complete the Year 10 Record of School Achievement (RoSA) without losing momentum or ‘falling through the cracks.’ An initiative of highly successful support-based education institution Macquarie Community College, Gateway gives adolescents the opportunity to learn in a positive, personalised and inclusive atmosphere. Gateway Community High CEO Theresa Collignon describes some aspects of their intentional approach: “The school has smaller class sizes and each student has an individual learning plan. There is no homework and the focus is on experiential-style learning, and specialist language, literacy or numeracy support. Just as importantly, we build in additional time for students to pursue their own interests and projects. “We’re confident this program gives students the boost they need to re-enter more conventional learning programs.” Gateway Community High is not a special needs or behavioural school—it’s an alternative high school with tailored support and special assistance dedicated to students who are unique in their own way, and who: Will thrive outside a mainstream educational environment Are looking for a place of belonging and safety Are interested in learning and willing to put in the effort to succeed Would benefit from extra support and attention to re-engage in their education May have missed some language, literacy or numeracy fundamentals Are looking to build their pathway to future Vocational Education Training (VET) or Year 11 and 12 studies. If your child is refusing school, Gateway Community High recommends discussing this with the school counsellor or principal of your adolescent’s current school. If you are considering a special assistance school like Gateway, discover more information on our website, email us or call (02) 8845 8835 to arrange an interview or tour. We are currently taking bookings for our Open Days in November. Our Covid-safe plan for Open Days means limited places are available and registration is essential. Register now.

The moment her life started crashing down around her, Alexis from Penrith really needed the kind of teacher she intends to become one day. However, there were few teachers who offered her compassion or tried to dig beneath the surface and find out what was really going on for the alienated adolescent, who once got in trouble for self-harming and wore her jumper in the middle of summer to hide the evidence. “Teaching is not just a job, not just a way of making money,” says 20-year-old Alexis, smart and articulate, a world traveller, married, and with the first milestone in her pathway to becoming an early childhood teacher recently behind her. Now she can say that she’s happy and excited about the future. “Back then, I just needed one teacher to take an interest—one teacher who understood what poor mental health looked like in early adolescents and teenagers.” Many of the details of her late childhood and teenage years are blocked from Alexis’s memory, although she does recall the broad brushstrokes of her parents’ divorce, the suicide of a close family member, a move to a different city and school, abuse she suffered from age 11 to 15 at the hands of a close family member, and the traumatic investigation that followed. The emotional turmoil derailed her ability to focus on schoolwork, she was bullied and ignored as a strange child with no friends, teachers assumed she was not very academic because she was not finishing assignments—and the interest they showed in her ended there. If Gateway Community High had existed then, Alexis thinks it would have offered her the safe haven she desperately needed; a supportive space where she could get her head back together, complete the Year 10 ROSA (Record of School Achievement), stay on track for her career dreams, and begin healing. It would have been the ideal place for her when, aged 16 and the abuse finally surfacing, Alexis found herself out of school. “Everything changed, and all of a sudden, I was worrying about what an adult had to worry about—how to make money, what to do next. My future had been stripped away.” Her ambitions of becoming a better kind of teacher than her own teachers looked like an impossible dream, derailed, at least for a while, until she was able to get the help she needed and do the work to become a healthy young woman again. A Safe Haven and Place of Support Gateway Community High, opening in Carlingford Term 1, 2021, is created to support vulnerable and disadvantaged teenagers in Years 9 and 10 like Alexis. The purpose of the brand-new Special Assistance school is to create a place of belonging for teens who don’t feel like they ‘fit’ and who need more support than a mainstream school generally provides. An initiative of Macquarie Community College, the team behind the concept are dedicated and experienced educators, skilled and wise in knowing exactly how to support students with greater social-emotional needs and who, most importantly, understand and have great compassion for young people. “Gateway Community High is a specialised environment,” says retired Epping Boys principal Peter Garrard. “If you have low self-esteem, peer-related issues, or trauma causing depression and anxiety around the age of 14 or 15, the wheels are likely to fall off. You don’t give a hoot about the periodic table or the causes of the Second World War. Students like this will often just truant.” Or worse. Gateway Community High engages students in experiential-style learning, provides specialist language, literacy or numeracy help where necessary, and builds in additional time for students to pursue their own interests and projects. There is a strict no homework policy and the program incorporates a healthy exercise program to enhance and promote individual wellbeing. “Education is the pathway to empowerment,” says CEO for Gateway Community High and Macquarie Community College, Ms Theresa Collignon. “If a student misses a chunk of learning, for whatever reason, this can have significant consequences for their future and the future of their community. “We’re confident this program gives students the boost they need to re-enter more conventional learning programs once they have completed their Year 10 New South Wales ROSA qualification.” Who Should Attend? Gateway Community High is not a special needs or behavioural school—it’s an alternative high school with tailored support and special assistance dedicated to students who are unique in their own way, and who: Will thrive outside a mainstream educational environment Are looking for a place of belonging and safety Are interested in learning and willing to put in the effort to succeed Would benefit from extra support and attention to re-engage in their education May have missed some language, literacy or numeracy fundamentals Are looking to build their pathway to Year 11 and 12 studies or future Vocational Education Training (VET). “I’m excited about this new initiative in helping traumatised young people like I was,” says Alexis. “There were people who could have stopped what I was going through. Instead, it was like the butterfly effect for me. If only one person had reached out a hand to stop it.” Come Along to our Open Day We welcome you to come and visit our school at one of our open days, where you will hear first-hand why Gateway Community High could be the right school for you. ​ There are 3 Open Day dates to choose from: Wed, 11 November: 4PM - 6PM Sat, 14 November: 10AM - 12PM Thu, 19 November: 4PM - 6PM Our Covid-safe plan for Open Days means limited places are available and registration is essential. Register now. For more information, please visit our website www.gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au, call (02) 8845 8835 or email info@gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au. *Alexis’s name has been changed to protect her privacy

“It’s a time in their schooling when the wheels can fall off,” says retired principal of Epping Boys High School Peter Garrard. He’s talking about the type of Year 9 and 10 student who will benefit from the opening of special assistance school Gateway Community High in Carlingford next year. Perhaps they’re adolescents who struggle with low self-esteem, or who have emotional needs, body perception issues, suffer bullying, have experienced trauma, or struggle because they come from dysfunctional families. Peter has seen students like this many times over the years. Working as a homeschool liaison officer, a senior education officer, and with children with learning disorders prior to becoming a principal, he has seen that by the age of 14 or 15, young people can have experienced so many setbacks that they believe they’re a failure. “They feel, acutely, every little rejection—and one way to deal with this is avoidance.” “School refusal is common. They’d rather just truant than study the periodic table or the causes of World War II. And for the teacher, calculus can get in the way of the kid, so the kid just goes: if I don’t fit at school, I’ll find a place where I do.” Until 2010, there were options for students to leave school by the end of Year 10. They could work or begin a TAFE course but, now, they are required by law to remain in school until they reach the age of 17. However, this hasn’t stopped some students from falling through the cracks, dropping out of mainstream school and society altogether—sometimes permanently. “It doesn’t matter if a student is in a low socio-economic school or a wealthy private school, the solution is fundamentally the same. They need a place where they can talk to their teacher, where they know they are valued, and where they feel they belong. Then we can put into place some strategies to target their specific problems,” says Peter. Always interested in the link between education and social justice, the retired educator is now focusing his attentions on seeking answers outside of mainstream schools for students in those mid-teen years. Peter has played an active role for the past few years supporting the establishment of Gateway Community High, an initiative of Macquarie Community College. A former director of the College, Peter volunteered his time as part of the envisioning team and is determined to ensure that the Gateway model meets the needs of disenfranchised teens in this cohort. Gateway Community High is now interviewing applicants for a limited intake in 2021. Not a special needs or behavioural school, this alternative high school tailors support and special assistance to individual students who are unique in their own way, and who: Are going into Year 9 or 10 in 2021 Will thrive outside a mainstream educational environment Are looking for a place of belonging and safety Are interested in learning and willing to put in the effort to succeed Would benefit from extra support and attention to re-engage in their education May have missed some language, literacy or numeracy fundamentals Are looking to build their pathway to future Vocational Education Training (VET) or Year 11 and 12 studies. Funded by the Commonwealth and State Governments as a Special Assistance School, Gateway’s $50 per term fees are all inclusive of curriculum resources and extracurricular activities. Find out more about Gateway Community High Information Session (virtual): For professionals who work with teenagers Open Day (on campus): For parents, and teenagers commencing Yr 9 or 10 in 2021 For more information, please visit our website www.gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au, call (02) 8845 8835 or email info@gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au.

Sydney mum Louise Miller wishes the launch of Gateway Community High had happened in time for her son Jack, whose severe social anxiety led to school refusal three years ago. Launching in Term 1, 2021, Gateway Community College will offer a better solution for thirty Year 9 and 10 students who would be more likely to thrive outside of the conventional schooling system. At a time when a child’s whole life can deviate off course due to unexpected life events colliding with the intense social-emotional turmoil of the adolescent years, programs like Gateway’s can be lifesaving. “Academically, my son was the perfect child. The only suggestion teachers ever made on his report cards was that he should speak up more. But he wasn’t the type, he just didn’t feel comfortable raising his hand. Apart from that, he was progressing just fine.” Added to the usual peer pressure and social upheaval of Year 9 were three significant events that occurred in quick succession in Jack’s life. His grandmother, who has lived with the family for Jack’s entire life, was diagnosed with cancer; the family moved; and his beloved dog was killed in an accident. The confluence of events caused Jack considerable emotional distress. “He began complaining of tummy aches and so I’d let him stay home for one day. Then it became multiple days and, before I knew it, a week had passed,” Louise recalls. Proactive, Louise acted fast, sending emails asking for help from the Year 9 coordinator at the school. She also sought advice from a friend who is a school counsellor. “Before long, however, it was two weeks and nothing I did could get him to go back to school.” Absenteeism is a common problem for adolescents experiencing high levels of anxiety and severe cases are referred to as ‘school refusal.’ Between 1 and 5 percent of children are affected in this way, and it most commonly occurs between the ages of 12 and 14. In a meeting with the school principal, it soon became apparent to Louise that there was little the school could do to help. They recommended a period of distance education, which they believed would give Jack the time and space to deal with his anxiety and benefit from treatment. This was not ideal for the Miller family. Working full time, Louise didn’t know if Jack would have the self-direction to do the study required of him, which is something other school refusers struggle with when it comes to distance education and home schooling. However, by Term 4 of Year 9, Jack was enrolled in a private Queensland distance education provider and Louise helped him stay socially involved with his closest friends in an effort to avoid complete isolation. Three years later, 17-year-old Jack is now enrolled in a Diploma of Visual Arts having successfully navigated that difficult period in his life. “The conventional school system is simply not suitable for all children, including sensitive, creative ‘internalisers’ like my Jack” says Louise, an educator herself. “Gateway Community High fills a critical gap, giving parents, and teenagers who are not thriving, alternative education opportunities to consider. What we all want is a chance to get through the tough times so our teenagers can get back to leading happy, successful lives.” An initiative of highly successful support-based education institution Macquarie Community College, Gateway gives high schoolers the opportunity to learn in a positive, personalised and inclusive atmosphere. “We engage students in experiential-style learning, provide specialist language, literacy or numeracy help where necessary, and build in additional time for students to pursue their own interests and projects,” says CEO Theresa Collignon. “We have a strictly no homework policy and incorporate a healthy exercise program that enhances individual health and wellbeing. We’re confident this program gives students the boost they need to re-enter more conventional learning programs once they have completed their Year 10 New South Wales ROSA qualification.” Gateway Community High is not a special needs or behavioural school—it’s an alternative high school with tailored support and special assistance dedicated to students who are unique in their own way, and who: · Will thrive outside a mainstream educational environment · Are looking for a place of belonging and safety · Are interested in learning and willing to put in the effort to succeed · Would benefit from extra support and attention to re-engage in their education · May have missed some language, literacy or numeracy fundamentals · Are looking to build their pathway to future Vocational Education Training (VET) or Year 11 and 12 studies. “I’m excited about what Gateway will do for the vulnerable children of western Sydney who are in need of additional support,” says Louise. “This is a great initiative and a great opportunity.” Funded by the Commonwealth and State Governments as a Special Assistance School, Gateway’s $50 per term fees are all inclusive of curriculum resources and extracurricular activities. For more information please visit our website www.gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au, call (02) 8845 8835 or email info@gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au. *The names in this article have been changed to protect privacy.

In January 2021, Gateway Community High will open its doors to Year 9 and 10 students who will thrive outside the conventional schooling system. An initiative of Macquarie Community College, the idea for the new independent high school, located at Carlingford, came about when educators reimagined the middle-high school experience for young people who don’t necessarily fit the standard mould. “Gateway offers an opportunity for students to thrive by gaining a real sense of confidence and belonging. Our alternative approaches will be unique - our students will be expected to be the drivers of their own educational destiny. It’s a place of flexible, engaging and practical learning where students can reconnect with their learning” noted Macquarie Community College CEO, Theresa Collignon. With so many disruptions to education this year, there’s never been a greater need for a community school like this. It will enable students to complete the Year 10 NSW Record of School Achievement (ROSA), and provide a gateway to ongoing education or training, whether that be Year 11 and 12 or vocational training. “Education is the pathway to empowerment,” says Ms Collignon. “If a student misses a chunk of learning, for whatever reason, this can have significant consequences for their future and the future of their community.” Seventy years of providing highly successful support-based vocational education for adults who face barriers to learning gave educators at Macquarie Community College insight into how they could develop a program that would revolutionise the education experience for disengaged high schoolers. “We are creating the opportunity for students to participate in a positive, personalised and inclusive learning environment. We engage students in experiential-style learning, provide specialist language, literacy or numeracy help where necessary, and build in additional time for students to pursue their own interests and projects. We have a strictly no homework policy and incorporate a healthy exercise program that enhances individual health and wellbeing. We’re confident this program gives students the boost they need” says Ms Collignon. Gateway Community High is not a special needs or behavioural school – It’s an alternative high school with tailored support and special assistance dedicated to students who are unique in their own way and who: Will thrive outside a mainstream educational environment Are looking for a place of belonging and safety Are interested in learning and willing to put in the effort to succeed Would benefit from extra support and attention to re-engage in their education May have missed some language, literacy or numeracy fundamentals Are looking to build their pathway to future Vocational Education Training (VET) or Year 11 and 12 studies. Funded by the Commonwealth and State Governments as a Special Assistance School Gateway’s $50 per term fees are all inclusive of curriculum resources and extracurricular activities. For more information please visit our website www.gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au, call (02) 8845 8835 or email info@gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au. Press Enquiries Theresa Collignon CEO, Gateway Community High E: info@gatewaycommunityhigh.nsw.edu.au M: 0466 336 962